tabbara93 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi. So I'm in my first year right now, and I've decided to take physics, even though it is not a program requirement of mine, to get some info and to help me with the MCATs. I really don't like physics, and I haven't taken it for 3 years before taking this course this semester. I've worked long and hard and spent so much time on it! I'm not kidding, I would spend several hours a day just learning physics concepts and solving question after question. Unfortunately, I am not doing very well in the exams. I got a 50% on my first midterm (worth 10%), and I did my second midterm this past Saturday and I didn't do very well either (the prof released half of the mark I got 6/10, there is another 10% not yet released, but I'm sure I did worse in that one). I don't want Physics to lower my GPA (and my time spent on it is also impacting my grades in other subjects) so I am considering dropping it (I can drop it before Sunday Mar. 26th, and it won't appear on my transcripts). But if I do, I risk losing U of T GPA weighting and I would have a semester that is not a full-credit semester, but is it really worth it? I mean I also know that other uni's (correct me if I'm wrong) like Queen's, Macmaster, Ottawa, and Western, mainly look at the final two years. What do you guys think is the better decision? Drop it and have a semester that is not a full-load one which might raise question marks on my application, or keep it and make up for it in other subjects in the following years? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc89 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Personally, I wouldn't drop because U of T can drop it (weighting), Queens and Western are final two and best two years respectively, Ottawa looks at your most recent 3 years but they weigh your most recent years heavier than the previous years, here is the formula: http://www.intermed.med.uottawa.ca/Students/MD/Admissions/eng/excellence_marks.html. The only school you might have to worry about is Mac, but I don't think 1 bad mark would crush your GPA, as long as you keep your other marks above 85 ideally or 80 at the lower end. Additionally, Mac relies heavily on their CASPer test to determine if someone gets interviewed or not. Here is their formula, just scroll to the bottom: http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/selection_process.html All in all, 1 bad mark is no big deal. But take my advice with a grain of salt. You also want to try to avoid failing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbara93 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for answering, and yeah, I mean failing is what I'm afraid of, because I'm just barely making it above 50% (and I don't even know how that second test's final mark will turn out to be...might be lower). The thing that is really pushing me to drop it though, is that because I need to exponentially boost my mark in this course, I spend so much time on it, and it takes time off my other 4 courses and it is negatively impacting them. So I think dropping one course would be of benefit to the four other courses... I mean it might only affect my UofT application, but will help in the application for other universities (that look at the cGPA)... I still want to hear you guys' opinions though, I still haven't made a final decision yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclawfjj Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 If you can realistically get a B- or higher after doing well on the exam, stick with it. Just evaluate whether this is realistic given your grasp of the content thus far, and how much studying you can get done from now on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbara93 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for answering. Hmmm....let's say I do drop the course. What are the negative impacts of doing so? Or are there none? I mean it won't appear on my transcript that I dropped it, just that in my second semester of the first year, I took 4 courses instead of 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbara93 Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Just an update on my situation. I've decided to drop the course. I don't think I can realistically achieve a B-. I would still like to know what I can do to help me in my application now that one of my semesters is not a full-credit one. Anything I can do to make up for it, or would just completing the leftovers in the summer (or as an extra load in one of the regular courses) be fine? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurepediatric Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hmmm... to be honest I don't think this is the best suggestion, but if I was desperate to keep a full course load I would pick up a course online (i.e. Athabasca), but I'm not sure if it would be counted towards your F/W semester (to allow you to keep full course load status) or if it's too late then you can take a summer course to make up for it, as a few schools accept it to complete full course load (from what I've read on this forum) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojoluvsu2 Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Take a summer course to make it up for Ottawa. Western and Queens won't look at this year, so definitely make sure to make future years full course loads. You have permanently lost weighting for UofT but you can still apply there. McM doesn't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheManwithNoName Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I would suggest taking a summer course to make up for it (if you want to go the USA). I would also suggest this website to give supplement explanations for physics. http://www.khanacademy.org/#physics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Take a summer course to make it up for Ottawa. Western and Queens won't look at this year, so definitely make sure to make future years full course loads. You have permanently lost weighting for UofT but you can still apply there. McM doesn't care. Queens will look at it. Only need 60% for it to be a queens year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrandhawa Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 I wasn't aware that is was so important to have full course loads... I took four courses (instead of the full five) in four of my eight semesters (4 courses during each semester of my first and my fourth year) as an undergrad and I still got more than one interview at medical schools in North America (although I did apply to over 50 schools:rolleyes: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Drake Ramoray Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 Don't drop!! I did bad on my physics midterm(s) as well when i took the course. Usually that class has things like labs and tutorials to help boost your mark quite significantly, because Profs know physics isn't the forte of many. I was in your position when i took physics having the same thoughts. My suggestions are to continue to study very hard, attend office hours and extra help sessions and to do many, many practice problems. It's just one of those courses that you need to spend a lot of time on to get an average mark, but it should hopefully be worth taking when you do your MCAT, plus the whole course load weighing situation. Trust me, if you're a hard working student and tend to get good grades in other classes, odds are the rest of the class is doing much worse than you, so the Prof has to adjust something at some point. Hope this helps Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 I was in your (pretty much EXACT) position in first year. I'm terrible at physics, didn't spend the time I needed to on it and barely scraped a pass. My grades for 2nd term physics definitely weren't admirable either. I would say keep the full course load with physics. Seek out tutoring/meet with the prof and any other options you can to get the highest grade possible (even if that's a 60). Do well in your remaining years. Play the weighting systems when you apply - I believe McMaster is one of the few schools for which those grades will be a disadvantage. Having a few terrible grades but recovering from them throughout your remaining years always makes for EXCELLENT interview answers (especially if you get a decent score on the MCAT). It shows you're resilient! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
<abstract> Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 Just an update on my situation. I've decided to drop the course. I don't think I can realistically achieve a B-. I would still like to know what I can do to help me in my application now that one of my semesters is not a full-credit one. Anything I can do to make up for it, or would just completing the leftovers in the summer (or as an extra load in one of the regular courses) be fine? Thanks. Really? Not to be a downer but you just lost the weighting formula for UofT forever because you did not take a full course load. On top of that Western will no longer consider your first year marks since it is not a full course load. If physics is a required course you will have to take it again. In which case Mac counts it even if you took it in the summer. (The other schools don't count the mark, but count the credit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Transparent Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 ---------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Consider how you are doing in the other part of the course (assignments, quizes, and labs). Then put your mark together and see how you stand. If I were you, I would also calculate your GPA in your other courses and see how you stand if you keep the course and get a certain GPA. Sometimes it's not worth dropping the course, but sometimes it is. If it's impossible to get a competitive GPA with the physics mark, I would suggest dropping it as your risking alot for 1 school. One more thing, if you decide to drop it and lose a full courseload. Make sure you take a full courseload EVERY year after that, people don't realise that it's VERY hard to get into medicine without being competitive (full courseload). Not taking a full courseload once or twice is alright, but anything more than that... you might not even stand a chance at US schools without a competitive GPA. The only school that will let this slide is Mac and maybe queens. UofT as well but unless you got close to a 4.0 and killer stats, you will be at a severe disadvantage compared to all the other UofT candidates. Good luck and I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Squeeze Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 You can do it! Work hard and stay motivated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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