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Is it better to get good grades in easy classes or bad grades in hard classes for med school
#medicine #premed
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6 answers
Kimberly Dryden
Full-time Undergraduate Student studying Medical Sciences at the University of Cincinnati
3
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North Bend, OH
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Kimberly’s Answer
If you are on a pre-med track, you will inevitably be taking hard classes as required pre-requisites for the MCAT. It's recommended that you maintain a high GPA when taking these classes, but a few B's will not make or break your admissions decision. Many med schools are taking a holistic approach in reviewing applications, meaning that your extracurriculars, personal essays, CVs, volunteering, MCAT score, research, interviews, etc. are all taken into account when making your admissions decision. With that being said, it's important to really focus on those other areas such as volunteer and research hours to strengthen your application if you feel that your GPA is on the lower side.
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Yasemin’s Answer
Hi Robert, I agree with Kimberly's answer. In addition you want balance, since you want to maintain a good GPA 3.7+ I would recommend to do well in all courses. Also your prerequisites are difficult science classes and you want to prove to admissions comittee that you can do well in them because they are a good indicator of doing well in medical school. However, your general education classes may be easier yes but they are 3 credit classes so if you do get a C or worse in them it will affect your overall GPA. Try to do well in all classes regardless!
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
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Estelle’s Answer
If you are planning for medical school, you really need a strong GPA. You need to work hard enough for A's on all your easier classes and shoot for an A in the more difficult. Don't slack off in easy classes and assume you will make a good grade. You will need to fulfill your degree requirements and premed requirements, so you will have plenty of really challenging classes and some less challenging.
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Richard’s Answer
Pick a major that interests you. You will be spending hundreds (maybe thousands?) of hours studying for your major. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.
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Matt’s Answer
I would tell you that if you can be successful in harder classes, go that route. That doesn't mean you need to be straight A's across the board, but if you're working your tail off in hard classes, it will reflect better than if you choose easy classes you can essentially skate through. It shows that you're willing to step out of your comfort zone and take on challenges, regardless of the outcome, and you'll feel better about the grades you worked hard to earn as opposed to the ones you got by basically showing up.
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Caroline’s Answer
That is the wrong question. You should hold yourself to some degree of standard . You should want to do your very best in everything you do.