Rising sophomore is seeking advice..HELP!

[microbecode01]

Hello!

 

I am a rising sophomore with double-major (intended) in the microbiology and chemistry (or mathematics).  My future plan is to complete my education up to the Ph.D program in either bacteriology or virology and become a researcher in the field of medical microbiology.  I wrote this post to seek advice because I have a couple of problems...first of all, my freshman year GPA was disastrous..it is currently 2.80.  I am really curious if the freshman GPA has a great impact on the applications for the graduate programs.  I know that the freshman GPA impacts the overall GPA, but I am wondering if the freshman GPA is considered greatly by the admission committee.  This is my absolute fault since I cared more on doing the research and part-time jobs, but I learned how to effectively manage my time.  I had been working in the microbiological research lab that focuses on the metabolomics analysis via HPLC-MS.  I recently left that lab (with good impression) because the research was focused on the environmental/industrial microbiology and not the fields of medical microbiology.  I joined the organic-chemistry lab that focuses on the antibiotics research and the pathogenic bacteria, which is my exact interest.  Is it okay to work in the chemistry lab even though my research interest is on the biological field? Although it is a chemistry lab, the research focus is on the applications of the organic chemistry in the fields of virology and bacteriology, those research topics really fascinates me very much.  In that lab, I will be trained as a organic chemist than the microbiology...is this viewed as unfavorably when applying for the microbiology-related Ph.D program?  I recently was elected as the president for my university's microbiology club...is this also good for the graduate programs application?  I apologize if I sounded like I care only for the applications, but I am kind of hysterical after receiving my freshman GPA.. 

 

I also have a question about the course selection.  I will be taking the introductory organic chemistry, multivariable calculus & linear algebra, research-credit course (the organic chemistry lab; I registered that course for this summer too), biochemistry (first-semester of two-semesters course), and the immunology.  I was wondering if taking both biochemistry and organic chemistry is a bad idea.  I originally registered for that biochemistry course since I think learning the biochemistry at sophomore year would allow me to understand the principles of antiobiotics synthesis and the biochemical pathway of pathogens.  I know that the biochemistry builds upon the principles of organic chemistry, but I heard from other students that the knowledge of organic chemistry for the biochemistry, at least at the introductory level, is a minimal.

 

Thank you very much for your time.  I apologize if my grammar is bad (I had to write fast since I have to go back to the lab).   

I look forward for your advice, and have a wonderful rest of day!

 

SIncerely,

 

 

MSK

 

 

[Vene]

First thing, a 2.8 GPA from freshman year is very much salvagable. It is the year which admissions committees care about the absolute least. But, of course, don't do it again. I do notice you're already in a lab, which is exactly what you should be doing, it doesn't matter if it's a chemistry lab, the two fields are related, especially since you're working on a biologically relevant concern while in the lab.

 

As for organic chemistry and biochemistry at the same time, organic chemistry is useful in biochemistry as it teaches you the chemical language you need as a biochemist for the functional groups and the like. It also gives you a good idea of how organic reactions occur, even if biochemical reactions operate differently due to the use of enzymes. From my experience it's really common to need an organic background to even take a biochemistry class and with you needing to increase your GPA you may want to avoid situations where you arrive at a disadvantage. Is there a way to hold off on biochemistry until after you finish organic? Alternatively, how many biochemistry type courses does your school offer? I recall where I went that there was a microbiology course designed for the biology majors and there was one designed for the nursing students, naturally the nursing option didn't go into as much detail. I wonder if there's something like that going on for your biochemistry options because it strikes me as very odd that you can register for biochemistry without already completing organic.

[Dedi]

I had a freshman GPA of under 3.0 as well. With hard work, my GPA shot up from 2.9 to 3.51 at the end of 3rd year. I've been told is that it matters if your grades improve. Canadian schools, for example, usually look at 3rd and 4th year grades. 

So, don't worry about what you have right now and look more into the present. Work hard and do your best, and things will hopefully fall into place.

[bsharpe269]

If you are trying to fix a bad GPA then it is better to give yourself a load that is slightly too easy than a hard one again. Putting biochemistry off until the spring or next fall will not hurt your shot at grad school at all but another semester of sub 3.0 gpa certainly will.

 

Do you mean that you will be taking the courses listed next semester or just in general? I would strongly advice against combining all of those hard classes into 1 semester. I would slow down, take a few hard classes and a couple gen eds that will be easy As, and focus on getting an awesome GPA next semester. I did the exact same thing as you are trying to while I was in undergrad. I did way too much at once and started off with a bad GPA just like you. I ended up with a 3.3 in the end and had to do a masters to make up for the bad grades. You gain little by pushing yourself way too hard and can lose a lot!

 

It is awesome that you are already involved in lab work. If you keep it up and raise that GPA then you should be in a great position to apply to grad schools!

[neuropanic]

Your school lets you register for biochem without organic? At my school we need Orgo II and Cell Bio to register. Wow. I would say put it off.