How To Get a 4.0 In College as a Pre-Med Student

Getting a 4.0 is hard enough, so how did I get it while being a pre-med student?! I’ll tell you…just keep reading

To be clear, I did not have a cumulative GPA of a 4.0 after my four undergraduate years in university. I did, however, get a 4.0 for 3+ semesters in college. After my first two years of taking mandatory pre-medical classes for my major, I learned what I was good at and which courses to stay away from my third and fourth years.

To get closer to a 4.0 for the semester, here’s the first thing you need to: determine which classes you know you can get an A in. For me, that was any biology related course. Whether it was Immunology or Molecular Biology, I knew I had a good chance at getting A’s in these courses, so I loaded up my semester with them. On the other hand, if you know you’re not good at chemistry, do NOT take extra chemistry courses that are not required by your major or for medical school applications.

Next, take some online classes. They’re minimal effort, you can take exams open-book, and most of your grade will be discussion board participation. Sounds easy, right? Here’s the catch, though: some online classes require a lot of essay writing. If you don’t have a knack for writing, then those online classes will be very time consuming, stressful, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get an easy A. So, make sure you know what the syllabus looks like before you blindly sign up for any online course.

You might be wondering, well what about the classes I have to take? That’s valid. Sometimes there are classes we cannot escape from and they might be challenging. You might be apprehensive about getting a B or a B-, even. What do you do? You build a connection with your professor right from the start. Even if you have no idea what to say to them, go to their office hours and share your concerns and goals. Connections and networking mean everything even in a classroom setting. If your professor likes you, chances are, he/she will work 10x harder to help you do well in their course.

The last thing I want to mention is different levels of courses. I personally do not beat myself up over taking advanced classes rather than basic level courses just to challenge myself. Think about how fast admissions counselors have to sift through applications for a second. Do you think you would take the extra time (an extra hour, probably) to first figure out what level classes you took, how your specific university classifies courses, and then focus on the grade you got? Um..no…they’re definitely just looking at your glorious GPA number. I did not risk getting B’s in advanced physics or chemistry to look smarter. I stuck to the level I knew I would get an A in despite how many times my pre-med advisor tried to convince me otherwise.

Your GPA number is important. Prioritize it. Word hard, but definitely focus on working smarter more.