How to respond to bad grade during interview?

[Dr. Josh]

So I got a D+ in Organic chem 1 and retook it and got an A. All my other grades, except that horrendous one, are decent with approximately a 3.7 science (counting both orgo grades; ouch that D+ really hurt) and a 3.75 other. So when questioned about the D+, how should i respond. if I was honest this is what would happen.

interviewer: So I see you got a D+ in organic chem 1

me: yes, I did, but obviously I learned the material because I got an A the second time.

interviewer: well then what happened the first time?

me: my professor's teaching methods didn't complement my learning.

interviewer: and why was that? How were they different?

me: well my professor basically spent the class yelling at students and intimidating them. Then we were left to teach ourselves the same course. I guess i didn't do a very good job of teaching myself the course.

interviewer: no, you didn't. why didn't you go for extra help if you were having trouble?

me: My professor didn't offer any and couldn't teach. I guess I should have sought help from someone else; I learned that in retrospect but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because i devoted so much time to that course.

**ok, I know that is bad; of course we shouldn't blame our professor but what should i say instead? I don't want to make it seem like I'm stupid and couldn't hack it because obviously under different circumstances I could.

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[corbis11]

All I will say is that if you blame it on your prof during your interview it might send up a red flag. what are you going to do when you are in med. school and you get an instructor that doesn't teach to your "learning" style?

 

[Jolie South]

I'm in the same situation.

I'm going to say that I slacked off and didn't put as much effort into the course as I could have. Then, I'll say that I understand the importance of studying and learning the material now, as evidenced by my grad school grades. I have matured a great deal since my undergraduate years.

 

[chickenlittle84]

Yeah, I agree with Corbis. I am very sympathetic to this since I have had some troubles myself, but even hinting of blame can be the kiss of death. Sometimes in life people aren't as good as we would want them to be, but at the end of the day, responsibility falls on each individual to do what they have to do. There was probably some kid who got an A in the class despite the terrible professor...

I plan to tackle such questions by saying something like I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in whatever...Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.


Don't apologize for it, but also don't blame anyone but yourself for it...

 

[DrReo]

I agree with corbis. Man up to your grade, and tell the interview how you've learned from retaking the class. And 'obviously' comes off snoty, that's my opinion...

 

[Depakote]

All I will say is that if you blame it on your prof during your interview it might send up a red flag. what are you going to do when you are in med. school and you get an instructor that doesn't teach to your "learning" style?

Agreed. You can have a terrible professor, but you can't use that as an excuse. It is somewhat akin to "doctor bashing"... remember, you can have bad professors in Med School too. chickenlittle hits the nail pretty much on the head. use it as a learning experience and fall on your sword. Humility is good in this process.

 

[Dr. Josh]

All I will say is that if you blame it on your prof during your interview it might send up a red flag. what are you going to do when you are in med. school and you get an instructor that doesn't teach to your "learning" style?

well I know that; which is why i said I know i can't blame the professor. I'm looking for suggestions of how to spin that differently.

 

[alexfoleyc]

I think that'll will work, cause most of these professors dont really teach.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I'm in the same situation.

I'm going to say that I slacked off and didn't put as much effort into the course as I could have. Then, I'll say that I understand the importance of studying and learning the material now, as evidenced by my grad school grades. I have matured a great deal since my undergraduate years.

Well I WILL NOT say I slacked off, because I didn't. I devoted my entire semester to organic chem and still sank. I'm amazed I pulled As in all my other classes that semester because I left no time to study for those.

 

[MassTransport]

Yeah, it does sound bad. There are several layers of honesty, but blaming the professor isn't one of them. Doing so invites other, more uncomfortable questions. Certainly people in the class got A's and B's. What happened to them?

You're not stupid because you scored well the second time around. Look at your last response; thinking you could tough it out and making a mistake is a much better basis for an explanation.

 

[spanamit]

You could spin it in your favor by

1) Quickly admitting that you screwed up.
2) Spend most of the time focusing on what you learned from that lesson.

Step 2 is the important step. You could explain how that lesson taught you the value of X, Y and Z. And how since then, you have always made sure that you didn't make the same mistake again. As a result, you have gotten much better grades for the rest of the time.

I think what the interviewer really wants to see is what you learned, not why you screwed up.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I think that'll will work, cause most of these professors dont really teach.

Yeah, I agree with Corbis. I am very sympathetic to this since I have had some troubles myself, but even hinting of blame can be the kiss of death. Sometimes in life people aren't as good as we would want them to be, but at the end of the day, responsibility falls on each individual to do what they have to do. There was probably some kid who got an A in the class despite the terrible professor...

I plan to tackle such questions by saying something like I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in whatever...Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.


Don't apologize for it, but also don't blame anyone but yourself for it...

Ok, I like that; thanks so much. How about if I say:

I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I guess I should have sought help from the tutoring program at my school. I learned that in retrospect, but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because I devoted so much time to that course. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in organic chemistry. Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.

You could spin it in your favor by

1) Quickly admitting that you screwed up.
2) Spend most of the time focusing on what you learned from that lesson.

Step 2 is the important step. You could explain how that lesson taught you the value of X, Y and Z. And how since then, you have always made sure that you didn't make the same mistake again. As a result, you have gotten much better grades for the rest of the time.

I think what the interviewer really wants to see is what you learned, not why you screwed up.

Since that was my second to last semester (I switched to pre-med very late and had to play 'catch up'.) I've since graduated and retook orgo 1 and am taking orgo 2 in summer school after graduating.

 

[riceman04]

Ok, I like that; thanks so much. How about if I say:

I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I guess I should have sought help from the tutoring program at my school. I learned that in retrospect, but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because I devoted so much time to that course. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in organic chemistry. Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.



Since that was my second to last seemster (I switched to pre-med very late and had to play 'catch up'. I've since graduated and retook orgo 1 and am taking orgo 2 in summer school after graduating.

No one should be holding your hand!!!! Blame it on the professor...then you can tell me what type of response you get

 

[Dr. Josh]

No one should be holding your hand!!!! Blame it on the professor...then you can tell me what type of response you get

Sheesh, didn't you even read my initial post? I said I couldn't blame it on the professor, so i was asking for how to slant it without saying I didn't work at it.

 

[Koch]

Ok, I like that; thanks so much. How about if I say:

I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I guess I should have sought help from the tutoring program at my school. I learned that in retrospect, but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because I devoted so much time to that course. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in organic chemistry. Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.



Since that was my second to last semester (I switched to pre-med very late and had to play 'catch up'.) I've since graduated and retook orgo 1 and am taking orgo 2 in summer school after graduating.

Don't over-play the "I've learned something today" card. It can come off a little forced. Just say you learned your lesson. Don't try to go all out and say how you'll be a better med student because of it.

 

[medhawk1]

Ok, I like that; thanks so much. How about if I say:

I was intimidated by the material, and I should have done more to make sure I was learning the material. I guess I should have sought help from the tutoring program at my school. I learned that in retrospect, but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because I devoted so much time to that course. I have learned from my mistakes, as you can see from my subsequent strong performance in organic chemistry. Although I regret that this experience ever happened, I think it will ultimately help me to be a stronger student in medical school because I will be sensitive to whether or not I am truly learning the material and I won't hesitate to ask for help.

Eliminate the "I guess" and you have a decent explanation. In general shy away from "I guess" and "I think" in favor of "I know" and "I believe" during interviews to avoid sounding uncertain.

 

[pike1]

So I got a D+ in Organic chem 1 and retook it and got an A. All my other grades, except that horrendous one, are decent with approximately a 3.7 science (counting both orgo grades; ouch that D+ really hurt) and a 3.75 other. So when questioned about the D+, how should i respond. if I was honest this is what would happen.

interviewer: So I see you got a D+ in organic chem 1

me: yes, I did, but obviously I learned the material because I got an A the second time.

interviewer: well then what happened the first time?

me: my professor's teaching methods didn't complement my learning.

interviewer: and why was that? How were they different?

me: well my professor basically spent the class yelling at students and intimidating them. Then we were left to teach ourselves the same course. I guess i didn't do a very good job of teaching myself the course.

interviewer: no, you didn't. why didn't you go for extra help if you were having trouble?

me: My professor didn't offer any and couldn't teach. I guess I should have sought help from someone else; I learned that in retrospect but I guess at the time I thought I could pull it out because i devoted so much time to that course.

**ok, I know that is bad; of course we shouldn't blame our professor but what should i say instead? I don't want to make it seem like I'm stupid and couldn't hack it because obviously under different circumstances I could.

I experienced a similiar situation with organic chemistry. At every interview I was upfront about what happened. It is an accomplishment to overcome a challenging hurdle like a poor grade in O-chem. You took the course over again and got an A. You could take the perspective that you were not going to let O-chem keep you from getting into med school. This was your challenge to yourself. You went out and beat that challenge. This is how I felt about my struggle with O-chem. Focus more on the above mentioned aspect of your O-chem grade rather than trying to assure them that you have mastered the material as proven by the A you received in your 2nd attempt.

 

[nick_carraway]

OP, I like your revised explanation. I plan on using a similar spiel at my committee interview when it comes. I plan on saying that I should've used my resources more effectively: gone to office hours, spoke with TAs, made appointments with professors or tutors. I think some of those professors DID suck but like others said, you're gonna get bad ones in med school too that you're supposed to get past anyway.