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Save it for suitable Secondary prompts.As the title suggests, I have some bad grades on my transcript, and I've received conflicting advice about whether or not to address them in my personal statement. Should I mention my bad grades, explain what happened, and then describe how I've improved since then? Or, should I not mention them at all and focus on the positives of my application in my personal statement, and address the bad grades in a secondary question?
One of my professors is convinced I need to own up to my mistakes in the PS, but my other professor says the PS shouldn't mention anything negative, and I'm not sure how I can satisfy both. I would love any and all advice!
This.Save it for suitable Secondary prompts.
Never, ever bring attention to a negative.Freshman year: BCPM 3.3 (21 credits), Cumulative 3.3 (32 credits)
Sophomore year: BCPM 1.9, including 1 D and 1 C- (14 credits), Cumulative 3.15 (32 credits)
Junior year: BCPM 2.75, including 1 F (16 credits), Cumulative 3.63 (44 credits)
Senior year: BCPM 4.0 (6 credits), Cumulative 3.92 (44 credits)
Postbacc year: BCPM + Cumulative 3.97 (35 credits)
SMP year: BCPM + Cumulative 3.9x (36 credits)
Overall, undergrad classes (not counting SMP) come out to a 3.3 BCPM GPA and a 3.6 cumulative.
Outside of these grades, I have great recommendations, hundreds of hours in research, ~200 hours of nonclinical volunteering, ~120 hours of clinical volunteering, ~50 hours of shadowing, and thousands of hours of involvement in a relatively distinct activity at the national level. I was planning to focus my PS on this activity, how I've grown from it, and why it has drawn me to medicine, but given my spotty record, wasn't sure if I could totally ignore it in the PS, as I wasn't sure if I could guarantee a secondary question to explain myself and take responsibility.
Edit: haven't taken the MCAT yet, I was double cancelled from March and May, but I'm hoping to test ASAP.
I did an SMP and never actually wrote about doing it. I let it speak for itself on my application. I think it could would be alright if you put it in the middle when talking about the SMP, however I would still personally just put it in the last paragraph when driving your point home or reviewing the main point of your PS. Also maybe to help with the flow, don't want it just sticking out in the middle of your PS.If I mention my SMP in a middle paragraph in my PS, do you think it would be appropriate to add this sentence around there?