academic disqual

[chan]

Hey everyone. I have an academic disqual from the university I received my Bachelors from (B.A. in psych 2003) on my transcript. As the story goes, I was disqualified from the university during the start of my junior year for a GPA less than 2.0. I wrote the committe and was reinstated to the university the following semester. I ended with a GPA of 2.5 overall. However, my post bacc premed work is currently a 4.0.

Do you think that this disqual several years ago will hurt my chances of being accepted to med school?

Thanks.

 

[blee]

I don't know whether the disqual counts as a disciplinary action, but if it is, you'll need to report it in AMCAS. Still, you're going well in postbac, so it might not matter as much as if you'd applied straight out of college. There's no question that it will raise eyebrows, but it sounds like you're doing all you can to minimize the damage.

I would try not to dwell on it too much. You can't change what happened, after all. Definitely be prepared to explain what happened, though, and show (by way of your grades now) that you're not the same student that you were.

 

[njbmd]

Hey everyone. I have an academic disqual from the university I received my Bachelors from (B.A. in psych 2003) on my transcript. As the story goes, I was disqualified from the university during the start of my junior year for a GPA less than 2.0. I wrote the committe and was reinstated to the university the following semester. I ended with a GPA of 2.5 overall. However, my post bacc premed work is currently a 4.0.

Do you think that this disqual several years ago will hurt my chances of being accepted to med school?

Thanks.

Hi there,
Your academic dismissal is not going to HELP your medical school acceptance but you cannot change the past. It is going to be up to you to answer any questions and convince an admissions officer that you would make a good medical student and eventually, a good physician. Your post bacc work will help you but be aware that it does not erase a poor undergraduate performance.

I would plan on answering any questions about your undergraduate GPA as objectively and as honestly as possible if asked during an interview. I would NOT mention anything about your undergraduate GPA in your personal statement. Make sure that everything else about your application is a positive as possible. Emphasize how you have become a disciplined and consistant student. (Your post bacc shows evidence of this.)

Put a good MCAT score out there and make everything else in your application as strong as possible. Have letters of recommendation from people who know you well and can vouch for your good study habits and recent academic achievements. The strongest letter that you could have should come from someone who knew you then and knows what you have been able to overcome to achieve.

Good luck and put the past behind you where it belongs!
njbmd 🙂

 

[MSgtLou]

I don't know about Med School, but I am applying to PA School. I have sent out 2 applications, one had a deadline of Oct 1st, and the other is Nov 1st. On the Oct 1st application, I got a call after 4 days (!) offering me an interview.

Why is that a big deal? I was placed upon acedemic probabtion after my first semester, 1.24 GPA and again after my second semester when it went down to .97.

On my CASPA application, the narrative, I addressed this as a lack of maturity and how I learned more from that year than if I had got better grades and it prepared me for life. It sobered me and I was able to take stock of my direction. I have since brought my GPA to 3.56 with a science GPA of 3.8. At my college of graduation, I maintained 54 units with a 4.0

My point is this... Everyone knows people make mistakes. People admire others who can overcome those mistakes. Let your mistake work FOR you, and not against you. I had a lot of "A's" after that so I proved that it was my maturity at 18. I suggest that you do the same.

Just in case you want to see how I minimized this and had it work for me, here is my opening paragraphs:

"Years ago, I loaded up a 1955 VW beetle and headed down the freeway of life. Just as that car was ill equipped for freeway speeds, I was ill equipped to deal with life’s fast lane. Though I initially intended to serve God as a minister, I ended up serving myself. For this reason, I careened into the nearest ditch.

The wreckage of my first year in college taught me more about life than if I had been a successful student. I still had that burning desire to work in a capacity of service; I knew now that I just needed to find something for which I was better suited. I didn’t know what that was, but MD sounded like a good idea at the time. I started taking classes toward this and got a job to support myself working in a field where social skills were important, a retail store."

The theme of my narative is how I progressed from each experience, like wine. Hope that helps you.