Addressing poorer grades in interview [music major]

[TheGeek]

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Hello folks, long time lurker here,

I am a junior music major at DePauw University on the premed track. I've completed (or am enrolled in) all the prereqs but physics II. I like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

My financial situation is such that I have to work hard to maintain my music scholarship. For those who haven't practiced the musicological artsy-fartsy stuff, it can take up a lot a lot of time. As a result, some of my prereq grades have suffered - I've earned a few C+'s.

I really do think it's the time that's the issue; I took a bio course over the summer, when I didn't have to worry about music, and got a 99% in the class. I think that if I have the time, my performance (har, har) is fine.

My question is this: If, in an interview, I am asked to reflect on my poorer grades, will the above explanation be an appropriate one? I felt like it's rather reasonable, but I'm worried that med school admissions committees will have concerns that I'm not dedicated enough to the field.

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

-D.

 

[NickNaylor]

I think it would be appropriate, however you have to have some sort of "positive" to talk about with respect to this situation. Without that, it just sounds like you're making excuses, which isn't what you want to do (no matter how legitimate they may be). Come up with some way to spin this into something that isn't completely negative. To be honest, I have no idea how you would do that, but you're familiar with the situation and might be able to drum something up.

 

[tpsreport]

Just tell them you had trouble with time management, and that because of the difficulty you encountered, you have now managed to be able to do ABC, as shown by your new grades, or by XYZ.

Or if you were partying a lot just tell them you were immature and that you have learned a lot in the process! ABC and XYZ still apply, just fill in the blanks with cool stuff you've been doing since then.

 

[TheGeek]

Something I've always been told by music majors who went into other fields is that music prepares you to (1) work as part of a team when necessary yet, (2) know when to take the lead, as well as (3) teach you how to spend long hours practicing a skill. I was thinking I'd say something about how the time spent studying music has made me a better student/leader, and has taught me how to interact with people in group work settings under stressful situations.

Does that sound too cheesy? I feel like it might, even though it's pretty accurate.

 

[LizzyM]

Something I've always been told by music majors who went into other fields is that music prepares you to (1) work as part of a team when necessary yet, (2) know when to take the lead, as well as (3) teach you how to spend long hours practicing a skill. I was thinking I'd say something about how the time spent studying music has made me a better student/leader, and has taught me how to interact with people in group work settings under stressful situations.

Does that sound too cheesy? I feel like it might, even though it's pretty accurate.

You could be the poster child for all the students who take a specific major (or a spot in college sports) because it came with a sweet scholarship and then find that it destroyed their gpa. You will be lucky to have the chance to explain in your interview because you just might not be chosen for interview because of your gpa.

 

[aspiring20]

Hello folks, long time lurker here,

I am a junior music major at DePauw University on the premed track. I've completed (or am enrolled in) all the prereqs but physics II. I like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

My financial situation is such that I have to work hard to maintain my music scholarship. For those who haven't practiced the musicological artsy-fartsy stuff, it can take up a lot a lot of time. As a result, some of my prereq grades have suffered - I've earned a few C+'s.

I really do think it's the time that's the issue; I took a bio course over the summer, when I didn't have to worry about music, and got a 99% in the class. I think that if I have the time, my performance (har, har) is fine.

My question is this: If, in an interview, I am asked to reflect on my poorer grades, will the above explanation be an appropriate one? I felt like it's rather reasonable, but I'm worried that med school admissions committees will have concerns that I'm not dedicated enough to the field.

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

-D.

OP, what's your overall GPA right now? is it under a 3.0, or is it a 3.4 "less than ideal" ish?

it makes a huge difference.

 

[Lollygag]

Yea our advice means nothing without knowing what your actual GPA is right now and what you can bring it up to by the time you apply to medical school.

 

[Dingo Mango]

Something I've always been told by music majors who went into other fields is that music prepares you to (1) work as part of a team when necessary yet, (2) know when to take the lead, as well as (3) teach you how to spend long hours practicing a skill. I was thinking I'd say something about how the time spent studying music has made me a better student/leader, and has taught me how to interact with people in group work settings under stressful situations.

Does that sound too cheesy? I feel like it might, even though it's pretty accurate.

Howdy. Fellow music-major, matriculating to med school here. These are totally great things to talk about and you definitely should and it isn't cheesy it is totally for real and awesome, but they don't exactly have anything to do with explaining away bad grades. Like they said above, don't make excuses, and do talk about how you learned from it to manage your time or something like that. I was lucky in that I did most of my pre-reqs before and after my music-major years so I was usually focused on either one or the other. There were some terms that I was doing both heavily though and I thought it was nice as one gave me a break from the other. Good luck!! 🙂
p.s. what do you play/sing?