Are Grades Still Important?!?

[anomic]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have been fortunate to get into my top choice medical school recently. With that said, are grades still important? I am a sr in undergrad and I'm tempted to just coast and get B's and C's till graduation. Will this haunt me later? Do residencies see undergrad grades?

 

[sequencer]

I have been fortunate to get into my top choice medical school recently. With that said, are grades still important? I am a sr in undergrad and I'm tempted to just coast and get B's and C's till graduation. Will this haunt me later? Do residencies see undergrad grades?

they can drop you if your grades take a dip

 

[DrBowtie]

read the fine print of what the school considers satisfactory continuation of your academic record so they don't revoke your acceptance.

 

[anomic]

I'm not talking failing.. I mean just B's and C's... like a regular undergrad... around a 3.0 gpa.

 

[sequencer]

I'm not talking failing.. I mean just B's and C's... like a regular undergrad... around a 3.0 gpa.

if your grades take a noticable dip- from high 3s to low 3s would count
then yes they can reconsider their decision
most schools have their acceptances conditional on the fact that you maintain your current gpa and activities

 

[IgweEmeka]

I doubt the schools will revoke your acceptance on the basis of a couple of b's and c's. They ofcourse know that you are capable of doing well if you tried based on your mcat scores and gpa thru junior year. I for one am taking some med school type courses this semester and I am not doing too hot in them right now..partly because I am just not as motivated. I might end up with a couple of a, b or c in the courses and I don't think the medschools will be too mad at that...i mean any kind of exposure to med school type classes is great.

 

[robotsonic]

Residencies, in general, do not see undergrad grades.

(There are some rumors floating around that some programs ask for an undergrad transcript, but none of the programs I am applying to want one. If it does occur then it is unusual.)

And I really doubt the med school would revoke its acceptance if you slacked off senior year. Are they even going to receive a copy of your updated transcript? Just focus on graduating.

 

[IgweEmeka]

Residencies, in general, do not see undergrad grades.

(There are some rumors floating around that some programs ask for an undergrad transcript, but none of the programs I am applying to want one. If it does occur then it is unusual.)

And I really doubt the med school would revoke its acceptance if you slacked off senior year. Are they even going to receive a copy of your updated transcript? Just focus on graduating.

great point made about focusing on graduating and the schools not seeing the final transcript.

 

[jbrice1639]

Residencies, in general, do not see undergrad grades.

(There are some rumors floating around that some programs ask for an undergrad transcript, but none of the programs I am applying to want one. If it does occur then it is unusual.)

And I really doubt the med school would revoke its acceptance if you slacked off senior year. Are they even going to receive a copy of your updated transcript? Just focus on graduating.

it never hurts to be careful...i went that route in high school, and a certain ivy league school in a northeastern state revoked my acceptance and put me on their waitlist simply because i got Bs during my senior year of high school...so if they're gonna crucify an 18-year-old for getting Bs, I wouldn't put it past a med school to assume that a 21 or 22 year old should be mature enough not to slack off...just my thoughts.

 

[sequencer]

great point made about focusing on graduating and the schools not seeing the final transcript.

YES they get a final transcript

 

[cardsurgguy]

They get a final transcript, but I can't imagine them demanding EXACTLY the same performance.
For example, it's definitely understandable to have some drop the semester one is interviewing in, seeing as how multiple days per week are spent traveling, which are not spent working.

I'm done with undergrad and in a grad program that's easier than undergrad, definitely don't envy those of you in undergrad trying to balance interviewing and school...it's gotta be tough.

I see the first poster's point though. It's understandable to want to relax/maybe work more to raise money. Both of these would result in a decline in grades.

I would say 3.5 to 3.0 or the like shouldn't be an issue.
On the other hand, 3.5 to 2.0, and anybody should get their acceptance revoked.

I got accepted to one of my top choices (one of my state schools), and am trying to not go down too far in terms of grades either...

 

[CoffeeFreak]

Why risk letting your grade slide?

 

[sanche60]

My cousin just graduated from Wash U in St. Louis SOM and when she got accepted she told me that she just had to get C's after being accepted but couldnt get any D's. I doubt she was misleading me but im sure it really depends on the school.

 

[1SwtWrld]

if your grades take a noticable dip- from high 3s to low 3s would count
then yes they can reconsider their decision

I hightly doubt this....Its very easy to go from high 3.? to low 3.? in one semester.

 

[deleted77919]

My grades this term won't be up to the very high standard to which I usually hold myself. I'm not slacking, but interview season is killer. I've been to 4 interviews thus far and have 5 more to attend. I won't have attended a full week of classes for about 6 weeks . . . one of which had two interviews across the country from one another . . . I have a feeling medical schools will understand a B or two because of this . . .

 

[DarkFark]

Last month was brutal... 7 interviews in 22 days! I've managed to score roughly the average in all 3 tests I took in that period. The only problem is, one of those classes is curved to a C so far. I really don't want to get a C, as I've avoided them so far and want to finish like that, but if I do, I'm hoping it wont matter. Anyways, I'm shooting for strait Bs this semester.

 

[chaeymaey]

How would the med school know that you had a bunch of interviews in the first semester senior year? That seems like an awfully generous assumption on their part. I think as long as you maintain the level you're at (A's and B's), they'll have no reason to rescind an acceptance. Having C's seems to be pushing it...you're better off going for straight B's.

 

[KevinZ]

Are there any current med students or people with ties to the admissions committees that can answer this question?

I feel like most of this thread has just been current applicants guessing.

 

[Scintillation]

I have been fortunate to get into my top choice medical school recently. With that said, are grades still important? I am a sr in undergrad and I'm tempted to just coast and get B's and C's till graduation. Will this haunt me later? Do residencies see undergrad grades?

I actually suggest dropping out of school...this way you don't have to do anything this semester.

 

[jbrice1639]

I feel like most of this thread has just been current applicants guessing.

isn't that what about 99% of pre-allo threads are? 🙄

 

[Darth Asclepius]

Are there any current med students or people with ties to the admissions committees that can answer this question?

I feel like most of this thread has just been current applicants guessing.

When you are accepted, the acceptance should tell you the terms. It will say that you need to get C's or better (or whatever the school's policy is) and probably that you need to graduate with the degree they are expecting. Read the fine print. Your school will definitely require a final transcript.

If you haven't been accepted, don't assume it's okay to let the grades slide. I had a friend that was waitlisted and told his acceptance depending on his spring semester grades. It's not uncommon for schools to ask for fall grades if they waitlisted you, but the thing about the spring grades is pretty rare.

 

[rocketman]

Ok I realize that everyone here is a die hard pre-med, so this will probably make absolutely no sense, but:

Consider the possibility that you might not like medical school, might not do well in medical school, or might go through a difficult patch while in medical school. Let's say for any of these reasons you choose to withdraw. Later you decide to reapply to medical school and/or graduate school. Only now the ADCOMs see your undergrad gpa is lower and it looks like you slacked off your last year of college, which is always a negative unless you can justify it.

It's also conceivable that residency programs would want to see your undergrad grades. After all, a lot of medical schools are basically p/f and it is sometimes difficult to ascertain how a student actually performed in classes. Though a do agree that residency programs would probably not ask for your undergrad transcripts.

 

[tacrum43]

Ok I realize that everyone here is a die hard pre-med, so this will probably make absolutely no sense, but:

Consider the possibility that you might not like medical school, might not do well in medical school, or might go through a difficult patch while in medical school. Let's say for any of these reasons you choose to withdraw. Later you decide to reapply to medical school and/or graduate school. Only now the ADCOMs see your undergrad gpa is lower and it looks like you slacked off your last year of college, which is always a negative unless you can justify it.

It's also conceivable that residency programs would want to see your undergrad grades. After all, a lot of medical schools are basically p/f and it is sometimes difficult to ascertain how a student actually performed in classes. Though a do agree that residency programs would probably not ask for your undergrad transcripts.

That seems pretty far fetched. I think that if you come from a school that is pass/fail, then your board scores will just matter more.

 

[rocketman]

That seems pretty far fetched. I think that if you come from a school that is pass/fail, then your board scores will just matter more.

Are you saying that it is farfetched that someone might withdraw from medical school and then later decide to reapply or apply to graduate school? Or are you talking about the residency aspect?

 

[pagemmapants]

I think it depends on the school. When I was at Baylor a girl asked "What would it take for you to revoke an acceptance?" and the DEAN said "Meh. Grades don't matter much. Just don't commit any felonies."

I can imagine it might be slightly more strict at other schools, however, particularly if you were a borderline admit.

Better safe than sorry, I'd say.

 

[tacrum43]

Are you saying that it is farfetched that someone might withdraw from medical school and then later decide to reapply or apply to graduate school? Or are you talking about the residency aspect?

I was talking about both.

 

[bwells46]

I think it depends on the school. When I was at Baylor a girl asked "What would it take for you to revoke an acceptance?" and the DEAN said "Meh. Grades don't matter much. Just don't commit any felonies."