Can't decide if I should mention bad grades in a PS

[mdhopeful89]

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Hey guys! I just needed some advice about my personal statement.

My Freshman year my parents got a divorce, my mom was diagnosed with depression, and my sister was battling PTSD. I worked in my hometown 2 hours away from my university as an assistant manager and had to skip a lot of school to be able to keep that job. My grades were bad, but not absolutely terrible (2W's, a C+ in Physics I and a C in Bio II Lab, everything else was pretty average, leaving me with a 3.0cGPA and 2.86sGPA. The 2 W's really sting though). My sophomore year GPA was a 3.8 and my junior year GPA is a 4.0 so my overall sGPA is 3.54 and cGPA is 3.67. Is that a strong enough upward trend to mention?

But honestly, will the admissions committee really care? In my rough draft I talked about how my mom's and sister's conditions ultimately verified my desire to be a doctor, but I'm just wondering if I'm better off skipping the story and just talking about positive experiences instead.

Thanks in advance for all your help! 🙂

 

[bonsaitree1]

Yes, you can tie it in with the rest of the story, but remember to ultimately bring them all together telling how you it made you a stronger/better/smarter person.

 

[mdhopeful89]

Thanks! Are the grades bad enough to mention though? I've heard you shouldn't mention a bad grade unless it was a D or an F so I'm a little confused.

 

[LizzyM]

You can say that your grades slipped during that crisis but as circumstances change (or what you did to change things) you were able to improve your academic performance.

Adcoms are going to want to know about your time management skills, your crisis management skills, and your ability to bounce back from hardships or disappointments. All have an obvious relationship to a career in medicine and this is your opportunity to describe how you have honed these skills.

 

[mdhopeful89]

Thanks LizzyM! 🙂

 

[mdbound1987]

Yeah I had a horrible freshman gpa due to not focusing like I should have and was capable of. I had family issues as well, but my grades were horrible because of myself, not that situation. I had a 2.5 cumulative and my science gpa consisted of a D+ in gbio1, a B in pre-calc, and an F in calculus. I regrouped and killed it from sophomore year until graduation. I definitely mentioned this in my personal statement as my last paragraph. I didn't make excuses and I emphasized that I wouldn't change that horrible experience if I could because I learned so much about myself during rough times. I will be entering med school this fall so I'm guessing they didnt hold those grades against me. Just don't sound as if you are making excuses and show what you learned from the experience.

 

[GeneticsGoddess]

I had a similar situation as far as GPA goes, except that I didn't taken any of my science classes freshman year. I had a small paragraph in my PS addressing it. I think it's worth mentioning because it gives you a chance to explain to the adcoms the situation and how you changed the situation for the better. I'll also be attending medical school this fall, so I don't think it hurts to mention something about it as long as it doesn't just sound like an excuse.

 

[mdhopeful89]

thanks everyone! i feel a lot better about this 🙂

 

[chiz2kul]

I mentioned my bad grade during my interview (had a good explanation for it). My interviewer was def glad I brought it up...

 

[boaz]

Hey guys! I just needed some advice about my personal statement.

My Freshman year my parents got a divorce, my mom was diagnosed with depression, and my sister was battling PTSD. I worked in my hometown 2 hours away from my university as an assistant manager and had to skip a lot of school to be able to keep that job. My grades were bad, but not absolutely terrible (2W's, a C+ in Physics I and a C in Bio II Lab, everything else was pretty average, leaving me with a 3.0cGPA and 2.86sGPA. The 2 W's really sting though). My sophomore year GPA was a 3.8 and my junior year GPA is a 4.0 so my overall sGPA is 3.54 and cGPA is 3.67. Is that a strong enough upward trend to mention?

But honestly, will the admissions committee really care? In my rough draft I talked about how my mom's and sister's conditions ultimately verified my desire to be a doctor, but I'm just wondering if I'm better off skipping the story and just talking about positive experiences instead.

Thanks in advance for all your help! 🙂

If that's the case you should definitely keep it in the PS. But you don't have to talk about grades per se within the body of the PS. Instead, I'd add a short addendum explaining the grades (associating with family situation).

 

[BlueElmo]

I mentioned my bad grade during my interview (had a good explanation for it). My interviewer was def glad I brought it up...

It was also brought up in some of my interviews, but I never wrote about it in my PS.