detailed explanation of low BCPM in personal statement recommended?

[markboonya]

i know alot of u post baccers out there suffered the same fate as i during undergrad: poor poor grades for pre-med pre-reqs with a come back during upper division courses. my question to you is: in ur personal statement how detailed of an explanation did u give for ur poor performance? for me, i was just a lazy lazy starcraft playing fiend. i dont think i should tell them that. but i need to tell them something! i think my bcpm is a 2.7, many c+/b- and one F. i was able to rally back with a 3.7 average for my last 2 years. one semester i just fell into a good academic groove and pulled a 4.0 and the rest of the semesters turned out just fine. but i really dont have a explanation for my turning point, and thus, i dont know how to explain this in my personal statement. i cant tell adcom i decided to trash my starcraft cd so thats why my gpa went up. anyone else in a similar situation? i need to finish my personal statement soon cuz smp deadline is right around the corner. any advice is appreciated

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[Sundarban1]

Great question,

The consenus I've come to is that as long as you address the issue briefly and explain what you have done since to correct the issue, you shold be fine. I would not go into more detail than necessary when explaining flaws, but they are definately going to want an explanation. I would focus more on what you have done since to remedy the situation, with specific examples, rather than ramble about what went wrong.
Good luck.

i know alot of u post baccers out there suffered the same fate as i during undergrad: poor poor grades for pre-med pre-reqs with a come back during upper division courses. my question to you is: in ur personal statement how detailed of an explanation did u give for ur poor performance? for me, i was just a lazy lazy starcraft playing fiend. i dont think i should tell them that. but i need to tell them something! i think my bcpm is a 2.7, many c+/b- and one F. i was able to rally back with a 3.7 average for my last 2 years. one semester i just fell into a good academic groove and pulled a 4.0 and the rest of the semesters turned out just fine. but i really dont have a explanation for my turning point, and thus, i dont know how to explain this in my personal statement. i cant tell adcom i decided to trash my starcraft cd so thats why my gpa went up. anyone else in a similar situation? i need to finish my personal statement soon cuz smp deadline is right around the corner. any advice is appreciated

 

[markboonya]

thanks sundarban. i was thinking along the line of explaining what i did to remedy the situation just like u advised, rather than foucssing on the screw up itself. but now i have another question. i know my crap-ass performance really served as a catalyst to perform well for my remaining years, but i dont want adcom to think my academic and EC efforts are more geared towards becoming the ideal applicant, rather than learning and exploring due to more honest factors (ie personal satisfaction, a desire to help the community etc etc.) i mean, i did enjoy my vounteer work and classes, but i originally really turned it on simply cuz i new i had to make up for a horrendous BCPM. i want to be honest but i am afraid if i am too honest, they will think all of my accomplishments were some make-up for a bad gpa effort. ehh, i guess i need to find a balance then. thanks again for ur insight. just out of curiosity, how much did u guys address your comeback story? did it set the tone for ur entire personal statement?

 

[Sundarban1]

Right,

I found personally that focusing too much on flaws and rebounds took away from the more personal side of my statement. I think that once you address the issue and give examples as to what you learned from the situation and where you are now, you are fine. I fell into the whole of sounding too dramatic and "story" like in my statement. Although you want to maintain a theme, you really don't want that theme to focus merely on academics, but to also show your personal side. As long as you reference your weakness and show your accomplishments since have made you a better person not only academically but personally, you should be set. Just remember not to sound too dramatic or over the top by focusing only on your academic downfalls and rebounds. As long as your theme flows, I think adding your EC's will not seem as though you are padding your application, unless you constantly make reference to them as a means to an end.

thanks sundarban. i was thinking along the line of explaining what i did to remedy the situation just like u advised, rather than foucssing on the screw up itself. but now i have another question. i know my crap-ass performance really served as a catalyst to perform well for my remaining years, but i dont want adcom to think my academic and EC efforts are more geared towards becoming the ideal applicant, rather than learning and exploring due to more honest factors (ie personal satisfaction, a desire to help the community etc etc.) i mean, i did enjoy my vounteer work and classes, but i originally really turned it on simply cuz i new i had to make up for a horrendous BCPM. i want to be honest but i am afraid if i am too honest, they will think all of my accomplishments were some make-up for a bad gpa effort. ehh, i guess i need to find a balance then. thanks again for ur insight. just out of curiosity, how much did u guys address your comeback story? did it set the tone for ur entire personal statement?

 

[Scoop19]

I agree with sundarban, only touch upon it briefly. I think it really depends on how much time has passed since those bad grades. If it has been four or more years I don't think there is a need to discuss it. This was the case for me. It looks like it's been about 2 years for you, so I think you need to address it. I don't think you should make up a reason as to why you decided to get yourself in gear. I believe it's better to be honest and say you were dissatisified with your performance, knew you had more potential and had to make a better effort. Thus, you studied harder, got involved in clubs, etc. For many it is the realization that they will not become a doctor that motivates them. Besides when you get an interview, you'll most likely get a question on the discrepancy in your grades, and it's better not be be vague or say it was a turning point when it was not. Most adcoms will respect your honesty. I told one of my interviewers that I joined a club because of a girl and I was still accepted to that school

That being said, the main focus of your essay should be on your personal experiences with medicine and how that motivates you to enter the profession. Remember, it does not matter why you decided to join a club or volunteer, it is what you got out of it and how that influenced you. If that is what you convey then you'll be fine. Good Luck!

 

[Crake]

Ahh, Starcraft. I used to be quite the fiend myself. Luckily I discovered the zergling rush and the game sorta dissolved from there. . . and I can't believe I'm enough of a nerd to admit that.

 

[Cheerfulgrrl]

Ahh, Starcraft. I used to be quite the fiend myself. Luckily I discovered the zergling rush and the game sorta dissolved from there. . . and I can't believe I'm enough of a nerd to admit that.

I agree with the above posters. I had a medical and family situation, which I alluded to briefly, but also just wasn't very confident and able to handle pre-med at my super competitive undergrad school. Instead of saying that, I talked about how now I am focused, as shown by my slammin post-bacc grades.

Make sure to make every negative a positive in your application.

I think you are over-thinking as far as the ECs - you wouldn't have done them if you didn't want to be a doctor, regardless of the fact that they also complete your application. In my app, I wanted to comment on how it felt so self-centered to go through this highly scripted process, all about me! Me! me! when the goal is to help people, but you know what - adcoms know that is the case. It just makes you look cranky to make meta-comments on the process, and in your case, your over explication of your motivation actually, in my opinion,
distracts from the value of what you have accomplished.

But I am a little confused - are you saying you want to refer specifically to the ECs in your PS? B/C if so, let me tell you what I was told - use the PS to say things you can't say elsewhere. Don't recap your ECs, instead give a specific example (I know some people hate this, but give a story) about something that happened to you as part of one of your ECs. You list your EC's and have room to describe them in the EC section.

 

[medanthgirl]

This is a great thread, and very important too, I think. I genuinlely think the reason why I did bad was I dove into college waaaaaaaay to heavy, instead of 16 credit hours, I would take 22, with different clubs and research i was in, then i would do horrible, and think, oh, i need to make up for it, so i would try to do that taking harder classes at the same load. ah, now that i'm 26 i see how completely dumb that is. but at the same time i don't want to look like i'm being fakey - trying to say oh geez well i was such an overachiever, i just overloaded myself. no i just was excited about college and didn't have any type of advising at all.