Do 4th year undergrad grades affect you?

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ladydoctor123

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I am starting med school next year , and my 4thyear has not been that great partly due to lack of motivation and partly due to other priorities. I was wondering how my relatively bad grades will affect me in med school ...say when I am applying to research programs during the summer or even when I look to be involved in the school year?
Any help would be much appreciated:luck:
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ladydoctor123 said:
I am starting med school next year , and my 4thyear has not been that great partly due to lack of motivation and partly due to other priorities. I was wondering how my relatively bad grades will affect me in med school ...say when I am applying to research programs during the summer or even when I look to be involved in the school year?
Any help would be much appreciated:luck:
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it will be harder for you to get into research labs because of your downward GPA trend.


ARE YOU SERIOUS?
 
..jesus christ
 
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No one is ever going to care about your undergrad grades. Just do well your first year of med school.
 
I hope they're not that bad that the transcript you submit prior to matriculation raises red flags. There are stories every year of people getting "unaccepted." Sorry if I spooked you.

edit: It depends, of course, on the school. If you think it might be a problem, I'd call them anonymously to find out their policy.
 
ishchayill said:
I hope they're not that bad that the aiyou submit prior to matriculation raises red flags. There are stories every year of people getting "unaccepted." Sorry if I spooked you.

edit: It depends, of course, on the school. If you think it might be a problem, I'd call them anonymously to find out their policy.
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LOL..well my grades have gone from straight A's and A+'s in the first 3 years to straight Bs and B+s and one C+ so far...yikes....i hope this doesnt haunt me into med school:eek:
 
ladydoctor123 said:
LOL..well my grades have gone from straight A's and A+'s in the first 3 years to straight Bs and B+s and one C+ so far...yikes....i hope this doesnt haunt me into med school:eek:
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it speaks very poorly of your character and perseverance, to say the least. Again, huge downward trends are red flags on your CV. PD's will see this on your ERAS, as well as your MCAT score. I'd recommend trying as hard as you possibly can to bring them up to A-. Please, no C's or B-'s.
 
I think as long as you at least pass all your classes (B's and C's), you should be OK. Yeah it'll look ****ty, but I feel like if you expect me to travel all around the country to interview and jump through all these hoops for med school, you can't expect straight A's - it's kinda hard to study while flying or driving and stressing over an interview.
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
it speaks very poorly of your character and perseverance, to say the least. Again, huge downward trends are red flags on your CV. PD's will see this on your ERAS, as well as your MCAT score. I'd recommend trying as hard as you possibly can to bring them up to A-. Please, no C's or B-'s.
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+1

Seriously, I've been told that by two admissions people...
 
this is how poorly it will look when the residency program directors load your ERAS to decide if they want to offer you an interview. If you were the PD, would you want someone who can't go above and beyond 100% of the time working for you? Human lives will depend on this interview/future intern. What if the intern decides he/she doesn't want to come in to the hospital one day because he/she had avian flu? It strains the other residents/interns, you have to be 100% all the time, not 68% 25% of the time..
 

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PD=Program Director
ERAS=Electronic Residency Application Service

Like "adcom" and "amcas".
 
thanks for the definitions.

however, how does this apply to the OP question. These people do not see your undergraduate achievements / scores, correct?
 
MacBookMD said:
thanks for the definitions.

however, how does this apply to the OP question. These people do not see your undergraduate achievements / scores, correct?
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AAMC keeps records of AMCAS apps. The school you matriculate at submits your final transcript to AAMC so that they can update your undergraduate GPA with the final permanent information.
 
The PD's won't see your AMCAS LOR's or AMCAS personal statement, etc. Just the GPA divided by year, and your MCAT score/scores.
 
where does that info come from? I have honestly never heard that before
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
it speaks very poorly of your character and perseverance, to say the least. Again, huge downward trends are red flags on your CV. PD's will see this on your ERAS, as well as your MCAT score. I'd recommend trying as hard as you possibly can to bring them up to A-. Please, no C's or B-'s.
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I dont see why you felt the need to attack my character or perseverance. I mean srsly...my grades dropped in final year because I was applying to a couple dozen schools, interviewing etc...not in the right frame of mind to pull off straight A's. Anyways, I dont need to justify my grades, I just asked a simple question
Thanks for the info though
 
On a similar note...does this mean that when you apply to residencies your undergrad grades play a role???
I thought only your academic performance in med school matters along with research and ECs in undergrad as well as med school....
 
ladydoctor123 said:
On a similar note...does this mean that when you apply to residencies your undergrad grades play a role???
I thought only your academic performance in med school matters along with research and ECs in undergrad as well as med school....
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not nearly as much as anything you do in med school, but again, large negative trends could be indicative of your character and your eagerness to always excel
 
Morsetlis said:
Yup.

Nobody's gonna care about your MCAT either ;p
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Okay, so now I'm confused. No care about 4th year undergrad, no caring about MCAT, what do med schools care about? I think I'm getting worried for nothing at this point.:oops:
 
A couple thoughts:

Undergrad GPA may be brought up if you apply for research programs as a med student.

MCAT may be requested by specific residency programs. Only 1 (Mayo) of the 76 that I applied to asked for this.

Both may come up for scholarship applications or if you try to transfer.

I can't think of any other situations.
 
thesauce said:
A couple thoughts:

Undergrad GPA may be brought up if you apply for research programs as a med student.

MCAT may be requested by specific residency programs. Only 1 (Mayo) of the 76 that I applied to asked for this.

Both may come up for scholarship applications or if you try to transfer.

I can't think of any other situations.
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QFT

Think of it like how Washington University in STL asks for your ACT/SAT. It won't have much weight of course, but at least there's some importance to maintaining GPA stability.
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
QFT

Think of it like how Washington University in STL asks for your ACT/SAT. It won't have much weight of course, but at least there's some importance to maintaining GPA stability.
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Get a life.
 
And posting 8 times on a thread simply to terrify the OP who has a real question does? Go ahead and say your point was legitimate, but please don't venture that what you've been saying on this topic has not been overkill.
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
it speaks very poorly of your character and perseverance, to say the least. Again, huge downward trends are red flags on your CV. PD's will see this on your ERAS, as well as your MCAT score. I'd recommend trying as hard as you possibly can to bring them up to A-. Please, no C's or B-'s.
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While you have already been mildly denigrated in this thread, I just want to clearly call BS on this statement. If you have ANY tiny iota of evidence whatsoever that undergraduate grades have any effect on residency applications, please post it. If you don't, please shut up.
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
it speaks very poorly of your character and perseverance, to say the least. Again, huge downward trends are red flags on your CV. PD's will see this on your ERAS, as well as your MCAT score. I'd recommend trying as hard as you possibly can to bring them up to A-. Please, no C's or B-'s.
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Unbelievable. Here's to you and your unwavering character and perseverance
 
Forget about residency applications.

The more serious problem is med schools rescinding acceptances. For example, I was told by the dean of admission at U of Miami that every year he ends up having to withdraw at least one offer of acceptance after seeing the student's final transcript. U of Miami is not at all unique in this regard. Most schools I know of require a copy of the final transcript before matriculation. There's a reason for that.

Take-home lesson: "getting in" doesn't mean it's time for constant all-out partying for the rest of the year.
 
ishchayill said:
Forget about residency applications.

The more serious problem is med schools rescinding acceptances. For example, I was told by the dean of admission at U of Miami that every year he ends up having to withdraw at least one offer of acceptance after seeing the student's final transcript. U of Miami is not at all unique in this regard. Most schools I know of require a copy of the final transcript before matriculation. There's a reason for that.

Take-home lesson: "getting in" doesn't mean it's time for constant all-out partying for the rest of the year.
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Not because of B-'s or even C's, though. And you're right, but it's a false dichotomy. The OP sounds like they've slacked off a bit, that's all. They're not engaged in "constant all-out partying."
 
KeyzerSoze said:
While you have already been mildly denigrated in this thread, I just want to clearly call BS on this statement. If you have ANY tiny iota of evidence whatsoever that undergraduate grades have any effect on residency applications, please post it. If you don't, please shut up.
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I do. Look above.
 
Undergraduate grades most definitely do not show up on residency applications.
 
ishchayill said:
Forget about residency applications.

The more serious problem is med schools rescinding acceptances. For example, I was told by the dean of admission at U of Miami that every year he ends up having to withdraw at least one offer of acceptance after seeing the student's final transcript. U of Miami is not at all unique in this regard. Most schools I know of require a copy of the final transcript before matriculation. There's a reason for that.

Take-home lesson: "getting in" doesn't mean it's time for constant all-out partying for the rest of the year.
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really? most acceptance letters just require you to mantain a C average, a few B and C's are just fine.
 
PranBobbyJohnny said:
not nearly as much as anything you do in med school, but again, large negative trends could be indicative of your character and your eagerness to always excel
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oh please. it's just senioritis and it seems to happen at every level of education. You see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know where you are going and you take it easy. Every fourth year student I have met is slacking his or her way toward the finish line, there is nothing wrong with their character they are just getting ready to move on.
 
that guy rode his high horse right up my ass
 
amph119 said:
Undergraduate grades most definitely do not show up on residency applications.
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Matter-of-factly posting without knowledge doesnt help anyone. Your GPA very well may show up.

For instance, it is commonly included in your dean's letter. It was for friend of mine and he said it was brought up at many of his interviews for a competitive specialty.

Also, if you get a special honor (i.e. Summa cum Laude), it can be snuck in next to your major. You could voluntarily specify your GPA there too, if you wanted, although it might look tacky.
 
thesauce said:
Matter-of-factly posting without knowledge doesnt help anyone. Your GPA very well may show up.

For instance, it is commonly included in your dean's letter. It was for friend of mine and he said it was brought up at many of his interviews for a competitive specialty.

Also, if you get a special honor (i.e. Summa cum Laude), it can be snuck in next to your major. You could voluntarily specify your GPA there too, if you wanted, although it might look tacky.
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I mean in the sense that no one is going to see or care about a "trend." At most you will see 3.xx. And no one will care about it anyway.
 
FlowRate said:
You're exceptionally e-belligerent.
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I guess so, but no other thread on factors that PD's look at gives the slightest mention of undergrad GPA.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=707205&highlight=factors+for+residency+application

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=293671

http://www.hcpro.com/RES-238870-294...when-prescreening-candidate-applications.html

There's also that published list of 14 or so things floating around out there, but I couldn't find it. Yes I'm in undergrad, but I won't be for much longer. I'm sure there's plenty I've yet to learn and my attitude will change with experience.

All you three have done in this thread, though, is lean on your status as medical students without offering any background info to the topic at hand besides your limited personal experience.
 
Looking at an example of my Dean's Letter right now. There is no mention of undergrad grades or GPA, just major and where you went. Perhaps it is different at other schools, but undergrad grades to residency are analogous to high school grades to medical school.
 
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