Do med schools care about reasons for bad grades?

[MyNameStitch]

Do med schools consider reasons for bad grades?

Me for example: science GPA and overall GPA were around 3.6-3.7. I got 1 D and 1 C in major science courses my 3rd semester partly due to some medical circumstances (lots of time in doctors office throughout the semester and an infection a few days before those 2 finals - infection didn't get serious because I had medication) which brought down my GPA a lot.

By the time I apply, my science GPA can be a 3.45 and my overall a 3.6. All average ECs aside, do med schools even consider that there was a reason other than poor time management?


Sorry if this question was already asked, I couldn't find a thread for it! And thanks for reading!

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[LizzyM]

did the infection involve an ICU stay or an amputation? If so, you might be cut some slack. If not, it sounds like an excuse. Were either of these courses o-chem?... that seems to be universally the course that most often tanks applicants' GPAs. Keep working hard and hope for the best.

 

[MyNameStitch]

Fortunately the infection didn't involve either of those...one of the courses was o-chem, but I did do better the second time around and am doing all I can to improve my GPA. Thank you so much for answering!

 

[uvache]

Is it bad if the class is ochem? I am in a similar situation.. how much does this hurt us?

If you need background, I have A's in like ~85% of my science classes except for Ochems.

 

[LizzyM]

Is it bad if the class is ochem? I am in a similar situation.. how much does this hurt us?

If you need background, I have A's in like ~85% of my science classes except for Ochems.

If I see an applicant with a gpa that dips in sophomore year and then bounces back I'll bet any other adcom member $5 that the cause was o-chem. I almost never lose.

It is really common & doesn't seem to be deadly to one's chance of admission.

 

[masaraksh]

If I see an applicant with a gpa that dips in sophomore year and then bounces back I'll bet any other adcom member $5 that the cause was o-chem. I almost never lose.

It is really common & doesn't seem to be deadly to one's chance of admission.

What if you see:
Ochem 1 A
Ochem 2 A
Ochem 3 A
Natural product synthesis A
Physical org chem A
synthetic org chem A

 

[LizzyM]

What if you see:
Ochem 1 A
Ochem 2 A
Ochem 3 A
Natural product synthesis A
Physical org chem A
synthetic org chem A

I don't answer hypotheticals.

 

[Goro]

Nope. It's a seller's market, and there are tons of applicants who didn't have bad grades and who didn't make the poor choices of trying to bull their way through a semester while being sick. Your numbers still are competitive; you just have to apply strategically.

Do med schools consider reasons for bad grades?

Me for example: science GPA and overall GPA were around 3.6-3.7. I got 1 D and 1 C in major science courses my 3rd semester partly due to some medical circumstances (lots of time in doctors office throughout the semester and an infection a few days before those 2 finals - infection didn't get serious because I had medication) which brought down my GPA a lot.

By the time I apply, my science GPA can be a 3.45 and my overall a 3.6. All average ECs aside, do med schools even consider that there was a reason other than poor time management?


Sorry if this question was already asked, I couldn't find a thread for it! And thanks for reading!

 

[csx]

Are relationship issues a legitimate excuse for a semester dip in grades? Like say your s/o was having terrible health issues or they were cheating on you or <insert other stressful situation>

 

[MyNameStitch]

Thank you for the response. I don't know if you thought I was trying to use sickness as a selling point but I certainly wasn't. I was genuinely curious as to whether I should bother explaining that though I was doing fine throughout the semester, I bombed two very weighted finals. I understand your point though.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Thank you for the response. I don't know if you thought I was trying to use sickness as a selling point but I certainly wasn't. I was genuinely curious as to whether I should bother explaining that though I was doing fine throughout the semester, I bombed two very weighted finals. I understand your point though.

There are some schools, I remember BU specifically, that have spaces to explain any grades below a B-. That would be the spot, but I wouldn't put it anywhere on the AMCAS primary.