Medical Does being a TA help make up for low gpa (coupled with upward trend, average MCAT)

[TheBoneDoctah]

3.65 cgpa, 3.52 sgpa, 514 MCAT (126/130/128/130)
Had rough sophomore year but strong upward trend since then.

I know numbers are first and foremost, and my upward trend and MCAT is the only thing that can slightly make up for my science Cs, but would TAing for classes also help? I'm TAing for genetics this summer (got a B in it as a freshman) and biochem in the fall (got an A, was part of my upward trend).

Not gonna "make up" for it...but your GPA isn't horrible. I think you should get some looks if you apply smart and the rest of your app is good.

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[GoSpursGo]

Not gonna "make up" for it...but your GPA isn't horrible. I think you should get some looks if you apply smart and the rest of your app is good.

This. Nothing makes up for low numbers, but thankfully yours aren’t that low anyways

 

[GoSpursGo]

Unfortunately I'm in Texas and stats have hiked up across all TMDSAS schools. I'm below the 25th percentile for almost all MD schools but appreciate the advice! I'm just trying to make my app as polished as possible at this point

Yeah, but then by definition 25% of their classes are filled with people below the 25th percentile, and while it was a while ago I'm familiar with the process in Texas You should include the DO schools as well.

But to directly answer your question, I think TAing is more or less irrelevant. Do it if you need the money or if you like teaching or if it'll solidify an LOR from a professor. But the best way to make those poor grades fade is more good grades to solidify your upward trend.

 

[Goro]

I'm never impressed with because it means that you didn't get off campus and out of your comfort zone.

 

[Goro]

Is this in regards to TAing? It's only a small portion of my app, more than half of my experiences are off campus through volunteering. I signed up for it to strengthen a LOR if I end up reapplying, but was just wondering if it could help my academic history as well, which I now know it won't

My comment was motivated bye seeing tons of what are my chances posts where people have tons of on the campus activities, including TAing.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

The DO school in Texas is one of the strong ones! Apply there for sure!