Does senior year grades matter

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

jorge921995

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2015
Messages
92
Reaction score
20
I'm really worried. I messed up my freshman year and ended up with a 2.45 GPA, I got an A in a summer class and got a 2.58, and am most likely going to get an A in my other summer class. According to my math I'll end up with at least a 3.04 by the end of next fall semester. And further math leads me to believe that I can get a 3.5 by the end of my junior year which is when I'll be applying to med school, and that's what's worrying me. It's too low. I'll have a 3.63 by senior year if I keep up my plan, but I don't want to take a gap year. I'm hispanic, if that matters, I don't know if that counts as an URM. So, will med schools take an upward trend into account even if GPA is low?

Members don't see this ad.
 
If you are concerned about your GPA being too low, but it would be alleviated by a gap year (that is, adding your senior ear grades), then you should take a gap year.

Gap year you would rather not take is preferable to forced gap year/reapplication.

Regardless, you're a rising sophomore, so you have time to consider your options.
 
Take a gap year and work.
Your grades will be better and you'll hopefully grow and mature in that year, which will show in interviews.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Just take a gap year (i.e. apply at the end of senior year) so you can include your senior year grades.
 
"Upward trend" is one of med schools top criteria, listed in the same tier as GPA and MCAT themselves. Finish strong and do well on the MCAT and you will be OK.

Finish with a 3.5 and you are all set for DO anyway (with a decent MCAT).
 
So, a strong upward trend can replace a low GPA? I mean, my logic behind it is that, sure someone might have done bad they're freshman year, but imagine getting a 4.0 every semester afterwards? That would be almost the same as someone who has had a 4.0 throughout their whole undergrad.
 
So, a strong upward trend can replace a low GPA? I mean, my logic behind it is that, sure someone might have done bad they're freshman year, but imagine getting a 4.0 every semester afterwards? That would be almost the same as someone who has had a 4.0 throughout their whole undergrad.
No. When med schools say that an upward trend is highly important, they mean that you benefit from an upward trend compared to an equivalent flat trend, not compared to higher flat trends. So a 3.6 composed of a weak freshman year followed by nonstop A's is better than a 3.6 composed of constant A- grades, but it isn't ever going to beat any kind of 3.8-4.0.

A 3.5 even with an upward trend will make for a rough app cycle unless you absolutely kill the MCAT. Not to mention that some classes coming your way like Organic Chem and Biochem cannot be assumed A's or even B's no matter how good your work ethic becomes. You should plan on a gap year as it will most likely be needed, and then can decide to apply earlier than expected if you really do make nothing but A's and get a good MCAT.

PS gap years are often a great choice for letting premeds go abroad for a semester. Semesters abroad tend to be the best semester of college and very much a once in a lifetime experience, so maybe being able to add that in to your college experience will help mitigate the pains of a gap year!
 
So, colleges won't give me chance to prove myself by raising my GPA my senior year, if I apply my junior year?
 
A gap year may be necessary because your GPA will not be competitive for most medical schools by the end of your junior year. It's certainly possible to apply before your senior year and be accepted, but you'd likely need one hell of an MCAT score and a wealth of meaningful ECs completed by the time you apply. That being said, you will also need to prove throughout the next few years that you're a straight A student and that your freshman year doesn't accurately portray your drive and abilities. The classes will get more difficult and you're going to have to work much harder than you have in the past, but you should excel in any class that you take as long as you plan accordingly and remain focused. Good luck.
 
Jorge, I can tell you from experience that upward trends are absolutely taken into account. Some schools will actually only look at your final 30 hours of science classes when comparing applicants. I really fudged up between second semester of freshman and first semester of sophomore year. Nearly failed out. I came back with a 4.0 for the remainder of my undergrad career and I actually think it may have been an advantage in the end. At the least, it gave me something to write about. Show that you learned from it and don't accept anything less from yourself than the very best. It wont hurt you.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Not everyone can afford a semester abroad @efle I hate when people suggest that
 
So, colleges won't give me chance to prove myself by raising my GPA my senior year, if I apply my junior year?

It's not really that. A 3.5 is a decent GPA and if you can accomplish that by end of junior year you will be okay. But it may be even BETTER if you could have an even higher GPA, and one way to do this is to apply after senior year, when your grades will be (presumably) even higher.

If you apply junior year and get good grades senior year, you can obviously update schools - but the grades you apply with are the most important because that's what will likely get you an interview.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So, colleges won't give me chance to prove myself by raising my GPA my senior year, if I apply my junior year?
You can send update letters at winter break to let them know you continued to do well senior fall, or in May to places youre waitlisted, but the critical decisions on who to invite for interviews August-Dec would be based entirely on your GPA at the end of junior year.

And like I said, you can't even safely assume you'll have a 3.5 at that point since the hardest weed out coursework is still ahead of you. Plan on a gap unless you're OK with mainly aiming DO, or risking reapplying, out of impatience.
 
Focus on getting As for one semester before you start calculating where your GPA will be after 4 or 6 of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
When it comes to GPA and medical school, all grades matter. When they say all, they mean all.
 
DO? I've considered it, but I heard specializing is hard.
 
Top