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*sigh*
I was wondering if I should (and if it would help) to explain my GPA to admission committees. In my future application and now in LOIs I'm sending out.
Let me explain in detail and see what you think:
I started college in an accelerated 2yr premed program. So I took all the prereqs in the first two years of college. Meaning my transcript is calculus/bio/gchem/phys/ochem/psych/biochem for the first two years. In addition to medical eithics, neuroscience, immunology, and one literature course.
The first four semesters GPA are roughly: 2.8, 3.2, 3.6, 3.1.
Throughout I had great time/work management but the worst work ethic. Bs were my no-effort grade and the extra effort to get As were not worth the reward of A. For the first two semesters.
By the third I learned and worked to get As and did, straight As and one B in neuroscience.
Then things messed up in the fourth semseter: First, I went through a breakup after ~2.5 yrs. I know, everyone, or a lot of us, have had this experience and you know how it sucks everything out of you. But also my dad lost his job and my sister's college shut down her program, so my whole family was in limbo. We had only moved 4 years before that.
So all in all, I left the program (part by choice and part forced to) and transferred to the USA to continue undergrad.
Over the next year my GPAs in range: 3.5, 3.5.
Needless to say, I was depressed and was trying to use studying as an outlet and it was working only slightly. At the end of the year, mostly due to college expenses with dad loosing job, I had to transfer again to a cheaper in-state school.
Over the last 3 semesters of my education GPAs: 3.7+, 3.7+, 3.3.
The last semester was a single course, and I'm averaging in summer courses to fall semester gpas.
The biggest issue is that 75% of my courses in first 3 years are strictly science, and prereqs practically all in the first 2 years. I had to repeat some introductory biology courses at my final institution, but that's it.
Now, I don't want to come up with excuses for myself because I think in all honesty I might have been able to do better even under the circumstances of moving to new location all the time and dealing with finding a new place, getting heating fixed, being away from family, parents having to move after dad's job loss, etc.
If I'm being honest to you and to myself, I think if things were a little less stressful I would have used to spare energy to enjoy myself, travel, workout, play computer games, etc than to focus more on my studies. So, knowing that, I feel irresponsible and deceitful if I were to try and explain the initial dip in my GPA and slow rise after that to the circumstances.
Still, would it be better to and should I try and explain off my low gpa or just sigh it off and try to make up for it in other parts of my application?
PS AMCAS cgpa 3.4 BCPM 3.22.
PSS I am planning on attending post-bach program at either VCU or Drexel. Have position held with Drexel and applied to VCU.
I was wondering if I should (and if it would help) to explain my GPA to admission committees. In my future application and now in LOIs I'm sending out.
Let me explain in detail and see what you think:
I started college in an accelerated 2yr premed program. So I took all the prereqs in the first two years of college. Meaning my transcript is calculus/bio/gchem/phys/ochem/psych/biochem for the first two years. In addition to medical eithics, neuroscience, immunology, and one literature course.
The first four semesters GPA are roughly: 2.8, 3.2, 3.6, 3.1.
Throughout I had great time/work management but the worst work ethic. Bs were my no-effort grade and the extra effort to get As were not worth the reward of A. For the first two semesters.
By the third I learned and worked to get As and did, straight As and one B in neuroscience.
Then things messed up in the fourth semseter: First, I went through a breakup after ~2.5 yrs. I know, everyone, or a lot of us, have had this experience and you know how it sucks everything out of you. But also my dad lost his job and my sister's college shut down her program, so my whole family was in limbo. We had only moved 4 years before that.
So all in all, I left the program (part by choice and part forced to) and transferred to the USA to continue undergrad.
Over the next year my GPAs in range: 3.5, 3.5.
Needless to say, I was depressed and was trying to use studying as an outlet and it was working only slightly. At the end of the year, mostly due to college expenses with dad loosing job, I had to transfer again to a cheaper in-state school.
Over the last 3 semesters of my education GPAs: 3.7+, 3.7+, 3.3.
The last semester was a single course, and I'm averaging in summer courses to fall semester gpas.
The biggest issue is that 75% of my courses in first 3 years are strictly science, and prereqs practically all in the first 2 years. I had to repeat some introductory biology courses at my final institution, but that's it.
Now, I don't want to come up with excuses for myself because I think in all honesty I might have been able to do better even under the circumstances of moving to new location all the time and dealing with finding a new place, getting heating fixed, being away from family, parents having to move after dad's job loss, etc.
If I'm being honest to you and to myself, I think if things were a little less stressful I would have used to spare energy to enjoy myself, travel, workout, play computer games, etc than to focus more on my studies. So, knowing that, I feel irresponsible and deceitful if I were to try and explain the initial dip in my GPA and slow rise after that to the circumstances.
Still, would it be better to and should I try and explain off my low gpa or just sigh it off and try to make up for it in other parts of my application?
PS AMCAS cgpa 3.4 BCPM 3.22.
PSS I am planning on attending post-bach program at either VCU or Drexel. Have position held with Drexel and applied to VCU.
