Explaining grade drops in PS

[anbuitachi]

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Hi in one of my 6 semesters of college, my gpa dropped to 3.45 because i was sick during exams. However the rest of my gpa are around 3.9 . I want to explain this somewhere but I think the only place they allow that is in the PS?

however, i can't seem to fit this random topic into my personal statement without it seeming out of place... any suggestions on how to fit this in? Do you guys even think it's important to put it in?

 

[KPCOFGS]

I know what you mean. After tying together the story about why you want to be a doctor, it's hard to suddenly turn to really practical stuff like GPA. Without knowing the structure of your PS, my inclination would be to do it maybe as the penultimate paragraph, with something like "As I've worked toward this goal, ..." and then segue into challenges. Then you can use the last paragraph to remind them of how great you are. 😀 But then again that's just one option, and maybe it doesn't work for what you did.

 

[ronaldo23]

Forget it. It would be one thing to explain a massive drop in GPA for a semester due to some serious personal issues, but a 3.45 for one semester is hardly worth wasting space on your PS to explain (or anywhere on your app). Think about it: at best, you succesfully explain to an adcom why your overall GPA is only a 3.8+ rather than a 3.9, and at worst you come across as a grade grubber who doesn't have his priorities right. Coming up with a compelling PS unrelated to this will help your app much more...

 

[addo]

There are many people with a 3.45 or less cgpa that get in.... explaining yourself why you dropped to 3.45 during one semester will not do any good in your personal statement.

 

[anbuitachi]

oh, ok thanks for the responses!! i'll not mention it!