explaining poor gpa on PS

[oburger]

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I finished my undergrad with a not so stellar GPA. Its on the low end of the spectrum. I know that I should mention it in my personal statement.

What is a tactful way of mentioning in the personal statement?

My PS is pretty much done, except for one last paragraph where I should at least explain my crummy GPA.

 

[kenmc3]

I think it depends on your excuse – if you were drunk all the time that’s one thing but if you had a job or some sort of personal tragedy that’s another. Also, if you can demonstrate an upward trend in your GPA that’s also good. But we really need to know the reason for the GPA being low before we can offer a tactful means of communicating it to the ADCOMS.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Yeah - tells us your reason and we'll give you some ideas.

Like mine is far from stellar but I worked 20+ hours a week and supported myself all four years. But all of my employment experiences affected why I want to be a doctor so when I introduced all those experience I simply said that I worked and it affected by GPA but I felt I had done the best I could considering.

Don't dwell on whatever the reason is but casually mention it as best as you can.

 

[cubbbie]

Two questions:

Is your GPA below 3.3?

What is your excuse?

 

[oburger]

I had grades all over the place, with quarters (I had a quarter system, not semester) where I had a GPA of 4.0 to GPA's of 2.5. My average science class I had a B, not great for applying to med school, not to mention that a B- is worth a 2.7

But overall, I guess I had the worst study skills. And I was over ambitious taking the hardest classes possible (eg. engineering level math and OChem for chem majors) . But one of the biggest mistakes was to be over ambitious, yet not meeting regularly with my academic advisor. I probably made the worst choices during school, taking classes I didn't need to bringing down GPA, not recognizing that I needed help (eg. I should have gone to the Learning Skills Center), and not prioritizing my life.

My epiphany during my undergrad was when I met with my "retention coordinator" (yes, it got that bad) who was a person who I really respected. Basically she told me "You're not studying enough, you need to study at least 3 hours per week for each quarter unit you are enrolled for" (15 quarter units = 45 per week studying). I wanted to get up and hug her. She told me the honest truth. I wasn't working nearly hard enough.

So yup, bad study habits, not fessing up to myself that I was in over my head.

 

[HumbleMD]

I had grades all over the place, with quarters (I had a quarter system, not semester) where I had a GPA of 4.0 to GPA's of 2.5. My average science class I had a B, not great for applying to med school, not to mention that a B- is worth a 2.7

But overall, I guess I had the worst study skills. And I was over ambitious taking the hardest classes possible (eg. engineering level math and OChem for chem majors) . But one of the biggest mistakes was to be over ambitious, yet not meeting regularly with my academic advisor. I probably made the worst choices during school, taking classes I didn't need to bringing down GPA, not recognizing that I needed help (eg. I should have gone to the Learning Skills Center), and not prioritizing my life.

My epiphany during my undergrad was when I met with my "retention coordinator" (yes, it got that bad) who was a person who I really respected. Basically she told me "You're not studying enough, you need to study at least 3 hours per week for each quarter unit you are enrolled for" (15 quarter units = 45 per week studying). I wanted to get up and hug her. She told me the honest truth. I wasn't working nearly hard enough.

So yup, bad study habits, not fessing up to myself that I was in over my head.

Hmmm. That seems like an awfully hard story to meaningfully express in less than a paragraph. So your average science GPA is a 3.0? That's not the worst thing in the entire universe but it's going to be quite a hurdle. Also, your explanation seems like a bit of a hard pill to swallow, as there will be plenty of applicants who took O.Chem, etc. (remember, chem majors, and engineers apply to med school too) and pulled it off. If anything, I'd make it sound like a HUGE epiphany with something bigger than "damn, I need to get off my ass and study" and more like "wow, I feel such a calling to medicine that I want to change my whole life and get my act together." RIght now, the description sounds more like the former.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Oooh that is a tough one. The thing is that yes you probably should address it to schools, but saying you didn't study enough really is not a good excuse at all. They won't know whether you can handle the medical school coursework or not. In fact, it may make them feel like you won't be able to.

Depending on how low those bad semesters made your GPA you may want to consider taking a post-bac program to prove you can handle the coursework.

Goodluck.

 

[cubbbie]

If your overall GPA is less than 3.0, it might be wise to take an extra year and do nothing but take science classes. It sounds like you have since learned how to study properly, and if you can go for a whole year as a full-time student and get nothing but A's, you will both give validity to your assertion that you've improved your habits, as well as improve your GPA to make you more competitive. With a GPA less than 3.0, many schools won't even give you a secondary.

 

[redsoxfan]

i know this is prob not what u want to hear, but given a low gpa and how late it is in the application cycle, u might want to save yourself some $ and heartbreak by taking a year off and putting it to good use. its not that u can't get in w/a lower gpa, but your reasons are not anything the adcoms haven't heard before, and more importantly, you are applying way late for someone trying to overcome a hurdle on one aspect of their application. u don't need to spend $40k+ on a post-bac program, per se. u could just as effectively enroll in various upper-level bio undergrad courses at a local state school. those grades will factor in to your AMCAS gpa, as opposed to a grad program, where your grades will be separate from undergrad gpa. best of luck!

 

[Testy McAterson]

whatever you do, do not end your personal statement on a negative note. if you're going to talk about anything negative, make sure you find a way to keep the lasting impression positive. it'd be stupid to spend time making yourself sound like the perfect applicant and end it on a negative note.

 

[mintendo]

I had grades all over the place, with quarters (I had a quarter system, not semester) where I had a GPA of 4.0 to GPA's of 2.5. My average science class I had a B, not great for applying to med school, not to mention that a B- is worth a 2.7

But overall, I guess I had the worst study skills. And I was over ambitious taking the hardest classes possible (eg. engineering level math and OChem for chem majors) . But one of the biggest mistakes was to be over ambitious, yet not meeting regularly with my academic advisor. I probably made the worst choices during school, taking classes I didn't need to bringing down GPA, not recognizing that I needed help (eg. I should have gone to the Learning Skills Center), and not prioritizing my life.

My epiphany during my undergrad was when I met with my "retention coordinator" (yes, it got that bad) who was a person who I really respected. Basically she told me "You're not studying enough, you need to study at least 3 hours per week for each quarter unit you are enrolled for" (15 quarter units = 45 per week studying). I wanted to get up and hug her. She told me the honest truth. I wasn't working nearly hard enough.

So yup, bad study habits, not fessing up to myself that I was in over my head.

Doesn't sound like a legit reason to get bad grades, at least not to me. I wouldn't mention it if I were you.

 

[HumbleMD]

i know this is prob not what u want to hear, but given a low gpa and how late it is in the application cycle, u might want to save yourself some $ and heartbreak by taking a year off and putting it to good use. its not that u can't get in w/a lower gpa, but your reasons are not anything the adcoms haven't heard before, and more importantly, you are applying way late for someone trying to overcome a hurdle on one aspect of their application. u don't need to spend $40k+ on a post-bac program, per se. u could just as effectively enroll in various upper-level bio undergrad courses at a local state school. those grades will factor in to your AMCAS gpa, as opposed to a grad program, where your grades will be separate from undergrad gpa. best of luck!

👍

 

[riceman04]

Yeah - tells us your reason and we'll give you some ideas.

Like mine is far from stellar but I worked 20+ hours a week and supported myself all four years. But all of my employment experiences affected why I want to be a doctor so when I introduced all those experience I simply said that I worked and it affected by GPA but I felt I had done the best I could considering.

Don't dwell on whatever the reason is but casually mention it as best as you can.

Ummmmmmmm...plus you went to Berkely...where being pre-med is hell on earth!

 

[oburger]

Thanks for the advice.

I will have to mention it on my personal statement, otherwise, I'm guessing lots of schools will pretty much put me in their "reject" pile.

I'm still rolling the dice this year, and am still going to apply. I know odds really aren't in my favor, but who knows, I'm hoping for an internal medicine residency and a geriatric fellowship after med school is over (thats if I get in


I guess nothing beats honesty, and since I know there's no excuse for poor performance, at least I can be honest. Sucks, but maybe I should look elsewhere for a career.

 

[Law2Doc]

Doesn't sound like a legit reason to get bad grades, at least not to me. I wouldn't mention it if I were you.

Agree. It's a pretty low percentage play to expect to get into med school based on explaining away relatively recent bad grades with bad study habits. If you were an older nontrad and could say you had significantly changed and matured since then, then maybe. But its a bad move in your (OP's) case. You can mention any upward trend you might have had, if you had one, but I would otherwise stay away from this topic and run for luck. Or perhaps even consider bumping it up with a postbac or extra year of upper level sciences if it's too low to be competitive.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Doesn't sound like a legit reason to get bad grades, at least not to me. I wouldn't mention it if I were you.

I agree too. I graduated undergrad with a sub 3.3 GPA. Alot of things contributed to it, like my approach to learning, the fact that I was an engineer, the fact that my spring semester of junior year ended with 4 upper level engineering finals in one day with no reschedules allowed.

Unless you (OP) have a REALLY compelling excuse, you will just end up sounding like you're making hollow excuses and it's hard to lose the bitter tone. Plus there are probably a bunch of people who chose similar courseloads to yours in the applicant pool and did absolutely great.

If your close grandfather died, or you got raped or sexually assaulted, or things of that magnitude - then you could write about those things in your PS, and write about how you overcame them. They can assume from the experience that you got bad grades, and they'd probably be more interested in how you have developed as a person anyway.

BUT, if its similar to study habits, overloaded my courseload, things like that - it isn't going to fly. Best thing to do is do a post bacc or SMP and ace the **** out of it (thats what I did!), to show you have the potential for med school. That would show them more than a PS filled with empty excuses. The only place I'd really talk about why my GPA is so low is during an interview, if someone asks me, and I'd talk about how my learning skills developed over the years, and so on. But only if someone asked me, otherwise I'd just be pointing to a weakness, and you definitely don't want to do that.

 

[mlcal06]

i don't know if you necessarily have to mention it.. and i would caution it being a paragraph within your PS unless it fits and your PS still is cohesive.

i know the need to explain it (also have a low GPA, with no real reason except that i didn't like the classes for awhile and wasn't motivated) but i think instead it is better to show why you want to go into medicine in your personal statement and what makes you different.

there's always an excuse/reason for this and that. everyone has a story. focus on what makes you stand out.

and don't just give up on medicine if you don't get in now.. there are many ways to go about it, if you want it 🙂

 

[KittycooMD]

what about explaining a B science GPA in your secondaries? Yes you might not get secondaries from some schools but some send to EVERYONE! There are some questions like "is there anything unique about your application that you want us to know?"
Do you guys think the OP could explain the "bad" grades here? That way it's not the focus (i.e., personal statement) but he doesn't wait till the interview, which shows he is aware of his prior weakness and wants to maturely talk about it. I am no expert though since I'm applying this app too, so what do the rest of you think?