GPA and personal statement

[adam17]

---

Members don't see this ad.

My GPA is one of my obstacles for getting accepted into medical school. I had a bad first year due to a lack of maturity and confidence, but I have improved ever year and have come out with a 3.1 GPA. Would it be important to address my low GPA in the personal comments section or should I save this experience of overcoming my maturity, and learning how to strive for success, for my secondaries?

I feel that if I explained my low GPA and what I learned from that experience in the primary personal statement, this will improve my chances of getting my application reviewed my adcom. What are your thoughts?

 

[cge0]

...

 

[wjean]

.

 

[KLycos]

Unfortunately during my sophomore year I got multiple Cs in my premed courses. I had a ton of family issues going on: during the span of three weeks, my parents decided to get a divorce, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and the following week lost her job. All unrelated- but pretty crappy nonetheless. Needless to say I was pretty pre-occupied with home stuff.

Should I bother including this in my secondary apps where they ask for "additional info you'd like for us to know"? Or would it sound like I was just making excuses for poor grades?

I had basically the same thing happen to me; In the span of like a month my dad lost his job, which prompted us to have to sell our house, which prompted my parents to split up over money issues, which then prompted me to almost not be able to finish my last year of school...totally collapsed during my finals and my grades were noticeably worse that semester.

 

[BeachBlondie]

Do not draw more attention than necessary to the pitfalls of your academic history. Always ALWAYS highlight the good aspects.

Think of it like a first date: Would you want to sit across the dinner table from someone trying to explain why they didn't do well in previous relationships, or the family issues that they've dealt with? No. You want to learn about their passions, interests, and what makes them unique. You're selling yourself as a product to these adcoms; don't sell yourself short.

And, this, is coming from me: my father was diagnosed with cancer the FIRST WEEK of me taking my first pre-reqs. His disease was so aggressive that he had surgery every few weeks until he lost his entire left arm. The doctors said that there is nothing more they can do if it comes back. Did my grades suffer? Sure. But, I don't plan on mentioning this unless SPECIFICALLY ASKED.

 

[adam17]

would it be OK to say something like, my increasing trend in grades reflect my discipline and work ethic, etc?

 

[V5RED]

Isn't 3.1 a typical GPA for someone who wants to apply to a SMP or does post bacc undergraduate classes to improve his GPA, not someone who actually gets into medical school without extra work?

 

[Astarael]

would it be OK to say something like, my increasing trend in grades reflect my discipline and work ethic, etc?

This is a tricky thing to discuss in a PS. If there's a really significant factor in your first year in college that caused you have bad grades, but then you turned it around afterwards, it makes a compelling story. It sounds to me like you just weren't ready for college though, and I'm not sure how that will look. If that is the case, my recommendation would be to leave it out and let your GPA trend speak for itself.

Now, if the reason you turned your GPA around is because that was the point at which you decided to pursue medicine, I think you could work it in. You should never cast anything in a negative light, though. Don't say, "I did poorly because I was immature," instead say, "With a newfound purpose in my life, I found classes easier and this was reflected in my GPA."

Isn't 3.1 a typical GPA for someone who wants to apply to a SMP or does post bacc undergraduate classes to improve his GPA, not someone who actually gets into medical school without extra work?

Yes. The chances of being admitted with a 3.1 are pretty low.

 

[BlkQueen]

Depends on what type of school youre applying to IMO...If youre applying to a school that sees nothing but 3.8+ with 40+Mcats..Then Godspeed. But if youre applying to a school with a lower range, I suppose you could briefly explain that without really explaining it. IE talk about life struggles and hurdles youve come across during your undergrad career and how thats improved your character and overall well being

 

[StoicJosher]

would it be OK to say something like, my increasing trend in grades reflect my discipline and work ethic, etc?

Yes. Don't go ahead and explain why you got the bad grades but show them that your grades improved over time. If at the interviews they ask you why you had bad grades, you can give them the whole story.

Also, with a 3.1 GPA, it is still hard to get into medical school. I hope you have a lot of EC's and a good MCAT score 32+. That will help tremendously. Applying sensibly and broadly will help as well.

 

[V5RED]

I looked into other threads you have here.

According to your post history you took the MCAT 3 times and the best you got was 28.

You also already applied with your stats and got universally rejected. Why do you think it would be any different if you apply again without improving your GPA?

I don't think you will ever get into an MD school.

Maybe you can get into a DO school if you do enough retakes, but you might just want to look into another career. (edit: If this comes off as derogatory toward DO schools, it is unintentional.)

You posted that you are working on a masters in another thread. Why not pursue that field as a career?

 

[adam17]

I like doing research, but I also want to help people at a personal level and take on leadership roles in the community.
The main difference between last time I applied, is now I have a Masters under my belt.

 

[upchurch]

I think it would be be best for you to not talk about your GPA directly in your PS. However, you can talk about how the challenges you have faced have made you stronger.

And, I think admissions is a great deal of luck. No one can say that you won't be able to get into med school with your GPA. There are many people accepted with your GPA. But, you also have to be prepared if you don't get in and start thinking about post bac or an SMP. Good luck!