Has anyone who had less than a 2.0 GPA at one point ever been accepted?ver

Get Your Med School Admissions Questions Answered!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
K

Kape1one

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Hey SDN,

First of all, happy holidays.......and finals week!


Just out of curiosity, have there ever been cases when a student had less than a 2.0 GPA at one point in their undergrad education, but still ended up gaining an acceptance?

This came to mind because I was talking with a friend about medical school admissions. He told me that students who ever received less than a 2.0 GPA at one point where never going to get an acceptance, but I told him that there must be cases where students do gain an acceptance if they bring their game up.

BTW. I do not have below a 2.0 GPA. I was just wondering if it was still possible to gain acceptance to an MD or DO school.

What about less than a 1.0 GPA?

Do you guys know of any of those success stories?

Thanks!
Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I had a 1.71 at one point. Nearly 30 credits. That was a long time ago. That's not who I am now. I have years of 3.96 GPA. I am doing the Texas Fresh Start program. I know that I will be accepted. I've done everything I need to prove that the person I was a lifetime ago, was wholly different than the accomplished scholar I am today. I know I am not there yet, so you may view this as premature, but I am that confident that I am in a good place. I will make sure to post something after my acceptance comes.
 
I know that somebody with a 1.81 was waitlisted last year... the school accepted GPAs ranging from 2.5-4.0. (And rejected somebody with a 42 MCAT!?!?!?)
 
I had a 2.0 after three years of college (83 hours), then earned a 3.98 in my following 149 hours.

Got accepted in September, EDP (MD).
 
Never dipped below a 2.5 cumulative, but I had a 1.7 in my last semester as an engineering major. My upward trend and 32 MCAT got people to at least glance at my app before tossing it in the incinerator. A very strong 2-year DIY postbac along with steady clinical volunteering got me an interview. Undaunted by my second rejection I reapplied EDP this year and... got in! What really put me over the top were the connections I made while volunteering. A rec letter from someone known and respected by an admissions committee is priceless. A rec letter written immediately after they rejected you despite the first letter, doubly so.

Reading some of your other posts it sounds like your ER work will really pay off. Assuming the hospital is affiliated with a med school then the department head will be very familiar to everyone important at that school. If the numbers aren't on your side then you need to find people who are. And when you find a good volunteer niche, stick with it no matter what you have to do. That's the best advice I can give as a fixer-upper.

Oh, that and study as if the rest of your life depends on it, because it does... :luck:
 
I had a 0.7 in one important science class the quarter before I graduated. This brought my cumulative GPA down by >0.1; I got accepted by several DO schools. I got 2 MD interviews, but I rejected post interview, and the other interview I decided not to attend.
 
BrandNewDay said:
I know that somebody with a 1.81 was waitlisted last year... the school accepted GPAs ranging from 2.5-4.0. (And rejected somebody with a 42 MCAT!?!?!?)
Click to expand...

Well that, rejected 42 MCAT, could be a withdrawal.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Bl4ckout said:
Who knows man, they could have had a DUI or something.
Click to expand...

There's an infamous case at my school of a guy two years ago with a 3.9/41 who got about 15 interviews, was too socially awkward, and did not get a single acceptance. I think he reapplied and is at upenn now though. That's where the 10% comes from with the 40+/4.0 who get rejected. People who can't even hold a conversation, med schools would never accept a 4.0/45 if talking to that person makes you feel ill, and about 10% of the 40+/4.0 crowd is that way I would guess.
 
Bl4ckout said:
but don't they also include the near-caribbean standard puerto rican schools? I'm sure this student went to san bautista or ponce.
Click to expand...
Or he/she could be an Olympic gold-medalist, a Navy seal or the dean's child.
 
Kape1one said:
Hey SDN,

First of all, happy holidays.......and finals week!


Just out of curiosity, have there ever been cases when a student had less than a 2.0 GPA at one point in their undergrad education, but still ended up gaining an acceptance?

This came to mind because I was talking with a friend about medical school admissions. He told me that students who ever received less than a 2.0 GPA at one point where never going to get an acceptance, but I told him that there must be cases where students do gain an acceptance if they bring their game up.

BTW. I do not have below a 2.0 GPA. I was just wondering if it was still possible to gain acceptance to an MD or DO school.

What about less than a 1.0 GPA?

Do you guys know of any of those success stories?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I had a 1.5 in 10 credits and a 1.9 in 14 credits and now I've got 3 MD acceptances and 2 pending interviews. So, it's possible you just have to show an extreme upward trend and show that it's not the norm. Again going below a 3.0 let alone a 2.0 is not ideal at all and no one should test the water. Obviously try to stay > 3.5 even if it takes studying day and night literally.
 
Thanks everyone for responding!

Some of these posts are very inspiring!
 
I feel at my school that each GPA bracket has their own personalities with very rare exceptions. 3.7s,3.8-3.9, 4.0s each have their own tendencies...and have met so many with absolutely no common sense.
 
r1d1 said:
If you look at MSAR, 10% applicants with 3.9+/39+ don't go anywhere. As LizzyM says, lack of social skills can ruin your opportunities.
Click to expand...

It's not so much about a lack of social skills as it is poorly hidden arrogance. There will be members of the 4.0/40 crowd rejected every single year. Why? Because they show up on interview day with an air of entitlement, expecting the school to sell itself to them rather than vice versa. Like they are doing the school a favor showing up to the interview. Or they only apply to the top 10 programs. Or their personal statements/essays sound too much like they are taking a victory lap, patting themselves on the back for being so awesome. In the interviews they probably said all the right things, but inevitably rubbed someone, be it the program coordinator, the student tour guide, one of their own LOR writers, or even the med school receptionist/secretary the wrong way. We've had a couple of people who seemed to fit this bill on SDN over the years, who had crazy high numbers, applied to a very small number of the top ranked places, and ended up eating crow and falling to substantially lower ranked places as reapplicants. It's a lot like the NFL draft -- every now and then someone whose college stats project them to be a super star will fall out of the first round because of work ethics, attitude or off field "activity". Med school isn't all that different in deciding who is a good fit. The genius who is humble often does better than the genius with an attitude.
 
Kape1one said:
Hey SDN,

First of all, happy holidays.......and finals week!


Just out of curiosity, have there ever been cases when a student had less than a 2.0 GPA at one point in their undergrad education, but still ended up gaining an acceptance?

This came to mind because I was talking with a friend about medical school admissions. He told me that students who ever received less than a 2.0 GPA at one point where never going to get an acceptance, but I told him that there must be cases where students do gain an acceptance if they bring their game up.

BTW. I do not have below a 2.0 GPA. I was just wondering if it was still possible to gain acceptance to an MD or DO school.

What about less than a 1.0 GPA?

Do you guys know of any of those success stories?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You could potentially start with a 2.0 undergrad GPA but have a 4.0 in postbac and SMP and maybe graduate degrees with top scores and strong research and get taken very seriously. It's better to start out with a high undergrad GPA, but there's really no shortage of stories of folks who took time off to do something else and then came back and repaired their numbers over several years and got in. Med school won't always hold it against you that you weren't much of a student at 20 if you can put together a good track record that shows you are a classroom superstar at 30.
 
I agree with you 110% Law2Doc. I can think of a person that I go to school with who has a near flawless GPA and EC's but his attitude is atrocious and I have a feeling it's going to hurt him in the end.

I remember him atempting to tell me that I couldn't be a chem major because he felt that my algebra skills were poor. He'd never seen me do math and on top of that he was a psych major. Wtf? I avoid him like the plague now and if he is around, I ignore his crap. He clearly has some deep seeded issues.
 
My first semester: 1.3
My second semester: broke the 2.0 barrier, but still got a D in one class.
Result: accepted.

Obviously it's a hell of a lot easier to recover from a sub-2.0 at the beginning of one's academic career than a sub-2.0 towards the end!
 
Though these posts were 4 years ago, they seem reassuring. My first two years of college I was immature and almost died my first semester too (well technically I did die but for a few seconds) . but it was like this: first semester was a 1.2 gpa (almost died of alcohol poisioning, but from then on im afraid of alcohol beverages); 2nd semester 2.7gpa, 3rd 1.82 gpa :/; 4th 2.1 gpa. I understand that I basically need to study my ass off and pull 3.8+ till I graduate (which is in 2.5 years). Actions speak louder than words, I learned from my mistakes in the past and will definitely work harder this coming future and will make it to MD (hopefully) after I graduate.
 
gonnif said:
Dealing with non-trads for 15 years now, I have seen absolutely original UG GPAs who move on to accomplished something professional and then go back to school for PB or SMP, do well, and get in. So overall GPA may be hovering around 2.0 but the most recent 45 credits or so are great with good MCAT.
Click to expand...
Are the credit hours per fresh/soph etc glanced at?
I have a crap uGPA up to junior year, but my senior year is 65 credits of 3.8s 3.87c. Worried it will be overlooked and taken as just 1 year of classes instead of 2 years thrown into the senior grid
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ijustwannasaveppl
Accepted at a school but missing one pre-req?
Replies
5
Views
895
deleted929944
D
thinklikeaproton733
How should I explain less than stellar grades due to undiagnosed ADHD?
Replies
10
Views
543
LindaAccepted
LindaAccepted
P
Updating on a publication that has been accepted but not actually published yet?
Replies
1
Views
909
toastedbutter
toastedbutter
E
How do you reconcile ambition with the reality of performance/being a less than perfect human?
Replies
8
Views
815
anyonecandoctor
anyonecandoctor
I
Anyone who attends or attended Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola?
Replies
3
Views
1K
wysdoc
wysdoc
Top