High Engineering GPA, keep it up or venture for more?

[Whirl]

Hey all.

I am a Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Major at a fairly respectable school.
My current overall GPA is 3.96+ and major GPA is 3.90+.
I have most of the common Pre-Med requirements out of the way, except for 2 Biology classes which I will complete this Fall (Organismal and Cell Biology). I might need to take an additional writing-intensive class, but I am not worried about that.
Although I've received an AP credit for Gen Chem 1, my major being Chemical Engineering allowed me to compensate for it.
On a side note, I am currently doing a research project on-campus for a couple of months and volunteering at a relatively big hospital.

With that being said, would it be wise to keep the GPA higher than 3.90 by the time I submit my AMCAS? Or does it really not matter at that level? I feel like I need to slow down at this point and rejuvenate myself.
I would like to do an internship by taking a gap semester and try to enjoy the last phase of my college life. Argh.. guess not I still need to study for MCAT!
What are some unique opportunities out there that I can do to strengthen my CV?

Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[GrapesofRath]

The problem isn't if your grades fall this year and you end up graduating with say a 3.82 this year instead of a 3.96. It's the downward trend that will be created if you don't keep up the focus you have so far and your GPA starts declining; and downward trends are very bad things to have come application time that should be avoided. Now if your schedule allows you to ease up a little bit in terms of requirements and not have the same ridiculous courseloads ChemE's have soph-junior year when you are a senior then yeah go for it.

As for boosting your resume the key things are a) clinical exposure b) volunteering experience to demonstrate altruism. Any clinical job can help alot with this as can really getting involved with some organizations for volunteering and the work they do. A thing in particular worth looking at is hospice work and really volunteering for those in greatest need.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I generally concur with that, though I would say that a 3.8 GPA or higher during senior year will not be a killer, especially if the grade drop is due to additional time spent on ECs. Perhaps considering keeping the grades high, considering a gap year focusing on something altruistic, volunteering, etc, may work better for this candidate who, at least academically, appears to be a strong applicant

Well my point was if the OP's overall GPA goes from 3.96 to say 3.83 at the end of senior year that won't mean they have a 3.8 senior year GPA. A 3.96 with a 3.55 or something senior year is what it would take to drop it to 3.83 overall and I think the 3.55 would stand out. It wouldn't be lethal or anything, but it's not something you want to have on your application.

And the other key thing here is when people start thinking they can lighten up a little bit(which maybe the OP was implying) and start taking things less seriously the drop in their GPA is often bigger than they think as a result. A 3.95 student might think I can put less effort than I need and still get a 3.8 but in reality that drop in effort and concentration leads to something a good bit lower than a 3.8 for that year.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Hence why I generally occurred with you, with the OP being an over achiever, he/she may consider a 3.75 major slacking off

Very true and worth pointing out as well.

 

[partypantss]

Hey all.

I am a Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Major at a fairly respectable school.
My current overall GPA is 3.96+ and major GPA is 3.90+.
I have most of the common Pre-Med requirements out of the way, except for 2 Biology classes which I will complete this Fall (Organismal and Cell Biology). I might need to take an additional writing-intensive class, but I am not worried about that.
Although I've received an AP credit for Gen Chem 1, my major being Chemical Engineering allowed me to compensate for it.
On a side note, I am currently doing a research project on-campus for a couple of months and volunteering at a relatively big hospital.

With that being said, would it be wise to keep the GPA higher than 3.90 by the time I submit my AMCAS? Or does it really not matter at that level? I feel like I need to slow down at this point and rejuvenate myself.
I would like to do an internship by taking a gap semester and try to enjoy the last phase of my college life. Argh.. guess not I still need to study for MCAT!
What are some unique opportunities out there that I can do to strengthen my CV?

Thanks.

I would say that depends on your EC's. Obviously you have the grades, so if you feel that your EC's could be stronger then I would probably suggest working more outside of school even if it translates to a grade drop. Now, you don't want to completely slack on school senior year.. I would say still shoot for 3.75+ but that should free up more time for other things, since that allows for a B+ and a couple A-'s. Depending on what kind of experience you need you should consider volunteering in a hospice or hospital, maybe shadowing on top of that, non-medical related community service (like soup kitchen, local programs, working with needy children etc..) or something else. Try to find something you actually enjoy.

This should still allow you more time to relax, since most of these volunteer activities are very small time commitments. Hell, I volunteered for a hospice where they only had me come in two times a month.. But then I did that for 4+ semesters, so it added up.