How do you explain a B?

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rikibamboo

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Hypothetical question. Though it may be true for some people here. How would you explain getting one or two Bs (if two, it was during two separate semesters) out of all your As to an interview committee? Is there an ideal answer to that question? Doesn't seem like a question they would ask but single Bs would definitely stick out like a sore thumb if everything else is an A. What if you just screwed up the final or one of the tests? What if there just isn't a good answer to that question beyond not being able to pull your grade up to an A in time?

Not trying to troll. This is an honest-to-god question. My friend mentioned it to me a while ago so I thought of putting it up here for you SDN people to think about.
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honestly... Not a big deal. Chill out a bit! As they say w skiing, if you're not getting Bs you're not trying hard enough! J/k, but seriously, if you' re getting all As all the time, you're probably not taking difficult enough classes.
 
you could opt for a little sarcasm.

"i are not robot."

your answer might not compute if you interview at washu.
 
In English and most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, the letter b denotes the voiced bilabial plosive (/b/), as in bib. In English it is sometimes silent, as in debt or comb (however the 'b' in 'comb' was actually pronounced at one time). In Estonian, Icelandic, and in Chinese transcription, B is not voiced, but is still contrasted to P, which is geminated /pp/ in Estonian and aspirated /pʰ/ in Chinese and Icelandic. In Fijian B is prenasalized IPA: [mb], whereas in Zulu and Xhosa it is implosive IPA: [ɓ], in contrast to the digraph Bh which represents IPA: . Examples can be: Blue; Bubble; Block; Ball; Building.
 
Well, regardless of what you say, you gotta keep your cool. Don't let em know you've been sweating one or two Bs on your transcript.
 
When I interviewed at my current school I got asked about the A minus on my transcript as a joke. :laugh:

(which is the only context a question on A-'s or B's should be asked).
 
Honestly?

I would really not worry about this, all of us have a B or two or four... on our records. If they ask you about it tell em I wanted to try it and see how it felt like.
 
They probably won't ask about it if there's nothing lower than a B and it's mostly A's.
 
rikibamboo said:
Hypothetical question. Though it may be true for some people here. How would you explain getting one or two Bs (if two, it was during two separate semesters) out of all your As to an interview committee? Is there an ideal answer to that question? Doesn't seem like a question they would ask but single Bs would definitely stick out like a sore thumb if everything else is an A. What if you just screwed up the final or one of the tests? What if there just isn't a good answer to that question beyond not being able to pull your grade up to an A in time?

Not trying to troll. This is an honest-to-god question. My friend mentioned it to me a while ago so I thought of putting it up here for you SDN people to think about.
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Are you really this ignorant about the whole process? The average GPA nationwide for M.D. matriculants is 3.63 or so. This clearly demonstrates many applicants have many non-A grades. Applicants aren't perfect and no medical school outside of WashU expects it.
 
DRIN said:
Are you really this ignorant about the whole process? The average GPA nationwide for M.D. matriculants is 3.63 or so. This clearly demonstrates many applicants have many non-A grades. Applicants aren't perfect and no medical school outside of WashU expects it.
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No. Not ignorant. As I said, hypothetical question. Even I don't have grades like that. I know that there's a one in 100000000000000000 chance that adcoms will even care to ask about those things. Just wanted to find out what some people on SDN thought about it.
 
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rikibamboo said:
No. Not ignorant. As I said, hypothetical question. Even I don't have grades like that. I know that there's a one in 100000000000000000 chance that adcoms will even care to ask about those things. Just wanted to find out what some people on SDN thought about it.
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They may ask you to explain a failed class or a bunch of withdrawals.
 
Just tell them you were acing the class and then you tried to divide by zero.
 
a B? are you joking? who cares, I have the task of explaining a D.
 
rikibamboo said:
Hypothetical question. Though it may be true for some people here. How would you explain getting one or two Bs (if two, it was during two separate semesters) out of all your As to an interview committee? Is there an ideal answer to that question? Doesn't seem like a question they would ask but single Bs would definitely stick out like a sore thumb if everything else is an A. What if you just screwed up the final or one of the tests? What if there just isn't a good answer to that question beyond not being able to pull your grade up to an A in time?

Not trying to troll. This is an honest-to-god question. My friend mentioned it to me a while ago so I thought of putting it up here for you SDN people to think about.
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You're human, a B isn't that bad in the big scheme of things, there's more important things in your application to worry about than two B's. They won't stick out like a sore thumb, because sometimes we just have a harder time in a specific class. As long as you do B's or better (majority of them being A-'s or better) in your pre-reqs its not a big deal.
 
They will not ask...

If you mention it you will seem like a total tool.

If I were interviewing you I would tell the committee that you should not be admitted because you would seem too immature to deal with a VERY minor setback and I would have doubts that you could handle a major setback.
 
ZeusonRoids said:
They will not ask...

If you mention it you will seem like a total tool.

If I were interviewing you I would tell the committee that you should not be admitted because you would seem too immature to deal with a VERY minor setback and I would have doubts that you could handle a major setback.
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Exactly what I'm gonna do with my D. I'll explain to them that I had a major obstacle and have since then thrived.
 
Frogmanmike14 said:
Exactly what I'm gonna do with my D. I'll explain to them that I had a major obstacle and have since then thrived.
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Good for you. I think that some minor setbacks can sometimes be a good thing. It shows that you are mature enough to have assessed the situation you found yourself in and made the changes that were required.

Although I am only an M1, I know that there will be WAY more difficult things to deal with than a B through your career in medicine...
 
I will give you a serious answer: just as you would explain any other discrepancy - well, why did it happen? How were the circumstances different that led you to a grade lower than what you normally get? I wouldn't bring up a B unless asked though.
 
ZeusonRoids said:
They will not ask...

If you mention it you will seem like a total tool.

If I were interviewing you I would tell the committee that you should not be admitted because you would seem too immature to deal with a VERY minor setback and I would have doubts that you could handle a major setback.
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100% correct. Don't bring this kind of thing up. You only have to explain grades lower than B-. If you answer the question of "What was your greatest challenge in undergrad?" with "well, I got a B once, but was able to get over it and move on", you will seem like a gunner, and a lot of schools will reject you for it. They don't want gunners in their classes just as much as you don't.
 
Wow, you guys are (a) much nicer and (b) much lamer, than the SDNers in my cycle (2007-2008).

We woulda ripped this guy a new one for asking such a stupid, self-serving question.

In fact, I opened the thread just for the thrill of watching the kill. Very disappointing, my friends.

The app cycle is very long folks, and SDN is a good place to blow off steam and get a laugh or two.

You guys take yourselves way too seriously. Lighten up and "enjoy" the ride. You got some big hills and curves ahead of you. It's AUGUST!!!

How about the guy last cycle "onlyneedoneyes" i believe he called himself. He had a 3.9/39 and didn't get any acceptances until like, April. And he was a very frequent poster, so we all watched every second of his pain.

I think he ended up getting into Pitt. Go check out some of his posts.

Hey, maybe he couldn't explain that B. I am sure that was it.
 
Just say that you were having personal/family issues at the time and that you tried your hardest but that's just the grade you got.
 
Wish I had to explain Bs. Instead I'm stuck with explaining Cs. In biology and organic. It will be a miracle if I get an acceptance.
 
Food said:
Wish I had to explain Bs. Instead I'm stuck with explaining Cs. In biology and organic. It will be a miracle if I get an acceptance.
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that awesome mcat has to account for something! upward gpa trend?
 
thought id come check out the pre-med forums where i havent been in years. to answer your question, it really doesnt matter. once you get an interview we dont care really. Honestly, i take such a cursory glance at the transcript so long as your gpa is good it doesnt matter. that means that i dont care what professor you took it with or what semester you took it or what your grade was. I care what your gpa is. that should be very telling.
 
Trick question.

People with B's don't get interviews!
 
Quix said:
I had two D's and a C in my major. It didn't come up.
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I surely hope for that. Last cycle though, an interviewer asked me "so your MCAT and SAT scores are as high as they get...but your GPA isn't quite up there. Why do you think that is?"

I think I did a mediocre job answering that and the follow up question..."so what else did you do in college?"


MilkmanAl said:
*looks at transcript* I had...uh...a lot of C's in everything and wasn't asked about them. Then again, I only got 1 interview. 😛
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I only had that one interview last cycle too so I'm not surprised I got waitlisted...
 
Ready to roll out. Need a light? Where does it hurt? Stat!
 
Jacked up and good to go. I can't build it, something's in the way. You want another physical?
 
MilkmanAl said:
*looks at transcript* I had...uh...a lot of C's in everything and wasn't asked about them. Then again, I only got 1 interview. 😛
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Congrats on getting in! Your profile is both hilarious and inspiration...👍

I'm still laughing! :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: You know what, I would be happy to get into anywhere too. You can't bee too picky with medical school. It seems that your personality and a little bit of luck is what won them over.

Have fun with anatomy and physio, I hear its killer the first semester!
 
slowbutsteady said:
Wow, you guys are (a) much nicer and (b) much lamer, than the SDNers in my cycle (2007-2008).

We woulda ripped this guy a new one for asking such a stupid, self-serving question.

In fact, I opened the thread just for the thrill of watching the kill. Very disappointing, my friends.

The app cycle is very long folks, and SDN is a good place to blow off steam and get a laugh or two.

You guys take yourselves way too seriously. Lighten up and "enjoy" the ride. You got some big hills and curves ahead of you. It's AUGUST!!!

How about the guy last cycle "onlyneedoneyes" i believe he called himself. He had a 3.9/39 and didn't get any acceptances until like, April. And he was a very frequent poster, so we all watched every second of his pain.

I think he ended up getting into Pitt. Go check out some of his posts.

Hey, maybe he couldn't explain that B. I am sure that was it.
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pitt and washu...suprise, surprise 🙄
 
After they ask you why you got a B:

Stand up and quietly slit your wrists and apologize to the panel. First, for getting a B in college. And secondly, for getting blood on the carpet.
 
Frogmanmike14 said:
a B? are you joking? who cares, I have the task of explaining a D.
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Seriously. If you are getting nearly all A's you probably are at one of those loser schools where everyone gets As and plays with bunnies and rainbows.

Frankly, OP is wasting valuable space on the internet with his stupid question. As I explained already, the internet is not a big truck you dump stuff on, it's a series of tubes.
 
Food said:
I surely hope for that. Last cycle though, an interviewer asked me "so your MCAT and SAT scores are as high as they get...but your GPA isn't quite up there. Why do you think that is?"

I think I did a mediocre job answering that and the follow up question..."so what else did you do in college?"




I only had that one interview last cycle too so I'm not surprised I got waitlisted...
Click to expand...

Did Gessner ask that question? He asked me about why I took 14 credit hours (4 classes + 2 labs) two semesters for the JHMP. I ended up being made the only alternate.
 
rikibamboo said:
Hypothetical question. Though it may be true for some people here. How would you explain getting one or two Bs (if two, it was during two separate semesters) out of all your As to an interview committee? Is there an ideal answer to that question? Doesn't seem like a question they would ask but single Bs would definitely stick out like a sore thumb if everything else is an A. What if you just screwed up the final or one of the tests? What if there just isn't a good answer to that question beyond not being able to pull your grade up to an A in time?

Not trying to troll. This is an honest-to-god question. My friend mentioned it to me a while ago so I thought of putting it up here for you SDN people to think about.
Click to expand...

This does not need an explanation. To do so in any part of your application would get you quickly labled as a whiner.
 
I'm in big trouble I guess. I got a C in finger painting back in grade school; do you think they will ask about that?
 
I would probably say that the B wouldn't stick out so much as a D or a C.

However, if they were to ask about the B, just give them the honest answer; perhaps you did not master the material as well as you should've, or you had some bad studying habits for the class, or to use as an explanation and not an excuse, the professor was a troll who gave out 1 A per class.
 
Quadratic said:
Just tell them you were acing the class and then you tried to divide by zero.
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Atomic%20Bomb.gif
 
Beta Cell said:
Did Gessner ask that question? He asked me about why I took 14 credit hours (4 classes + 2 labs) two semesters for the JHMP. I ended up being made the only alternate.
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Nah, it was a former Dean of the COM. If I had known that I would have probably been a lot more careful with the responses. It wasn't until I walked out of the interview that I saw a giant portrait of him hanging where all those portraits are. Sigh....I am such an idiot.
 
WTF? Are you serious? Tell them you got an 89% instead of your usual 90%. 🙄
 
I have some bad grades. This question is annoying.
 
Last edited:
How do explain a B??????

That's like asking me to explain my entire transcript. :laugh:

OP: If you are worrying about these kind of things, I know you are going to get into a very good school. 👍
 
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