Legit poll..I have a genuine question...

[snowballz]

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Did anyone ever have a bad semester with a GPA of about 3.0 and still get into med school?

 

[dukeblue01]

snowballz, I have very keen insight into that situation. I had a bad semester (in core sciences too) and have been accepted to a few med schools. It took an upward trend and hard work, but there is no doubt that you can make it happen. PM me if you want the details. I have had to talk about it plenty in many interviews.

 

[kutastha]

I'm wondering since when a 3.0 was considered a 'bad' semster?

 

[Nikki]

I had a 2.0 spring quarter of my sophomore year (of which I was taking orgo and physics) and I have been accepted to 4 schools so far. As long as you can convince them that it wasn't a normal thing and it won't happen again, they are cool with it. Also, if you make it seem like it was a positive learning experience, they they'll liek that even more too!

 

[Papa Smurf]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by kutastha:
•I'm wondering since when a 3.0 was considered a 'bad' semster?•••••Haha. I pulled a 3.6 my junior year and got b!tchslapped (read: rejected pre-interview) from a school because it was down from my previous grades. It's all relative, I guess. 🙄

 

[snowballz]

I just can't get it together this semester..I dunno what is up. ;( I'm used to a 4.0...and yes, 3.0 is a bad semester to me.

Alicia

 

[snowballz]

I just think it's interesting almost everyone is saying they had a bad semester. I guess there is hope...

But I wonder what everyone considers a bad semester..

Alicia

 

[dlbruch]

As a freshman undergrad, I failed general Chem. Repeated it the next year, dropped it because I was failing again (still not studying!) The next year, after transferring schools and deciding to study, I aced it. I also worked hard to do well in all my other classes to demonstrate my ability and dedication to my studies. The issue never came up in interviews and now I'm in my second year at COMP.

 

[PMPMD]

I've had 2 "bad" semesters, 3.0 and 3.1, and I got 2 acceptances. I'm in engineering school, so grades are a lot different than arts and sciences majors. I showed a positive trends of sorts; I had a 3.5 both semesters freshman year, but I wasn't taking any engineering courses. Then the real hard stuff kicked in soph. year, and my grades went down, then came back up. I think its perfectly fine to have one bad semester, as long as you have some explanation of why (illness, family problems, etc.) The 2 stats that matter most are overall GPA and MCAT. If you have a really competitive GPA, I doubt they'll can you for having one bad semester.

 

[ewells]

When I was younger, I received back to back 0.0s. That was in 1992-93 and I have taken tons of credits since then, but my GPA is still only a 3.4. I am graduating in may with @230 credits (drastic change in majors) and will be starting med school in August.

 

[megkudos]

My first semster at college I got a 1.5 (yes, folks, that's on a regular grading scale) and have been accepted as a senior. As long as you can explain yourself, do well otherwise, and hopefully have learned from it, it's doable.
A couple of my interviewers have outright told me that it's not a problem in their eyes (when taking in to consideration the rest of my application of course 🙂 . My grades since then have been pretty good though, around 3.8/3.9 so it does require getting your a$$ in gear (in my case at least).
The one thing that does suck though is the decrease in GPA you suffer, especially if you fail something (s). As the previous poster said, it definately effects your overall cumulative GPA, which can be annoying and hurt you at some schools I'm sure.

 

[snowballz]

I forgot to mention that I transferred from a liberal arts college to more academically difficult college..I'm in a new area and am away from home for a pretty significant distance. I just can't seem to get my sea legs at my new school.

Alicia

 

[EpiII]

Remember, those who are answering this poll, "No", might be saying they did not have a bad semester, not that they didn't get into Med School after a poor semester.