Long history of fluctuating grades (average GPA ~3.0)

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[DrShephardWannabe]

I'm not considering DO and I hope to pursue a surgical residency.
Thank you all in advance!

I don't think there's any other way to say this, so I'm going to be blunt.
Your MCAT scores, undergrad GPA, and post-bacc GPA are all extremely subpar for MD and DO schools and no amount of EC's or explaining is going to compensate for them. Between not wanting be a physician bad enough you would exclude DO, having poor grades, and stating you have bad test anxiety in a field where your life is tests, medicine may not be for you.

 

[Vain Brother]

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding how to justify grades. As an undergrad, I did not major in the Sciences (finance major). My undergrad sci GPA is 3.2 and I am currently taking courses as a post-bacc (pb GPA is 3.0). How would you go about justifying grades that heavily fluctuate (example: almost all A's in freshman yr fall, a C and 2 B's freshman spring, and A's, B's, C's and even a D scattered all over the rest of my transcript history). My post-bacc grades have been A-, or B or B- (with the exception of a C+ for orgo). My test anxiety has always gotten in the way of performing well in classes that are heavily exam-dependent. How does one negate for such a lackluster history of grades (aside from a stellar MCAT score). My previous 2 MCAT scores from last year were 21 and 23 (taken 1.5 months apart before finishing all my pre-med courses as I was in a rush to apply that cycle... didn't happen). I'm not considering DO and I hope to pursue a surgical residency. My extracurriculars are great (receieved scholarship to developed clinical programs at hospitals in conjunction with an Ivy League medical school), 3 publications (1 first author), some bench research, etc. and I have a wonderful menor & am close to a few profs for rec letters. What are some ways to make my self stand out as an all-star medical school candidate with my weak academic history?

Thank you all in advance!

it's fine that you're not considering DO, because you wouldn't get into any.

you do realize that medical students take classes, with exams and everything, and there are big standardized tests you have to take to do a residency? there's no compensating for being a poor student. you have to get that straightened out before you can even think about medical school

 

[Goro]

You DON'T justify poor grades. It will only come across as making excuses.

What you need to do is convince us that you can handle a medical school curriculum. So far, you haven't done that. In a postbac, you need to be acing thing, not barely making a B.

And DOs can do surgery. Do some homework. Your MCATs are an even larger impediment to your being a doctor than your GPA history.

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding how to justify grades. As an undergrad, I did not major in the Sciences (finance major). My undergrad sci GPA is 3.2 and I am currently taking courses as a post-bacc (pb GPA is 3.0). How would you go about justifying grades that heavily fluctuate (example: almost all A's in freshman yr fall, a C and 2 B's freshman spring, and A's, B's, C's and even a D scattered all over the rest of my transcript history). My post-bacc grades have been A-, or B or B- (with the exception of a C+ for orgo). My test anxiety has always gotten in the way of performing well in classes that are heavily exam-dependent. How does one negate for such a lackluster history of grades (aside from a stellar MCAT score). My previous 2 MCAT scores from last year were 21 and 23 (taken 1.5 months apart before finishing all my pre-med courses as I was in a rush to apply that cycle... didn't happen). I'm not considering DO and I hope to pursue a surgical residency. My extracurriculars are great (receieved scholarship to developed clinical programs at hospitals in conjunction with an Ivy League medical school), 3 publications (1 first author), some bench research, etc. and I have a wonderful menor & am close to a few profs for rec letters. What are some ways to make my self stand out as an all-star medical school candidate with my weak academic history?

Thank you all in advance!