Low GPA not related to extracurricular, financial hardship

[laxgirl06]

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Hey everyone,
I wanted to come here and ask for a *thoughtful/meaningful/considerate* response to a 'situation' I am thinking about. So during the first few years of my undergrad career, I had very low self-efficacy. As a result, my grades were average and during one specific semester, quite mediocre. My situation is *unique* imo because my poor performance wasn't due to financial hardship, or being involved in extracurricular activities, it was due to one reason: low self-efficacy. This low self-efficacy manifested itself in the form of one key form: chronic and frequent procrastination. I would NEVER give myself enough time, and was always 'hurting' myself academically (not studying enough, cramming, late assignments, etc) because I just didn't believe I was capable/worthy of becoming a doctor, succeeding,etc. Looking back, me not giving myself enough time was a 'defense mechanism' so that I could always have the 'satisfaction' of knowing, "If I had given myself enough time, I could have done well." So that the blame wasn't placed on me and my intellectual abilities, it was placed on an external factor, time. I have since completely resolved this issue and am on track to have a perfect semester (4.0) while taking some of the hardest classes of my college career. I also have 150% faith in my abilities to become a great physician. I have been thinking of how to 'phrase' this situation in an interview or use it to "help" my narrative (perhaps using it as a means by which to communicate my ability to self-assess and adapt,etc.) I have never heard of someone having the same experience as me, so how would I go about discussing this in an interview, personal statement, etc.?

 

[Goro]

A single semester of 4.0 GPA isn't going to get you an interview.

Your experience isn't unique, either. You were self-sabotaging.

 

[DokterMom]

Self-sabotaging is a pretty common problem, a serious one, and as @Goro notes, one not disproven by a single strong semester. I would want to see three stellar years to convince myself you have overcome the problem.

It wouldn't all need to be academic successes -- Things like training for and completing a marathon, starting a successful business, founding a non-profit, etc. would also qualify.

 

[Youngm2194]

No offense but I agree that this is not a unique "situation" at all. The fact that you figured out how to do better is obviously very good, but I think it would be better to just accept that you didn't do as well as you hoped early on instead of trying to classify it as something else. I think accepting that you did poorly etc. would show that you can learn from mistakes and matured

 

[Lifeblood_20]

I'm glad you have figured out the problem. Now keep getting 4.0s and forget about trying to explain what you were doing wrong. What you went through is not unique at all and trying to sound unique just makes it seem like you are making excuses for poor performance. Just accept that you were doing badly, don't bother explaining it. This is not a good place to waste your PS/interview on.

 

[laxgirl06]

A single semester of 4.0 GPA isn't going to get you an interview.

Your experience isn't unique, either. You were self-sabotaging.

Of course not. xD I have way more than a semester of 4.0 on my application. And I never heard of premeds self-sabotaging, so I didn't know it was so common. Thanks, Goro. I'll take your advice with a grain of salt haha. You're Goro, not God. xD

 

[laxgirl06]

Self-sabotaging is a pretty common problem, a serious one, and as @Goro notes, one not disproven by a single strong semester. I would want to see three stellar years to convince myself you have overcome the problem.
Okay, I didn't know premeds self-sabotaging was common. Also, I see where you're coming from but at this point in my life, I'm not able to start a successful business or non-profit. I will consider other ways that I can show this "change". Thanks for the advice.
It wouldn't all need to be academic successes -- Things like training for and completing a marathon, starting a successful business, founding a non-profit, etc. would also qualify.

 

[laxgirl06]

I'm glad you have figured out the problem. Now keep getting 4.0s and forget about trying to explain what you were doing wrong. What you went through is not unique at all and trying to sound unique just makes it seem like you are making excuses for poor performance. Just accept that you were doing badly, don't bother explaining it. This is not a good place to waste your PS/interview on.

I was just thinking of what to say if it was asked. But thanks anyway lol.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Please don't act like your situation was unique, you were lazy. Plain & simple. Own it. Work harder and show your merit. Good luck!

 

[laxgirl06]

Please don't act like your situation was unique, you were lazy. Plain & simple. Own it. Work harder and show your merit. Good luck!

I explicitly said I never heard of a premed having the same experience I did with self-sabotage. Self-sabotage doesn't mean I was lazy, it has nothing to do with that. But thanks for your misdiagnosis, "Doctor" Corpsman...

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

I explicitly said I never heard of a premed having the same experience I did with self-sabotage. Self-sabotage doesn't mean I was lazy, it has nothing to do with that. But thanks for your misdiagnosis, "Doctor" Corpsman...

Listen, you can tell yourself whatever narrative you want. All I and many of the above posters are trying to tell you is that procrastinating and "studying last minute" for exams is not unique. You were lazy, possibly even a bit immature, but you weren't unique. Many pre-meds have gone through the same thing, I applaud you for jumping back on the horse and learning to work harder & more effectively. Keep up the good work but please don't try to spin this as any sort of narrative because it will come off terribly.


EDIT: I had a friend who graduated with a 3.34 GPA and if you ask him he'll tell you straight up that he was lazy and just wanted to party. He didn't have any fancy narrative. What he did do though was study intensely for the MCAT (scored a 516) then did a post-bacc. Now he's medical school bound. That's you if you keep up the good work!

 

[Youngm2194]

My first two years I did garbage- I had a 2.65 science gpa my freshman year and a 2.9 science gpa my sophomore year. My last two years my sGPA was 3.7 and my mcat was 515. I have no idea if I'll get in or not but I did poorly because I didn't study, I partied too much and I genuinely had no interest in what I was studying (In the little time I did study). Yes it was immaturity and yes I regret it but I not once have tried to categorize it as something else. If people ask why my sGPA is a 3.25 it's because I did trash my first two years and didn't care simple as that- you have to own up to it and trying to convince yourself it's something else only makes it seem worse

Yes it sucks and you have to work a lot harder from now on but it happened and you can't change it so just accept it and move on

 

[laxgirl06]

My first two years I did garbage- I had a 2.65 science gpa my freshman year and a 2.9 science gpa my sophomore year. My last two years my sGPA was 3.7 and my mcat was 515. I have no idea if I'll get in or not but I did poorly because I didn't study, I partied too much and I genuinely had no interest in what I was studying (In the little time I did study). Yes it was immaturity and yes I regret it but I not once have tried to categorize it as something else. If people ask why my sGPA is a 3.25 it's because I did trash my first two years and didn't care simple as that- you have to own up to it and trying to convince yourself it's something else only makes it seem worse

Yes it sucks and you have to work a lot harder from now on but it happened and you can't change it so just accept it and move on

My "doing poorly" was getting a 3.5. And I don't party, never have really. I don't think you understand my experience, that's okay lol. I genuinely know myself and I didn't believe in my ability, therefore I didn't give myself a chance. Plain and simple. It's called self-sabotaging, you can look it up lol. It's nothing to do with partying or drinking. I accept it completely lol. Great job.

 

[laxgirl06]

Listen, you can tell yourself whatever narrative you want. All I and many of the above posters are trying to tell you is that procrastinating and "studying last minute" for exams is not unique. You were lazy, possibly even a bit immature, but you weren't unique. Many pre-meds have gone through the same thing, I applaud you for jumping back on the horse and learning to work harder & more effectively. Keep up the good work but please don't try to spin this as any sort of narrative because it will come off terribly.


EDIT: I had a friend who graduated with a 3.34 GPA and if you ask him he'll tell you straight up that he was lazy and just wanted to party. He didn't have any fancy narrative. What he did do though was study intensely for the MCAT (scored a 516) then did a post-bacc. Now he's medical school bound. That's you if you keep up the good work!

Again, I wasn't referring to what I did as unique, I was referring to the rationale, which many people here don't seem to understand. Self-sabotaging is a real issue....anyway. that's great. I didn't ever party. That was never my problem. So anyway, thanks for your reply. I think I'm done trying to explain what self-sabotaging is to people who think everyone who gets a low GPA loves to party lol

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Again, I wasn't referring to what I did as unique, I was referring to the rationale, which many people here don't seem to understand. Self-sabotaging is a real issue....anyway. that's great. I didn't ever party. That was never my problem. So anyway, thanks for your reply. I think I'm done trying to explain what self-sabotaging is to people who think everyone who gets a low GPA loves to party lol

You were still lazy. I'm sorry you can't see that. I wish you the best of luck but with this mentality, you have a lot of growing up to do.

EDIT: I'm sorry we couldn't tell you what you wanted to hear.

 

[Lawpy]

I have never heard of someone having the same experience as me, so how would I go about discussing this in an interview, personal statement, etc.?

Just because you have never heard of someone having same experience as you doesn't mean the experience isn't common. What you did was self-sabotaging and it's actually a common phenomenon with various causes. I wouldn't discuss this at all in essays and interviews, and instead try to do better in future classes.

Of course, you don't like these responses because they are not what you want to hear. But this discussion is helpful for readers/lurkers of the thread who have a similar dilemma but are hesitant to ask. What @Goro and @DokterMom said is accurate and should be followed.

 

[laxgirl06]

You were still lazy. I'm sorry you can't see that. I wish you the best of luck but with this mentality, you have a lot of growing up to do.

HERE YOU GO....
(taken from Psychology today)
Fear of Failure

Example: Jesse is majoring in Engineering with the hope of getting a good job after graduation. He is behind on his homework, and he’s often late doing his part on group projects. Engineering doesn’t seem to come as naturally to him as it does for others. He knows he should work even harder to keep up, but instead he plays video games and practices his guitar. Then he hates himself for not doing well in his major and fears he’s ruining his chances in the job market.

Analysis: Jesse is afraid that his best effort won’t be good enough. By procrastinating, he does not give his best effort. Then when he doesn’t do well, he can blame it on procrastination, not on a lack of ability. He protects his self-esteem by assuming that if he had kept up with his work, he would have done much better. It’s safer to feel bad about not trying than to put in the effort and fall short.

It’s possible that Jesse’s procrastination is a signal to be taken seriously. Maybe engineering is a good idea in theory, but it’s not the right field for him. Or maybe if he wasn’t so afraid of failing and immersed himself in his work, he would like it better. As long as he procrastinates, he’ll never know.

Behavior is said to be self-sabotaging when it creates problems and interferes with long-standing goals. The most common self-sabotaging behaviors are procrastination,self-medication with drugs or alcohol, comfort eating, and forms of self-injury such as cutting.....
Self sabotaging has nothing to do with laziness. If you're too close-minded/ignorant to see that, and you don't even have enough compassion to see past your own life.....I'm sorry, but YOU have a lot of maturing to do.

 

[laxgirl06]

Just because you have never heard of someone having same experience as you doesn't mean the experience isn't common. What you did was self-sabotaging and it's actually a common phenomenon with various causes. I wouldn't discuss this at all in essays and interviews, and instead try to do better in future classes.

Of course, you don't like these responses because they are not what you want to hear. But this discussion is helpful for readers/lurkers of the thread who have a similar dilemma but are hesitant to ask. What @Goro and @DokterMom said is accurate and should be followed.

Yes, I see that now. Yes, I've researched it and since resolved this. I am trying to do better in classes. I was just trying to know what to say in the event it was asked. Well, the thing is these responses lack one thing: compassion. It's real. I know people who self-sabotage and I'm trying to say, it has nothing to do with laziness or in my case, nothing to do with partying. I'm on my way to getting a 4.0 and it's only uphill from there. I guess I didn't make myself clear lol.

 

[Lawpy]

Yes, I see that now. Yes, I've researched it and since resolved this. I am trying to do better in classes. I was just trying to know what to say in the event it was asked. Well, the thing is these responses lack one thing: compassion. It's real. I know people who self-sabotage and I'm trying to say, it has nothing to do with laziness or in my case, nothing to do with partying. I'm on my way to getting a 4.0 and it's only uphill from there. I guess I didn't make myself clear lol.

Some of the earlier posts in the thread actually were considerate. It's also important to note the source of the posts involved. Advice from Goro, DokterMom etc. and similar members is usually taken a lot more seriously since they are familiar with the admissions process and can give a school's perspective on the matters. Blunt and realistic advice is often necessary to prevent you from heading down the wrong path.

As far as rude and offensive posts that provoke you into a heated exchange, ignore them. They are not worth responding to at all.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Thanks, Goro. I'll take your advice with a grain of salt haha. You're Goro, not God. xD

Whhhaatttt? Why was this response necessary. You ASKED opinions and I'm pretty certain you knew before you posted that god wouldn't be in the comments.

Your responses seem dismissive and angry. You really have to work on accepting advice and opinions you asked for.

 

[laxgirl06]

You were still lazy. I'm sorry you can't see that. I wish you the best of luck but with this mentality, you have a lot of growing up to do.

EDIT: I'm sorry we couldn't tell you what you wanted to hear.

EDIT: I'm sorry you lack compassion. I would hate to be your patient.

 

[laxgirl06]

Whhhaatttt? Why was this response necessary. You ASKED opinions and I'm pretty certain you knew before you posted that god wouldn't be in the comments.

Your responses seem dismissive and angry. You really have to work on accepting advice and opinions you asked for.

How does what I say affect you personally? 😀 What I said is true. No one here has the final say in my life, my destiny, my purpose, etc. That's the truth. I'm just as confident in my responses as the people responding, so I don't see the problem with that.

 

[OchemOficionado]

How does what I say affect you personally? 😀 What I said is true. No one here has the final say in my life, my destiny, my purpose, etc. That's the truth. I'm just as confident in my responses as the people responding, so I don't see the problem with that.

You knew that before you ASKED for input though. How you're coming across if foul, but I think you know that and you simply don't care. Ok then 🙂

 

[Goro]

Of course not. xD I have way more than a semester of 4.0 on my application. And I never heard of premeds self-sabotaging, so I didn't know it was so common. Thanks, Goro. I'll take your advice with a grain of salt haha. You're Goro, not God. xD

I have always maintained that I am a mere mortal. Very imperfect.

But one thing is for sure: do not engage in the sin of solipsism.

 

[deleted781806]

It's not unique to self-sabotage or procrastinate as a pre-med or any college student, there really isn't anything to address within your application besides just doing better on future coursework. If you continue to have such problems, then go seek professional help through a counseling office that can give you better strategies to succeed academically.

Also, let's all try to keep it professional (including/especially you, OP).

 

[laxgirl06]

You knew that before you ASKED for input though. How you're coming across if foul, but I think you know that and you simply don't care. Ok then 🙂

Again....how does what I am saying affect you? 😀 You're not even giving advice or saying anything constructive....#boybye

 

[laxgirl06]

It's not unique to self-sabotage or procrastinate as a pre-med or any college student, there really isn't anything to address within your application besides just doing better on future coursework. If you continue to have such problems, then go seek professional help through a counseling office that can give you better strategies to succeed academically.

Also, let's all try to keep it professional (including/especially you, OP).

Okay, Dad. I'm sorry. 🙂

 

[Youngm2194]

You literally came here for advice, people gave it to you, and you responded poorly because it wasn't what you wanted to hear, simple as that. Nobody is saying self-sabotaging isn't a real thing, people are just trying to get you to understand that no, you are not the only one with that issue. You provided evidence that self sabotaging is real for students, therefore cite that in you application when explaining this scenario.

Edit: Also one semester of 3.5 is not that poor of a performance, I would be thrilled if that was my worst semester

 

[laxgirl06]

Okay, God. I'm sorry. 🙂

I have always maintained that I am a mere mortal. Very imperfect.

But one thing is for sure: do not engage in the sin of solipsism.

Amen. xD

 

[laxgirl06]

The guy who said self-sabotage isn't real and is just laziness is.....

You literally came here for advice, people gave it to you, and you responded poorly because it wasn't what you wanted to hear, simple as that. Nobody is saying self-sabotaging isn't a real thing, people are just trying to get you to understand that no, you are not the only one with that issue. You provided evidence that self sabotaging is real for students, therefore cite that in you application when explaining this scenario.

Edit: Also one semester of 3.5 is not that poor of a performance, I would be thrilled if that was my worst semester

 

[laxgirl06]

I recant ALL my previous responses.... Thank you to EVERYONE for providing their input and have a great day. Good luck to everyone in their future endeavors. 🙂

 

[deleted781806]

I recant ALL my previous responses....

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In any case, good luck to you too, apparently adopted offspring of mine.

 

[Lawpy]

EDIT: I'm sorry you lack compassion. I would hate to be your patient.

How does what I say affect you personally? 😀 What I said is true. No one here has the final say in my life, my destiny, my purpose, etc. That's the truth. I'm just as confident in my responses as the people responding, so I don't see the problem with that.

Again....how does what I am saying affect you? 😀 You're not even giving advice or saying anything constructive....#boybye

Okay, Dad. I'm sorry. 🙂

Amen. xD

The guy who said self-sabotage isn't real and is just laziness is.....

I recant ALL my previous responses.... Thank you to EVERYONE for providing their input and have a great day. Good luck to everyone in their future endeavors. 🙂

 

[laxgirl06]

LOL...I just laughed so hard. xD That picture is perfect for this. xD