Low Senior Semester GPA, Unsure

[Icon28]

Hello,

I am unsure about applying this cycle, partly due to my downward GPA trend and specifically my Senior year GPA. However, I feel compelled to apply as I took my MCAT, which turned out to be competitive, in 2023. Do you think an SMP or Post-Bac would be worthwhile for me?

Freshman - Sophomore Year: 4.0
Junior Year: 3.9
Spring Senior Semester: 3.45
Fall Senior Semester: 3.10

Total cGPA after Graduating: 3.820

Thankfully, all of my Premed courses were in my freshman through junior years. My senior year was composed entirely of engineering courses to fulfill my engineering major, where I mostly got B's in order to graduate. If I am correct, the engineering courses which I took would not count against my sGPA, which I am predicting would be ~3.9 to 4.0. This would be my first time applying after a gap year full of clinical-related work.

Thank you, and lots of love everybody.

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[diltiazemm]

However, I feel compelled to apply as I took my MCAT, which turned out to be competitive, in 2023

What's your MCAT score?

The downward trend is worrisome, as that is a very notable drop. I'll let the professionals give advice on whether it's worth the effort of an SMP/post-bacc, but these threads may help answer your question:

I

Thread 'Bad Senior Year GPA'

Sep 29, 2016

.

• ihadahamsandwich
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

Thread 'Possible to Recover from Downward Trend?'

Oct 20, 2020

Hi all, I'm back, lol

So, I have a bit of a crisis on my hands. I really have been having a hard time since last Spring regarding my GPA. Basically the transition to online classes, a credit overload, and an OCD diagnosis have wrecked my Junior year.. I have contemplated just giving up at this point. I am still deciding between DO and AA school, but I am worried both will be out of the question due to a terrible GPA trend I have. Basically it goes:

Spring 2020:
3.63

Summer 2020:
3.24

Fall 2020:
~3.37 (worst case) - ~3.68 (best case) with likely a C in Biochemistry.

The above GPAs are...

• PA_dud3
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Pre-Medical (DO)

• 

My senior year was composed entirely of engineering courses to fulfill my engineering major, where I mostly got B's in order to graduate. If I am correct, the engineering courses which I took would not count against my sGPA, which I am predicting would be ~3.9 to 4.0.

Is this the only reason your GPA dropped? It seems like a weak justification - I worry that this could signal poor work ethic to adcoms too.

But, you're correct that the AMCAS Course Classification Guide classifies engineering as AO. 🙂 good luck!

 

[Icon28]

What's your MCAT score?

The downward trend is worrisome, as that is a very notable drop. I'll let the professionals give advice on whether it's worth the effort of an SMP/post-bacc, but these threads may help answer your question:

I

Thread 'Bad Senior Year GPA'

Sep 29, 2016

.

• ihadahamsandwich
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

Thread 'Possible to Recover from Downward Trend?'

Oct 20, 2020

Hi all, I'm back, lol

So, I have a bit of a crisis on my hands. I really have been having a hard time since last Spring regarding my GPA. Basically the transition to online classes, a credit overload, and an OCD diagnosis have wrecked my Junior year.. I have contemplated just giving up at this point. I am still deciding between DO and AA school, but I am worried both will be out of the question due to a terrible GPA trend I have. Basically it goes:

Spring 2020:
3.63

Summer 2020:
3.24

Fall 2020:
~3.37 (worst case) - ~3.68 (best case) with likely a C in Biochemistry.

The above GPAs are...

• PA_dud3
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Pre-Medical (DO)

• 

Is this the only reason your GPA dropped? It seems like a weak justification - I would worry that this could signal poor work ethic to adcoms too.

But, you're correct that the AMCAS Course Classification Guide classifies engineering as AO. 🙂 good luck!

My MCAT score was 518. I can DM you more about my GPA drop and what happened, I am confident that it was a fluke, but I went through a lot during this time unfortunately.

 

[Goro]

Sometimes, one has to apply with the app one has warts and all., and see how the cycle turns out.

 

[diltiazemm]

My MCAT score was 518. I can DM you more about my GPA drop and what happened, I am confident that it was a fluke, but I went through a lot during this time unfortunately.

Don't worry! You don't have to share if you don't want to. If everything was truly out of your control, then that's understandable, and there will be room on secondaries to clarify your GPA (just not PS).

As Goro said, you might just have to go ahead and apply - I don't think you have any real red flags.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What support do you have from your prehealth advisors if you were to apply now?

Do you have any outstanding biomedical science courses to take? A postbac is possible if you wanted to show further proof that engineering classes are just hard. 😉

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hello,

I am unsure about applying this cycle, partly due to my downward GPA trend and specifically my Senior year GPA. However, I feel compelled to apply as I took my MCAT, which turned out to be competitive, in 2023. Do you think an SMP or Post-Bac would be worthwhile for me?

Freshman - Sophomore Year: 4.0
Junior Year: 3.9
Spring Senior Semester: 3.45
Fall Senior Semester: 3.10

Total cGPA after Graduating: 3.820

Thankfully, all of my Premed courses were in my freshman through junior years. My senior year was composed entirely of engineering courses to fulfill my engineering major, where I mostly got B's in order to graduate. If I am correct, the engineering courses which I took would not count against my sGPA, which I am predicting would be ~3.9 to 4.0. This would be my first time applying after a gap year full of clinical-related work.

Thank you, and lots of love everybody.

Are the circumstances that caused the drop in GPA (really over the last two years) present in your life now?

 

[Icon28]

What support do you have from your prehealth advisors if you were to apply now?

Do you have any outstanding biomedical science courses to take? A postbac is possible if you wanted to show further proof that engineering classes are just hard. 😉

I have support from my prehealth advisor if I were to apply, such as help navigating the application process and on what schools I should apply for.

There are still some classes that I could take (such as human anatomy lab, human physiology, genetics, etc.) which are prerequisites at many medical schools, although I have all of the classes necessary to attend my state school. I think that by taking more classes, I could definitely expand where I would be able to attend.

 

[Icon28]

Are the circumstances that caused the drop in GPA (really over the last two years) present in your life now?

Most of these circumstances are no longer present, although right now I am still coping. I feel like I have lots of potential, though, if I could demonstrate that I am on the right track.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Schools can understand a drop in grades if :

1. You show that you are back on track through more recent classwork and a strong MCAT.
2. You reveal what caused the drop and also show that you have either learned how to deal with those circumstances or that they no longer exist.

"Coping" is not inspiring a lot of confidence that you have really put those circumstances behind you. I don't doubt your potential, but you might really be better off doing an informal post-bac and applying in a year after taking some more of the science classes that you excelled in and really putting behind you whatever caused the drop in grades. Then you can point to recent relevant A's The only negative, and it is a big one, is that you may need to retake the MCAT.

So this may go back to @Goro 's suggestion that you apply and see how it goes. However I suspect that suggestion also assumes that whatever happened is really behind you. You don't want to start medical school when merely "coping."