Messing up my science GPA

[gek4321]

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I am a 4th year studying Molecular Bio/Biotech with a minor in Chem.
I've gotten an A/A- in every single science class I've taken.
However I took two calculus classes my first year and recieved a C+ and a B.

If it wasnt for those math classes my sciGPA would be approx 3.85, but because of the math classes my sciGPA drops to about 3.75.

Is this something I can explain during the application process because I don't believe 3.75 truly represents my efforts in science courses.

 

[HomeSkool]

No. It'll just make you look neurotic. A 3.75 is an excellent sGPA, and adcoms are smart enough to know that freshmen do dumb things. They're also smart enough to read a transcript and see the trail of excellent science grades afterward. Leave it alone.

 

[chaim123]

A 3.75 is a perfectly reasonable GPA. Take a look at MSAR. That's well in the range for any top tier institution.

 

[gek4321]

A 3.75 is a perfectly reasonable GPA. Take a look at MSAR. That's well in the range for any top tier institution.

I guess one of the reasons why I feel unsure of my gpa is because I want to stay in California and I also attend a CSU school (which is looked down on from UC schools). David Geffen is my dream school and I know I fall short of their median science gpa.

 

[HomeSkool]

David Geffen is my dream school and I know I fall short of their median science gpa.

So make your application stand out in other ways. Trying to explain why a sky-high GPA wasn't stratospheric isn't going to help you. Besides, half the students fall below the median by definition.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

want to stay in California and I also attend a CSU school (which is looked down on from UC schools). David Geffen is my dream school and I know I fall short of their median science gpa.

It’s very difficult to get into Geffen even with stellar GPA, MCAT and a UC degree, so don’t concentrate on any particular med school, particularly Calif one. Very likely, you’ll be like most Calif applicants...matriculating OOS.

 

[Goro]

I guess one of the reasons why I feel unsure of my gpa is because I want to stay in California and I also attend a CSU school (which is looked down on from UC schools). David Geffen is my dream school and I know I fall short of their median science gpa.

I suggest that if you haven't taken a course in statistics that you do so.

Because you do not understand the concept of medians.

 

[gek4321]

I suggest that if you haven't taken a course in statistics that you do so.

Because you do not understand the concept of medians.

Median GPA as in the middle GPA of all the students accepted. Yeah I fall short of the median GPA which is 3.77. No worries I understand the difference between median and mean.

 

[Goro]

Median GPA as in the middle GPA of all the students accepted. Yeah I fall short of the median GPA which is 3.77. No worries I understand the difference between median and mean.

So you understand that your sGPA is competitive for Keck???? Look at MSAR and you can see what their 10th%ile is, which is what I consider the floor for the typical applicant there.

 

[Durty-Trixxx]

You're doing well in a very difficult major, so med schools wont really care if you didnt do spectacular on some freshman calc courses.

As you've probably heard many times before, adcoms know freshmen will screw up in a myriad of ways when adjusting to college coursework. The important thing is that you've steadily increased your sGPA and cGPA over your college career and that's what matters the most.