Personal Statement and GPA

[NE_Cornhusker1]

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Here's my deal: my GPA is pretty weak (3.03, I have plenty of good experience, and I feel confident my MCAT's will be pretty good (I've gotten 36's and 37's on practice tests.) I have read that I should address my low GPA in my personal statement. My GPA isn't really the result of a bad semester or two, rather the result two semesters of 3.5's and two semesters of 2.5's and eight semesters of around a 3.0. Any Thoughts? Thanks. AEKDB.

 

[tc]

The only reason for drawing attention to an anemic GPA in your personal statement is some personal catastrophy in your life that you can use to illustrate your ability to overcome, and thus improve, in later semesters. Otherwise, don't.

When you get to the interview stage, your interviewers may not know your GPA or grades. Many schools have closed file interviews. All they know is that you made it past the first cut based on numbers alone.
It is the interviewers job to learn who you really are. While they may not know your grades, they will have your personal statement. There's no reason to advertise that your GPA may be lower than last guy that they interviewed.

Your GPA is what it is. It will have some bearing on your success. Unless you have a fantastic story to tell, don't draw more attention to it.

 

[Atlas]

Great response!

 

[Vader]

Then again, it is really all in the way you present yourself. What made you get interested in medicine, knowing that you had a GPA that is on the lower side for applicants? With a low GPA and high MCAT, some med schools might be concerned not about your intelligence, but your ability to fulfill your potential. There are many who are smart but do not apply themselves. Medical school involves material that is not extremely difficult, but the sheer volume of it requires someone possess a lot of dedication. Thus, you might mention your low GPA and say how you have grown academically since then. Have your grades improved recently? This can be seen as a positive. However, if you were just fooling around during undergrad and were not very focused, you might consider taking some time off and putting the time to good use (i.e. taking post-bac classes, doing research, working as a health missionary, Peace Corps, etc). This shows dedication and can help bolster your application. Hope this helps. 😀

 

[sandflea]

i completely agree with vader. i got off to a slow start in college, although i improved a lot as time went on, and was specifically told to address this in my personal statement.

BUT, there are a few key points to doing this the right way. first, i only used a few sentences to do this and i wove it into my essay. acknowledge it, but don't call attention to it.

second, DON'T WHINE. don't make excuses for yourself or try to pin the blame on someone else. take responsibility for your problems.

third, explain what you've learned from this and how you can handle the work in med school. that's all adcoms care about--that you can make it . also make a point of drawing a LOT of attention to what you *have* accomplished and if you've improved over time, then be sure to call attention to that--that can score big.

you would be in an easier situation if your GPA was due to a few lousy semesters early in college, and then you went on to do well. since your GPA is kind of mediocre over a long span of time, it would probably be worth your while to take some graduate-level courses, as vader suggests--and ACE them! if you do that great on the MCAT, then that will help you out a lot too.

hope this helps.

 

[BUmiken12]

Nebraska University has Kappa Sigs? Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question...just saw your salutation.

 

[star23]

I agree with above posts that you shouldn't bring up your GPA unless you can tell a good story as to why it is like that.
I mentioned my MCAT score being a little on the low side because 2 people in my family died right before the MCAT. If you don't have a story like that...I wouldn't bring anything up.