Poor grades due to personal issues/illness

[skbirdie510]

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The worst grades I have from college are from organic chem (both semesters ended with a C-). However, that year was very rough for me, both due to personal issues and an unexplained illness that caused me a lot of anxiety. 🙁

What should I do? I'm not sure whether to retake the courses or to explain those grades in my personal statement when I apply. Would med schools be sympathetic? My gut reaction is no, but I'm not totally sure.

 

[dsfan]

I have a fairly similar situation like you i think, pm me if you like. Although I havent gotten into any smps yet, my pre-med advisor and many others with experience in the matter recommended me to address the issue in my PS so that the adcom are not left to form their own, sometimes incorrect, conclusions about the issue. with that said, they recommended me to retake the courses to demonstrate the fact that the issue was fixed/overcomed....etc

lastly take everything I said with a grain of salt, everything depends on what the specific issue/reason for the poor academic performance.

 

[CoolSpot7Up]

i agree with above. definitely briefly explain the situation in your personal statement, no need to delve into specifics, just give a quick sentence or two.

if you've already taken the mcat and did well in biological sciences, then you've proven you know the material to some extent, and i would recommend not retaking it. if you feel you didn't really learn the material, then retake since anything in the C range won't look too good.