Post-acceptance academic performance

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Doctor Dapper

Medical Student
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I've had a much more successful application cycle than I expected. I've been fortunate to have 2 DO and 2 MD acceptances so far. When I applied, I had an MCAT on the lower side (<30) but a high GPA (3.9). Over the past month and a half, traveling all over for interviews has significantly affected my academic performance (GPA for fall will likely be 3.25; 3 Bs and 1 A). Next semester I anticipate I'll be back on track with my normal performance and expect to finish my degree with a 3.7+. My concern is that in my acceptance letters, they state that my acceptance is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance (which they define as performance at the same standard as previous coursework) and completion of my degree before matriculation. I'm concerned about how strict programs are with this policy and whether I should be worried about losing acceptances. I imagine others have to have experienced similar difficulties maintaining the same GPA while traveling all over the country for interviews???

I may just be sweating over nothing, but after all of this hard work and stress I don't want to threaten my chances of having an acceptance rescinded. The idea of coming this far and that happening is weighing heavy on me. I'd appreciate if anyone can shed some light or has had a similar experience.

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There are many other threads on this topic.. the most recent about 1-2 weeks ago. I believe in that thread, the consensus was that a ~3.2 is about the lowest you want to go -- definitely anything <3.0 is dangerous. However, if you can really pull a 3.7+ in the Spring, I wouldn't worry about a 3.25 this semester. I am having the same problem you are because of the interview trail.

Do most schools have this provision? Of the schools to which I've been accepted, neither has explicitly stated such a provision for acceptance. I'm just hoping not to find out the hard way if they actually care. The only provisions I have read are completion of B.S./B.A. degree and pre-reqs.
 
I may just be sweating over nothing, but after all of this hard work and stress I don't want to threaten my chances of having an acceptance rescinded. The idea of coming this far and that happening is weighing heavy on me. I'd appreciate if anyone can shed some light or has had a similar experience.

I think you are sweating over nothing. It is not like you are pulling straight Cs. Also, what do you mean by you "don't want to threaten your chances..." It's not like you are trying to tank your GPA. Will fretting over this help you do any better in your classes? Just do the best that you can do. You're not in any danger and panicking will do nothing but hurt.
 
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And for a strong 100th post: Tee hee, I just said but(t) hurt
 
Thanks! I was just thinking about a horror scenario where I did the respectable (debatable) thing and only held one acceptance at the program that was my #1 choice without holding others and then when it came time to start and submit my transcripts, they'd see this semester standout from others and pull the rug out from under me. Meanwhile, I'd be without options.

I'm hoping they won't question it. Or, even if they do, I hope they'd take into consideration the fact that traveling for 1-2 interviews/week over a month is bound to have an effect on performance in class.
 
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There are many other threads on this topic.. the most recent about 1-2 weeks ago. I believe in that thread, the consensus was that a ~3.2 is about the lowest you want to go -- definitely anything <3.0 is dangerous. However, if you can really pull a 3.7+ in the Spring, I wouldn't worry about a 3.25 this semester. I am having the same problem you are because of the interview trail.

Do most schools have this provision? Of the schools to which I've been accepted, neither has explicitly stated such a provision for acceptance. I'm just hoping not to find out the hard way if they actually care. The only provisions I have read are completion of B.S./B.A. degree and pre-reqs.

Most acceptance letters have been vague about post-acceptance terms regarding academic performance. They mention completion of B.S./B.A., as you mentioned. The MD acceptance I received today is the one that's worrying me. It defined satisfactory performance as, "consistent with your previous academic record regardless of classes you are taking up until school starts." Before the 3.25 I expect this semester, my lowest was a 3.7 (cumulative 3.9).
 
Most acceptance letters have been vague about post-acceptance terms regarding academic performance. They mention completion of B.S./B.A., as you mentioned. The MD acceptance I received today is the one that's worrying me. It defined satisfactory performance as, "consistent with your previous academic record regardless of classes you are taking up until school starts." Before the 3.25 I expect this semester, my lowest was a 3.7 (cumulative 3.9).

Eh.. I believe in another similar thread LizzyM defined what she thought a 'significant drop' in performance was. Something like a 0.6 GPA drop in a single semester maybe? You can try to search for it. But that's still one (very knowledgeable) person's opinion, so take it with a (large) grain of salt.

A 3.25 is still pretty good, and it's not going to result in your admission offer being revoked by itself, I suspect. If they're not going to see your final year of grades until the summer, the excellent GPA next semester will more than make up for it. They're not going to see a 3.8 for Spring 2014 and then revoke your admission because of a 3.25 in Fall 2013.

Even if they were to somehow find out about your fall grades, you might get a warning or a phone call. But as long as your Spring grades go up and not down from whatever you end up with this semester, you have very little to worry about.

As others have posted, that "satisfactory performance" provision is targeted at those who want to "coast" after being accepted. In your case, you're just interview trailblazing. No one's going to fault you for that.

Go back to studying and don't worry about it.
 
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