Question about community college transfer credits/grades ==> AMCAS

[anomalous738232]

i know this has been asked several times before, but I had a more specific question about the topic. i'm not sure if your state schools have this, but mine has a program called Running Start- where you have the option of taking classes at a community college your JR and/or SR yr of high school. I chose this pathway and did pretty well, most of the time, @ the community college. My question is in regards to the time I didn't do "so well". I had a death in my family winter qtr of my senior year (2nd year @ com. college), and my grades suffered. Up until that point, I had a 3.9 CUM. I was able to obtain a hardship withdrawal from one of my professors who was familiar with my work, but, same case scenario didn't apply with my other professors. They gave me the option to appeal the grade (1.0 in a 200-level phil course, 2.3 in a 100-level biol course), but due to extenuating circumstances, I didn't have the energy or time to go through all the paper work. I just accepted those 2 (mortifying) grades. Spring qtr, i took time off from school- i graduated high school, and began at the University of Washington the following fall. I have done well throughout (my cum is 3.76 @ UW) but as i am beginning to think about the application process, I am extremely concerned about my quarter of incompetence. I know many students say that 1 qtr is NOT that big of a deal, and the important thing is the upward trend, but i feel that this one qtr will prevent me from being accepted into a lot of medical schools. I'm a bit torn whether or not I should explain the "bad grades" in my personal statement. my adviser told me it might be beneficial to talk about the experience in order to gain a sympathetic audience, however, i feel that reiterating my bad grades will only emphasize the negative point in my academic career. kind of like when you're reading a well-written story, you may or may not notice that one spelling error on pg 54, but if the author were to say, "hey, did you notice my big as$ blop on pg 54?", you would unlikely miss it.

so i guess the root of my question is this: if you were in my position, would or wouldn't you explain it?

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[Jolie South]

use your PS to talk about your motivations for entering medicine. keep it positive.

nothing good will come of talking about a bad semester this far removed from it. your gpa is good and you've had sustained good performance since that quarter.

only bring it up if an interviewer asks. i don't think that one horrible quarter will prevent you from being accepted.

 

[Mandarin142]

I see a thread about hideous community college grades (usually 1 or 2 classes) from high school that come back to haunt 1 out of 2 pre-med every day it seems. I have them myself, and you should feel confident in knowing that you are not alone! That being said, although the hit to your GPA hurts, the ADCOMs know that this is a common blemish. Since the courses were taken in high school and it was only ~ 2 classes out of what will end up being 50+ classes on your record, it's not worth it to sweat it out. Just focus on the MCAT, letters, personal statement, etc.. and things will fall into place. People still get into Harvard with poor HS/Community College course grades =)

 

[HumidBeing]

I second what JolieSouth says, and want to add that you shouldn't get overly worried about this.

When AMCAS breaks down your grades, those that you took while still a high school student will be separate from the college grades. They'll still be averaged in with the others, but it will be very easy for Adcomms to see that they were taken in the pre-college years. Those grades are generally considered accordingly.

 

[anomalous738232]

I see a thread about hideous community college grades (usually 1 or 2 classes) from high school that come back to haunt 1 out of 2 pre-med every day it seems. I have them myself, and you should feel confident in knowing that you are not alone! That being said, although the hit to your GPA hurts, the ADCOMs know that this is a common blemish. Since the courses were taken in high school and it was only ~ 2 classes out of what will end up being 50+ classes on your record, it's not worth it to sweat it out. Just focus on the MCAT, letters, personal statement, etc.. and things will fall into place. People still get into Harvard with poor HS/Community College course grades =)

sad, but true. thanks for all your comments, everyone. I really appreciate it. it makes me feel better to know that it's not as big of a deal as it seems in my head. although it is just a minor ding in the larger scheme of things, i guess i just feel that the applicant pool is becoming increasingly more competitive... and i know that there are SO many other students who also did running start, but did well throughout that and u-grad. i know i should be confident with my own achievements, but the pre-med community brainwashes me. it makes it very difficult for me NOT to compare my stats with my peers. thanks again for the words of vice.