Shaky Academic Record

[gnin]

I haven't taken enough of the required science courses, and I hope to take post-baccalaureate work and then apply to medical schools. Assuming I do well in the postbaccalaureate work and MCAT, will this stuff in my background be a major stumbling block when I apply to an allopathic med school? How will I deal with it in interviews/applications?

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[Law2Doc]

I'm a non-science major who just graduated from college. I have a decent academic record (3.64 GPA from a top-3 ivy), except for some irregularieties on my transcript- I have 3 course withdrawals and 2 made-up incompletes. Three of these marks (2 withdrawals and 1 made-up incomplete) were in one semester of my sophomore year, when I had health problems. One of the withdrawn courses this term was a science class, which I re-enrolled in during a later term and got an "A." All the other irregular marks were in non-science classes

I haven't taken too many science courses, and I wish to take post-baccalaureate work and then apply to medical schools. Assuming I do well in the postbaccalaureate work and MCAT, will this stuff in my background be a major stumbling block when I apply to an allopathic med school? How will I deal with it in interviews/applications?

As long as all the W's and I's are in one semester and you do well in the post bac and MCAT, you are fine. I would address the semester head on in your secondary applications/interviews, unless your health problems are somehow something embarrassing.

 

[gnin]

I appreciate you input, but I think you misunderstood, three of those five irregular marks were in the semester I was sick, the other two (one W and one resolved incomplete) were in other semesters, when I was not sick.

 

[Law2Doc]

I appreciate you input, but I think you misunderstood, three of those five irregular marks were in the semester I was sick, the other two (one W and one resolved incomplete) were in other semesters.

Okay - I misread, sorry. You will have to address that; not sure how best to explain this, unless it's all health related and you can show that it's no longer an issue. You definitely need a postbac where you take a decent number of science classes and do well and absolutely, positively do not withdraw from anything any more. Med schools will want to see a track record of handling a heavy course load and a record with repeated W's or I's may be looked at as contra to this. Good luck.

 

[liverotcod]

Your GPA doesn't count withdrawals. As long as your science GPA is at least 3.5 and your MCAT is 30+, you don't need any post-bacc, although it's unlikely to hurt unless you don't get As in it.

 

[beep]

i wouldn't worry too much about it. address the health issue straightforwardly upfront, and be able to talk about how you've learned to better handle planning, time & workload if asked about the others (they may not even care, so don't bring it up). do well in your postbacc and on the mcat and it will be fine. seriously, people (myself included) have gotten into med school with way worse blemishes on their records.

my experience has been that my academic record, which is far shakier than yours at spots (but also demonstrates that i can handle hard classes and a heavy workload), has taken a back seat to larger questions about my vision, interests, and experiences at the schools that care about the "bigger picture". so try to stand out in other ways (if you can without sacrificing the grades) if you can, too.

 

[Law2Doc]

Your GPA doesn't count withdrawals. As long as your science GPA is at least 3.5 and your MCAT is 30+, you don't need any post-bacc, although it's unlikely to hurt unless you don't get As in it.

I was assuming in my prior posts that the OP hadn't taken all the prereqs yet, (given the statement that he hasn't taken too many sciences yet) in which case I think the postbac is a good place to show his ability to get through a year + of heavy courseload without withdrawing. If you have taken the prereqs already, my advice might change if you really kill the MCAT.

 

[scrappysurfer]

I'm a non-science major who just graduated from college. I have a decent academic record (3.64 GPA from a top-3 ivy), except for some irregularieties on my transcript- I have 3 course withdrawals and 2 made-up incompletes. Three of these marks (2 withdrawals and 1 made-up incomplete) were in one semester of my sophomore year, when I had health problems. One of the withdrawn courses this term was a science class, which I re-enrolled in during a later term and got an "A." All the other irregular marks were in non-science classes

I haven't taken too many science courses, and I wish to take post-baccalaureate work and then apply to medical schools. Assuming I do well in the postbaccalaureate work and MCAT, will this stuff in my background be a major stumbling block when I apply to an allopathic med school? How will I deal with it in interviews/applications?

In all honesty, I got into med school (MSTP at UC Irvine) with a shakier record, including one D the summer after freshman year. I also have 1 W, also for medical reasons, and a C during my 5th year. While some wiggle room in GPA is given for engineering (I was BioEng), some blips on your record only show that you are human and subject to mistakes. They were barely mentioned at any of my 6 interviews even though MSTP interviews require being interviewed by 4-5 individuals at each school. The only mention of the D was the student interviewer at a top 5 school.

If it is brought up at an interview, simply explain the situation (i.e. illness, etc). Interviewers who did bring up a low grade here or there seemed to brush it off almost immediately.

 

[liverotcod]

I was assuming in my prior posts that the OP hadn't taken all the prereqs yet, (given the statement that he hasn't taken too many sciences yet)

Yeah, I missed this sentence.

I haven't taken enough of the required science courses, and I hope to take post-baccalaureate work and then apply to medical schools.

 

[gnin]

Thanks for the replies so far. Anyone else?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

If you haven't taken all the requirements, you do need the post-bac. Address the semester of health issues somewhere on your app. Hopefully you can show that you resolved the medical situation and proved yourself afterwards. I'm not sure about the other withdrawals and how it will affect your transcript. I've heard many situations where it didn't seem to affect admissions at all. However I do not have any first hand experience b/c despite some very serious health issues, I completed all my courses depsite recommendations from my doctors and the dean....just so i wouldn't have to deal with what you are faced with now.

 

[eulogia228]

I'm a non-science major who just graduated from college. I have a decent academic record (3.64 GPA from a top-3 ivy), except for some irregularities on my transcript- I have 3 course withdrawals and 2 made-up incompletes. Three of these marks (2 withdrawals and 1 made-up incomplete) were in one semester of my sophomore year, when I had health problems. One of the withdrawn courses this term was a science class, which I re-enrolled in during a later term and got an "A." All the other irregular marks were in non-science classes.

I haven't taken enough of the required science courses, and I hope to take post-baccalaureate work and then apply to medical schools. Assuming I do well in the postbaccalaureate work and MCAT, will this stuff in my background be a major stumbling block when I apply to an allopathic med school? How will I deal with it in interviews/applications?

Out of curiosity, which Ivy do you go to?

 

[gnin]

Out of curiosity, which Ivy do you go to?

HYP, I'd rather not be more specific. (BTW, I'm originally from NYC.)

 

[JohnBasedow]

With a 3.64 and a good MCAT, you should have no problems getting into a med school even if you have the issues you mentioned above as long as you have the other parts of your app in order. I've gotten into a couple schools so far with a much shakier record.

 

[beep]

... However I do not have any first hand experience b/c despite some very serious health issues, I completed all my courses depsite recommendations from my doctors and the dean....just so i wouldn't have to deal with what you are faced with now.

it's great that psycho was able to do this, but don't worry if it just wasn't managable for you.

 

[Blue Scrub]

With a 3.64 and a good MCAT, you should have no problems getting into a med school even if you have the issues you mentioned above as long as you have the other parts of your app in order. I've gotten into a couple schools so far with a much shakier record.

I agree with the Incredible JohnBasedow...your stats are good enough to get you to the interview stage....and you can bet that you'll be asked about those classes you withdrew from....but as long as you have a good, valid reason having those W's on your record, I think you'll be fine and receive some acceptances....good luck!