"Swing" in GPA

[Jason110]

My GPA breaks down as follows:

HS:
BCPM: 3.00
Total: 3.30

FR:
BCPM: 4.00
Total: 3.90

Soph:
BCPM: 3.66
Total: 3.80

JR:
BCPM: 3.14
Total: 3.35

SR:
BCPM: 3.74
Total: 3.84

TOTAL UG:
BCPM: 3.56
Total: 3.64

The question is, how do I explain the dip in my junior year (act. my soph yr of college but AMCAS classified it as junior). All my other semester GPAs were 3.80+ . I didn't mention it in my Personal statement. Should I have? I didn't think it was that low to mention it. What should I do if it comes up during the interview?

To be honest, the 'dip' was due to only 1 semester. It was a semester where I believe I took too many courses. Being diagnosed with mono two-thirds of the way through that semester did not help. Any thoughts?

Jason

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[N-toxicologist]

Maybe in your PS, you could mention your desire to become a doctor as being influenced by your own "bout with illness your junior year."

I do believe there is a section where you can describe other experiences, etc. not mentioned elsewhere on the app, or something like that. Try not to sound too negative or like you're whining about your bad luck, though.

 

[Tippy007]

I wouldn't address it because you're explaining yourself for no reason. Explaining yourself too much tells me that you need to be understood. Needing to be understood that badly is a sign of weakness, which clearly you don't want to give off to adcoms. Just spin the positives in your application because, to most schools, your GPA is average or better.

 

[shadowy onion]

My GPA breaks down as follows:

HS:
BCPM: 3.00
Total: 3.30

FR:
BCPM: 4.00
Total: 3.90

Soph:
BCPM: 3.66
Total: 3.80

JR:
BCPM: 3.14
Total: 3.35

SR:
BCPM: 3.74
Total: 3.84

TOTAL UG:
BCPM: 3.56
Total: 3.64

The question is, how do I explain the dip in my junior year (act. my soph yr of college but AMCAS classified it as junior). All my other semester GPAs were 3.80+ . I didn't mention it in my Personal statement. Should I have? I didn't think it was that low to mention it. What should I do if it comes up during the interview?

To be honest, the 'dip' was due to only 1 semester. It was a semester where I believe I took too many courses. Being diagnosed with mono two-thirds of the way through that semester did not help. Any thoughts?

Jason

calm down pal.
Nothing you can do about it, right?!
If it comes up explain to them your mono situation but do not say you took too many courses. Med school boasts a much heavier course load.

 

[Jillianrae]

Don't worry too much, my situation was similar (dropped from a 4.0 to a 3.12 semester GPA between soph. and jr. years). I had just transferred into a new university, so I said something about a "rocky start" at the new school in my PS. I did this so that adcoms would ask me about it at interviews, but I wouldn't come across as a "victim". I just explained at interviews that I had come down with mono and had 3 deaths that semester. Perhaps if you said something about a difficult semester/year in your PS then you could let the adcoms take the lead as far as how much info they wanted to know. My situation didn't keep me from getting in.

 

[mikedc813]

Your grades are good enough that you should get interviews despite your dip. It will probably come up in interviews, but shouldn't be a major issue I wouldn't think. Your other grades are excellent (they don't care about your HS grades) so just talk about your mono and that'll be that.

 

[nikolai521]

They really don't care about HS grades?

 

[45408]

No, and for good reason. They really don't have a strong correlation with your college/grad performance.

A friend of mine just got into Yale's law school even though he bombed his way through much of HS. Other students have a 4.0 through HS and tank as soon as they hit college.

 

[Medikit]

They really don't care about HS grades?

The only things you take with you from high school are your experiences, study habits, and maturity.

 

[gizmoduck]

If my interview for optometry school (yeah yeah thankfully I realized that was a bad way to go before it was too late) was any indication, your college math & science gpa is all they care about. Even then, my gpa was only mentioned once and that was more in passing than anything else.

 

[nikolai521]

Oh sorry. What I was referring to was undergraduate courses taken while in HS, but I am assuming the responses you guys gave (that HS grades don't correlate well with college/grad performance) would still work.