WAMC? - Bad GPA, good MCAT. All grades from Jr year withdrawn from illness

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

(Posting for a friend) Hey everyone, my story is a little odd, so please read through it. I will try to make this as clear & concise as possible.


cGPA: 3.283


sGPA: 3.2112 - could be a 3.5 (my undergrad was willing to cancel out 2 failing courses through a retroactive withdrawal under special circumstances because of what i was dealing with, just removing these 2 F's alone would raise my GPA to 3.5)


MCAT: 523


EC’s:


- internship: summer internship at non-profit that connects patients with their local mental healthcare providers


- Shadowing: 190 hours (4 different specialties)


- Clinical Volunteering: 389 hours ( over the course of 4 years)


- Non clinical volunteering: 63 hours



Here are some major issues with the science courses:

I Q-dropped intro chem 1, and took it again the next sem for an A
I Q-dropped organic chem 1, and took it again the next sem for an A


I failed ecology with an F, but retook it for an A
I failed Intro Chem Lab soph year because
I failed evolution with an F, but retook it for an A
I failed biostatistics with an D, but retook it for an A


*******I failed intro chem lab with an F, but retook for an A ***** see 1st sem sophomore year for details on why


Besides the above-listed classes, I have made all A’s (not A-) in all my remaining science courses. I have gotten A’s when I retook the courses.


I was on academic probation my 1st sem freshman year because of physical health issues, and I didnt know I could medically withdraw. I had to do a retroactive, medical withdrawal from my ENTIRE 2 semester of junior year, because I was severely, severely, mentally ill and it was affecting my studies. This was due to some family trauma, and all my grades from both these semesters are W’s (not counted toward final GPA or any credit).During my entire junior year, I did not participate in any medical or non-medical related extra-curricular activities except for helping at a women’s health clinic which helped me maintain a routine. I have either gotten A's in my science courses, or the F's ive mentioned above. I've now picked up coding so that I can hopefully get a job to earn some money to pay for medical school. So technically, if i were to apply to medical schools in the future, i might be coming from an IT background or having a job in computer science.


I will be graduating with a BSA in Biology. It will take me 4.5 years to graduate versus 4 because of my withdrawn courses from Jr year).

Freshman year :
(1st sem)
- I was on academic probation and Q-dropped my Chem 1 intro course. (1.9 semester gpa) I was really sick with mono and didn't know i could medically withdraw then and tried to stick it out. I didnt know how to use my college's resources and had a hard time adjusting
(2nd sem):
- Did MUCH better. A’s in my science classes

Sophomore Year
(1st sem)
- performed horribly. Got an F for into chem lab because my friend copied off my lab; we both got caught, and had to retake the course the next sem.
- Q dropped organic chem 1 (doesn’t count towards my grade but I have to take it the next sem

(2nd sem):
- did a little better

Junior year (all withdrawn)

Senior year:
(1st sem)
- Failed ecology and evolution, got an A in everything else.
(2nd sem)
- did really well. (4.0 sem gpa)
“Extra year”
- doing really well. A’s in all my courses (4.0 sem gpa)


Now, I want to apply to medical schools in the future, but I am not sure what to do? Where do i go from here? Should I do a post-bacc, should I directly apply while doing a job as a scribe maybe? I just need some help as my transcript has some horrible failing grades but my MCAT was rather good. I know a bad GPA or MCAT cannot makeup for eachother but im just not sure what to do or expect.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Did you resolve your health issues? can you do DIY post-bac to improve your GPA? Probably need another 100 hrs of non-clinical volunteering.

 

[Mkif586]

What is your gpa by year? With massive trend you might have good chances at least at DO. Your MCAT is really impressive!

 

[Goro]

(Posting for a friend) Hey everyone, my story is a little odd, so please read through it. I will try to make this as clear & concise as possible.


cGPA: 3.283


sGPA: 3.2112 - could be a 3.5 (my undergrad was willing to cancel out 2 failing courses through a retroactive withdrawal under special circumstances because of what i was dealing with, just removing these 2 F's alone would raise my GPA to 3.5)


MCAT: 523


EC’s:


- internship: summer internship at non-profit that connects patients with their local mental healthcare providers


- Shadowing: 190 hours (4 different specialties)


- Clinical Volunteering: 389 hours ( over the course of 4 years)


- Non clinical volunteering: 63 hours



Here are some major issues with the science courses:

I Q-dropped intro chem 1, and took it again the next sem for an A
I Q-dropped organic chem 1, and took it again the next sem for an A


I failed ecology with an F, but retook it for an A
I failed Intro Chem Lab soph year because
I failed evolution with an F, but retook it for an A
I failed biostatistics with an D, but retook it for an A


*******I failed intro chem lab with an F, but retook for an A ***** see 1st sem sophomore year for details on why


Besides the above-listed classes, I have made all A’s (not A-) in all my remaining science courses. I have gotten A’s when I retook the courses.


I was on academic probation my 1st sem freshman year because of physical health issues, and I didnt know I could medically withdraw. I had to do a retroactive, medical withdrawal from my ENTIRE 2 semester of junior year, because I was severely, severely, mentally ill and it was affecting my studies. This was due to some family trauma, and all my grades from both these semesters are W’s (not counted toward final GPA or any credit).During my entire junior year, I did not participate in any medical or non-medical related extra-curricular activities except for helping at a women’s health clinic which helped me maintain a routine. I have either gotten A's in my science courses, or the F's ive mentioned above. I've now picked up coding so that I can hopefully get a job to earn some money to pay for medical school. So technically, if i were to apply to medical schools in the future, i might be coming from an IT background or having a job in computer science.


I will be graduating with a BSA in Biology. It will take me 4.5 years to graduate versus 4 because of my withdrawn courses from Jr year).

Freshman year :
(1st sem)
- I was on academic probation and Q-dropped my Chem 1 intro course. (1.9 semester gpa) I was really sick with mono and didn't know i could medically withdraw then and tried to stick it out. I didnt know how to use my college's resources and had a hard time adjusting
(2nd sem):
- Did MUCH better. A’s in my science classes

Sophomore Year
(1st sem)
- performed horribly. Got an F for into chem lab because my friend copied off my lab; we both got caught, and had to retake the course the next sem.
- Q dropped organic chem 1 (doesn’t count towards my grade but I have to take it the next sem

(2nd sem):
- did a little better

Junior year (all withdrawn)

Senior year:
(1st sem)
- Failed ecology and evolution, got an A in everything else.
(2nd sem)
- did really well. (4.0 sem gpa)
“Extra year”
- doing really well. A’s in all my courses (4.0 sem gpa)


Now, I want to apply to medical schools in the future, but I am not sure what to do? Where do i go from here? Should I do a post-bacc, should I directly apply while doing a job as a scribe maybe? I just need some help as my transcript has some horrible failing grades but my MCAT was rather good. I know a bad GPA or MCAT cannot makeup for eachother but im just not sure what to do or expect.

Ace a postbac or SMP

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

Did you resolve your health issues? can you do DIY post-bac to improve your GPA? Probably need another 100 hrs of non-clinical volunteering.

Health issues are resolved; the issues were because of a specific traumatic accident, so i think if i had to write about mental health issues in my application one day, it wouldn't look as bad as just saying i was just messed up during that year?

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

Ace a postbac or SMP

Do you think a postbac/smp would look just better overall, or is it specifically for improving the GPA?

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

What is your gpa by year? With massive trend you might have good chances at least at DO. Your MCAT is really impressive!

Thank you! I would be very happy with a DO as well, but because my initial goal was to do MD schools, i wanted tot ry my hardest and give that my best shot too and apply to those. When you say massive trend, what exactly do you mean?

 

[Mkif586]

Thank you! I would be very happy with a DO as well, but because my initial goal was to do MD schools, i wanted tot ry my hardest and give that my best shot too and apply to those. When you say massive trend, what exactly do you mean?

Something like:
fr 1.0
so 1.3
jr 4.0
sr 4.0

With such trend you shall be judged very differently than someone who had
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

Something like:
fr 1.0
so 1.3
jr 4.0
sr 4.0

With such trend you shall be judged very differently than someone who had
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0

Could you elaborate on how so? I understand its not consistent, im just trying to get a good idea

 

[Mkif586]

Could you elaborate on how so? I understand its not consistent, im just trying to get a good idea

Basically massive rising GPA trend means that a person may had a rough start at college but over time became an excellent student. The person who started with 1.0 but ultimately became 4.0 and was able to maintain such score over relatively stable period of time - let's say 2 years is in a lot better position than someone who was B average student throughout college career though they both have the exact same GPA.
Think of this as of a sport where someone started as an outsider near the bottom of score table but over time became LeBron and compare this person with someone who was just some middle chart player throughout the entire career. Though they both might have the exact same total score record, but it is obvious that the first player is a lot better than the second one? Coppish?

 

[candbgirl]

Sophomore Year
(1st sem)
- performed horribly. Got an F for into chem lab because my friend copied off my lab; we both got caught, and had to retake the course the next sem.

Did this incident result in an IA for cheating?

 

[Goro]

Do you think a postbac/smp would look just better overall, or is it specifically for improving the GPA?

Yes

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

Basically massive rising GPA trend means that a person may had a rough start at college but over time became an excellent student. The person who started with 1.0 but ultimately became 4.0 and was able to maintain such score over relatively stable period of time - let's say 2 years is in a lot better position than someone who was B average student throughout college career though they both have the exact same GPA.
Think of this as of a sport where someone started as an outsider near the bottom of score table but over time became LeBron and compare this person with someone who was just some middle chart player throughout the entire career. Though they both might have the exact same total score record, but it is obvious that the first player is a lot better than the second one? Coppish?

This makes a lot of sense, thank you so much for clarifying and explaining everything! Much appreciated. This post was for a friend of mine, but I am also trying to get into med school in the next 1-2 years. I started out with a 2.0 gpa my freshman year because i had a crazy hard time adjusting, but the rest of my semesters for school have this trend: (fr: 2.0, 3.9, soph: 3.2, 4.0, jr: 3.7, 3.8, sr: 4.0, 3.9). Is this trend looked down upon, purely speaking in terms of GPA?

 

[Mkif586]

This makes a lot of sense, thank you so much for clarifying and explaining everything! Much appreciated. This post was for a friend of mine, but I am also trying to get into med school in the next 1-2 years. I started out with a 2.0 gpa my freshman year because i had a crazy hard time adjusting, but the rest of my semesters for school have this trend: (fr: 2.0, 3.9, soph: 3.2, 4.0, jr: 3.7, 3.8, sr: 4.0, 3.9). Is this trend looked down upon, purely speaking in terms of GPA?

I think your gpa is great regardless your first semester, you have solid 3 years of good grades.

 

[tryingtogetintomedschool]

I think your gpa is great regardless your first semester, you have solid 3 years of good grades.

Thank you!

 

[Goro]

This makes a lot of sense, thank you so much for clarifying and explaining everything! Much appreciated. This post was for a friend of mine, but I am also trying to get into med school in the next 1-2 years. I started out with a 2.0 gpa my freshman year because i had a crazy hard time adjusting, but the rest of my semesters for school have this trend: (fr: 2.0, 3.9, soph: 3.2, 4.0, jr: 3.7, 3.8, sr: 4.0, 3.9). Is this trend looked down upon, purely speaking in terms of GPA?

Stop thinking in semester by semester GPAs, because Adcoms don't see that. We see your year by year performance. Yes, we can see your individual courses, but it's year by year info that pops out on AMCAS and AACOMAS app. You have a STRONG JR and SR year and that's what counts.

How do you have a near perfect SR GPA when you failed Ecology that year? And your JR year, you withdrew everything. Is the 3.7/38 from when you came back?
Something isn't adding up.