What qualifies as a “red flag”?

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Next week I will be interviewing at a school which seems to ask every interviewee if there are any red flags on their application. In a few secondary essays I have been asked to explain any extenuating circumstances (poor grades, course withdrawals, etc).

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"? Where do you draw the line between addressing what you feel is a weakness and appearing obsessive or making something not that bad seem worse? In my case I received a C+ in one semester of Physics (this was my lowest grade in college) and my lowest MCAT section was PS. Should I say that a "red flag" on my application is that I am bad at physics (I will probably word this more eloquently in the interview).

 

[p30doc]

it is a part of your application absorbs all light except at the wavelength of ~650nm

 

[p30doc]

Also I don't think one C+ is a red flag, unless your PS section school is 7 or below. Don't unnecessarily shoot yourself in the foot, I would answer no unless there is a serious problem somewhere in your application which you can explain with a positive twist.

 

[sushichopstickz]

The admin said not to talk about grades less than a C. While I am not sure if my answer is any good, but I talked about how I have a lot of passions and interests and this can sometimes spread me thin. I like to do things outside of medicine, like take on environmental issues and do art critiques. But I followed up with how having multiple perspectives can have benefits to medicine, especially at a time when are society is so heterogeneous and diverse. Interviews are weird, I can never gauge my performance. It's frustrating actually.

 

[JaggerPlate]

Next week I will be interviewing at a school which seems to ask every interviewee if there are any red flags on their application. In a few secondary essays I have been asked to explain any extenuating circumstances (poor grades, course withdrawals, etc).

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"? Where do you draw the line between addressing what you feel is a weakness and appearing obsessive or making something not that bad seem worse? In my case I received a C+ in one semester of Physics (this was my lowest grade in college) and my lowest MCAT section was PS. Should I say that a "red flag" on my application is that I am bad at physics (I will probably word this more eloquently in the interview).

An A-.

 

[URHere]

Next week I will be interviewing at a school which seems to ask every interviewee if there are any red flags on their application. In a few secondary essays I have been asked to explain any extenuating circumstances (poor grades, course withdrawals, etc).

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"? Where do you draw the line between addressing what you feel is a weakness and appearing obsessive or making something not that bad seem worse? In my case I received a C+ in one semester of Physics (this was my lowest grade in college) and my lowest MCAT section was PS. Should I say that a "red flag" on my application is that I am bad at physics (I will probably word this more eloquently in the interview).

Haha...is this Rochester? I know they like to ask about "red flags" using ubiquitous wording...

But anyway, red flags would be things like strings of failed courses, a 5L MCAT score, a criminal record...essentially things that a school will not hesitate to reject you for if you do not explain. When I answered the "red flag" question last year, I mentioned a withdrawal from a class only to have an interviewer tell me "yeah, that's not a red flag, and we really don't care about it".

 

[203712]

Next week I will be interviewing at a school which seems to ask every interviewee if there are any red flags on their application. In a few secondary essays I have been asked to explain any extenuating circumstances (poor grades, course withdrawals, etc).

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"? Where do you draw the line between addressing what you feel is a weakness and appearing obsessive or making something not that bad seem worse? In my case I received a C+ in one semester of Physics (this was my lowest grade in college) and my lowest MCAT section was PS. Should I say that a "red flag" on my application is that I am bad at physics (I will probably word this more eloquently in the interview).

DO NOT SAY YOUR ARE BAD AT PHYSICS. No matter how you word that, its going to come off as bad. the C+ is no big deal! If your PS score was low, they might think you just had a bad test experience...but if you tell them your bad at physics, tell them you got a C+ in physics, and scored poorly in physics...........

there gonna think you cant handle the workload that is med school (even though you wont be doing physics).

Dont mention the C+. you'll be fine.

 

[silas2642]

Next week I will be interviewing at a school which seems to ask every interviewee if there are any red flags on their application. In a few secondary essays I have been asked to explain any extenuating circumstances (poor grades, course withdrawals, etc).

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"? Where do you draw the line between addressing what you feel is a weakness and appearing obsessive or making something not that bad seem worse? In my case I received a C+ in one semester of Physics (this was my lowest grade in college) and my lowest MCAT section was PS. Should I say that a "red flag" on my application is that I am bad at physics (I will probably word this more eloquently in the interview).

That is not a red flag and they won't care about a C+ in a semester of physics. Red flags are low gpas, low grades in core classes, inconsistencies in grades in your college career, academic disciplinary action (i.e. cheating), criminal records, a history of drug use, low mcat scores, a lot of withdrawals, poor or lukewarm letters of recommendation, etc.

Look, I got a C in Calculus II during a terrible semester (semester gpa of like 3.3). I didn't mention it in my ps, didn't mention it in a secondary, and it never came up at the interview. If it did come up, I would have said that it was early in my undergraduate career when I didn't have a clue as to what I wanted to do, and as I gained focus, my grades improved.

Just be honest. Don't lie. Interviewers can smell people who are lying to them a mile away. It's okay if you don't like physics, and it's okay if you say you struggled a bit that semester in it, but make sure you put a positive spin on it and say that you learned something about it and yourself and grew from it.

 

[ButImLETired]

Pretty sure I interviewed at the school you're talking about, so maybe I can tell you what the interviewer told me when she asked the question.

Basically, her (the interviewer's) job is to present you to the committee and to fight for you. That means that she has to be ready for any rebuttals. Is there anything in your application that would make the committee think twice about accepting you? I actually think that the c+ associated with a lower PS makes sense if that's really the only weak spot in your application, because it might be something they question, especially if the rest of your record is great. Explain what you think happened there and how you'll work to improve, and what evidence you have that it won't be an issue come med school, and the interviewer will be able to relay that info to the committee.

Other examples would be weak clinicals, a crappy semester when you just had too much stuff going on, an institutional action taken on your transcript, etc. Anything really that might stand out in an otherwise good application. Remember to be honest, humble, and unapologetic. S**t happens, and they know it. As long as you've learned something from the experience and have an idea on how to fix it or have evidence for why it won't really be a problem (say, the rest of your mcat score is good, the rest of your academic record is good, you had 15 jobs, etc) and can talk about it maturely, it's fine.

Edit: if you ARE gonna mention the C+, don't make it sound as if it's the end of the world, cause they don't want gunners either. Just be like "I think I've done fairly well and don't have anything major to discuss, but if I really have to be picky, I guess that C+..." blah blah. Don't just be like, YES, I got a C+ and it was awful and a horrible grade and let me tell you why you should feel sorry for me.

 

[Mobius1985]

My question is what qualifies as a "red flag"?

DUI, drug possession, caught cheating, institutional action (eg, illegal downloads).