Will an editorial position hurt my chances?

[yarrb]

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I am considering running for editor for the university paper, but am concerned about the time commitment which I am fairly certain will hurt my GPA. I love writing so I'm planning to continue to write for the paper until graduation, but will an editorial position end up hurting my application on the premise that it will result in a lower GPA?

 

[Ismet]

You're asking if a lower GPA will hurt your application? The answer is yes, probably. Of course, that depends on what your GPA is now. If you're gonna go from a 4.0 to a 3.8 or something, that really makes no difference. If you're sitting on a 3.5-3.6 now and you go down, your chances won't improve.

 

[Euxox]

will an editorial position end up hurting my application on the premise that it will result in a lower GPA?

Will a lower GPA hurt your application? Yes. Will an editorial position put your GPA in jeopardy? I don't know. There are too many variables to consider. Are you doing well in your classes? Do you have a lot of free time, or are you already burdened with other extracurriculars? How many hours a week will you have to devote to the editorial position? You are in a much better position to pass judgment on these things than we are.

As Ismet said, if you are at or near a 4.0, an extra EC might be worth a small drop in GPA because adcoms don't care so much about GPA differences in the highest bracket. (A 3.85 GPA and a 4.0 GPA are not too different in the eyes of adcoms.) But if your GPA is already less than about a 3.9 and you think that the editorial position is going to hurt your GPA, don't take the position. Your GPA and MCAT score come first and all other things are secondary.

 

[eleveneleven]

Seems like generally the consensus is around here is that GPA usually takes precedence over ECs. If you are actually CERTAIN that the editorial position will hurt your GPA, then I would be hesitant in going through with it, especially if, as the others said, you don't already have a strong GPA.

 

[Daynnight]

I'm editor in chief of my university's newspaper and held an editorial position for 3 years. Its been an incredible experience and the amount I learned from it made the sacrifice worth it. It was a ton of work, and my GPA probably suffered some because of it, but ultimately it gave me a differentiating factor from other candidates and I would like to think its a big reason I got into med school. If you're passionate about, then do it, it'll be worthwhile from a med school and a life perspective.

 

[survivordo]

I'm editor in chief of my university's newspaper and held an editorial position for 3 years. Its been an incredible experience and the amount I learned from it made the sacrifice worth it. It was a ton of work, and my GPA probably suffered some because of it, but ultimately it gave me a differentiating factor from other candidates and I would like to think its a big reason I got into med school. If you're passionate about, then do it, it'll be worthwhile from a med school and a life perspective.

As long as you can keep your GPA in the highly competitive range I say go for it. You just don't want your application chucked aside because of the GPA, once you get through that door an EC such as being editor will be a big advantage. Namely, you'll actually have something interesting to talk about on the interview rather than "yup I have a 4.0 GPA but never got out much"

Survivor DO

 

[Narmerguy]

As long as you can keep your GPA in the highly competitive range I say go for it. You just don't want your application chucked aside because of the GPA, once you get through that door an EC such as being editor will be a big advantage. Namely, you'll actually have something interesting to talk about on the interview rather than "yup I have a 4.0 GPA but never got out much"

Survivor DO

Agreed. If people avoided every EC that potentially decreased their GPA they'd never get into any of the good schools. No one wants someone with nothing but grades and an MCAT score. That said, you still want to keep your GPA competitive. So long as you think you can keep it 3.8+ I would dive into the editorial work. If you think it will drop your GPA below a 3.8 (or if you never had a 3.8 to begin with), then I would seriously consider whether you can do better for yourself by getting that GPA up.

 

[plumhill]

I have been either an assistant editor-in-chief or editor-in-chief of two different publications for the last six years (between high school and college) and my GPA has not suffered. If you keep yourself organized, stay on top of your deadlines, and learn how to delegate and prioritize, you'll be perfectly fine. But obviously, the time commitment is huge, and if you want to keep your grades up and get enough sleep every night, chances are your social life will go down the tubes (depending on how seriously you choose to take this position). So be prepared for that...but its definitely possible to be an editor and have good grades 😀

 

[Mountaineer12]

If you think you can do it, it will look awesome. I was offered an assistant editor position at my school's paper, but ultimately turned it down because I didn't think I could handle the time commitment + classes + MCAT. If you think it will hurt your GPA a lot then forget about it, but a small drop may be worth it to do something you love that would be a great hook for application season.