Am I out of the running for top 20 research medical schools?

[freneticFil]

Hey guys, I'm at a top 20-30 undergrad university on full scholarship. I've been following the regular pre-med track and have taken general chemistry I and II, calculus I and II, and Bio I and Orgo I, along with some other classes.

GPA:
Semester 1: 3.97
Semester 2: 3.93
Semester 1 (sophomore year): 3.77
Cumulative...around 3.9?

Question is should I be worried about the 3.77 when it was only 13 credits (bio and orgo and another class) concerning my future applying to top research medical schools along with MD/MBA programs at places such as UPenn, Tufts, Harvard, etc.. Surprisingly did the best in orgo. I will not be making the dean's list because dean's list is top 20% with cutoff usually around 3.84 ish. A reason is because my girlfriend had some problems arise in her life and I had to help her. That is fine, but I was also overinvolved in a bunch of stuff that I'm now dropping too - that is what I somewhat regret.

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[HomeSkool]

Question is should I be worried about the 3.77 when it was only 13 credits (bio and orgo and another class) concerning my future applying to top research medical schools along with MD/MBA programs at places such as UPenn, Tufts, Harvard, etc..

No. The most common time for a slight GPA dip is during your sophomore year, and it's easily forgivable as long as the trend afterward is up. You're still in great shape.

By the way, the first time you ask this question with such a high GPA, you're given a pass. The second time, it's declared humblebragging and we all flame you. Choose wisely, young grasshopper.

 

[Master Thinker]

No. The most common time for a slight GPA dip is during your sophomore year, and it's easily forgivable as long as the trend afterward is up. You're still in great shape.

By the way, the first time you ask this question with such a high GPA, you're given a pass. The second time, it's declared humblebragging and we all flame you. Choose wisely, young grasshopper.

I have my bunsen burner ready

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[TheBiologist]

Tufts med is not as competative as some of their other schools, for the record

 

[Robin-jay]

Tufts med is not as competative as some of their other schools, for the record

A few years ago a guy on here had less than a 3.0 sGPA (around 2.8 I believe), got a 35 MCAT, and Tufts Med. School accepted him.

He double majored in physics/bio.

 

[FroYoOreo]

The most common time for a slight GPA dip is during your sophomore year

Really? That's a big relief. I started taking 21 credit on sophomore year and plus trying to do too many ECs, so my grades dropped tremendously (get C+ in biology 101, which is the biggest regret of my college years). I did well from then on, and took advanced biology class and did well. Will I still be toasted for getting a C in the most crucial class for being a premed?

 

[Dr.Cut.em.up]

Yeah you are out of the running for the top schools. You must have a 5.0 unweighted GPA and have a 590 MCAT. Better look into fast food. The only way you go to a top school is as a cadaver.

 

[Pharaoh95]

Yeah you are out of the running for the top schools. You must have a 5.0 unweighted GPA and have a 590 MCAT. Better look into fast food. The only way you go to a top school is as a cadaver.

That last sentence has me dead

 

[Robin-jay]

Yeah you are out of the running for the top schools. You must have a 5.0 unweighted GPA and have a 590 MCAT. Better look into fast food. The only way you go to a top school is as a cadaver.

That last sentence has me dead

Irony.

 

[Anti-PD1]

Go HAM on research, kill the MCAT. And be special.

 

[HomeSkool]

Really? That's a big relief. I started taking 21 credit on sophomore year and plus trying to do too many ECs, so my grades dropped tremendously (get C+ in biology 101, which is the biggest regret of my college years). I did well from then on, and took advanced biology class and did well. Will I still be toasted for getting a C in the most crucial class for being a premed?

No. Plenty of people get into med school with a few C's. And C+ in an intro-level bio course won't hurt. If it did, 90% of applicants would be toast as freshmen! (BTW, I got a B- in Microbio 130, which was my major's equivalent of Bio 101. It mattered not at all, especially after I killed every science course thereafter.)

 

[aldol16]

If you kill the B/BC section of the MCAT, that will alleviate any potential doubts about your ability to do biology. I know of many people at top med schools who had sub-par performance in one or more classes. As long as your overall GPA is within range of the school's median and your MCAT score shows that you aren't deficient in that area, then you shouldn't worry.

 

[BombsAway]

No. Plenty of people get into med school with a few C's. And C+ in an intro-level bio course won't hurt. If it did, 90% of applicants would be toast as freshmen! (BTW, I got a B- in Microbio 130, which was my major's equivalent of Bio 101. It mattered not at all, especially after I killed every science course thereafter.)

Things were different 10 years ago, fam.

 

[HomeSkool]

Things were different 10 years ago, fam.

I'm not quite sure what your point is. Clarify?

 

[Microbug]

I'm not quite sure what your point is. Clarify.

He’s calling you old

 

[HomeSkool]

He’s calling you old

If being in one's 30s is old, I suppose.

 

[BombsAway]

I'm not quite sure what your point is. Clarify.

"Fam" is short for family and is used colloquially in the same way as "bro". It does not mean you are old, as someone else suggested.

 

[HomeSkool]

"Fam" is short for family and is used colloquially in the same way as "bro". It does not mean you are old, as someone else suggested.

I'm aware of that usage. I'm just not sure what your point was.

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[BombsAway]

I'm aware of that usage. I'm just not sure what your point was.

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oh, that part is even easier to explain. Med school admissions have become much more competitive over the past 10 years, so the anecdotes from your days should be tempered by that reality.

 

[HomeSkool]

oh, that part is even easier to explain. Med school admissions have become much more competitive over the past 10 years, so the anecdotes from your days should be tempered by that reality.

I understand the differences between then and now. The fact remains that a C+ in Bio 101 won't matter if the OP does well going forward, so I'm still not sure what you were trying to accomplish.

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[BombsAway]

I understand the differences between then and now. The fact remains that a C+ in Bio 101 won't matter if the OP does well going forward, so I'm still not sure what you were trying to accomplish.

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I'm pointing out that it matters a little more than it did 10 years ago. To say it won't matter is less correct that saying it can be overcome.

 

[HomeSkool]

I'm pointing out that it matters a little more than it did 10 years ago. To say it won't matter is less correct that saying it can be overcome.

It could be overcome then and it can be overcome now. The method to overcoming it is to get better grades going forward. That's been my point here and in about fifty other threads, so I'm not sure your comment really added much to the discussion. But whatever makes you happy, fam.

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[Microbug]

If being in one's 30s is old, I suppose.

 

[Goro]

A few years ago a guy on here had less than a 3.0 sGPA (around 2.8 I believe), got a 35 MCAT, and Tufts Med. School accepted him.

He double majored in physics/bio.

Tufts is a school that rewards reinvention. Said person probably aced a post-bac or SMP.

 

[Goro]

oh, that part is even easier to explain. Med school admissions have become much more competitive over the past 10 years, so the anecdotes from your days should be tempered by that reality.

Homeskool's point is still valid about the single C+ in Bio. Adcoms don't care about individual courses...we care about the aggregate, and patterns.

 

[FroYoOreo]

No. Plenty of people get into med school with a few C's. And C+ in an intro-level bio course won't hurt. If it did, 90% of applicants would be toast as freshmen! (BTW, I got a B- in Microbio 130, which was my major's equivalent of Bio 101. It mattered not at all, especially after I killed every science course thereafter.)

Thanks for sharing! Another question I have is whether I should briefly explain the GPA dip in the PS. My pre-health advisor edited my PS (for last cycle, 2 years ago), and she added the sentence "although I stumbled academically previously, I have did much better since then" (I forgot the exact wording but something similar)
Should I add a sentence to explain my 3.3 GPA sophomore semester?
Thanks!

 

[HomeSkool]

Thanks for sharing! Another question I have is whether I should briefly explain the GPA dip in the PS. My pre-health advisor edited my PS (for last cycle, 2 years ago), and she added the sentence "although I stumbled academically previously, I have did much better since then" (I forgot the exact wording but something similar)
Should I add a sentence to explain my 3.3 GPA sophomore semester?
Thanks!

Nope.

1. It may come off as making excuses. If your performance suffered because of a family tragedy (for example, you lost a parent), you might discuss that experience in the context of it motivating you to pursue a career in medicine. But using it to explain away a grade dip could actually make them question your judgment (i.e., "this guy didn't have the sense to withdraw from courses in the midst of a major family tragedy?").

2. The sentence you quoted above is a complete waste of characters. The fact that you stumbled and recovered is demonstrated pretty clearly by your transcript.

3. Adcoms don't care that you dipped a little. They care that you recovered.

 

[FroYoOreo]

Nope.

1. It may come off as making excuses. If your performance suffered because of a family tragedy (for example, you lost a parent), you might discuss that experience in the context of it motivating you to pursue a career in medicine. But using it to explain away a grade dip could actually make them question your judgment (i.e., "this guy didn't have the sense to withdraw from courses in the midst of a major family tragedy?").

2. The sentence you quoted above is a complete waste of characters. The fact that you stumbled and recovered is demonstrated pretty clearly by your transcript.

3. Adcoms don't care that you dipped a little. They care that you recovered.

Great advice! Thanks
(feeling like my pre-health advisor does not know what she was doing smh)

 

[HomeSkool]

Great advice! Thanks
(feeling like my pre-health advisor does not know what she was doing smh)

Ask @Goro what he thinks about pre-health advisors.

 

[Robin-jay]

Ask @Goro what he thinks about pre-health advisors.

Ask anyone what they think of pre-health advisors.

 

[aldol16]

1. It may come off as making excuses. If your performance suffered because of a family tragedy (for example, you lost a parent), you might discuss that experience in the context of it motivating you to pursue a career in medicine. But using it to explain away a grade dip could actually make them question your judgment (i.e., "this guy didn't have the sense to withdraw from courses in the midst of a major family tragedy?").

I think your point is valid, but the example is terrible. No, like a normal person, this guy had many other more pressing issues on his mind at the time than withdrawing from a course. No normal person going to question someone's judgement for not withdrawing from a class in the midst of a family tragedy.

 

[HomeSkool]

I think your point is valid, but the example is terrible. No, like a normal person, this guy had many other more pressing issues on his mind at the time than withdrawing from a course. No normal person going to question someone's judgement for not withdrawing from a class in the midst of a family tragedy.

Admittedly an extreme example, and I'm personally guilty of having powered through medical training despite losing a parent. The point, though, is to learn to anticipate sources of risk and mitigate them proactively.

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