Internship/Residency with low GPA

[cml156]

I am a current second year student who feels like they are retaining so much info and loves learning, but is not a great test taker and is showing it via his GPA.

I want to do a rotating SA internship after I graduate in preparations of applying for an Anesthesia and Analgesia residency. I know the speciality is newer than others and there are not many locations that offer residency so it's somewhat competitive in terms of open spots. I am very worried I will not get to follow my dreams of getting into residency due to my GPA holding me back. I don't see myself being happy with being a GP (with no hard feelings toward it, I find GP is one of the harder careers since you are a well rounded person and that intimidates me) and am afraid that it will be what I am stuck with and will not be happy after all the hard work obtaining the degree. Are there any others who feel the same or any current doctors on here that can give any good testimonials or know anyone who was able to overcome a bad GPA and get into residency? Any and all advice is appreciated.

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[JaynaAli]

I would recommend you spend some time searching SDN vet and pre vet forums because this comes up repeatedly. Having a low GPA can be a barrier for some programs, there’s no denying that. Programs need objective cutoffs to narrow down a high applicant list and make choices and often that unofficial cutoff is an arbitrary GPA or class rank. It’s not impossible to match for rotating internships and get residencies with a below average GPA, but as someone who has been there and come out on the other side (I was slightly below the 50th percentile in my class), you’ll have to work hard to outside your high GPA peers in the realms of unique experiences in the field, excellent references from influential people, and heavy networking. You may also need to be extremely flexible with location and other program features in a way others with a higher GPA can be more picky. Hopefully the right program will look at your app as a whole and you’ll be successful. It can be hard but it’s not impossible.

 

[SkiOtter]

@cdo96

 

[cdo96]

I am a current second year student who feels like they are retaining so much info and loves learning, but is not a great test taker and is showing it via his GPA.

I want to do a rotating SA internship after I graduate in preparations of applying for an Anesthesia and Analgesia residency. I know the speciality is newer than others and there are not many locations that offer residency so it's somewhat competitive in terms of open spots. I am very worried I will not get to follow my dreams of getting into residency due to my GPA holding me back. I don't see myself being happy with being a GP (with no hard feelings toward it, I find GP is one of the harder careers since you are a well rounded person and that intimidates me) and am afraid that it will be what I am stuck with and will not be happy after all the hard work obtaining the degree. Are there any others who feel the same or any current doctors on here that can give any good testimonials or know anyone who was able to overcome a bad GPA and get into residency? Any and all advice is appreciated.

@cdo96

Hi this is me! I was in the bottom (half? third??? uncertain) of my class and I matched at my top choice internship and I have hospitals wooing me for residency rn.

I never tested well. I knew the material back and forwards (hell I’d even teach it to my classmates in review sessions and they’d all get better grades than me). I had very average grades and was totally defeated that I wouldn’t match as well (I originally wanted to go surgery, now I’m going ECC).

But I made connections. I joined a ton of clubs, took officer positions, was involved in research, got to know my professors, came to class and asked meaningful questions, and was generally a good student.

Then clinics came and I was able to truly shine. I was a fantastic student in clinics and my abilities really were able to be demonstrated. I worked hard, knew my ****, researched cases. I worked really hard. But it payed off.

I personally think I’m a fantastic intern, and my clinicians love me. So it’s absolutely okay to not have great grades. They really don’t define you. But you need to make up for it in other ways.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

 

[Trilt]

I am a current second year student who feels like they are retaining so much info and loves learning, but is not a great test taker and is showing it via his GPA.

I want to do a rotating SA internship after I graduate in preparations of applying for an Anesthesia and Analgesia residency. I know the speciality is newer than others and there are not many locations that offer residency so it's somewhat competitive in terms of open spots. I am very worried I will not get to follow my dreams of getting into residency due to my GPA holding me back. I don't see myself being happy with being a GP (with no hard feelings toward it, I find GP is one of the harder careers since you are a well rounded person and that intimidates me) and am afraid that it will be what I am stuck with and will not be happy after all the hard work obtaining the degree. Are there any others who feel the same or any current doctors on here that can give any good testimonials or know anyone who was able to overcome a bad GPA and get into residency? Any and all advice is appreciated.

Are you hanging out with the anesthesia service at your school yet? Because getting your face and name known there would be a huge place to start.

@PippyPony any suggestions?

 

[cml156]

Are you hanging out with the anesthesia service at your school yet? Because getting your face and name known there would be a huge place to start.

@PippyPony any suggestions?

Oh most certainly! I had been trying to get a research position with the team for over a year. Since they have my CV on standby at that point they finally reached out to me this last fall and I assisted in conducting some research with the anesthesia team so they know me pretty well I would say!

 

[PippyPony]

Anesthesia is not the most competitive specialty. For reasons I do not understand (because it seems so wonderful to me), it's not a popular option like surgery or cardiology or ophtho. So that might work in your favor, first of all.

Second, it's possible to get an internship and a residency without great grades. I know someone who was in the bottom 10% of our class who scored a competitive academic rotating internship and is getting great recommendations for a competitive residency. Those stories aren't common, but it's possible. Many programs place a lot more emphasis on being a good person to work with & being someone who works hard than they do on GPA. Perseverance also helps.

You may also find you do better in clinics than in didactics. I wasn't super hot as a pre-clinical student by any means, but I crushed it on clinics, and had faculty go out of their way to ask how they could support me and my career. Caring about your patients and showing enthusiasm & teamwork -- even when you're tired and running ragged from the clinical schedule -- goes a very long way.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat more, and good luck!

 

[that redhead]

And from a slightly different perspective, I did not match despite solid GPA, went in to GP (which like you I did not want to do) and ended up back where I wanted to be a few years later I know the profession is favoring the more direct path for specialities now but not matching immediately doesn’t necessarily have to be a death sentence for your dreams.