Hello! I posted a previous post titled " transcripts" inquiring about having a few “w’s” on my transcripts and how this affects acceptance into med school. If anyone can shine some light on this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
I will add my two cents. I have five “F”'s for classes that I forgot to withdraw out of 25 years ago. Those will still need to be reported and added into my overall GPA. I am still kicking myself for not taking the time to withdraw out of them. I would think a “W” would not be as bad a “F”. If your classes were Sciences then it might weigh a little heavier. I have a “W” were I withdrew out of a Chemistry class that I took two years ago during the summer. It was a condense summer semester and I could not keep up. If I do well this semester then I would think that I showed them I can now handle that class.
the mantra I’ve heard is that it’s more important to show progress (i.e. upward trend after having difficulty) in your scholastic efforts than any particular set of grades, especially if they are from another time in your life.
This is what I’ve heard, but not seen in practice. My GPA from 25 years ago was a dismal 2.8 (135 cr), and my GPA from the last four years (all science) is 3.7 (with 65 cr). Overall, my GPA is about 2.99 and I can’t get an interview with a 32 mcat, strong LOEs and clinical/community service.
They talk a nice story, but I don’t see it happening.
- premeditator Said:
This is what I've heard, but not seen in practice. My GPA from 25 years ago was a dismal 2.8 (135 cr), and my GPA from the last four years (all science) is 3.7 (with 65 cr). Overall, my GPA is about 2.99 and I can't get an interview with a 32 mcat, strong LOEs and clinical/community service.
They talk a nice story, but I don't see it happening.
They talk a nice story, but I don't see it happening.
I personally can vouch for this happening. Myself and another member on this board both had similar stats to yourself and got accepted to multiple medical schools. I do know that medical school applications (as well as all graduate school applications in general) are way up in numbers this year due to the economy. Perhaps things are more competitive this year.
Are there other factors? i.e. - are you a California resident applying to the ridiculously competitive California schools? Did you only apply to a couple of schools in a limited geographic radius?
I assume from your post that you are applying this year and did not get any interviews. Two thoughts - call/write the med schools and ask them if they will reconsider your application. Say something to the effect of "I realize that my overall GPA is not competitive at your school, but given my strong recent performance and the fact that my poor grades are so long ago, I was wondering if you would consider re-evaluating my application". Some schools who are using a GPA cut-off of 3.0 as a preliminary screening tool may not have looked that closely at your application.
Secondly, if you don't get any interviews/acceptances, I would encourage you to contact the admissions office at one or more of the schools that you applied to in April or so and ask if someone would be willing to meet with you or talk with you over the phone about what you can do to improve your application. Some schools will tell you no, but some will be willing to meet with you and will give you very good advice. April is generally a good time because most schools are between interviewing/intial acceptances and the mad rush that they have after May 15th when people withdraw due to multiple acceptances.
Thanks - your comments are appreciated. I’m in NY, and have been rejected by the SUNY schools. Last year I applied and had a very nice, productive conversation with the University of Iowa. The advice was to improve my mcat score (i did) and complete a master’s degree (i am), but once again, nothing. I’ve applied to about 15 schools, not top tier, places where my scores are more than competitive. I can’t figure it out.
- premeditator Said:
This is what I've heard, but not seen in practice. My GPA from 25 years ago was a dismal 2.8 (135 cr), and my GPA from the last four years (all science) is 3.7 (with 65 cr). Overall, my GPA is about 2.99 and I can't get an interview with a 32 mcat, strong LOEs and clinical/community service.
They talk a nice story, but I don't see it happening.
They talk a nice story, but I don't see it happening.
It happens all of the time. Sometimes you have to help the med schools see the trend line.
Cheers,
Judy
Another thing you might consider is shadowing a D.O. and considering whether you might be interested in osteopathic medicine. One thing I learned from my application process is that graduate school grades do NOT add in to the overall GPA calculation on the AMCAS application, but DO count in the overall GPA and science GPA on the ACOMAS application. Since you have done masters-level courses, that difference could make your application stronger in an initial review.