Premedical students know how important their college grades are when it comes to getting accepted to medical school. For successful applicants who entered med school in the 2021-2022 academic year, the average total GPA was a 3.74, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Although GPA is tremendously important, one bad semester or a string of bad grades doesn’t necessarily mean rejection from med school. It can mean an applicant has to readjust, improve and adjust their goals to focus more on their GPA.
[Read: Medical School Holistic Admissions: What to Know]
Here’s some advice below on how to reset after a bad semester or some bad grades and to get on the right track toward acceptance to med school.
Take a Minute to Assess
It’s important to understand why you didn’t perform well. There are various reasons for academic underperformance, ranging from not studying enough to taking on more than you can handle. Take some time to really think about it and figure out where you went wrong.
[Read: What Are Your Chances of Getting Into Medical School?]
If you can’t identify what happened, talk to an academic adviser. Discuss the classes you took and what your other commitments look like. Your adviser may be able to help identify areas where you were deficient or overextended yourself.
Make a Game Plan
Once you have an idea of what went wrong, it’s time to figure out how to correct it. Maybe you need to take on less of a course load. Maybe you need to take a prerequisite course in order to get a better baseline knowledge to perform at the expected level. Maybe you need to get a tutor. Or maybe you just need to understand your priorities.
Getting into med school requires long-term dedication and commitment. You will not develop this overnight, but take the time to dedicate yourself to your academics and personal development. Develop and hone your study habits now, because doing so will benefit you throughout your academic and professional career.
Understand How the Bad Performance Can Affect Your Chances for Medical School
Medical schools want to see optimal academic performance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that one bad semester or lower grades will count you out of the running. Your overall GPA is very important, and med school admission committees will look at that in conjunction with your individual semesters and trends.
[Read: How to Make Sure You Fulfill Medical School Requirements for Admission.]
So if you had a string of bad grades, the most important thing you can do is do better! Use these steps to improve your subsequent grades so that you are in a positive, upward GPA trend and your overall GPA improves.
Get Some Advice
You know that getting better grades is essential, but depending on where you are in undergrad, you may have to do more. Talk to an admissions expert, like an adviser at MedSchoolCoach, to understand how much your grades will affect your admission chances.
If you have multiple semesters of bad grades or a negative trend, it may be time to start considering a postbaccalaureate or master’s program to demonstrate your true academic potential.
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Don’t Count Out Medical School After One Bad Premed Semester originally appeared on usnews.com
