How to mention disputed grades in interviews/statements

[pinkneonchick]

I recently decided to do the required post-bac classes to apply to medical school (this is something I have wanted to do since 11th grade). I had begun taking the required courses in undergrad but due to some personal issues with family and a nightmare semester in physics I ended up giving up. I now believe I am in a better, more focused place and

Comments

[tigg]

You might get a wide range of responses on this one, but my take is this: don't mention the grade disputes. It's not uncommon to have a couple of Cs on one's records when applying to grad school (or a post-bac).

Since the rest of your record is good, I just wouldn't mention it in your statement. You should, however, be prepared in an interview; still, stay away from telling any interviewer that the professor is a misogynist, etc. Even if you deserved a better grade, it's probably just going to be a bad mark on you if you get into a heated discussion about it. Also - if the grades haven't been changed, then there's really nothing you can do except give a good reason why you didn't perform as well in those classes (aside from the professor being a misogynist thing).

You may also want to look around for med school application communities on LJ to see if anyone has specific experiences.

[pinkneonchick]

Thanks a lot for your response. I kind of expected that I shouldn't mention it but it is really upsetting to me because they were two courses within my major which came very easily to me, so to have less than an A is mortifying! I see your point though and appreciate the feedback!

[cosmicwonder]

Have you tried posting this in a community that deals with medical school applicatons? Most of us here haven't had much experience with med school, so I'm not sure how helpful we can be and if the advice we give is applicable towards med school. I wish I could suggest a community, but as I'm not applying to med, I don't have any experience with it. Perhaps someone else can

[pinkneonchick]

I posted to some medical school forums as well but I wanted a range of responses so I posted here, too. I do see your point about that being a better forum for my question and apologize if you feel I wasted your time (though I don't get that impression)!

I didn't intern but in my senior year I took part in an independent study doing lab work in reproduction, and I am now employed by the Joseph Stokes Jr Research Institute at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia working as a Research Assistant in Immunology, which certainly doesn't hurt. I guess I'm just embarrassed about the grades but should just suck it up.

I'm applying to University of Pennsylvania's post-bac program (hence why I'm so nervous), because my job will pay for a large portion of my tuition if I go there, and it is convenient for me to go to class from work that way. I am also applying to Temple (where I did my undergrad).

Thanks a lot for your feedback, it really is appreciated :)

[1stborn2nd]

IMHO as soon as a professor hears the phrase "grade dispute" they automatically think "whiny brat". the reality is that many grading disputes are unfounded attempts at grade inflation. It doesn't matter how justified you think your claim is; you will inevitably be grouped in with the grade inflaters.

this is absolutely not something that i would bring up for any reason at all. the rest of your record is great. if you can thing of anything else that was going on at the time you'd do better.

[pinkneonchick]

I can definitely see where they would think whiny brat. And you're right I'd rather not be grouped with the grade inflaters.

[bighark]

lyricpoet is right.

This grad school group is ill equipped to handle med school questions.

[unagieater]

were your two C's in BCPM classes? but seeing as how you did well in your other courses and have got an upward trend going really helps. kicking ass on the MCAT and more importantly, having really good LORs vouching for your abilities to succeed well in med school ought to make up for those two blips in your transcript.

so yeah, don't bring up the grade disputes at all and don't discuss the grades in your personal statement. be prepared to say something about them, though, during your interviews. maybe something like "i definitely didn't do as well as i could have, but i nevertheless enjoyed taking these challenging courses and i learned a lot, such as XYZ." direct the conversation so that the focus is on what you learned and not on what you grade you got. gluck!

[pinkneonchick]

They were in two of the courses within my major (biological anthropology). And they were pretty easy courses for me which is why I'm upset about the grades. And I do have three people who are willign to write me outstanding LORs so I think you're right (along with everyone else who responded!) in that I shouldn't mention it. I guess I'm just paranoid. And I like the way you've suggested I handle it in an interview type situation. I'm definitely going to use that advice!

Thanks for your time and advice :)