GPA Question Medical School

Gihyeok_Lee100530

Hello, so I'm one of the individuals that had gone through my first year in undergraduate during 2020 which was during COVID and due to personal circumstances my grade for that year had placed me at a very bad place in the University. After going to the military and coming back in person from a 2 year leave of absence, the grades I have been getting have been consistently above a 3.8 which placed myself in the university dean's list 2 times in a row as of now. Unfortunately due to my first year gpa, even after doing my academic forgiveness and continuing getting the good grades I am projected to end with a 3.6-3.7 gpa maximum. In a case like this would you recommend myself to be doing a post-bacc or incorporating this information towards my personal statement to show an upward trend and if so what are some ways I can turn this situation into a strength towards my application? Thank you!

mlofftus

Hi,

This is Maria Lofftus, one of Kaplan's medical school admissions consultants. This is a compelling story, and the arc — difficulty, deliberate action, demonstrable growth — is exactly what admissions committees respond to.

Post-Bacc vs. Addressing It in Your Application

These aren't mutually exclusive. If you're applying in the next cycle, lead with what you have: a sustained 3.8+ GPA and two Dean's List recognitions tell a clear story on their own.

That said, your projected 3.6–3.7 sits below the national MD average of around 3.8, though it's comfortably above the DO average of around 3.5. This makes school list construction especially important — use the MSAR and Choose DO Explorer tool to identify schools for which you are within their accepted GPA range, and then hone your list to those for whom you're a good fit based on other aspects of your application. Keep in mind that averages are just that: all schools admit students who are both below and above their average accepted GPA, and some explicitly weigh recent coursework more heavily, which works strongly in your favor given your trajectory.

Your MCAT score will be a significant factor here. A strong MCAT validates your recent academic performance and gives schools additional evidence that your current GPA is a more accurate picture of your ability. If your MCAT needs work, that's where a post-bacc, graduate school, or Special Masters program becomes more useful — not just to raise your GPA, but to demonstrate continued momentum and reinforce the trend.

How to Address It In Your Personal Statement

Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to discuss why you want to be a physician and discuss what you have done to confirm your fit for the profession. That said, if there's something in an applicant's history that needs explaining, it's usually wise to do so. State the facts in two or three sentences, and then pivot quickly to briefly discussing what you did and how you grew. Don't over-explain or apologize.

You have a strong version of this story because the explanation is concrete. COVID disrupted nearly every first-year student in 2020; your circumstances compounded that, and your response was specific: military service, a deliberate leave of absence, and a return to campus with sustained Dean's List performance. That's not an excuse — that's a narrative of growth.

When you write about it, follow the show-don't-tell principle. Bring the reader into a specific moment that illustrates your resilience rather than stating it outright. Spend more words on what you did than on what happened to you, and connect the experience to medicine — what did navigating hardship teach you about patients facing difficult circumstances of their own?

The Bottom Line

Your first-year GPA may be an obstacle, but it's not disqualifying — especially with the story behind it. The combination of a strong upward trend, military service, and a compelling explanation puts you in a better position than the numbers alone may suggest. Focus on your MCAT, build your school list strategically with both MD and DO programs for which you are a good fit, and tell your story with the same directness and specificity that your actions themselves demonstrate. The goal is for an admissions committee to finish reading your application and see not where you stumbled, but how far you've come.