Health Professions Advising at Mason

Required Coursework

What to do about a Low GPA

Grades are an important evaluating tool that most admissions committees find reliable in predicting an applicant's ability to handle the medical curriculum. Go to the Reports and Data section to view how well Mason students have done to get accepted into a health professions program.

What if I had a very bad semester?

It would be great if we had a consistent, steady GPA every semester of college. It would be better if that steady GPA got us on a Dean's List every year. But good students sometimes suffer bad semesters due to an inability to handle the courseload with other responsibilities or other extenuating circumstances.

If you were told you had to take three science courses (with labs) in your freshman year by your advisor and you had a horrible GPA as a result, that one bad semester in and of itself won't disqualify you from getting in. A consistent pattern of bad performances or a worsening of performances is cause for concern.

On the other hand, many programs like to see steady advancing progress. Admissions officers can forgive sporadic one- or two-semester aberrations provided there are good reasons. What these officers are more interested in is your ability to handle a tougher science curriculum and your ability to diagnose and resolve your academic deficiencies. That's why some applicants delay their applications.

My colleague and former prehealth advisor at Duke has some realistic advice addressing students' concerns if their academic record falls significantly short of what it might take to get into a health professional graduate program. I reiterate some of her points here (while the rest you can read off of her website).

• Do a realistic self-assessment of your ability to handle scientific concepts. In the first two years of medical school, the concepts will come faster, and your have to assimilate all of the information for six to eight hours a day, five days a week while handling labs and reading.
• Look through your career options. Remember that getting an allopathic medical degree is not the only option to practicing in a health profession.
• Applicants are expected to have a GPA of 3.0 or above to be competitive for many health professions programs. Consistent C grades in the sciences (or a pattern of repeating scientific coursework) will not make you a competitive candidate; there are too many applicants with better academic records. But an upward trend in your GPA can be viewed as a positive (pulling your GPA to over 3.00). With some additional scientific coursework (perhaps as a delayed candidate), you may be able to present yourself as a competitive candidate.

Can I repeat a class I did badly in?

Most centralized application services for health professions programs count every grade reported for repeated classes whereas Mason only counts the most recent class grade to calculate the GPA*. That said, you should consider retaking a class ONE TIME if there were extenuating circumstances and you feel the grade you earned is not an accurate reflection of your ability in that course. And you should be determined to get an A in that class.

That said, very few admissions committees are going to be confident in your ability to handle science if you earned a D in a prerequisite science class. You should talk with the Health Professions Advisor about your options to repeat the course and to resolve whatever problems you had the first time you took the class.

* Did you know that the AACOMAS-calculated GPA differs from the AMCAS GPA? First, the "science" GPA for AACOMAS does NOT include math while the BCPM AMCAS GPA does. Second, AACOMAS will post all of your grades as shown on a transcript but will calculate your GPA on your most recent class grade if you repeat a class. AMCAS GPA counts all coursework.

Required Coursework
Introduction

Biology classes

Chemistry classes

Physics classes

Mathematics and Psychology classes

Writing-Intensive classes

Non-Mason classes

Note to Pre-dental students

Note to Pre-pharmacy students

About Low Grades

Other questions

Research

External links
New Century College Life Science Track Information