Question

[cha02009]

Dear Consultant,
My GPA has been climbing up each semester. My current G.P.A is 3.6 however, my cumulative G.P.A is 3.0. I know this is terrible. The question I have is that if I pull up my G.P.A to 3.8 and keep it for the rest of the years( I will be a junior in this fall), would it help? Or would the admssion committee still care about my first two years academic performance?
I have a certification in Acupuncture and I was fortunate enough to work with an acupunctist as an assistant for two months at the hospital back in China. Should I put this in my essay? (I’ve heard that American doesn’t like/believe in Chinese medicine.)
Thanks so much for taking time to read and answers my question.[]

Sincerely,
Stephnaie

Stephanie

[y82benji]

You should repost this question in the “Ask Admissions Consultants” thread if you haven’t already done so to get the professional advice. Here’s what I know…

Two years at 3.0 + Two years at 3.8 = Total of 3.4. Average for admitted students is close to 3.6. Having the last two years strong helps that out though (because your last two years usually feature the harder, upper-level coursework). A strong MCAT score also helps mediate any poor grades. They care about all of your grades, but the latter grades are still more important.

As for the Acupuncture thing, you should use it but be careful how you are using it. You don’t want to present an argument that Acupuncture is effective or good – a lot of the admissions committees will have mixed feelings about that. However, you can say that by getting the certification and working in the field you were able to spend a couple of months caring for and treating patients and that has made you more passionate about becoming a doctor so that you will have even more tools at your disposal to help people. Have people you trust read over your personal essay to tell you if you are using your experience effectively.

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