<p>Hey,
What is the relative importance of the "BCMP" GPA compared to a student's overall GPA when applying to medical school? I'm a rising junior at Harvard, and while I am pursuing a major outside science (Social Studies) because of personal interest, I am still taking the science classes necessary for premed. I feel like my BCMP gpa is actually going to be decently better than my overall gpa, since I've gotten only one B and solid A's for all my premed classes so far (with two to go), whereas I'll have gotten a B+ and a B/B+ (waiting for grade) in my other classes, with As and a lot of A-s filling in the rest. If I continue to get A-s/B's/B+'s in my other classes, is that going to hurt me a lot, or will my stronger BCMP gpa help to save me?
Also, does stat count for math? I've already taken two semesters of calc, but stat was a req for econ (my original major) and now social studies anyways, and so I was just wondering if it would count towards the bcmp gpa. Thanks!</p>
<p>Bluedevilmike answered part of this in another BCMP thread:</p>
<p>
[quote]
BCPM is an acronym for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math. Any course you take in those departments -- or in closely related ones, like biochemistry or statistics -- will count.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>At the very least we can say that they're both very important -- that is, that schools do not ONLY care about your overall GPA.</p>
<p>yeah, i understand they're both definitely important. i was just wondering if med schools would prefer to see a higher BCMP or overall gpa. i generally choose classes by what looks most interesting as opposed to what will get me the highest grade. if i get a couple Bs in these classes, it affects my overall gpa instead of bcmp. i guess i'm trying to decide whether i need to be more careful.
on an unrelated note - i took a semester of general chemistry away from my primary school last summer. it did NOT have a lab component. i have since taken the second semester of chemistry at my primary school, which DID include lab. will i need to make up the lab component of the first semester of chem, or is one semesters worth of general chem lab sufficient? of course, ill also have completed 2 semesters of orgo with lab.
thanks again.</p>
<p>Well, put it this way: if they're both very important, then any given BCPM class is counted twice. It's an overall class, so goes into your overall GPA. It's a BCPM class, so it goes into your BCPM GPA, too. Suppose that they're equally important (which seems to me to be approximately correct) and that you take half your classes in BCPM. This means that any BCPM class is three times as important as any non-BCPM class, even if the BCPM GPA is "only" of the same weight as your overall.</p>
<p>(Your AO GPA -- that is, your non-science GPA -- almost certainly does not matter at all.)</p>
<p>A lot of people seem to have higher overall GPAs than their BCPM GPAs. I have a lot higher BCPM GPA. Do you think that will count favorably or unfavorably for med school admissions?</p>
<p>Look. The higher each of them is, the better. That's about the most we can say.</p>