You can apply anywhere even with a lower GPA. The real question is if you’ll get admitted.</p>
<p>WashU’s guaranteed program puts significantly more pressure on the students than any of the other similar programs that I’m familiar with. It requires a 3.8 or higher GPA, 36 or higher MCAT, as well as an interview. By comparison, Pitt only requires a 3.75 or higher GPA, no MCAT, and no interview. This is as close as you’ll ever come to being guaranteed acceptance to a top 20 medical school, so it’s nothing to sneeze at…</p>
<p>I was reading through this on some whim and thought I’d weigh in here. </p>
<p>I’m a freshman in the program and am loving it so far. If you are smart about the classes you take and don’t over exert yourself into taking 20 credits or something, you’ll be fine as far the GPA is concerned. All the kids in the program (in my year at least) were well above the 3.75 mark after first semester, and they are on track to do it again in their second semester. For people who are worried about it, I wouldn’t worry especially if you got in. If they’ve selected you to be in the program, it’s because they believe you can handle the 3.75 (and you most likely will be able to). Granted, you’ll have to work for your grades, but I’m sure you’ve had to do that through high school as well.</p>
<p>You don’t have to take have to take the MCATs which is nice. And you’re free to explore any interests you have; in fact, they encourage that you do. For example, I’m pre-med but not planning in majoring in sciences. They told us that your career and major don’t need to be the same for you to be successful. I know kids who are planning on being econ, music, and even philosophy majors. So that freedom is rather nice and not stressful.</p>
<p>You do have to stay active in the medical field and gain experiences that other non-program Pitt Med students would have. Research, volunteering, shadowing, community service, etc. are all expected of the students in the program but no official hours are collected. Also, any of that stuff could be done during the summers as well. But it isn’t too much to do it during the semester either. For example this semester, I was able to do research, volunteer at UPMC, take 17 credits, learn guitar, play sports, participate in clubs, hang out with friends, maintain a high gpa, and still have time left over to do other things. Really, your options are endless. People here are very relaxed (program students and non-program students alike) which makes for a comfortable atmosphere.</p>
<p>I know it’s kind of late, but I hope this helps people still deciding and those planning on attending in future get a feel for what the program is about. If you have any other questions feel free to ask!</p>
<p>And no one to my knowledge has dropped out over the past few years. I think there might have been one mythical kid a couple of years back who didn’t maintain his gpa or attend any of the meetings with his advisors who would’ve helped him. But he may or may not be real. Our program advisor just uses his story as an example of what we don’t want to do.</p>
<p>donny123, idk if u will remember ur stats from high school. but if u do…can u plz post them up? i would like to know how u got into this program plz! thnx.</p>
<p>Donny123: Did you have to pay to go to the interview? Also what type of medical experiences did you have in high school. I’ve been invited to apply and want to learn more about the interviewing process too.</p>
<p>I applied about a month ago and I just got emailed the guaranteed admit application that is due a month later. I also found out today that I got full tuition for 4 years of undergrad, does anyone know if this still applies if I get in to the GAP? Also, are you all at about the same point as I am in being considered, because I’m nervous that I’m a bit behind. I still have the GAP application and the application for the even further Chancellor’s Scholarship to submit, all of which they sprung on me today!</p>
<p>Should I be freaking out or are both of these applications a good sign?</p>
<p>Haven’t been here in a while so I’ll try to respond to as many questions as I know the answers to:</p>
<p>mabsjenbu123: If I remember, about a couple hundred apply after filtering based on the minimum requirements as posted on the website. Then ~40-50 get interviews in March, and about 8-13 get in/matriculate (though these number probably change from year to year).</p>
<p>zzzzzzj: If by pay to go to the interview, you mean travel expenses, then yes. We had to pay for that and I guess staying in Pittsburgh for a night as well. As far as medical experiences goes, I did some volunteering, research, and shadowing which is all pretty standard now for these programs it seems. But really, I think getting an interview will depend on good scores, essays, letters of rec, and whether you had medical experiences that were meaningful for you. The best advice I can give is to be honest and sincere. (I think they may also be slightly biased towards research but idk for sure). For the interview process, it was basically a morning thing for my year. I arrived at the school and they gave the group of us interviewing a tour of the medical campus. Then I had two interviews: one with a faculty member and one with a student. And that was it.</p>
<p>ishfish82: The full tuition still applies if you get in the program, though it doesn’t apply for med school. And that’s just how their application process goes: ungrad app, ungrad acceptance, scholarship notification, invitation to apply for chancellors, invitation to apply for medical program, interview notification, chancellor notification, program notification (mid-April). So long as you don’t miss the deadline, you’re not behind.</p>
<p>I applied for the Pitt GAP program this year, and I’m wondering if you only get notified if you receive an interview or do they send out rejections too?</p>
thnx.</p>