<p>I read that med schools look at your science GPA and then also the non-science GPA and the overall GPA. But what exactly does the "science GPA" consist of? Is it just the one year of bio, 2 years of chem, and one year of physics for the pre-med reqs, or all of the science class you take? If it is all the sciences classes you take, which type of classes would they consist of?</p>
<p>All BCPM classes - biology, chemistry, physics, math (and statistics).</p>
<p>Note that for purposes of BCPM GPA, it seems to me from my experience that they pay much more attention to the department title than is perhaps fair. Econometrics - an advanced statistics class - was rejected from the "Math" category, etc.</p>
<p>So classes like integrative biology and biochemistry would count under the BCPM GPA?</p>
<p>Yes, assuming that the bio class is included in the bio department. (Biochem is either under biochem or bio or chem, I feel comfortable assuming.)</p>
<p>This comes with a warning: do not take BCPM classes that are designed for "non-majors". At my school, such classes include "AIDS and Emerging Diseases" or "The Biology of Dinosaurs". They are fine courses - "AIDS" in particular is very rigorous and applicable - but they do not conform to what medical schools want to see in a BCPM academic career.</p>
<p>Lots of engineering classes can also fall into it. Lots of people have put the ones they did well in into their BCPM, and took the other ones out. Its all about how you can spin the names of advanced classes in your favor.</p>
<p>Well, BME classes can go under biology in some circumstances. But AMCAS does, in fact, have an "engineering" category, I believe.</p>
<p>You'd be surprised how well engineering classes names can be spun for your own good. People who really want it as part of the BCPM appeal until its approved, which usually happens once. I know a bunch of people who made sure the classes they wanted to be in the BCPM got into it.</p>
<p>Where do they go?? Physics??</p>
<p>Bio and Chem. Its biomed so lots of classes include bio in the name. Or they will be a special type of chemistry class. For example fermentation and separation technologies for cells. Physiological control systems, etc.</p>
<p>I understand that classes for non-majors should not be used to fulfill pre-med requirements, but would taking an extra class such as your AIDS example be detrimental to your record? Why would med schools care if I was interested in infectious disease and wanted to take that class?</p>
<p>The idea is that your BCPM GPA is supposed to reflect scientific coursework. Taking a class on AIDS as a virus that studied its bonds to T-cells, etc., would be fine.</p>
<p>The point is that classes designed for non-science-majors do not belong in the BCPM GPA; and since they would be classified there, they're not meant for premeds to take. This strikes me, too, as a backwards way of thinking about it, but this is simply how we're advised.</p>
<p>How high should my BCPM GPA be?</p>
<p>As high as possible. Anything over a 3.5 is good.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a tangible goal, I'd assess the rest of your application - race and geography, mostly - and look at the sort of schools you want to go to, and aim to beat their average science GPAs by a little bit.</p>
<p>so is it safe to bet that most classes with the mnemonic such as MATH, BIOL, CHEM, and PHYS count towards your science GPA? for instance, I took classes like Art of Mathematics and Biology of Nutritions that are actually geared towards non majors (MATH171 and BIOL106). If not, how do med schools judge what they will/will not count towards your science GPA?</p>
<p>They will count, which is one of the big reasons we're told not to take such classes - they're viewed ("unfairly so", in my advisor's opinion) as padding the BCPM GPA. Joke classes (within limits, obviously) in other areas are fine, but we're told to avoid "non-major" classes in BCPM fields.</p>
<p>For your purposes, of course, it's too late, so know that you've received a plus (higher grades) and a minus (it seems wimpy) for your efforts. It is certainly not the end of the world, especially if it was early in your college career.</p>
<p>when u get units for doing research it goes under the bio section of the transcript at my school. so if u keep acing your research by doing ur work, eventually its a very big bio gpa booster. anyone know what the med schools do about this?</p>
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They will count, which is one of the big reasons we're told not to take such classes - they're viewed ("unfairly so", in my advisor's opinion) as padding the BCPM GPA. Joke classes (within limits, obviously) in other areas are fine, but we're told to avoid "non-major" classes in BCPM fields.
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<p>This sounds like another case of the difference between what SHOULD happen and what actually DOES happen. What should happen is that med-school adcoms should be able to deduce the difficulty of your coursework and then compensate accurately for that difficulty. However, this may not be what actually happens. The truth is, adcoms often times simply don't know what courses are difficult and what aren't, and the net effect is that students can get undeserved credit for taking a course that sounds strong, but is actually wimpy. Sad but true. </p>
<p>Jokestar85 in fact has actually highlighted one of these games, because it is true that many research projects are basically a license for a string of easy A's. It is generally understood that at many schools, when you do a project for research credit, as long as you do decent work on the project, you're going to get an A. Contrast that with other classes in which you can work like a dog and STILL end up with a C, or worse.</p>
<p>Right - difficult vs. easy is hard for adcoms to tell.</p>
<p>But classes for "non-majors" is a different animal entirely. At least at Duke (where my advisor's advice would apply), classes for non-majors are labelled as such both in the course number (which is prominently displayed on AMCAS) as well as often in the course title. Taking an easy class is one thing; taking a class which advertises itself as such is another.</p>
<p>does that mean that it is better not to major in a science that requires you to take upperlevel beyond premed classes in which you might do bad</p>