What GPA is considered good for medical school admissions??

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Just an estimate, I know there's no absolutes and it's only one part of the app</p>

<p>Like what is the bare minimum?</p>

<p>Solid?</p>

<p>Good?</p>

<p>and stellar?</p>

2

<p>Good: 3.6.</p>

<p>Borderline acceptable: 3.5.</p>

<p>Great: 3.8+</p>

<p>These guidelines may change a bit depending on what college you went to and what you majored in.</p>

3

<p>“and it’s only one part of the app” yet arguably the most important.</p>

4

<p>Very strong: 3.8-4.0
Strong: 3.7-3.8
Average (accepted – i.e., a good GPA): 3.66
Borderline: 3.5-3.6
Majority of students rejected: 3.4 and below</p>

<p>If you have less than a 3.4-3.5, you’re probably not looking at a U.S. MD, although it is still certainly possible w/ the right package (incl. time/non-trad status, trends and/or very strong reasons – i.e., one of your parents/siblings died, you were in the hospital Nov-Dec with cancer, etc.).</p>

5

<p>How important is the rigor of my classes? As long as do my pre-med requirements I’ll be okay?</p>

6

<p>Rigor is important for MCAT prep and to show you can do well. Your classes should not be obvious fluff. OTOH, taking the hardest courses available is also not advised. Take tough classes in which you’ll succeed.</p>

7

<p>Is it okay to take the easist classes possible for the electives?</p>

8

<p>I wouldn’t. Enjoy your college experience. Challenge yourself. Stop trying to game the system and get rid of your checklists. Be a college student. Oh yeah…and do a search.</p>

9

<p>Just do your best. You cannot base your goals on other people answers to this question. Goal is to do best and enjoy experience and live fully for 4 years. These are 4 years of your life, do not waste them trying to fit into somebody else’s shoes.</p>

10

<p>norcalguy and apumic, </p>

<p>I’m assuming you’re talking about overall gpa and that the BCMP gpa is usually slightly lower??</p>

11

<p>Yeah it is a tad lower.</p>

12

<p>One common misconception that people have is that the BPCM GPA is supposed to be much lower. But, if you look at the MSAR, the BPCM GPA of matriculants at most med schools is only 0.05-0.1 lower than the overall GPA.</p>

13

<p>Interesting, thanks for the info! That’s what I’m seeing for D1 right now, about a .05 difference between the two.</p>

<p>One more quick follow-up question, are grades for classes taken while in HS at a 4 yr college counted in the gpa (Vector Calc)? Thanks.</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes. All college-level coursework must be reported to AMCAS, regardless of when it was actually done.</p>

15

<p>Thanks shades!</p>

16

<p>BPCM?? </p>

<p>Hypothetical: Student has a very difficult major–say engineering–and makes a 34 on MCAT but has only a 3.0 GPA. Will admissions people consider the difficulty of the major and give this applicant a ‘pass’ when considering the unusually low GPA?</p>

17

<p>No. Not a 3.0. Maybe a couple of tenths for a well-thought of program.</p>

18

<p>3.5 and a 34 might be forgiven. Tolerance is limited by the fact that rankings and reporting organizations don’t forgive for hard GPAs.</p>

19

<p>What about a 3.4 GPA, 30 MCAT, but comes from a top 20 uni w/ a difficult major? Looking into US MD, or down to DO only?</p>

20

<p>Major matters minimally, if at all, in most cases. A 3.4 from a good university is still below average, as is a 30 (31.5 is average for acceptances). You’d be looking at a pretty average chance.</p>