Finally about to start med school - time to remove GPA's from CV?

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Edit: Original Post has been resolved. Follow up question is four replies down. Its tl;dr is: Should I put study abroad in Spanish country on CV and if so where?

I've always kept it off for my undergrad because it was sub-3.0, and kept it for my second bachelors (3.95) and SMP (4.0). I only used my CV when meeting people in admissions offices. As I start medical school, should I leave those on since they show I excelled in those programs, or should I take them off? If I take them off right now, I feel like I'm just average joe med student if I apply for any research positions or fellowships or anything (except for my job/research experience, which would probably do the job setting me apart).

Appreciate any/all opinions on this matter. Oh and yay I'm graduating to the allo forum


Edit: What should I do about college leadership positions and community service?

I don't have any grades or scores on my CV.

I did keep some college leadership positions and community service, though just stuff I felt was more significant.

It's not classy, but for application purposes, why not include it? Unless, of course, the GPA is already reported on the application, in which case, who cares unless you have a 4.0 and really want to impress people...

I tailor my CV to whomever it is I am sending it. Scientists/clinicians are often very annoyed by fluff, so I try to keep it as concise as possible (only listing jobs + pubs + presentations + awards). Scholarship committees and employers are more interested in fluff.

Just know your audience and tweak your CV accordingly.

Nobody cares about your pre-med school gpa anymore.

Or your MCAT, for that matter.

Take them off. If anyone ever actually wants them (they won't), they will ask for a transcript anyways over a self reported score.

Originally Posted by armybound

I don't have any grades or scores on my CV.

I did keep some college leadership positions and community service, though just stuff I felt was more significant.

All of the advice, and sample CVs, I have seen include the medical school GPA or class rank and board scores.

I think it's good to have these, especially when starting to apply for away rotations/residency.

I put together a CV really quick to apply for some research positions. One PI wanted to make out with me after he saw my MCAT score. Idk, maybe sometimes it's helpful.

Originally Posted by JP2740

I put together a CV really quick to apply for some research positions. One PI wanted to make out with me after he saw my MCAT score. Idk, maybe sometimes it's helpful.

So, uh. Finish the story. Was he good?

Originally Posted by JP2740

I put together a CV really quick to apply for some research positions. One PI wanted to make out with me after he saw my MCAT score. Idk, maybe sometimes it's helpful.

heard that happened to a friend in undergrad, with an SAT score.

Originally Posted by theWUbear

I've always kept it off for my undergrad because it was sub-3.0, and kept it for my second bachelors (3.95) and SMP (4.0). I only used my CV when meeting people in admissions offices. As I start medical school, should I leave those on since they show I excelled in those programs, or should I take them off? If I take them off right now, I feel like I'm just average joe med student if I apply for any research positions or fellowships or anything (except for my job/research experience, which would probably do the job setting me apart).

Appreciate any/all opinions on this matter. Oh and yay I'm graduating to the allo forum


Edit: What should I do about college leadership positions and community service?

No one cares about your undergrad stats once you get into medical school.

I'd say only list positions held/community service done in medical school on your CV, but some people are different.

Grade, scores, etc are meaningless and look silly on CVs. Posting honors, awards, member to organizations, certifications, talks, projects, extracurriculars are important. No one is impressed that you took the same classes and tests as everyone else.

No GPA

Thanks for all your input everyone.


I have a followup question:

I studied abroad in Spain my last semester before starting medical school. I took courses solely in Spanish, including Physiology at a medical school in Spain. I know some people put study abroad down on their resumes in other fields - would you do it for a med student resume? If so, I imagine I would put it under education, perhaps as a separate university next to my undergrad institution. To state the case for inclusion, it would certainly give more evidence as to my background in the Spanish language and knowledge of Spanish in a medical context. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

Actually what you should be doing is listing that under skills or personal section as "conversant in medical spanish" or "fluent in medical spanish" depending on your skill level.

Here's what I did
-kept undergrad GPA and major (executive level positions) til after M2
-Once M3 started used basic sciences GPA and med school stuff that replaced undergrad stuff (student gov't)

"GPA 3.8" is 3 letters 2 numbers and a period, I doubt anyone would think too much of including it.

As far as community service, would do the same especially if you're still doing it, especially if it's relevant. If it's for research, doing big brothers/big sisters isn't super impressive. On the other hand, you never know- the person reading it may have a child with special needs and be really impressed.