Maximum GPA to consider postbacc/SMP

[Conflagration]

That's a common choice.

So, handle it in the secondary? I would think you would want to keep it brief, since you don't want to sound like you're going to be a prisoner of circumstance while you're in medical school. "I had consulted with a counselor about my performance and took steps to resolve the issues."

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[sephora89]

Yes. Gpa is a measure of coping, time management, resiliency, adaptability and often,teamwork, not just content.

I was asking more in terms of how long it will take one to redeem his or herself. One semester of good grades is usually not enough but perhaps 1-2 years is!

 

[sephora89]

Wasn't SDN resident mimelim one of those users with a 3.4/40? He certainly got in.

His publication record is also insane.

 

[jaxon]

Personally, I would guess:

1) Extreme rigor/grade-deflating environment.
2) Learning disability
3) Family/work commitments that get in the way of academics.
4) Laziness
5) Emotional instability/mental illness
6) Poor time-management skills.

Is a former mental illness like depression held against applicants?

 

[gyngyn]

I was asking more in terms of how long it will take one to redeem his or herself. One semester of good grades is usually not enough but perhaps 1-2 years is!

It depends on the case. A year or more is usually good.

 

[ZedsDed]

Wasn't SDN resident mimelim one of those users with a 3.4/40? He certainly got in.

AdCom members can say all they want that they don't care about major or rigor. But I have a hard time believing that if they have two applicants, an art history major with a 4.0/29 and a chemical engineering major with a 3.4/40, that they will simply surmise that the latter has poor time management skills...

 

[ZedsDed]

Is a former mental illness like depression held against applicants?

That's kind of a loaded question. Look at it from their perspective. If your mental illness prevented you from succeeding in undergrad, what's to stop it from preventing you from succeeding in med school?

 

[Lawpy]

Wasn't SDN resident mimelim one of those users with a 3.4/40? He certainly got in.

His publication record is also insane.

Wouldn't use a genius in an insanely difficult major at a rigorous undergrad as an example of how a 3.4/40 can get into medical school

Regarding the GPA vs MCAT debate, both are equally important since GPA measures long-term academic trends, while MCAT measures aptitude for standardized tests in one sitting. A strong GPA/MCAT combo provides much more information about the academic quality of an applicant along than a strong MCAT or strong GPA alone.

Since the medical career depends heavily on standardized tests, the MCAT has a priority over the GPA, so someone with a low GPA/high MCAT has more of an advantage in medical school admissions than a high GPA/low MCAT applicant, even despite the latter being much more common and favored at certain localized schools.

 

[doctorleospaceman]

I feel like GPA can only really be used to measure personal academic trends. If an applicant improves from a 2.5 freshman year to 3.5-4.0 semesters obviously they are diligent students. However, I think comparing two students separated by like a 0.2 GPA difference, which is half a letter grade tops, isn't a fair determinant of their work ability.

At my state school, professors change their grading systems from semester to semester. There's noticeable variation comparing a student who took the same class with the same professor in the fall to a student who took the class in the spring. So a 0.2 variation can easily be explained by comparing a student who had curves in all their pre-reqs to a student who had none.

 

[wasteofspace323]

Is a former mental illness like depression held against applicants?

It's illegal to do that I believe. But yes.

 

[Goro]

One more on the list is that some people are born standardized test takers. It's a skill, like having innate musical talent.

A 3.2 and a 39 MCAT would bring to mind the following:
1. Persistent relationship problems (family/romantic/roommate), unplanned pregnancy.
2. substance abuse
3. medical/psychiatric problems
4. judgement/ego issues regarding choice of major or classes.
5. untreated learning disabilities

From what I recall, everything about him was stellar except for the GPA. @mimelim, care to elaborate?

Wasn't SDN resident mimelim one of those users with a 3.4/40? He certainly got in.

 

[mimelim]

One more on the list is that some people are born standardized test takers. It's a skill, like having innate musical talent.




From what I recall, everything about him was stellar except for the GPA. @mimelim, care to elaborate?

Something that I didn't appreciate when I started on SDN is that while my cGPA was 3.4, my sGPA was ~3.8. In addition, I was taking 3-4 Physics classes every semester from second semester freshman year onward in addition to my pre-med course load. I honestly didn't know what an sGPA was until I was already well into medical school. So, while I certainly had a 3.4, I think that adcoms would have seen that in a different light. I very bluntly told adcoms that I never really paid attention to my grades and simply worked hard on things that I cared about and nobody really blinked an eye at any of the top 10 that I interviewed at. But yes, in addition to my academics, I had a strong research background, strong LOR, etc. In retrospect, I was lacking in clinical experience. But, honestly everyone just wanted to talk about research when I interviewed.