MCAT vs. GPA

[Hopegirl]

I have a low undergrad GPA and wondered, how high of MCAT score would I need to still get taken seriously by med schools?

Thanks!
-HG

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[patzan]

how low? Do you want to got to Harvard or Ross?

 

[curlycity]

Without knowing your stats, I'd suggest figuring out how far below average for accepted applicants your GPA is, and then figuring which MCAT score is that much proportionally higher than their average. And, certain sections might be more important than others, e.g. if your science GPA is low, rock those two sections especially well.

Go by accepted applicant figures instead of applicant figures to decide which schools to apply to ...

Set yourself a steep goal for the MCAT and then reach it. Then you won't have GPA insecurity lingering over your head (personal experience talking).

 

[jennie 21]

If your GPA is below a certain point (~3.0) no MCAT score in the world will fix it. It will just make schools wonder how someone so smart could screw up so badly. If your GPA is borderline (e.g. sci. GPA 3.0-3.3) then a high MCAT score (say 32-33 or above, the higher the better) can help make up for it. It also depends on what schools you're applying to, i.e. you'll probably get more slack at your state school (unless you live in CA or TX) than at a competitive private med school. I fought this battle myself; 38-40 on the MCAT and 3.1-3.2 sci GPA (3.4 overall) from an Ivy League school. I was eventually accepted to my top choice school (NYU) but believe me it was an uphill battle. MCAT can compensate for GPA to a point, but only to a point. Somewhere around a 3.0 GPA seems to be the cutoff for schools to seriously consider you. If it's below that, I'd suggest taking more classes or doing a post-bac to raise it to at least a 3.0. Below a 3.0, a lot of schools will automatically reject you on basis of GPA without considering the rest of your application. It also helps if you can show an upward trend in your grades.

 

[mikedc813]

I agree with Jennie.

 

[derf]

If your GPA is below a certain point (~3.0) no MCAT score in the world will fix it. It will just make schools wonder how someone so smart could screw up so badly. If your GPA is borderline (e.g. sci. GPA 3.0-3.3) then a high MCAT score (say 32-33 or above, the higher the better) can help make up for it. It also depends on what schools you're applying to, i.e. you'll probably get more slack at your state school (unless you live in CA or TX) than at a competitive private med school. I fought this battle myself; 38-40 on the MCAT and 3.1-3.2 sci GPA (3.4 overall) from an Ivy League school. I was eventually accepted to my top choice school (NYU) but believe me it was an uphill battle. MCAT can compensate for GPA to a point, but only to a point. Somewhere around a 3.0 GPA seems to be the cutoff for schools to seriously consider you. If it's below that, I'd suggest taking more classes or doing a post-bac to raise it to at least a 3.0. Below a 3.0, a lot of schools will automatically reject you on basis of GPA without considering the rest of your application. It also helps if you can show an upward trend in your grades.

I never understood why a 32 on a 6 hour test would make up for a mediocre GPA entailng 4 years of work. But four hard years and a GPA of 3.9 at a top 5 school wouldn't be able to offset a mediocre 6 hour test (29-30 score). Its true one way. but not the other....

 

[Pinkertinkle]

That's just how the world is. Its hard to quantify schools, but it's not hard at all to quantify MCAT scores.

 

[MoosePilot]

I never understood why a 32 on a 6 hour test would make up for a mediocre GPA entailng 4 years of work. But four hard years and a GPA of 3.9 at a top 5 school wouldn't be able to offset a mediocre 6 hour test (29-30 score). Its true one way. but not the other....

Well, there's lots of factors that go into a 4 year degree. There's very few that go into a 6 hour test. How do you explain the 3.9 w/ a high MCAT? Bad testing skills? USMLE scores are important to med students and schools. Bad retention? Docs need good retention. A bad day? Retake.

There's just few combinations of good grades/bad scores that work out, where everyone knows students who screwed up their GPA, but have more potential. We just have to show signs that we're going to live up to the potential.

And before someone says it, I agree that you can't make up a bad GPA, either. A mediocre GPA is crippling, but recoverable.