Is overall GPA 3.0 too low? Need pre-med opinons.

Smooth Operater said:

Hello guys,

I have a friend who really wants to attend med school, but her GPA is only 3.0.

what's her chance of getting in a med school with a okay extracurricular activites? Is it very small?

Should she consider post-bac program to boost her GPA or look into foreign school? She doesn't really care where to go as long she can practice medicine.

Your advices are welcome.

Thanks!

p.s. I am from the dental side, so I have no idea how med school application work.

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It depends...probably yes...maybe not...possible for DO less so for MD...they need to do really really well on the mcat...post bac is probably a good option

Smooth Operater said:

Hello guys,

I have a friend who really wants to attend med school, but her GPA is only 3.0.

what's her chance of getting in a med school with a okay extracurricular activites? Is it very small?

Should she consider post-bac program to boost her GPA or look into foreign school? She doesn't really care where to go as long she can practice medicine.

Your advices are welcome.

Thanks!

p.s. I am from the dental side, so I have no idea how med school application work.

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Yes, chances are small for allopathic admissions with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. You did not list a MCAT score, which is possibly the second most important factor to consider. I would suggest doing everything possible to rock the MCAT and doing post-baccalaureate work to raise that GPA, before applying.

http://www.mdapplicants.com/

Type in 2.9 and 3.1 as the GPA range and check Accepted.

Seems to be a sizable list of people who made it in. So yes, a post-bacc would help. If she does well on the MCAT and has decent interview skills it would seem she could get in...

She would really have to wow the school through a combination of amazing MCAT, good ECs (or improved), and amazing interview. With a GPA that low you really have to go above and beyond in most, if not all of the other areas...

Smooth Operater said:

Hello guys,

I have a friend who really wants to attend med school, but her GPA is only 3.0.

what's her chance of getting in a med school with a okay extracurricular activites? Is it very small?

Should she consider post-bac program to boost her GPA or look into foreign school? She doesn't really care where to go as long she can practice medicine.

Your advices are welcome.

Thanks!

p.s. I am from the dental side, so I have no idea how med school application work.

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Now THIS is a hypothetical situation. The other OP needs to take some notes.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=364549

DeadCactus said:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/

Type in 2.9 and 3.1 as the GPA range and check Accepted.

Seems to be a sizable list of people who made it in. So yes, a post-bacc would help. If she does well on the MCAT and has decent interview skills it would seem she could get in...

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i wouldn't count on mdapplicants.com as a reliable source of applican data. Needless to say there are ppl who get in with this GPA, but as previously said probobly easier to do with DO schools. Besides it all depends what your MCAT score is, ECs, LORs and other things also play an important role in your apps. It's not just the number game and the only way to find out if it is too low or not too low is to apply.

go to the carribbean

I have around a 3.0 and a good, 32, mcat. Not much love here from the allo side even though there is a upward trend in gpa

I heard that most low tier schools cut-off GPA is 3.0. If you do extremely good on MCAT, EC, and hopefully interview, it should be fine.

It's not SDN advice you need. The cutoff is not 3.0. I have a friend who interviewed at Cornell and some UCs with a 2.7 (OUCH). But they had a masters too... You need to talk to a premed advisor/counselor. Everyone on here is (generally, not all) overachieving. Ask med students (maybe), adcoms people if you know any, and premed advisors... stay away from premeds, we've already become 10 times more neurotic than usual with this process. So maybe ask us in 10 months when we're all settled and back to normal .

3.01 AMCAS GPA here w/ a 38 MCAT. Two allopathic interviews, & 2 DO acceptances. This is my third year applying. The last two it was ~2.9. I have around 180 credits, so improving my GPA (short term) is almost impossible. I have a Master's Degree, volunteer, and research experience. I'm not a girl though which may give your friend a slight advantage over me.

~ 40000/year D.O. and allopathic private, Out-of-State can expect to pay at least that much, some as high as $70000, i.e. Vermont and Colorado

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Smooth Operater said:

Hello guys,

I have a friend who really wants to attend med school, but her GPA is only 3.0.

what's her chance of getting in a med school with a okay extracurricular activites? Is it very small?

Should she consider post-bac program to boost her GPA or look into foreign school? She doesn't really care where to go as long she can practice medicine.

Your advices are welcome.

Thanks!

p.s. I am from the dental side, so I have no idea how med school application work.

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Could your "friend" actually be you? Judging by a lot of your posts over on the dental side, I'm guessing you aren't the sharpest when it comes to language which would explain a 3.0 GPA.

In response:

Smooth Operater said:

there is no way that I want to become a physician

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Thank God.

is 3.0 is pretty hopeless for Cali schools?

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Yes.

A 3.0 by itself, unless you have some tremendous stuff going for you, will probably not see *any*interviews, let alone acceptances. Yes, yes, there are exceptions (of whom all reside on SDN) but from my experience with the admissions process, most schools won't give you a secondary if you have anything below a 3.0, so med schools are pretty picky about GPA.

If you're friend did really well on the MCAT (35+), there may be hope, perhaps at DO schools. I'm not seeing too much love from allo schools. Cali schools? I'm going say there's really no way unless you had the 'went to africa and founded ten orphanges" type of ECs.

As it stands, your friend's best bet is to do a post-bacc and get that GPA pumping. He/she will need to pull the GPA to at least a 3.3. You're friend will also need to do well on the MCAT. Even with a 3.3, a 30 is probably a minimal to meet most private med schools and OOS public schools' requirement. Cali schools are the hardest schools to get into, even for Californians.
DO schools have lower cutoffs. Your friend has a better chance there but again, need to do well on the MCAT, and up the GPA to have a shot. Carribean is the quickest option. However, with a 3.0, perhaps he/she is deficient in the sciences? Sometimes, a poor GPA is indicator of poor science foundation and it may be best to do a post-bacc.

I have a friend, who uh, has never kissed a girl. What should I tell him? I'm worried that he doesn't know how to kiss a girl and I feel bad for him. What would you tell him?

3.0 GPA here AND a late application with secondaries complete in december, and I have 2 interviews so far, and only 1 rejection post-secondary. If you pick the right schools, anything is possible.

I graduated with a 3.19, with AMCAS gpa of 3.09, 31q MCAT.

2 interviews so far, 1 acceptance, 1 haven't heard back from, and another interview which I am debating whether or not to take. Letters and extra curriculars are important, too and can help if your grades are low.

Just gotta keep the faith.

rhsu84 said:

I graduated with a 3.19, with AMCAS gpa of 3.09, 31q MCAT.

2 interviews so far, 1 acceptance, 1 haven't heard back from, and another interview which I am debating whether or not to take. Letters and extra curriculars are important, too and can help if your grades are low.

Just gotta keep the faith.

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RHSU, mind sharing where you interviewed/accepted? I have almost the exact same numbers...

congrats, btw....

Thanks!

Accepted, U. of Cincinnati

Interviewed, waiting for response, GWU

Interview scheduled, Wright State University

Ohio resident

rhsu84 said:

Thanks!

Accepted, U. of Cincinnati

Interviewed, waiting for response, GWU

Interview scheduled, Wright State University

Ohio resident

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rhsu84 congrats.

I was wondering, are there any specific activities you did you think really helped?

3.1 overall, 2.8 science, was complete at most schools mid-October/early-November

5 interviews, 3 acceptance (EVMS, Drexel, MCW), 2 post-interview holds (Case Western and Tufts). I did get rejected from all my state schools, so it hasn't been a complete success for me this cycle, but with multiple acceptances on hand, I'm feeling very lucky.

Almost all low GPA people who get interviews/acceptance have gone on to do a combination of the following:
*Master's (either regular or SMP)
*Other post-bacc work--i.e. re-taking/taking undergraduate courses (of course if their GPA was REALLY horrible to begin with, 3.8+ grades in every undergraduate level class can only do so much with 120+ credits of bad grades)
*30-32+ MCAT
*Tons of clinical experience and/or research (have to make up for the GPA somehow right?)
*Explanation for academic struggles, whether it be health-related (had cancer but still went to class...), financially related (had to work 40+ hours a week to support myself...) or something else ( have to take care of sick parent for a semester...)

This process is really a crapshoot, though as long as you're selective in the schools you apply to, you'll do fine. I went through the MSAR and looked for schools with lower stats + schools that accepted a greater percentage of people with graduate degrees + out of state schools that accepted a large number of OOS applicants. My pre-med advisors were VERY helpful with that. If your school has a well-established pre-med office, definitely make use of their expertise.

Personally, as it stands now I wish I had applied June 1 to the TX schools, but it is really not that big of a deal in the end since I've gotten acceptances. Lesson learned: apply as early as possible.

It is going to take an extra amount of time, but it is doable. I'm always joking with a non-premed friend of mine that the time I wasted in undergrad (2.5 years) was pretty much made up with the time for my Master's (2.0 years) + extra semester of undergrad. So I've pretty much worked just as "hard" as most premeds, but spent more time and money on getting in. The number one thing you need to show with a low undergrad GPA is that you can handle medical school classes. Other than that, have nice extracurriculars + solid MCAT + fantastic letters of recommendation. PM me if you want more information.

yes it is too low.

DPM

rhsu84 said:

I graduated with a 3.19, with AMCAS gpa of 3.09, 31q MCAT.

2 interviews so far, 1 acceptance, 1 haven't heard back from, and another interview which I am debating whether or not to take. Letters and extra curriculars are important, too and can help if your grades are low.

Just gotta keep the faith.

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did you do a post-bac? did you have any Cs?

me: 3.1 cali resident, 31 mcat, tons of ec's and leadership and very very little love

an uphill battle for sure..

I had a 3.15 undergrad GPA (30 MCAT), I got rejected everywhere my first application cycle. Coincidence? I think not.

I saw the problem. Then I fixed it. I went to a 1 year Master's program, GPA 3.7-3.8 (depending on how finals go!), and I sure hope it'll be worth it!

FYI for all the newbies: "Smooth Operater" is a troll

OP shouldn't you have gotten into A school by now? From your previous posts it seems like you've been studying for the MCAT/PCAT/DAT for a couple of years now...

PEN15 said:

OP shouldn't you have gotten into A school by now? From your previous posts it seems like you've been studying for the MCAT/PCAT/DAT for a couple of years now...

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Are you surprised? I'm guessing he scores 3-4 on verbal judging by the atrocious grammar demonstrated in every one of his posts.

Smooth Operater said:

Hello guys,

I have a friend who really wants to attend med school, but her GPA is only 3.0.

what's her chance of getting in a med school with a okay extracurricular activites? Is it very small?

Should she consider post-bac program to boost her GPA or look into foreign school? She doesn't really care where to go as long she can practice medicine.

Your advices are welcome.

Thanks!

p.s. I am from the dental side, so I have no idea how med school application work.

Click to expand...

That is too low for medical - including DO, dental, pharmacy or even public health. She should look forward to being a teacher. Who knows; she might make it? Just tell her to do well on the MCAT, do some post-bach, and then apply and see what happens

GoLAClippers said:

She should look forward to being a teacher.

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Just not an English teacher.

DropkickMurphy said:

Just not an English teacher.

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Right on, jhutexan. You get the best post award. My situation was very similar (2.3 UG GPA, post-bac work, no graduate work, to raise it to 2.8). I got a 32 MCAT, which is very good, but not necessarily great. One more thing to consider, your GPA will NOT go up a whole lot. However, someone else mentioned the importance of proving that you can handle the medical school rigor. That's why you take more courses and ace them. It doesn't hurt that your GPA will go up a bit, but it's more important to ace the courses you decide to take. The only other thing that I think jhutexan left out was something I gained from my own experience. I learned that many of the more reputable schools were willing to overlook a lower GPA than the lower tier schools. I got interviews at all of my state schools (except Duke...did not apply). It actually makes pretty good sense. A lower tier school often can't afford the risk of lowering its numbers, while a more prestigious school has plenty of incredible applicants to balance out an applicant with a low GPA that is otherwise highly qualified. The point is DO your research when applying and apply far and wide. Don't just apply to the lower tier schools. I applied to them all (almost) and did not get a single interview from them. It seems backwards, but it's my experience. Hope this helps and sorry for being longwinded. Hey, aren't docs supposed to be longwinded

scgroat said:

Right on, jhutexan. You get the best post award. My situation was very similar (2.3 UG GPA, post-bac work, no graduate work, to raise it to 2.8). I got a 32 MCAT, which is very good, but not necessarily great. One more thing to consider, your GPA will NOT go up a whole lot. However, someone else mentioned the importance of proving that you can handle the medical school rigor. That's why you take more courses and ace them. It doesn't hurt that your GPA will go up a bit, but it's more important to ace the courses you decide to take. The only other thing that I think jhutexan left out was something I gained from my own experience. I learned that many of the more reputable schools were willing to overlook a lower GPA than the lower tier schools. I got interviews at all of my state schools (except Duke...did not apply). It actually makes pretty good sense. A lower tier school often can't afford the risk of lowering its numbers, while a more prestigious school has plenty of incredible applicants to balance out an applicant with a low GPA that is otherwise highly qualified. The point is DO your research when applying and apply far and wide. Don't just apply to the lower tier schools. I applied to them all (almost) and did not get a single interview from them. It seems backwards, but it's my experience. Hope this helps and sorry for being longwinded. Hey, aren't docs supposed to be longwinded

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Mind telling us what those reputable schools are? I plan to apply to med school and my GPA isn't all that great.

Well, that list of schools will vary for everyone depending on their state of residence and other factors. In my case, I applied to Emory, UNC, Wake Forest, UVA, EVMS, all the Texas schools, etc. The point is that you have to play the odds, even with stellar numbers. Look into some of the private schools simply because they may not be so partial to instaters. There really is no method to the madness. No matter what, kick but on your personal statement because that's the first chance you get to distinguish yourself from other candidates.

GoLAClippers said:

That is too low for medical - including DO, dental, pharmacy or even public health. She should look forward to being a teacher.

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Yeah, teachers are stupid. Your friend is stupid. Not like us smart pre-meds.

Who knows; she might make it? Just tell her to do well on the MCAT, do some post-bach, and then apply and see what happens

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Yeah, she should do some post-bach. Or post-beethoven, if she prefers. Maybe she should just stop listening to classical music altogether.