2020-2021 Low GPA High MCAT Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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let me in pls said:
Im in the same boat as you guys. The trend is that us split stats usually get invites later in the process according to the previous threads. And with Covid going on its just another screw ball in the whole process.

Even though I tell myself this too I feel the anxiety of waiting too hahaha
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Hoping this is the case! Praying we get some news soon 🙂)
 
MediocreClimber said:
Starting to get nervous about II’s since I thought I had a really strong app. Probably just being overly neurotic though
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I have almost the exact same stats as you. I'm a varsity athlete, I have a little bit of a lower GPA, but the exact mcat with the same breakdown 130/130/130/130. I have received one 1 II so far with the other being the auto UMASS one. I feel the same way in that I feel a little down from not getting IIs. Our school lists are pretty similar too! Just wanted to tell you aren't alone!
 
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let me in pls said:
I have almost the exact same stats as you. I'm a varsity athlete, I have a little but of a lower GPA, but the exact mcat with the same breakdown 130/130/130/130. I have received one 1 II so far with the other being the auto UMASS one. I feel the same way in that I feel a little down from not getting II. Our school lists are pretty similar too! Just wanted to tell you aren't alone!
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College athlete here too! Are we app twins? Lol
 
First II yesterday with a 3.6/3.5/524! I was a little surprised since it was from a school where my GPAs are below the 25th percentile (but not the 10th) so I figured it was a long shot. Is it fair to assume that once you get a II, it means the school has already decided your stats on their own aren't going to hinder you from admission?
 
Hi everyone! Just dropping by to say good luck to all applying this cycle. Low GPA, high MCAT is a scary combo, but it can be done!

I was in your position 6 years ago, and was scared stuff every day of the app cycle.
I ended up at a phenomenal medical school, loved every minute of my time there, and now sit on the Adcom With the same people who Reviewed my app back in the day and had to decide if I was worth the risk.

Just know we’re reading the apps and if you’re candid and honest, most adcoms will be willing to give you a shot!

Happy to answer any questions people may have from the other side 🙂
 
natalux said:
First II yesterday with a 3.6/3.5/524! I was a little surprised since it was from a school where my GPAs are below the 25th percentile (but not the 10th) so I figured it was a long shot. Is it fair to assume that once you get a II, it means the school has already decided your stats on their own aren't going to hinder you from admission?
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Yes, that's fair. Common wisdom is that there is a staircase of sorts, and you are lower on it than those with higher stats (no pressure!! 🙂), but nobody would waste a spot on you if they didn't like you enough to admit you.
 
KnightDoc said:
Yes, that's fair. Common wisdom is that there is a staircase of sorts, and you are lower on it than those with higher stats (no pressure!! 🙂), but nobody would waste a spot on you if they didn't like you enough to admit you.
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I thought this thread is for current applicants only 😎
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
Hi everyone! Just dropping by to say good luck to all applying this cycle. Low GPA, high MCAT is a scary combo, but it can be done!

I was in your position 6 years ago, and was scared stuff every day of the app cycle.
I ended up at a phenomenal medical school, loved every minute of my time there, and now sit on the Adcom With the same people who Reviewed my app back in the day and had to decide if I was worth the risk.

Just know we’re reading the apps and if you’re candid and honest, most adcoms will be willing to give you a shot!

Happy to answer any questions people may have from the other side 🙂
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Thanks for offering to help! I have a couple questions if you have the time! What do your colleagues say when they see someone with a large disparity, something like 3.25/525, that really isn't explainable by outside circumstances? How does that change if the student has a recent post-bacc with a good GPA (i.e. 4.0 through 45 credits)? Are they ever worried that the low GPA will bring down their stats (I think most schools report median so it shouldn't affect them any more than like a 3.7 would, unless they're worried about quartiles and 10%)?
 
KnightDoc said:
Yes, that's fair. Common wisdom is that there is a staircase of sorts, and you are lower on it than those with higher stats (no pressure!! 🙂), but nobody would waste a spot on you if they didn't like you enough to admit you.
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Hello! I appreciate your commentary on other threads, but I don't really think this Is fair to post in this thread, which is specifically for current applicants with low GPAs and high MCATs. There are many reasons why some of us have lower undergrad GPAs. There are many reasons why those experiences (and the things we've done since then!) have shaped our perspective and the types of doctors we hope to be. I have worked very hard to reinvent myself, as I know others on this thread have, and our stats from the last several years show it.

There is enough pressure, neuroticism, and worry all over SDN and in our personal lives. I would advocate that this be a thread where we support each other, celebrate each others' successes, and suggest strategies for our peers and future applicants. Thank you!
 
natalux said:
First II yesterday with a 3.6/3.5/524! I was a little surprised since it was from a school where my GPAs are below the 25th percentile (but not the 10th) so I figured it was a long shot. Is it fair to assume that once you get a II, it means the school has already decided your stats on their own aren't going to hinder you from admission?
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Yes
 
akg0119 said:
Hello! I appreciate your commentary on other threads, but I don't really think this Is fair to post in this thread, which is specifically for current applicants with low GPAs and high MCATs. There are many reasons why some of us have lower undergrad GPAs. There are many reasons why those experiences (and the things we've done since then!) have shaped our perspective and the types of doctors we hope to be. I have worked very hard to reinvent myself, as I know others on this thread have, and our stats from the last several years show it.

There is enough pressure, neuroticism, and worry all over SDN and in our personal lives. I would advocate that this be a thread where we support each other, celebrate each others' successes, and suggest strategies for our peers and future applicants. Thank you!
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Sorry -- I meant no harm and was just trying to be supportive.
 
Screamapillar said:
Thanks for offering to help! I have a couple questions if you have the time! What do your colleagues say when they see someone with a large disparity, something like 3.25/525, that really isn't explainable by outside circumstances? How does that change if the student has a recent post-bacc with a good GPA (i.e. 4.0 through 45 credits)? Are they ever worried that the low GPA will bring down their stats (I think most schools report median so it shouldn't affect them any more than like a 3.7 would, unless they're worried about quartiles and 10%)?
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I can’t speak for our specific process, but more generally schools aren’t as concerned as you’d think with GPA stats. They care, and obviously there are limits, but the goal of the overall process is picking people who have the highest likelihood of succeeding in Med school...not running up the score on MSAR.

However I challenge you to find a student who truly has a huge gap like that without a reason.

Theres always a reason. Maybe the reason is “my college was really hard” or “I was lazy and now I’m not,” but there’s always a reason. And adcoms will expect you to spell it out.
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
I can’t speak for our specific process, but more generally schools aren’t as concerned as you’d think with GPA stats. They care, and obviously there are limits, but the goal of the overall process is picking people who have the highest likelihood of succeeding in Med school...not running up the score on MSAR.

However I challenge you to find a student who truly has a huge gap like that without a reason.

Theres always a reason. Maybe the reason is “my college was really hard” or “I was lazy and now I’m not,” but there’s always a reason. And adcoms will expect you to spell it out.
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Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately that student is me (+/- some GPA points). I've struggled to find the reason I performed so mediocre in college, but really I was just lazy and cared more about spending time with friends than doing my assignments. I also assumed med school admissions was like college, if I didn't care about getting into a good one I could coast by with B's and still become a doctor. Joining the military and working outside of academics definitely instilled in me the good work ethic that I have now, but I don't really have a good reason for why I was so unmotivated in college. I generally just articulate something about maturity.

I appreciate the insight about the process being about picking people who are likely to succeed in med school, sometimes I picture ADCOM's plugging a student's stats and quantified EC's into a calculator that spills out the potential effect of accepting that candidate on the schools yield, GPA/MCAT stats, and US News ranking lol.
 
Following here. 3.4/3.43/521, strong upward trend, 3.9 post-bacc, good ECs, three pubs, (2nd or third authors, one in a top journal). Submitted 37 secondaries in late july/early august. 0 IIs, hope we get some love a little later in the cycle cuz the wait is driving me crazy!
 
Screamapillar said:
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately that student is me (+/- some GPA points). I've struggled to find the reason I performed so mediocre in college, but really I was just lazy and cared more about spending time with friends than doing my assignments. I also assumed med school admissions was like college, if I didn't care about getting into a good one I could coast by with B's and still become a doctor. Joining the military and working outside of academics definitely instilled in me the good work ethic that I have now, but I don't really have a good reason for why I was so unmotivated in college. I generally just articulate something about maturity.

I appreciate the insight about the process being about picking people who are likely to succeed in med school, sometimes I picture ADCOM's plugging a student's stats and quantified EC's into a calculator that spills out the potential effect of accepting that candidate on the schools yield, GPA/MCAT stats, and US News ranking lol.
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Yea, getting to see it from the adcoms side is fascinating. There’s very rarely active discussions about metrics in the meetings.

Most of the time is spent talking about people’s volunteer or research efforts, clinical experience, and most importantly if they’d fit the schools mission.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the US News rankings brought up, except once when we dropped down a point...at which time everyone had a good laugh about how silly those rankings are.
 
As an aside, you’d be surprised how rare the true 4.0/515+ applicants are.

The vast majority of people we accept are high/low splits, or middle of the road in both.
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
As an aside, you’d be surprised how rare the true 4.0/515+ applicants are.

The vast majority of people we accept are high/low splits, or middle of the road in both.
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Thanks for the insight. I hope one day I can attend Hollywood Upstairs Medical College too!
 
3.57/3.53s/524 with 1 A as of the 15th!!! 1 other II, 3 other Rs

Edit: my second II turned into an A as well! Just wanted to come back and update for future splitters looking at this thread for some hope lol.
 
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3.2 gpa/3.1 sgpa/523 nontrad with a 3.8 SMP GPA checking in! 23 MD apps submitted, 3 DO, probably going to add a few more fliers soon. No IIs yet. Most apps submitted between August/September. Good luck everyone!!
 
Just thought I'd add my experience to the record:

uGPA: 3.10, usGPA: 2.94, MCAT: 524
SMP GPA: 3.97

4 IIs this cycle so far and 2 of those have turned into acceptances! For anyone reading this thread now or in the future, if I can turn it around from a god-awful start to undergrad, so can you. Best of luck to y'all!
 
checking in with my 5th pre-II R.. I’m feeling pretty defeated and honestly kind of stupid for convincing myself that my mcat could make up for my sgpa.. any words of encouragement would be much appreciated
 
toffm said:
checking in with my 5th pre-II R.. I’m feeling pretty defeated and honestly kind of stupid for convincing myself that my mcat could make up for my sgpa.. any words of encouragement would be much appreciated
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Keep your head up friend. Not even Thanksgiving yet, and certain schools will have a longer app cycle for obvious reasons. You got this.

Plus, 3.5 sGPA isn't horrible and your MCAT is stellar. You are going to land at the school that you are meant to be at! Sending you my prayers 🙂
 
graciella said:
Boy, do I hope the longer app cycle theory is true! I know everyone is waiting; it's just so stressful. I really thought I would have heard more by now and I keep second-guessing everything I've done. Still grateful for the 2 II that I do have. 🙂
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It is certainly school by school. If you look at the school-specific threads, some were not delayed at all (for example, UCLA) and some were delayed by quite a bit compared to last year's threads (for example, WUSTL). Plus, even based on last year's standards, Adcoms generally advised that you want to have II's by Thanksgiving, a timeline which may have been delayed at some schools this year. So by either standard, you are in good shape.

Knock 'em dead in your interviews!
 
I submitted most of my apps late July, and throughout August, and I just got my first MD II last week! Sit tight folks 🙂
 
ampersandwich said:
2.8 cGPA / 2.5 sGPA / 3.6 gsGPA (SMP) / 517

Reapplicant (one WL last year). ORM/not disadvantaged, multiple MCATS, buttloads of post-bacc classes. Short of getting an IA or felony, everything you can do wrong, I probably did wrong.

2 MD interviews so far.
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Guys, I got the call today. I'm going to be a doctor! I graduated with a bio degree, 2.5 cGPA and a 2.1 sGPA. I'm proof that you can overcome a ****ty undergraduate record if you keep pushing upwards!
 
ampersandwich said:
Guys, I got the call today. I'm going to be a doctor! I graduated with a bio degree, 2.5 cGPA and a 2.1 sGPA. I'm proof that you can overcome a ****ty undergraduate record if you keep pushing upwards!
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Hey folks -- I heard back from my SMP school (a T30) with an A yesterday 😭

I hope this gives other reinventors some hope. This has been a really long journey for me (check that 5+ year flair), so it's been a season of validation after years of self-doubt, sacrifice, and anxiety.
 
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