3.1 GPA @ southwestern?

[FuturaDocta]

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Hi guys,
I was just taking a gander at UT Southwestern's website and looked at the entering class profile. Surprisingly, I saw the GPA range went from 3.1-4.0. Still a great 3.8 average GPA! But, my question is, "Who got in with a 3.1?" 😱 That amazes me. Did they sell a kidney to the interviewer or something. GEEZ. Whoever they are, they need to give me some tips! Thankx...😀

 

[AH11]

Urm

 

[Pghboy18]

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Hi guys,
I was just taking a gander at UT Southwestern's website and looked at the entering class profile. Surprisingly, I saw the GPA range went from 3.1-4.0. Still a great 3.8 average GPA! But, my question is, "Who got in with a 3.1?" 😱 That amazes me. Did they sell a kidney to the interviewer or something. GEEZ. Whoever they are, they need to give me some tips! Thankx...😀

Maybe the 3.1 was someone who did something other than worry about who got in where with what stats.

 

[redlight]

Urm

obviously (...)

 

[236116]

My guess?

Any combination of: awesome MCAT, ECs, LOR, PS, interview; URM/disadvantaged status, parent on board of directors...

 

[batman1983]

Could be one or a combination of many factors:
1)URM
2) high mcat score to balance low GPA(there are a decent number of applicants with 3.0-3.4GPAs and >36+ MCATs). Plus, from my experience as well as other OOS ppl that got into UTSW, the school seems to be more tilted to high MCAT scores.
3)good ECs(probably some kind of research)
4)connections with the state, esp to a underserved/rural part of TX
5)legacy case or influential family background(maybe the applicant is even the grandchild of Perot or Pickens🙂)

 

[FuturaDocta]

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Maybe the 3.1 was someone who did something other than worry about who got in where with what stats.

I know but stats say almost everything. I was just baffled that's all. It's hard to get into any med school with anything under a 3.6, much less a high ranked school like UT southwestern. I think it's great that GPA doesn't always matter though.

 

[txprodigal]

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I know but stats say almost everything. I was just baffled that's all. It's hard to get into any med school with anything under a 3.6, much less a high ranked school like UT southwestern. I think it's great that GPA doesn't always matter though.

besides URM, it could be a nontraditional student coming from another career - i know several individuals like that in dallas who successfully get into southwestern

the students got horrible grades during their first degree, work in industry and realize 10 years later medicine is their calling, start taking science classes for the first time and make straight A's, do extremely well on the MCAT and get in

it's misleading because the grades from their post-baccalaureate coursework is averaged in with their grades from their first degree

 

[FuturaDocta]

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it's misleading because the grades from their post-baccalaureate coursework is averaged in with their grades from their first degree

Oooh, well, dang! 🙁

 

[batman1983]

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I know but stats say almost everything. I was just baffled that's all. It's hard to get into any med school with anything under a 3.6, much less a high ranked school like UT southwestern. I think it's great that GPA doesn't always matter though.

Even so, if you do have under a 3.6 GPA, it is pretty hard to get in, esp if you an ORM. Some med schools weigh GPA less and MCAT more since undergrad institutions vary in difficult and a 3.6 at one school is not comparable to a 3.6 at another school. If you got low GPA, I would really recommend doing research. I know lots of ppl with lower GPAs and MCATs that get into med school due to research.

 

[Excelsius]

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I know but stats say almost everything. I was just baffled that's all. It's hard to get into any med school with anything under a 3.6, much less a high ranked school like UT southwestern. I think it's great that GPA doesn't always matter though.

Says who? Do the math - the average is 3.7. Average means that half the people who got in had lower GPA than 3.7. The more people you have with GPA close to 4.0, the more you are going to need with GPA below 3.6 to balance that. Add to that MSAR's stats of accepted applicants, rather than matriculants (=higher GPA than it really is). For some medschools the median is around 3.6. Many med schools have 10th percentile in the 3.1-3.3 region.

 

[chutzpah]

Average means that half the people who got in had lower GPA than 3.7.

Does the statistic use mean or median? cause you know if they used mean it might not be half. For example, 99 people could have gotten in with a 3.71 and one person got in with a 2.71...the mean of that is still 3.7 😛

Tbh if they actually used mean it would make sense that it would be top heavy, with the minority under the average.

 

[alibai3ah]

The person does not necessarily have to be a URM. They could have other things going for them as well. People here often overlook the importance of EC's as compared to MCAT/GPA. You would be surprised to find out a number of people I know who have gotten in with lower GPA's, but amazing EC's.

 

[FuturaDocta]

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Hmmm... Interesting responses. So, really just "keep it cool."- SNL. I really shouldn't dwell on my GPA. It isn't very healthy, I don't think. Makes me feel like I am only viewed as a number. Instead, I can just keep doing research, which is something I love to do. Anywho, thanks for the responses.

 

[scarletgirl777]

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I know but stats say almost everything. I was just baffled that's all. It's hard to get into any med school with anything under a 3.6, much less a high ranked school like UT southwestern. I think it's great that GPA doesn't always matter though.

Not true. If the average GPA is a 3.6, then there have to be people who get in with, say a 3.5. The GPA distribution is probably not a bell curve, it's probably a somewhat long tail going towards the left. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try for the highest GPA possible, but it's something to consider.

 

[scarletgirl777]

Does the statistic use mean or median? cause you know if they used mean it might not be half. For example, 99 people could have gotten in with a 3.71 and one person got in with a 2.71...the mean of that is still 3.7 😛

Tbh if they actually used mean it would make sense that it would be top heavy, with the minority under the average.

Haha very extreme, but illustrative of an excellent point. 😀

 

[RoyBasch]

4)connections with the state, esp to a underserved/rural part of TX

This matters a lot more than people think.

I am also from a rural state and was rejected from my state medical school (3.7/35S) I think partially it's because I'm from the city and the school has a considerable commitment to rural medicine.
-Roy

 

[batman1983]

So in the admissions/interview packet I got from UTSW, it had the profile/stats of their entering 2008 class. As for the MCAT and GPA distributions, there were slight bumps at the low ends that gave off a weak binomial graph. For the MCAT, I think the avg at 33 w/the curve slightly tilted towards 34 and 35. I think the SD was probably 2 or 3pts.
However, the GPA distribution was heavily tilted towards high GPAs, but there was a long tail w/low GPAs. There were some outliers with lower GPAs(I cant recall of the top of my head, but I think there were ppl with 3.0-3.3 range). With a 3.6 GPA, I felt inadequate since I was below the mode and median😱.
I dont know what you can really make of the data. It could reflect grade inflation associated with less competitive undergrad institutions (I know relative difficulty of undergrad schools is very debatable issue), since there were a decent number of students from less prestigious(ie, not top 20-30 schools), other admissions factors, or ppl like me that had lower GPA/higher MCAT combination. Since I got automatic invite to UTSW, they probably have some formula that scores each applicant based on GPA and MCAT. Also, I think it should be noted that it seemed like UTSW does value undergrad institution prestige. I met a decent number of OOS that were either from top tier schools like Berkeley, UVA, UCLA, and Ivies. So, maybe they had lower GPAs due to difficulty associated with their schools.

 

[batman1983]

This matters a lot more than people think.

I am also from a rural state and was rejected from my state medical school (3.7/35S) I think partially it's because I'm from the city and the school has a considerable commitment to rural medicine.
-Roy

Wtf, thats insane you didnt get in w/your stats, esp since rural states have less competition. Did you at least get interview there? What state was it? Are you sure there werent other factors in play?

 

[littlealex]

Overall it's about probability. Do you have a chance at getting in somewhere with a 3.1 and great ECs/MCAT? Yes.
Do you really want to bank on your luck? Probably not.

Stop worrying about what other people did. You are a unique case. Just try to do the best that you can and let other people worry about themselves.

 

[Medstudent85]

I know someone who got into medical school, at around a top 50 school.. with a 3.1 and a 31 MCAT, not URM, not great EC. Great personality and interest in the field of medicine.