3.3 vs 3.4 GPA

[BladeRadius]

Hey, long-time lurker, just registered so I could ask some questions...

Is there any difference, even if it is just psychological, if you have a GPA of 3.38 versus a GPA of 3.41? Or 3.48 vs a 3.50? I'm in the former group (3.38 overall GPA, 3.37 BCPM GPA), graduating this May and so I was wondering if it would be worth it to take a few more classes at my alma mater in the summer to get my GPA up before I apply. I have a 34 MCAT (13 phys, 10 verbal, 11 bio) as well, from this past January.

Thanks in advance! Look forward to hearing from y'all.

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[Chris127]

Probably not.

Depending on what state you live in, you may be fine.

 

[Medikit]

That's a really interesting question. I'm going to say yes. If you can pull up your GPA, your science in particular, I think it will pay off. At your GPA level every little bit counts.

 

[nu2004]

That's a really interesting question. I'm going to say yes. If you can pull up your GPA, your science in particular, I think it will pay off. At your GPA level every little bit counts.

i second this. take one science class you have never taken before (preferably physio or biochem), work hard, get that A... over the 3.4 you go. plus if it is a med school relevant course, it will look good on your app. and will make great fodder for an update letter.

that said, my BCPM was 3.39 and although it didn't help me out, it didn't seem to kill my app either.

 

[tacrum43]

i second this. take one science class you have never taken before (preferably physio or biochem), work hard, get that A... over the 3.4 you go. plus if it is a med school relevant course, it will look good on your app. and will make great fodder for an update letter.

although my BCPM was 3.39 and although it didn't help me out, it didn't seem to kill my app either.

I agree. 3.4 sounds is above the B+ average of a 3.3. It might be worth the extra class if you can manage it.

 

[PleaseBelieveit]

I don't know..this is completely my opinion..but psychologically I feel like the 4 after the decimal point seems much higher than a 3 after the decimal point...In my opinion, I say take the extra class and be safe..

 

[CubaLibre]

i followed this same logic and loaded up on courses 2nd semester senior year to get over my 3.5, 3.4 humps

 

[BladeRadius]

That's interesting. I think I can squeeze in the two extra Bio courses this summer before I apply (I think the end of the first session of the summer is July, but I'll have to check) and see where that gets me.. I figure its worth a shot, even if it is just a psychological power play. The big question is whether I should submit my AMCAS application before that, or should I wait until I get my transcripts updated (hopefully to 3.4's) to apply?

I've been pondering that, and I was wondering if anyone knew whether these update letters that people talk about are actually used to update grades and whatnot, or are they just "taken into context of the application" or something like that..

 

[nu2004]

That's interesting. I think I can squeeze in the two extra Bio courses this summer before I apply (I think the end of the first session of the summer is July, but I'll have to check) and see where that gets me.. I figure its worth a shot, even if it is just a psychological power play. The big question is whether I should submit my AMCAS application before that, or should I wait until I get my transcripts updated (hopefully to 3.4's) to apply?

I've been pondering that, and I was wondering if anyone knew whether these update letters that people talk about are actually used to update grades and whatnot, or are they just "taken into context of the application" or something like that..

i think "submit your AMCAS as soon as possible" - once you've ironed out your PS of course - is a good rule of thumb. a few hundredths of a grade point is NOT worth the extra month or two's worth of applicants that you'll be behind.

 

[156925]

i think "submit your AMCAS as soon as possible" - once you've ironed out your PS of course - is a good rule of thumb. a few hundredths of a grade point is NOT worth the extra month or two's worth of applicants that you'll be behind.

Agreed. Don't delay your application for two months to get one more letter grade. They will see what you plan on taking anyway and can always ask how you did.

 

[RoadRunner17]

Very, very interesting thread. I'm sitting at 3.36/3.34 in terms of uGPA and BCPM GPA. If I take 12 more hours of A's, I'll be above the 3.4 mark in both categories. I can't get all those in before I apply this summer, but I figure I'll just update the letters and hope for the best. At worst, next year, if I have to apply a THIRD time, I'll at least be at the 3.4 level..

 

[CubaLibre]

if you'll have the grade by mid july, i say wait to submit. If not, your whole "psychological" gain strategy will be off. Contrary to popular belief, submitting AMCAS in mid july will not put you at much of a disadvantage, if at all. You'll get many of your secondaries before you are even verified, and the others you will get right after being verified which will be around August 20th or so at the latest. You don't have to wait for those secondaries though, in order to start working on them. you can use the Secondary Prompts Thread here at SDN to figure out what each school asks of you. You prepare your responses and the day you get the secondary, you submit it right then and there, subsequently being complete at schools in late august and early September. Sure some schools' admissions offices dont run as smoothly and will get your complete file done in October, but for the most part a lot of those schools interview into March and April (NYMC comes to mind. Good luck. think about your options.

 

[ramseszerg]

What about a 3.88 or 3.89 against a 3.9? Not that any of these are my GPA

 

[ghostfoot]

What about a 3.88 or 3.89 against a 3.9? Not that any of these are my GPA

It won't matter much until you get past that 4.0 psychological barrier that your adcoms will undoubtedly experience.

If you can't do better than that, I'd say just apply DO with what you have.

 

[supertrooper66]

if you'll have the grade by mid july, i say wait to submit. If not, your whole "psychological" gain strategy will be off. Contrary to popular belief, submitting AMCAS in mid july will not put you at much of a disadvantage, if at all. You'll get many of your secondaries before you are even verified, and the others you will get right after being verified which will be around August 20th or so at the latest. You don't have to wait for those secondaries though, in order to start working on them. you can use the Secondary Prompts Thread here at SDN to figure out what each school asks of you. You prepare your responses and the day you get the secondary, you submit it right then and there, subsequently being complete at schools in late august and early September. Sure some schools' admissions offices dont run as smoothly and will get your complete file done in October, but for the most part a lot of those schools interview into March and April (NYMC comes to mind. Good luck. think about your options.

what about if you get your extra few grades by the very end of June? then what position will it put you at?

 

[RySerr21]

I agree. 3.4 sounds is above the B+ average of a 3.3. It might be worth the extra class if you can manage it.

yes 3.4 sounds better than 3.3 but thats not the case. we are talking about a 3.38......way different thana 3.30.

i doubt there is any significance between 3.38 and 3.41. what if you end up with a B+? you will end up hurting your GPA for pretty much no reason. the potentiall losses outweigh the potential gains.

 

[CubaLibre]

what about if you get your extra few grades by the very end of June? then what position will it put you at?

haha, can't tell if you're poking fun at me. Obviously you should wait for end of June grades. You'll still be among the first people to receive and submit secondaries in end of July/early August when most schools actually release their applications.

 

[ramseszerg]

It won't matter much until you get past that 4.0 psychological barrier that your adcoms will undoubtedly experience.

If you can't do better than that, I'd say just apply DO with what you have.

ohhh your GPA's are out of 4.3? I thought they were out of 4.0 all this time reading these boards hahaha

here in Ontario 4.0=A+, 3.9=A, 3.7=A-.. I was like what? a 3.88 is not good enough for MD but only DO? haha. So with that is there a difference between 3.89/4 and 3.9/4?

 

[supertrooper66]

haha, can't tell if you're poking fun at me. Obviously you should wait for end of June grades. You'll still be among the first people to receive and submit secondaries in end of July/early August when most schools actually release their applications.

nope, i wasn't poking fun at ya.

my spring semester grades will be in by mid may so i could submit the transcripts then, or I can wait till end of June and get like a .025 bump in my gpa. you think that's worth the wait?

also, if you have like a 3.598...will they round that to a 3.60?? i mean, come on...it's so close!!!

 

[onemoreyear]

Check to see if the AAMCAS calculates your GPA differently. I had a 3.38 from undergrad (and a few As in post bac classes) and my GPA was about 0.08 higher as calculated by the AAMCAS. You may get a nice surprise. Anyway, you can still get in (even if you apply late) with a ~3.4 and a 34...

 

[supertrooper66]

Check to see if the AAMCAS calculates your GPA differently. I had a 3.38 from undergrad (and a few As in post bac classes) and my GPA was about 0.08 higher as calculated by the AAMCAS. You may get a nice surprise. Anyway, you can still get in (even if you apply late) with a ~3.4 and a 34...

can you see how AMCAS will determine your gpa before you actualy submit it to them?

also, how does AMCAS round? hundredths place? thousandths place? i.e. would they round a 3.598 to a 3.60 or do you need that .6 in there first?

 

[supertrooper66]

bump!
anyone?

 

[RySerr21]

nope, i wasn't poking fun at ya.

my spring semester grades will be in by mid may so i could submit the transcripts then, or I can wait till end of June and get like a .025 bump in my gpa. you think that's worth the wait?

also, if you have like a 3.598...will they round that to a 3.60?? i mean, come on...it's so close!!!

i refuse to believe that people are actually anal enough to care about the difference between a 3.598 and a 3.60.

 

[mdmarty]

Re asking a previous question: How does AMCAS round your GPA? Suppose you have a 3.896 GPA, does that get rounded to 3.90 or is it truncated just to 3.89?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

How does AMCAS round your GPA? Suppose you have a 3.896 GPA, does that get rounded to 3.90 or is it truncated just to 3.89?

3.90....remember in elementary school 5 or greater gets rounded to the next digit higher lol



o BTW....i think this is all bs, and its just another little nuance for a premed to learn about..

Maybe it would make sense for a 2.99 and a 3.00, if the school has a cutoff of a 3.0, otherwise its bogus

 

[supertrooper66]

3.90....remember in elementary school 5 or greater gets rounded to the next digit higher lol



o BTW....i think this is all bs, and its just another little nuance for a premed to learn about..

Maybe it would make sense for a 2.99 and a 3.00, if the school has a cutoff of a 3.0, otherwise its bogus

ehhh....technically yes...but i definitely wouldn't be surprised if they just round it straight down. do you actually know this from amcas experience or you're assuming?

 

[mdmarty]

ehhh....technically yes...but i definitely wouldn't be surprised if they just round it straight down. do you actually know this from amcas experience or you're assuming?

Precisely. You see, in computer programming, when you typecast floating-point number to an integer, you get a truncated number, i.e. (int) 3.99 = 3.

Because your GPA is most certainly calculated by a computer, I'm worried that a similar thing will happen when your report the GPA to only 2 decimal places.

Because of last quarter I now have a 3.796. Would be very relieved if AMCAS rounded this up to 3.80 .

 

[CubaLibre]

i can confirm..... as simple as it sounds, numbers in the hundredths spot get rounded according to the numbers in the thousandths spot. so 3.598 would become 3.60

enjoy.

 

[CubaLibre]

Because of last quarter I now have a 3.796. Would be very relieved if AMCAS rounded this up to 3.80 .

you got your 3.80

 

[CubaLibre]

nope, i wasn't poking fun at ya.

my spring semester grades will be in by mid may so i could submit the transcripts then, or I can wait till end of June and get like a .025 bump in my gpa. you think that's worth the wait?

also, if you have like a 3.598...will they round that to a 3.60?? i mean, come on...it's so close!!!

without question, you should wait. submitting anytime in june or early july will still put you among the first batch of applicants (no one will get ahead of you in the race for secondaries)

 

[ChubbyChaser]

so...im still confused why ppl are worried over a hundreth of a point?....ummm, this unncessary stress is going to be the end of ya.

 

[RoadRunner17]

True, at this point I don't have any control over it. I just need to ace my finals and get my application submitted early. But certainly the OP has the possibility of getting that last end tied up to make the best case possible.

Though, I am definitely curious as to how schools take update letters into consideration. I am not inclined to think that they would recalculate your AMCAS GPA based on update letters, since then they would need to do it for everyone, and the boost is likely to be relatively minimal as long as you meet the general cutoffs. But that's just me... I'm sure the psychological bit helps in some unquantifiable manner.