3.33 GPA vs. 3.40 GPA?

[winterwind_23]

Hi All,

I'm in need of some advice here. Here's the deal:

My AMCAS cumulative GPA is currently 3.30. I can take two more classes (one during Fall, and one in Spring) before applying next cycle to raise my AMCAS GPA to 3.33. The other option is to take 6 more classes (3 during the Fall, and 3 during the Spring), and raise my AMCAS GPA to 3.40.

Obviously, a 3.40 is better than a 3.33, but by how much? Is it worth quitting my job and moving back in with my parents to take an almost full course load to raise my GPA by 0.07? I feel like there might be a huge psychological difference between a 3.33 and a 3.40.

I can handle one class per semester while working, but I think I'd be setting myself up to do poorly in my classes if I were to continue working and take an almost-fulltime course load.

I'm not trying to go to a top or mid-tier school or anything. My first choice is ANY US MD school that will accept me, and my second choice is a reputable DO school.

Brief background:

- Asian Male from California
- Graduated college in 2011 from top 10 school
- 35 MCAT
- Did lots of research in college (but no publications, unfortunately)
- Standard ECs (ER, tutoring, etc.)

Thanks for any advice!!

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[Goro]

Hard to tell without an MCAT score. You're in a pickle. What's your sGPA?

Schools where your cGPA is above the 10th percentile include:
EVMS
VCU
Albany
TCMC
Quinnipiac
FAU
FIU
Wake Forest (maybe)
Loyola (maybe)


Note: You're scraping the bottom of the barrel, and thus I do NOT think you will be competitive for MD schools, unless you score >35 on the MCAT. You're fine for any DO program, except maybe CCOM.

 

[winterwind_23]

Hard to tell without an MCAT score. You're in a pickle. What's your sGPA?

Schools where your cGPA is above the 10th percentile include:
EVMS
VCU
Albany
TCMC
Quinnipiac
FAU
FIU
Wake Forest (maybe)
Loyola (maybe)


Note: You're scraping the bottom of the barrel, and thus I do NOT think you will be competitive for MD schools, unless you score >35 on the MCAT. You're fine for any DO program, except maybe CCOM.

Thanks for your reply.

My MCAT is 35. My sGPA is pretty much the same as my cGPA right now.

I'll be applying very broadly to lower-tier medical schools, like I mentioned in my OP.

 

[Goro]

A discordant MCAT is sometimes viewed with concern. However, at times one has to apply with the app one has, warts and all.

Thanks for your reply.

My MCAT is 35. My sGPA is pretty much the same as my cGPA right now.

I'll be applying very broadly to lower-tier medical schools, like I mentioned in my OP.

 

[winterwind_23]

A discordant MCAT is sometimes viewed with concern. However, at times one has to apply with the app one has, warts and all.

May I ask what you mean by "discordant?"

 

[FutureDrB]

May I ask what you mean by "discordant?"

dis·cor·dant - not agreeing, not in harmony

You're GPA isn't stellar, but your MCAT score is ridiculously high.

 

[Aelius]

May I ask what you mean by "discordant?"

Your MCAT score and GPA are far off from one another. Your GPA is more on the bottom side, while only 2% of people that take the MCAT score a 35.

 

[winterwind_23]

dis·cor·dant - not agreeing, not in harmony

You're GPA isn't stellar, but your MCAT score is ridiculously high.

I'm aware of the definition of discordant, but your response seems to imply that I would do better if my MCAT score was more in line with my GPA, for example, a 30 instead of a 35. Conversely, and probably what you actually mean, is that I would do much better if I had a 3.8 GPA and a 35 MCAT.

Anyway, I can't change my GPA too much at this point. 🙁

 

[FutureDrB]

I'm aware of the definition of discordant, but your response seems to imply that I would do better if my MCAT score was more in line with my GPA, for example, a 30 instead of a 35. Conversely, and probably what you actually mean, is that I would do much better if I had a 3.8 GPA and a 35 MCAT.

Anyway, I can't change my GPA too much at this point. 🙁

I'll take a 3.33 GPA and 35 MCAT any day over a 3.9 GPA and 23 MCAT

(+/- 6 pts. off average MCAT score)

 

[Goro]

OP is correct. I'm not saying this is true at every school, but if the sage gyngyn says it, then I believe it. I generally view discordant GPA vs MCAT scores to mean that the person is a good standardized test taker.

I'm aware of the definition of discordant, but your response seems to imply that I would do better if my MCAT score was more in line with my GPA, for example, a 30 instead of a 35. Conversely, and probably what you actually mean, is that I would do much better if I had a 3.8 GPA and a 35 MCAT.


Avg MCAT score is 31 these days for MD schools. Getting into high 20s for DO schools.

I'll take a 3.33 GPA and 35 MCAT any day over a 3.9 GPA and 23 MCAT
(+/- 6 pts. off average MCAT score)

 

[QuentinT88]

One benefit of taking extra classes is the ability to raise your sgpa. Your cgpa wont budge much, as you mentioned. But with a 35 MCAT, if you could raise your sgpa to over a 3.6+, I think you should be ok for MD and DO schools.

 

[winterwind_23]

One benefit of taking extra classes is the ability to raise your sgpa. Your cgpa wont budge much, as you mentioned. But with a 35 MCAT, if you could raise your sgpa to over a 3.6+, I think you should be ok for MD and DO schools.

With six extra classes before the next application cycle, I can get my sGPA up to 3.45.

Does AMCAS round up for GPA? For example, I calculated my GPA using

A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3

My GPA comes out to be 3.446, for example. Will AMCAS see my GPA as 3.45 (rounded up), 3.44 (truncated), or 3.446?

 

[Aelius]

To answer your original question, it really depends on what your financial situation is and what your job is, and how your relationship is with your parents. With your MCAT and stats, I don't think a 3.3 and a 3.4 will make a big difference for your targets.

 

[winterwind_23]

To answer your original question, it really depends on what your financial situation is and what your job is, and how your relationship is with your parents. With your MCAT and stats, I don't think a 3.3 and a 3.4 will make a big difference for your targets.

My financial situation is that I can afford to live off of my savings if I'm living with my parents. I also have to factor in the cost of the six classes (~1k per class, so 6k for the 6 classes), which is obviously more than a chunk of change. In addition, no income + living at home + no job + practically full course load = almost no social life.

I keep telling myself I know what I need to do to better my chances of getting into medical school though, so if I have to sacrifice other things for my long-term goal, then I will.

 

[Aelius]

My financial situation is that I can afford to live off of my savings if I'm living with my parents. I also have to factor in the cost of the six classes (~1k per class, so 6k for the 6 classes), which is obviously more than a chunk of change. In addition, no income + living at home + no job + practically full course load = almost no social life.

I keep telling myself I know what I need to do to better my chances of getting into medical school though, so if I have to sacrifice other things for my long-term goal, then I will.

Obviously a higher GPA will help. What is difficult to answer is how much help will that be and nobody on this board can really quantify that. We are all just giving our opinions based on our own logical or illogical thinking. Based on your stats and your targets, I don't think it'll really make a big enough difference to warrant the sacrifices you'll have to do. Plus, I'm not sure if there is a guarantee that if you take six classes, you will get all As in them as well. A fluke can always happen.

 

[theseeker4]

My financial situation is that I can afford to live off of my savings if I'm living with my parents. I also have to factor in the cost of the six classes (~1k per class, so 6k for the 6 classes), which is obviously more than a chunk of change. In addition, no income + living at home + no job + practically full course load = almost no social life.

I keep telling myself I know what I need to do to better my chances of getting into medical school though, so if I have to sacrifice other things for my long-term goal, then I will.

With that low of a GPA, you need to get some solid semesters of straight A's in for MD schools to be willing to take a chance on you. Do you have any recent semesters of straight A's? If not, definitely go with taking as many classes as you can to get as many A's as you can before you apply. If you have early grades bringing your GPA down, but a lot of strong more recent work, the full course load is not as essential, but would still help more than taking 2 classes between now and applying. Personally, if you want to maximize your MD chances, I would definitely quit work and take as many classes as I can for A's in BCPM courses.

Out of curiosity, why would you only take 6 classes in the two semesters you have between now and applying (that is only 3 at a time)? Hopefully having no job and only 3 classes at a time won't equal almost no social life, or you will be in a lot of trouble if you do get into medical school......

 

[QuentinT88]

^ Agreed. It will only help your overall application by having a string of As in recent coursework. I would take the 6 classes and devote my time to doing very well.

That way, as @theseeker4 mentioned, it will help to mitigate the damage from your earlier grades in freshman & sophmore years. Afterall adcoms do pay attention to recent coursework. Especially if they are in upper level science courses.

Where did you do your undergrad and what was your major?

 

[ConsultantMD]

I think it's worth it to take more classes, this is what I did this past year and got 10 classes @ a 3.9, which is much higher than my undergrad GPA. I decided to leave my job and live off my savings, which was scary, but it worked out really well, and went by fast! I also went to a top 10 school, and I feel like I have a good explanation for my average (average for the school, we didn't grade inflate, not med school) grades.

I know my MCAT score is discrepant with my GPA, but I feel like that score better represents me as a student, whereas my undergrad GPA is not truly reflective of my ability because of other factors.

OP I guess you can see where my application cycle takes me, but I've applied very broadly and so far I've gotten past some secondary screens (e.g. UCSD)/LOR requests from Mayo with similar numbers. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[winterwind_23]

Bumping this thread from the summer. Now that I'm in the middle of the semester, I'm predicting 3 A's and maybe an A-, B+, or worst case scenario, B in my microbiology class. If I get an A- in micro, my GPA would be 3.9 for the semester, but if I get a B+ in micro, that'll mean a 3.8 GPA. What GPA would screw me over at this point? Can I get something as low as 3.6-3.7 and be OK? Obviously I'm asiming for at least an A- in the micro class, but with the way things are looking, it may or may not turn out that way. 🙁

 

[ridethecliche]

Do you have a strong upward trend in your GPA? I.e. a rough start with consistent high performance or is it all over the place?

 

[winterwind_23]

Do you have a strong upward trend in your GPA? I.e. a rough start with consistent high performance or is it all over the place?

I feel like it's all over the place, with a definite improvement senior year. Here's my GPA for each semester in college:

3.17
3.23
3.43
3.29
2.83
3.07
3.59
3.50
4.0 (This is only one class, taken during the summer)

This figures to a 3.27 GPA on my undergraduate transcript
.
.
.
Postbac semester 1: 3.7-3.8?
Postbac semester 2: 4.0????

How will this GPA trend figure into my GPA? Will the trend be viewed favorably?

 

[ridethecliche]

No, your trend is too haphazard. Low start is fine as long as it's upward trend from there. You have a few bad ones in the middle.

 

[winterwind_23]

No, your trend is too haphazard. Low start is fine as long as it's upward trend from there. You have a few bad ones in the middle.

Thanks for your reply. I graduated in 2011, so hopefully by the time I apply next year, my postbac grades will be weighed more heavily. 🙁

 

[ridethecliche]

Thanks for your reply. I graduated in 2011, so hopefully by the time I apply next year, my postbac grades will be weighed more heavily. 🙁

Potentially, but honestly the best shot would be to do a post bac at a school that admits a lot of their own students from the post bac as well as to apply to DO schools. You have a good shot at a DO program with the few courses you're going to take as well, provided you do well.

 

[ConsultantMD]

OP, I had a similar undergrad gpa and similar post bacc gpa. I did not do an official post bacc program. I had a unique mix of majors and significant research/extracurriculars/years of work after college and a top MCAT score. I'd say focus on these other aspects that make you different and give it a try. I gave it a try and landed an acceptance yesterday and have several other interviews! It's a tough process for sure, but by applying to the right schools and telling your story well, I think you can overcome the numbers game.