3.95 Postbacc GPA (60 units) - take a "BS science class" to hit 3.2 cGPA and 3.3 sGPA?

[IcedCoffeeOnly]

I'm very certain I am being very neurotic and unreasonable right now... but here it goes.

I finished my DIY postbacc program (66 units) with a 3.95 cGPA and sGPA this summer. I have taken all the prerequisite classes and 5 upper division classes on a quarter system. I have no retakes.

This brought my AMCAS cGPA and sGPA up to 3.18 and 3.27. My AACOMAS sGPA is a 3.8, and my cGPA is 3.18. (thank god DO schools don't count stats and math part of sGPA...)

I also received a 514 MCAT recently. I will not apply until 2022 at least because COVID has severely limited my EC options.

If I take 1 more BS science class at a community college (ran out of money, so no more upper divisions at a 4 year), something like "Introduction to Biotechnology," "General Botany," or "Zoology," I can get my cGPA to a 3.2, and my sGPA to a 3.3. I'm certain I can get an A in the class, and the cost would be very small.

Do you recommend I take 1 more random science class so I can hit 3.2 and 3.3 cGPA/sGPA? I honestly don't want to, but it would be such a minimal time investment. Looking at the AMCAS GPA/MCAT grid, it looks like my chances do go up... but I don't know how to factor in my postbacc GPA.

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[KnightDoc]

I'm very certain I am being very neurotic and unreasonable right now... but here it goes.

I finished my DIY postbacc program (66 units) with a 3.95 cGPA and sGPA this summer. I have taken all the prerequisite classes and 5 upper division classes on a quarter system. I have no retakes.

This brought my AMCAS cGPA and sGPA up to 3.18 and 3.27. My AACOMAS sGPA is a 3.8, and my cGPA is 3.18. (thank god DO schools don't count stats and math part of sGPA...)

I also received a 514 MCAT recently. I will not apply until 2022 at least because COVID has severely limited my EC options.

If I take 1 more BS science class at a community college (ran out of money, so no more upper divisions at a 4 year), something like "Introduction to Biotechnology," "General Botany," or "Zoology," I can get my cGPA to a 3.2, and my sGPA to a 3.3. I'm certain I can get an A in the class, and the cost would be very small.

Do you recommend I take 1 more random science class so I can hit 3.2 and 3.3 cGPA/sGPA? I honestly don't want to, but it would be such a minimal time investment. Looking at the AMCAS GPA/MCAT grid, it looks like my chances do go up... but I don't know how to factor in my postbacc GPA.

Yes -- you are being neurotic and unreasonable. You are making the mistake many people make when looking at the grid, which is believing that adcoms consult the grid when deciding what to do, rather than realizing that the grid reflects what they have already done. The difference between 3.18 and 3.20 (a single basic science CC class) is ZERO!!!!

It doesn't look like that on the grid because of an arbitrary cutoff, but it's true. The 3.18 box you are looking at incorporates everything between 3.00 and 3.19. The 3.20 box similarly includes everything between 3.20 and 3.39. The actual data points between 3.18 and 3.20 are virtually indistinguishable, and certainly wouldn't move the needle on an application. YOUR odds aren't really jumping 10% when you go from the top of one range to the bottom of the next.

Also, keep in mind that your MCAT places you in the bottom of that range as well. The grid is meant to give you a rough guide as to where you stand. It's not the gospel. Your odds will be somewhere between 41% and 51%, and aren't going to be impacted by one additional general science CC grade.

 

[Goro]

I'm very certain I am being very neurotic and unreasonable right now... but here it goes.

I finished my DIY postbacc program (66 units) with a 3.95 cGPA and sGPA this summer. I have taken all the prerequisite classes and 5 upper division classes on a quarter system. I have no retakes.

This brought my AMCAS cGPA and sGPA up to 3.18 and 3.27. My AACOMAS sGPA is a 3.8, and my cGPA is 3.18. (thank god DO schools don't count stats and math part of sGPA...)

I also received a 514 MCAT recently. I will not apply until 2022 at least because COVID has severely limited my EC options.

If I take 1 more BS science class at a community college (ran out of money, so no more upper divisions at a 4 year), something like "Introduction to Biotechnology," "General Botany," or "Zoology," I can get my cGPA to a 3.2, and my sGPA to a 3.3. I'm certain I can get an A in the class, and the cost would be very small.

Do you recommend I take 1 more random science class so I can hit 3.2 and 3.3 cGPA/sGPA? I honestly don't want to, but it would be such a minimal time investment. Looking at the AMCAS GPA/MCAT grid, it looks like my chances do go up... but I don't know how to factor in my postbacc GPA.

The cGPA is irrelevant now. You have already shown that the you of now isn't the you of then.

 

[PigsHaveWings]

The cGPA is irrelevant now. You have already shown that the you of now isn't the you of then.

Just a theoretical question for you @Goro . Virtually everybody I have seen has a much higher GPA in SMP than in undergrad.

With this pattern, do the ADCOMs give the same level of respect for SMP GPA as they do for a true undergrad GPA, which i think is much more rigorous and generally lower GPA.

I dont know if there are studies which have examined if this is true ?

 

[Goro]

Just a theoretical question for you @Goro . Virtually everybody I have seen has a much higher GPA in SMP than in undergrad.

With this pattern, do the ADCOMs give the same level of respect for SMP GPA as they do for a true undergrad GPA, which i think is much more rigorous and generally lower. I dont know if there are studies which have examined if this is true?

Well, there are definitely schools that have their fill of people who didn't need SMPs, and so they don't care.

What my Adcom does is we simply look beyond the cGPA and see the excellence that followed after graduation. No one has ever commented on the merits of an SMP vs a post-bac, where you have people simply taking upper level UG courses.

I agree it would make for a fine study for a medical education paper!

 

[ndcpjf]

n or heard of one interviewing since I've been o

Interesting, what do the statistics say about their respective MCATs? Are they on par with the rest of the class?

 

[KnightDoc]

To my surprise, at my school SMPs are considered 'soft coverups'.

We have a team of statisticians at my school who run stats on everything, except our saliva and urine. It was found that the students admitted over the past X amount of years with excellent SMP grades struggled in our curriculum...and I haven't seen or heard of one interviewing since I've been on the committee, starting from last year.

SMPs specifically, or any post-bacc work? I ask because SMPs are reputed to be high risk/high reward, with curricula (and grading) that mirror M1, so I'm surprised your school would find that. On the other hand, DIY post-baccs are known to have easier grading, and are reputed to be most effective at schools that are looking to allow poor performers in UG an opportunity to redeem themselves, which might be more consistent with what your school found.

 

[InFreudWeTrust]

Interesting, what do the statistics say about their respective MCATs? Are they on par with the rest of the class?

For the most part, yes (surprisingly, or maybe not). Where they struggle is in coursework and step 1 (aka where “the grind” comes into play). And struggling on step 1 didn’t = fail. It meant, more often than not, scoring below the desired range.

Nevertheless, stats showed that an UG gpa of ~3.6+ performed much better overall than a SMP gpa of 3.6+ as a whole. And core class remediations were predominantly from SMP students.

We have a popular SMP nearby and it has a terrible reputation with us. So how much 1 program contributed to these stats...I don’t know. But I did find it to be interesting.