Any folks with low GPAs and high MCATs?

[qweewq11]

I see lots of posts from folks with good GPAs and weak MCATS (eg. 3.8, 26).

Any folks know of people in the same boat as me (great MCATs, low GPA?) that successfully made it into med school?

Any inspirational stories would be great!

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[why can't I register]

I've been wondering this too. I didn't know I wanted to go to med school until just recently, so I was never all THAT worried about my GPA for the computer science field. In fact, a 3.2 is pretty good for cs...

I've yet to take the MCAT, but I expect to do decent (though not necessarily high) as I've traditionally done well on standardized tests, though I do realize that the MCAT is quite different from say the SAT or ACT.

 

[jintonic5]

having a high mcat is awesome! congrats~!
i think that if anything, adcoms will look favorably upon your high mcat score because it's the way in which they determine if you are competitive compared to premeds all across the nation(and beyond) instead of just at your particular university. How they look upon your grades may also be influenced by your undergrad institution- if it's a school that's known for it's nasty grade curve and you get a B, it won't be as nice as if you ace the course, but it's something to consider.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

I think that this post should be under the topic: "High GPA and low MCAT scores"

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

The thing about high GPA is that it is really hard to increase your GPA but if you have say 3.8, the only thing you are lacking is a good MCAT score and you are in.

 

[maitai]

my mcat right after graduation was 10p, 10b, 13-15v. not "high," but pretty solid, especially since i was a non-science major. after the mcat i took 23 credits of post-bac science courses to up my gpa before applying, resulting in a 3.33 overall and a 3.04 bcpm. got into 2 schools so far! good luck!

 

[shorrin]

3.31 undergrad
3.15 bcpm

12/9/9

 

[banannie]

*BUMP*

Anyone else?

Also, info about which schools tend to weigh MCAT more heavily than GPA could be useful.

 

[Wahoo07]

I have a 3.43 GPA (3.45 BCPM) and a 33. Not really high, but good enough for me.

 

[KCS]

Don't give up hope qweewq11!

I had a 'textured' undergraduate record, resulting in a sub-3 GPA. Once I decided to apply to medical schools, I took the pre-reqs and a couple of additional classes and did pretty well (3.67). However, this still only pulled my GPA to about 3.15 or so.

On the brighter side, the MCATs were pretty much made for me (middle class white guy) and I scored very well (38-40; 12, 13, 13-15).

At first, it seemed that the MCATs, post-bac, and recommendations wouldn't outweigh the poopy GPA (let's just say that there was a *very* long character development period complete with *lots* of thin envelopes). At (long) last, I received an acceptance to Jefferson, and it has since been followed up with acceptances from UPitt and MCP -- hang tough and it will work out for you!

Best of luck to everyone still waiting to hear (I know the feeling!),

- KCS

 

[coolwaters]

I had an undergrad GPA of 2.9 - subsequently pulled it up to a 3.2 after post-bacc courses. (BCPM - 3.88)

On the MCAT scored a 34 (11VR, 10PS,R, 13 BS).

Not sure if this is what you're looking for..undergrad GPA pretty low, and MCAT a little on the high side.

 

[laviddee]

so are there some schools that focus more on the mcat score??

like i know hopkins hardly cares about the mcat so if you have a low gpa and super high mcat- it really wouldn't matter anyways.

so on the reverse side, are there schools that lean more towards the mcat than the gpa?

dave

 

[banannie]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by laviddee:
•
so on the reverse side, are there schools that lean more towards the mcat than the gpa?
•••••yeah, that would be my dream come true.

I have 3.35 overall, 3.23 BCPM but 12V,15P,13B on the MCAT

Unfortunately, my impression from most SDN posts is that it's better to have the opposite: high GPA and low MCAT. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[kutastha]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by banannie:
•Unfortunately, my impression from most SDN posts is that it's better to have the opposite: high GPA and low MCAT. •••••That's odd, considering the typical MCAT score on SDN is around a 36-38.

 

[batman123]

Here's a situation for comparison. Maybe you should be a little conservative with your list of schools. I had a 3.68, 3.62 bcpm, and a 34S (11 V, 12 P, 11 B), but because I applied only to top-30 schools, I got on only one waitlist, all the rest rejections. This year, I'm doing more to improve my med-related extracurriculars, and am applying to a wider variety of schools. Make sure you apply to a wide spectrum of places.

Good luck

 

[Diogenes]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by batman123:
•Here's a situation for comparison. Maybe you should be a little conservative with your list of schools. I had a 3.68, 3.62 bcpm, and a 34S (11 V, 12 P, 11 B), but because I applied only to top-30 schools, I got on only one waitlist, all the rest rejections. This year, I'm doing more to improve my med-related extracurriculars, and am applying to a wider variety of schools. Make sure you apply to a wide spectrum of places.

Good luck•••••Hey Batman, me too. I had a 3.79, 3.84 bcpm, and a 36R (11, 14, 11). I only applied to 11 schools (5 UCs and the rest top 20s). I got 7 interviews resulting in 4 waitlists. I am also improving my ECs, especially med-related ones, and I'll be casting a wider net. It sucks, but live and learn...

 

[biophysicbadass]

I love this thread, becuase I am in the same boat. Nice to hear success stories, anyone get in to a top 30 with a low GPA high MCAT?

 

[TroutBum]

Hey everyone. I believe Wash U really likes good MCAT scores, but that's the only one that comes to mind.

 

[Bikini Princess]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Diogenes:
•I had a 3.79, 3.84 bcpm, and a 36R (11, 14, 11). I only applied to 11 schools (5 UCs and the rest top 20s). I got 7 interviews resulting in 4 waitlists. •••••Ouch Diogenes! Maybe apply to some middle tier schools next time? You applied to all the difficult schools, you did good to get so many interviews. I hope I get half that many interviews, but..that must be frustrating.

 

[qweewq11]

Aloha Bikini Princess. Are you at UH? Applying to JABSOM next year? If so, we're in the same boat!

 

[owen_osh]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by banannie:

Unfortunately, my impression from most SDN posts is that it's better to have the opposite: high GPA and low MCAT. [/QB]••••I don't know. Judging from the charts in MSAR, about 3/4 of applicants with 4.0 are accepted, but 7/8 of applicants with 35-37 and almost all applicants with &gt;37 are accepted. Looks like high MCAT is a better guarantee of acceptance than 4.0.

 

[spacecadet]

My story is similar to KCS's. I have a cum undergrad of 3.4 (BMCP=2.97 b/c my engineering classes don't count in BMCP). Master's GPA of 4.0. MCAT is 13's across. I'm older and non-trad.

Only applied to three schools - two Texas state schools and Baylor. Rejected at one UT, waitlisted at the other, waitlisted and then accepted at Baylor.

The whole process is a crapshoot. Just cast a wide net and hope for the best. Boost up your EC's as much as you can, and do mock interviews.

 

[laviddee]

OK- SO WHO'S OUT THERE--
that scored 34 or higher- and has less than a 3.5 for their science gpa.

and if that fits you- what schools did you guys get into? what schools didn't you guys get into???

thanks!!!
dave

 

[opus]

I had a 35MCAT and 3.2GPA from a top tier school and I'm still waiting. Lack of EC killed me. Doing them now and reapplying.

 

[dukeblue01]

I had a 3.5 overall, a 3.4 science, and a 35 from a school in North Carolina. I was accepted to Emory, MCV/VCU, EVMS, USUHS, and waitlisted at Northwestern and UVA. Hope this helps.

 

[biophysicbadass]

Is it me or does it seem like not many people with a high MCAT and low GPA are getting into top 30's? Congrats on whoever got into Baylor, great school.

 

[KCS]

I am afraid you may be right physicsbada**; unfortuantely not every school takes the time to read deeply into every application.

Even coming from Harvard with tons of ECs (though not medicine related), good work experience (5 yrs as environmental consultant on drinking water for EPA/States; more related to public health than medicine) and good recs, my grades didn't allow me to get through the screens at a bunch of schools despite good MCATs (see previous post). This might have been due in part to the AMCAS screw-ups this past year which meant that admissions officers didn't take quite as long reviewing applications and schools didn't offer as many interviews as usual.

Nonetheless, despite a ton of rejections I did receive interviews at Hopkins (still on wait list) and Vandy and several other schools, and was accepted at Pitt as well as Jefferson and MCP.

Anyway, hang tough and good luck! As someone said in another post I read today, you really do get a feeling for each school, and each school has a different vibe/type ... those schools that recognize that someone may be qualified despite poor grades (due to other in-school activities, work, family issues, etc.) are probably the places that are right for you. I definitely got a *great* feeling at Jefferson and am extremely excited to be able to head to Philly in August.

 

[biophysicbadass]

Hey KCS,
Did you apply to Einstein/Sinai or any other NY schools? I get feeling frrom Sinai that they are more into the person as a whole, as well as Einstein. I don't know anything about NYU, and it seems COlumbia and Cornell are #'s obsessed. Anyone know anything about these schools with regard to admissions?