Are cgpa cutoff's REALLY that strict?

Started by RaptorHD
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RaptorHD

Full Member
10+ Year Member
I'm pretty afraid of my application being auto-rejected and would love people's input/experiences with this.

I have a cGPA of 2.91 and am very scared that schools with a 3.0 GPA cut will auto-reject me without even looking at my other stats/info. I'm a non-trad and took pre-reqs after graduating UG. My sGPA is a 3.91, postbacc GPA is 3.88 and MCAT 28. (200+ hours HCE)

My question to whose who might know is are the cutoffs strict enough to only consider one GPA and remove the app? Or does an app need to have both cgpa/sgpa under the minimum for it to be auto-rejected?

p.s Im not asking for my chances (wouldnt mind if you said them), just how strict cutoffs are.
Thanks !
 
At my school they are. However, it is VERY possible that an eagle eyed admissions person will spot your wonderful postbac and pull it out of the pile.

Best bet is to contact Admissions Deans and see what their policy is...just by reaching out they might keep an eye open for you.

RaptorHD said:
I'm pretty afraid of my application being auto-rejected and would love people's input/experiences with this.

I have a cGPA of 2.91 and am very scared that schools with a 3.0 GPA cut will auto-reject me without even looking at my other stats/info. I'm a non-trad and took pre-reqs after graduating UG. My sGPA is a 3.91, postbacc GPA is 3.88 and MCAT 28. (200+ hours HCE)

My question to whose who might know is are the cutoffs strict enough to only consider one GPA and remove the app? Or does an app need to have both cgpa/sgpa under the minimum for it to be auto-rejected?

p.s Im not asking for my chances (wouldnt mind if you said them), just how strict cutoffs are.
Thanks !
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Goro said:
At my school they are. However, it is VERY possible that an eagle eyed admissions person will spot your wonderful postbac and pull it out of the pile.

Best bet is to contact Admissions Deans and see what their policy is...just by reaching out they might keep an eye open for you.
Click to expand...

Do deans appreciate emails or phone calls?
 
I applied 2 cycles ago with a 3.0cgpa and 2.8sgpa with a 33MCAT. I was autorejected from most DO schools and received no interviews. I retook a bunch of courses and applied last cycle and was accepted to every school I applied to except 1.
 
Yes, that's why they are called cut-offs. You're not special, so don't expect special treatment.
 
gmcguitar4 said:
I applied 2 cycles ago with a 3.0cgpa and 2.8sgpa with a 33MCAT. I was autorejected from most DO schools and received no interviews. I retook a bunch of courses and applied last cycle and was accepted to every school I applied to except 1.
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I think this evidence should be stickied so the question will always have an answer. Gmc, that is rough! I would expect even those GPA's to get an acceptance with that amazing mcat. Did you apply to any new schools? I have a hard time believing a new school wouldn't take your mcat.
 
wjs010 said:
I think this evidence should be stickied so the question will always have an answer. Gmc, that is rough! I would expect even those GPA's to get an acceptance with that amazing mcat. Did you apply to any new schools? I have a hard time believing a new school wouldn't take your mcat.
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No, I didn't. I applied to only the more established schools. I didn't do much research into DO schools that cycle.
 
wjs010 said:
That may have something to do with it. Op, you will prob be fine if you apply broadly.
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OP will get in somewhere, but the issue is will he be autoscreen from at least the DO program? The answer is pretty much yes, because half the programs have a cutoff at 3.0 for both sGPA and cGPA.

That being said, OP could always apply now to the schools that don't have a cutoff, take 2-3 retakes and get above a 3.0 in time to update their app and apply to the remaining schools.
 
hallowmann said:
OP will get in somewhere, but the issue is will he be autoscreen from at least the DO program? The answer is pretty much yes, because half the programs have a cutoff at 3.0 for both sGPA and cGPA.

That being said, OP could always apply now to the schools that don't have a cutoff, take 2-3 retakes and get above a 3.0 in time to update their app and apply to the remaining schools.
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Listen to this OP. relax and go take a few classes. It's much less stressful than retaking an mcat, so you're not In too bad a spot.
 
I would retake classes first and then apply with an above 3.0 GPA. A few repeats could bring you way up. A 28 MCAT isn't high enough to balance that GPA out IMO.
 
wjs010 said:
Listen to this OP. relax and go take a few classes. It's much less stressful than retaking an mcat, so you're not In too bad a spot.
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Yeah thanks for the advice guys. I used the AACOMAS gpa calc. and figured out i just need to retake 2 of my classes to push it above 3.04. So thats my plan!
 
RaptorHD said:
Yeah thanks for the advice guys. I used the AACOMAS gpa calc. and figured out i just need to retake 2 of my classes to push it above 3.04. So thats my plan!
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When you do so, think about applying to nova or azcom, apparently they love mcat over everything else
 
A few DO schools, iirc (correct me if I'm wrong) have a listed min gpa of a 2.85 in order to apply. Obvi the accepted averages are much higher but shouldn't that be enough to avoid the automatic cut off??
 
With the cut offs, if you have a high gpa, say 3.7+ but no MCAT at the moment - can you still get a secondary?
 
csx said:
A few DO schools, iirc (correct me if I am wrong) have a listed min gpa of a 2.85 in order to apply. Obvi the accepted averages are much higher but shouldn't that be enough to avoid the automatic cut off??
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Many (read most) DO programs have GPA cutoffs at 3.0. That significantly affects the chances of people ~2.9, especially those with MCAT scores >30, by not letting their apps even be seen by an actual person. Plus its a waste of money to even apply there, so its good to know which schools have those kinds of cutoffs.

discowisco said:
With the cut offs, if you have a high gpa, say 3.7+ but no MCAT at the moment - can you still get a secondary?
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It depends on the school, some will (some secondaries are also automatic and are accessible on the school's website - e.g. LMU-DCOM, UMDNJ-SOM, etc.), but many will also put your app on hold until your MCAT comes in.
 
What about taking a couple of courses to get that GPA up ~ kinesiology, nutrition, Spanish? I think they're easy enough to get that GPA above.

I'm a little confused...is your overall GPA 2.91? If so, perhaps you can get it up with the above mentioned courses. Your post-bac GPA's are great!! Congrats on the turnaround 🙂

I wish you ALL the best!!
 
hallowmann said:
OP will get in somewhere, but the issue is will he be autoscreen from at least the DO program? The answer is pretty much yes, because half the programs have a cutoff at 3.0 for both sGPA and cGPA.

That being said, OP could always apply now to the schools that don't have a cutoff, take 2-3 retakes and get above a 3.0 in time to update their app and apply to the remaining schools.
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This is not true only a handful of schools have a 3.0 cutoff, about 3 or so, one had a 3.2 cutoff and a few have 2.7 cutoff. There's about 33 schools on aacomas. op can still apply to close to 20 schools easy. And schools always make exceptions it could be worth the app fee to see with that science Gpa and MCAT
 
pre med 2014 said:
Does it matter?
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One if the best things about applying to DO school is being able to do grade replacement, which will have a greater impact on your GPA than simply taking more classes. Actually taking more classes and getting a B will lower your GPA
 
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pre med 2014 said:
This is not true only a handful of schools have a 3.0 cutoff, about 3 or so, one had a 3.2 cutoff and a few have 2.7 cutoff. There's about 33 schools on aacomas. op can still apply to close to 20 schools easy. And schools always make exceptions it could be worth the app fee to see with that science Gpa and MCAT
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Sure some might not post it, but many have GPA cutoffs at 3.0. I know. I applied to them all. Many sent me their cutoff requirements after I submitted a primary.

The following have secondary GPA cutoffs at/above 3.0: NSU, RVUCOM (3.0 cGPA, 2.75 sGPA), OSU-COM, WVSOM, CUSOM, DMU, KCUMB (3.25 but its 2/3 for cutoff stats), Touro-CA, Touro-NV, PNWU, VCOM, Western-CA, and Western-OR. VCOM-CC and MU-COM also claim cutoffs above 3.0, but I think they focus on the last 120 credits or so, as I received a pre-secondary HOLD status from VCOM-CC and I received a secondary and ii from MU-COM.

The following schools have no cutoffs, but that may very well mean that some want you to pay the secondary fees before they auto-reject you: PCOM, GA-PCOM, OU-HCOM, Touro-NY, LMU-DCOM, NYCOM, UMDNJ-SOM (now Rowan), KYCOM, and WCUCOM.

The following schools have cutoffs at 2.7 or 2.75: KCOM, SOMA, CCOM, AZCOM, LECOM-E/SH, LECOM-B, ACOM, MSU-COM, and UNECOM.

Maybe I exaggerated a little by saying half, but the truth is 13-15 of them have cutoffs in that range. That significantly limits the ones that OP can apply too, especially considering that some schools with lower or no cutoffs like OU-HCOM, KYCOM, UNECOM, and WCUCOM have strong IS or regional bias.

pre med 2014 said:
Does it matter?
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Yes. Taking a new course would barely touch OP's cGPA, especially with a bachelors already, whereas a retake has the ability to significantly improve someone's GPA. To give you an example. A retake of a math class brought my cGPA up by ~.06 whereas taking a new class and getting an A would bring it by ~.02, and I didn't even fail that math class.
 
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