I'm currently a junior who plans on applying to MD/PhD after my senior year (so I will have one gap year). My GPA for my first 4 semesters of college is ~3.85 (I haven't received any Bs so far, but a ton of A minuses that bring my GPA "down" from a 4.0).
This semester, I am struggling pretty badly in the classes I am taking. They're really difficult (p-chem, a high-level math course, and physics II). I know surely that my GPA will drop this semester and I'm worried about how this may affect my future chances when I apply. I'm predicting that my GPA this semester may be anywhere from 3.3-3.7 (if lucky), and my overall GPA for all 4 years (provided I perform better in the next 3 semesters before graduating) will be between 3.7-3.8. I attend a Top 10 university (no grade inflation here though!) if that helps any...
I was looking at the stats for the top MD/PhD programs and the average GPA for acceptances are ridiculously high! Most of the programs I'm interested in have averages of 3.9... should I set my sights lower?
For my activities, I have pretty good research experience (will have 3 years of undergrad research), and I also have clinical experience from volunteering at the hospital (where I am up close with the patients).
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I could improve my chances? and perhaps is there anything I could do during my gap year to improve/offset my GPA?
This semester, I am struggling pretty badly in the classes I am taking. They're really difficult (p-chem, a high-level math course, and physics II). I know surely that my GPA will drop this semester and I'm worried about how this may affect my future chances when I apply. I'm predicting that my GPA this semester may be anywhere from 3.3-3.7 (if lucky), and my overall GPA for all 4 years (provided I perform better in the next 3 semesters before graduating) will be between 3.7-3.8. I attend a Top 10 university (no grade inflation here though!) if that helps any...
I was looking at the stats for the top MD/PhD programs and the average GPA for acceptances are ridiculously high! Most of the programs I'm interested in have averages of 3.9... should I set my sights lower?
For my activities, I have pretty good research experience (will have 3 years of undergrad research), and I also have clinical experience from volunteering at the hospital (where I am up close with the patients).
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I could improve my chances? and perhaps is there anything I could do during my gap year to improve/offset my GPA?
