Being Waitlisted Post-Interview for low GPA

[Ninetytwo]

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Why do schools invite you in the first place if they're going to do this anyway?

I'm talking about the "App Looks Good from Adcom perspective so II -> Interview goes very well -> Dean likes high GPAs so applicant waitlisted for having a low GPA" route that Goro wrote a guide on regarding interview performance and admission chance.

 

[Dr.Gains]

Why do schools invite you in the first place if they're going to do this anyway?

I'm talking about the "App Looks Good from Adcom perspective so II -> Interview goes very well -> Dean likes high GPAs so applicant waitlisted for having a low GPA" route that Goro wrote a guide on regarding interview performance and admission chance.

I think it really depends on the school where you are interviewing at. Right now your GPA is very close to the average matriculate of ACOM (3.3) but you do have a higher MCAT score than their average (501), but the same cannot be said for other schools like KCOM/PCOM.

 

[Ninetytwo]

I think it really depends on the school where you are interviewing at. Right now your GPA is very close to the average matriculate of ACOM (3.3) but you do have a higher MCAT score than their average (501), but the same cannot be said for other schools like KCOM/PCOM.

I guess so. Oh well, such is the life of an applicant.

Thanks, and we're all gonna make it, brah.

 

[Doc_Ock]

FWIW I was waitlisted 2 cycles due to my gpa even with a 510 MCAT. Had to do an SMP to finally get accepted.

 

[Dr.Gains]

FWIW I was waitlisted 2 cycles due to my gpa even with a 510 MCAT. Had to do an SMP to finally get accepted.

Where did you completed your SMP if you don't mind me asking?

 

[crazymedguy123]

Why do schools invite you in the first place if they're going to do this anyway?

I'm talking about the "App Looks Good from Adcom perspective so II -> Interview goes very well -> Dean likes high GPAs so applicant waitlisted for having a low GPA" route that Goro wrote a guide on regarding interview performance and admission chance.

It's because the people who see your application may disagree on your candidacy. One person might be a strong advocate whereas another is not so sure about you. If the person who is not so sure is the Dean, you probably won't get accepted. But the Dean isn't gonna sit and review 8000 apps for possible II to deny you before the II, they are gonna review 500 II's for accept/waitlist/deny.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Where did you completed your SMP if you don't mind me asking?

WesternU


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[Goro]

Why do schools invite you in the first place if they're going to do this anyway?

I'm talking about the "App Looks Good from Adcom perspective so II -> Interview goes very well -> Dean likes high GPAs so applicant waitlisted for having a low GPA" route that Goro wrote a guide on regarding interview performance and admission chance.

The Admissions Dean's job is to fill seats.

The Adcom is to determine if you can handle med school and be a good doctor.

As you can see, there is a disconnect between the two viewpoints.

 

[GypsyHummus]

You have commented on occasion that ADCOMs will frequently say: "Nice Guy/Gal, but the low sGPA/MCAT combo concerns me" and onto the waitlist you go. Do you guys ever keep track of low GPA/Low MCAT students pulled from the waitlist and how they perform during medical school?

I also remember you saying that people rarely leave medical school because they could academically handle the material. Does this ring true still for people with low sGPA and MCATs? (Lower than 3.2, 498)?

The Admissions Dean's job is to fill seats.

The Adcom is to determine if you can handle med school and be a good doctor.

As you can see, there is a disconnect between the two viewpoints.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Geeze, even with a 510 MCAT.

Why didnt you try for a SMP at a MD school?

FWIW I was waitlisted 2 cycles due to my gpa even with a 510 MCAT. Had to do an SMP to finally get accepted.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Geeze, even with a 510 MCAT.

Why didnt you try for a SMP at a MD school?

gpa was verrrrrrrrrry low. To my knowledge there is only one SMP at an MD school with conditional linkage.

 

[Goro]

You have commented on occasion that ADCOMs will frequently say: "Nice Guy/Gal, but the low sGPA/MCAT combo concerns me" and onto the waitlist you go. Do you guys ever keep track of low GPA/Low MCAT students pulled from the waitlist and how they perform during medical school?

I also remember you saying that people rarely leave medical school because they could academically handle the material. Does this ring true still for people with low sGPA and MCATs? (Lower than 3.2, 498)?

We have done and found that:
Low GPA (< 3.2) students struggle
Low MCAT (< 500)students struggle even more.
Low GPA/MCAT students struggle so much that we no longer accept them

This agrees with published data on the MCAT.

Our MCAT floor is higher than a 498. Our GPA floor is 3.25, but we rarely even interview people with numbers that low.

I haven't seen data for people who fail out or who are dismissed; I suspect that it's not due to low GPAs or MCATs.

 

[Dr.Gains]

We have done and found that:
Low GPA (< 3.2) students struggle
Low MCAT (< 500)students struggle even more.
Low GPA/MCAT students struggle so much that we no longer accept them

This agrees with published data on the MCAT.

Our MCAT floor is higher than a 498. Our GPA floor is 3.25, but we rarely even interview people with numbers that low.

I haven't seen data for people who fail out or who are dismissed; I suspect that it's not due to low GPAs or MCATs.

I know you have mentioned in your previous posts that in the absence of grade replacement, it is more about transcript repair rather than cumulative GPA. Are reinvented students with a 2.x cumulative GPA(due to the lack of G.R) looked at differently than traditional applicants? I am hoping that GPA floor does not factor in reinvented students, who do not have the ability to significantly improve there cumulative GPA due to the mere volume of credits.

 

[Goro]

I know you have mentioned in your previous posts that in the absence of grade replacement, it is more about transcript repair rather than cumulative GPA. Are reinvented students with a 2.x cumulative GPA(due to the lack of G.R) looked at differently than traditional applicants? I am hoping that GPA floor does not factor in reinvented students, who do not have the ability to significantly improve there cumulative GPA due to the mere volume of credits.

C'mon Gains...reading comprehension. Given the black, what do you conclude about the red?????

There are many schools that not only reward reinvention, but also weight more heavily the last 2-3 years of performance. The key thing is proving the you o now is not the you of then. This is the whole purpose of the SMP.

 

[GypsyHummus]

This whole grade replacement debacle was a conspiracy wasn’t it?! Big education colluding with big Osteo to make lots of $$!!

Joking aside, I bet new masters programs affiliated with medical schools are swimming in cash right now.

The key thing is proving the you o now is not the you of then. This is the whole purpose of the SMP.

 

[Goro]

This whole grade replacement debacle was a conspiracy wasn’t it?! Big education colluding with big Osteo to make lots of $$!!

Joking aside, I bet new masters programs affiliated with medical schools are swimming in cash right now.

They are indeed cash cows, but also look at it this way: they provide a good farm team for the waitlist, especially now that MD schools are in the same boat as DO schools in terms on not having the multiple acceptance report anymore.

 

[GetThatAcetoned]

I know you have mentioned in your previous posts that in the absence of grade replacement, it is more about transcript repair rather than cumulative GPA. Are reinvented students with a 2.x cumulative GPA(due to the lack of G.R) looked at differently than traditional applicants? I am hoping that GPA floor does not factor in reinvented students, who do not have the ability to significantly improve there cumulative GPA due to the mere volume of credits.

n = 1 here but I have a cGPA under a 3.0 and I've been accepted to two schools so far. I took Goro's reinvention guide to heart and utilized his school list for reinventors (along with applying DO) and it paid dividends.

 

[Doc_Ock]

n = 1 here but I have a cGPA under a 3.0 and I've been accepted to two schools so far. I took Goro's reinvention guide to heart and utilized his school list for reinventors (along with applying DO) and it paid dividends.

dude you also have a 515+ MCAT. Very few people, much less reinventors, have that.

 

[GetThatAcetoned]

dude you also have a 515+ MCAT. Very few people, much less reinventors, have that.

I never said it was easy, but if you're trying to reinvent yourself a sub-par MCAT score isn't going to cut it. You're already in a hole due to a poor GPA. Tacking on a poor MCAT score along with it is severely limiting your chances. Even an average MCAT score would likely see some success.

Anyways, the point of my post was that you can overcome a really poor cGPA by showing sustained academic success if the rest of your application is solid. Someone is going to struggle with an application cycle if they have a poor MCAT score regardless of being a reinventor.

 

[Xyzcannon18]

n = 1 here but I have a cGPA under a 3.0 and I've been accepted to two schools so far. I took Goro's reinvention guide to heart and utilized his school list for reinventors (along with applying DO) and it paid dividends.

If you don't mind telling, where is your MD acceptance from? We can message about it if you prefer or not at all. Congrats on your acceptance 🙂.