Better to have a high GPA or a high MCAT score?

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jappeach

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I was just wondering if it is better to have a high GPA or a high MCAT score?

My GPA is around 3.6-- what kind of MCAT score do I need to be competitive at a top tier school? or is that GPA too low to be competitive at all?

Thanks for your help!
 
jappeach said:
I was just wondering if it is better to have a high GPA or a high MCAT score?

My GPA is around 3.6-- what kind of MCAT score do I need to be competitive at a top tier school? or is that GPA too low to be competitive at all?

Thanks for your help!
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BOTH! Since you don't have a real good GPA I say 35 or more to be competetive. If you had like 3.8 or 3.9, you could get away with around 30.
 
jappeach said:
I was just wondering if it is better to have a high GPA or a high MCAT score?

My GPA is around 3.6-- what kind of MCAT score do I need to be competitive at a top tier school? or is that GPA too low to be competitive at all?

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

30 and you'll be fine. That's about average for matriculants as is your current GPA.
 
he said top-tier schools, not just average joe smoltz s
 
OP, your GPA is right around the average. Don't make the mistake and think you'll be OK if you can get a certain MCAT. The best advice is to keep working to raise your GPA and study for the highest MCAT score you can get.
 
I know that both high gpa and high mcat are ideal-- but...which student is more successful at getting an interview (assuming ECs and LORs are the same):

The student with a 38 and a 3.5 or the student with a 3.9 and a 30?
 
sdn_search.gif


I just never get the chance to use this, I had to.

38/3.5 is probably more likely to be looked at favorably than a 3.9/30
 
I agree! Is there a way to bump you to moderator status for that? Seriously awesome!
 
that effing... bodyless cat? wtf is that anyway.

sorry for thread hijack. i would like ot say high mcat/mediocre gpa is better, but a) i'm biased because that's my most likely situation and b) it's just a gut, no evidence. i think a high mcat definitely says that ability to do well on tests is not an issue, whereas who knows, a 4.0 may be due to some amount of grade inflation, picking easier classes, etc. as they always say, mcat is an equalizer.
 
Well in terms of improving a score, a GPA is very difficult to raise after 4 years of college. The MCAT on the other hand you can raise significantly.
 
AnesthesiaMD said:
"overall GPA * 10 + MCAT"
Click to expand...

Of course, if you don't really tell her what that number does, it's kinda meaningless. -_-

Although I'm still interested to know, would anyone rather have a high MCAT or a high GPA if you couldn't have both?
 
armybound said:
what does it do?
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It's the LizzyM score, which gives you a rough idea of how you compare to past med school matriculants. It makes for a semi-easy way to cut down on the number of schools you want to apply to. Search for "LizzyM score" for more detail.

Sometimes people say a school is around 72 or 73, which for a person that has a 62 or something, it's a real reach (not that you would NEVER get in or anything, but it's an uphill battle). Of course, this system is imperfect and neglects non-measurable things like ECs, LORs, PS, but it works as best it can.
 
bwells46 said:
It let's you see many ways of adding numbers together to get 70.

Geez, I thought the equation was pretty straight-forward. :laugh:
Click to expand...
yeah, I didn't know if it was some kind of cutoff or something.

I mean if you're comparing it to a school you want to go to it's best to compare your numbers to their numbers, not to some magical preset number like 70.
 
your GPA is ok. It won't open doors, but I don't see it closing any. Get an MCAT 33+ and you should be good.
 
MCAT>>>>>>>>>>>>> GPA.... trust.. I am matriculating this fall to a top tier school and my GPA was around yours and I scored high on the MCAT and BOOOM.. magic

FYI, I am a white male, traditional from cali.
 
OCPreMed said:
MCAT>>>>>>>>>>>>> GPA.... trust.. I am matriculating this fall to a top tier school and my GPA was around yours and I scored high on the MCAT and BOOOM.. magic
Click to expand...

depends on the school though...i've heard of people who have got in to a top tear school with a 38 mcat and a 3.45 gpa...and ive also heard of individuals getting in with a 31 and a 3.78 gpa....but the problem is...if you don't have interview skills, you wont get in anywhere
 
MCAT, baby. MCAT, MCAT, MCAT. A 3.9 GPA got me into nowhere because I had a 6 on VR (31R on aggregate, but who cared?). Ace the MCAT, and you're in. Case closed.
 
oh my bad. yeah, 3.5 isn't that good
 
etf said:
doubt it. mcat's just a test that can be retaken (multiple times). getting a 3.9, no matter how easy your classes are, takes discipline.
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I guess this is why adcomms are made up of different groups of people.

Here's my logic behind choosing the 3.5/38 as more impressive: the person with the 3.5/38 has shown they're consistently average/above average for a medical school matriculant, as far as their GPA goes. they can hold their own in the classroom. their MCAT backs that up, showing they're a good test taker and/or learned the material well. they'll probably be good in class.

the 3.9/30 has a discrepancy somewhere. the 30 means they're about average for a matriculant, maybe on the low side, which makes me think they either didn't learn material well or can't take tests well. if those two are true, though, how'd they get a 3.9? was their undergraduate school too easy? if so, what would it have been at a normal school? 3.5? if their undergraduate school was normal/hard, what's with the 30? do they have good days/bad days? do they fail to prepare adequately for big tests (USMLE)? are they only good at material if it's given to them slowly, over a semester? are they bad at applying knowledge? can they not store information for long?

I dunno, just my thought process 🙂
 
armybound said:
I guess this is why adcomms are made up of different groups of people.

Here's my logic behind choosing the 3.5/38 as more impressive: the person with the 3.5/38 has shown they're consistently average/above average for a medical school matriculant, as far as their GPA goes. they can hold their own in the classroom. their MCAT backs that up, showing they're a good test taker and/or learned the material well. they'll probably be good in class.

the 3.9/30 has a discrepancy somewhere. the 30 means they're about average for a matriculant, maybe on the low side, which makes me think they either didn't learn material well or can't take tests well. if those two are true, though, how'd they get a 3.9? was their undergraduate school too easy? if so, what would it have been at a normal school? 3.5? if their undergraduate school was normal/hard, what's with the 30? do they have good days/bad days? do they fail to prepare adequately for big tests (USMLE)? are they only good at material if it's given to them slowly, over a semester? are they bad at applying knowledge? can they not store information for long?

I dunno, just my thought process 🙂
Click to expand...

What if he got a 3.9 at Harvard but only 30 on the MCAT? 😀
 
armybound said:
I guess this is why adcomms are made up of different groups of people.

Here's my logic behind choosing the 3.5/38 as more impressive: the person with the 3.5/38 has shown they're consistently average/above average for a medical school matriculant, as far as their GPA goes. they can hold their own in the classroom. their MCAT backs that up, showing they're a good test taker and/or learned the material well. they'll probably be good in class.

the 3.9/30 has a discrepancy somewhere. the 30 means they're about average for a matriculant, maybe on the low side, which makes me think they either didn't learn material well or can't take tests well. if those two are true, though, how'd they get a 3.9? was their undergraduate school too easy? if so, what would it have been at a normal school? 3.5? if their undergraduate school was normal/hard, what's with the 30? do they have good days/bad days? do they fail to prepare adequately for big tests (USMLE)? are they only good at material if it's given to them slowly, over a semester? are they bad at applying knowledge? can they not store information for long?

I dunno, just my thought process 🙂
Click to expand...

What if you go to an undergrad school that is well known for competition and grade DEflation and you get the 3.9/30?
 
I'm gonna chime in on this one and I don't mean to start a war...

MCAT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GPA

I had a 3.8 GPA and a 6 on VR. I got rejected by every single school and was only offered 4 interviews. I currently have one acceptance, and am waiting for one more...

But I also had stellar extracurriculars and letters.... it still didn't matter...MCAT closed the door to so many places.
 
I don't see any correlation with the verbal reasoning section and how well you do in school.
 
Ihateverbal said:
I don't see any correlation with the verbal reasoning section and how well you do in school.
Click to expand...

I do.

Basic science classes aren't everything. Med school has this thing called clinical training where you have to listen to patients and talk to them in (gasp) english.
 
1) So which number the adcoms look at first? Or they are inseparable and share equal weight until a tie-breaker is needed. Then, it's up to the preference of each individual institute.

2) I know that Harvard offers interviews to lopsided applicants such as 4.0+27+a lot of researches, 3.9+35+no research and anything in between from the same undergrad schools. Obviously, the diversity plays its role right from the very first step of application process.

3) Sometimes, I have a thought that the high MCAT Low GPA applicants have better chance than their low MCAT high GPA counterpart because many of them exceptional intelligences have already had some kind of reincarnation while the high undergrad GPA but low MCAT people have just committed the very first sin when they took the MCAT test. The adcoms know better that they can buy time on the latter. So they go scrambling after those with the potential MVP quality first.
 
If your school does not carry much weight where you are applying, then the MCAT is more important. If the school does carry weight, then the GPA is more important. Either way, both must be competitive.
 
leftmid said:
2) I know that Harvard offers interviews to lopsided applicants such as 4.0+27+a lot of researches, 3.9+35+no research and anything in between from the same undergrad schools. Obviously, the diversity plays its role right from the very first step of application process.
Click to expand...

anybody else lol when they saw this?
 
armybound said:
I guess this is why adcomms are made up of different groups of people.

Here's my logic behind choosing the 3.5/38 as more impressive: the person with the 3.5/38 has shown they're consistently average/above average for a medical school matriculant, as far as their GPA goes. they can hold their own in the classroom. their MCAT backs that up, showing they're a good test taker and/or learned the material well. they'll probably be good in class.

the 3.9/30 has a discrepancy somewhere. the 30 means they're about average for a matriculant, maybe on the low side, which makes me think they either didn't learn material well or can't take tests well. if those two are true, though, how'd they get a 3.9? was their undergraduate school too easy? if so, what would it have been at a normal school? 3.5? if their undergraduate school was normal/hard, what's with the 30? do they have good days/bad days? do they fail to prepare adequately for big tests (USMLE)? are they only good at material if it's given to them slowly, over a semester? are they bad at applying knowledge? can they not store information for long?

I dunno, just my thought process 🙂
Click to expand...

I doubt the correlation is that simple. Otherwise every 4.0 student would get a 40. The MCAT is a test that is much different than most undergraduate classes.
 
According to a book I bought, this is the order of importance with regards to an acceptance.

1. interview
2. gpa
3. LOR
4. MCAT
5. experience/shadowing/research

Of course, the interview is dependent on 2-5. Nonetheless, I'd say GPA is more important than MCAT; however, a poor MCAT may say you had easy professors.
 
armybound said:
I guess this is why adcomms are made up of different groups of people.

Here's my logic behind choosing the 3.5/38 as more impressive: the person with the 3.5/38 has shown they're consistently average/above average for a medical school matriculant, as far as their GPA goes. they can hold their own in the classroom. their MCAT backs that up, showing they're a good test taker and/or learned the material well. they'll probably be good in class.

the 3.9/30 has a discrepancy somewhere. the 30 means they're about average for a matriculant, maybe on the low side, which makes me think they either didn't learn material well or can't take tests well. if those two are true, though, how'd they get a 3.9? was their undergraduate school too easy? if so, what would it have been at a normal school? 3.5? if their undergraduate school was normal/hard, what's with the 30? do they have good days/bad days? do they fail to prepare adequately for big tests (USMLE)? are they only good at material if it's given to them slowly, over a semester? are they bad at applying knowledge? can they not store information for long?

I dunno, just my thought process 🙂
Click to expand...

that's why the gpa*10+mcat works so well. 70 is a great boundary, if you want to squeak by with a 30mcat, you practically need a 4.0 to show that you make up for your lackluster ability to perform when it counts with consistent hard work.

a 3.5/35 may have some motivation problems when it comes to consistently getting those As, but has the ability to perform when it counts.

nitpick where you feel necessary, but a (gpa*10+mcat) of 70 is a righteous place to be.
 
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