Can a high mcat score and an okay GPA get me into med school?

[jdla]

35 and above and a GPA at 3.3 get you in to medical school. I can not improve my GPA I have tried but I just going to rely on MCAT. My GPA just remain the same it goes up then down ...Did anyone with a high MCAT and a okay GPA?

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[jdla]

Any opinions?

 

[Drogba]

Any opinions?

Go to www.mdapplicants.com and you can search applicants by MCAT and GPA ranges.

 

[Phoenix.]

That alone will not get you into medical school. You also need good ECs, particularly lots of clinical experience/volunteering, to show that you know what you're getting into and have perspective in the medical field. And some schools are quite keen on community service/volunteering as well (while others don't stress it as much). And then there are the schools that really like to see research (whether bench or clinical). And then there's the instate factor. If you have receptive instate schools, you're golden. If you have no instate schools, or live in CA, you need to really get your ducks in a row. Great personal statement, solid letters of recommendation, etc. Med schools want the whole package. Not just a great MCAT score. Good luck.

 

[nybrian]

gggg

 

[jdla]

I know this site. It this site legit? I don't trust the site.

 

[AnesthesiaMD]

gggg

That's probably pretty close to their averages.

edit: This poster had something about how he knew someone with a 28 and 3.2 who got into NYCOM before I submitted my reply

 

[jdla]

That alone will not get you into medical school. You also need good ECs, particularly lots of clinical experience/volunteering, to show that you know what you're getting into and have perspective in the medical field. And some schools are quite keen on community service/volunteering as well (while others don't stress it as much). And then there are the schools that really like to see research (whether bench or clinical). And then there's the instate factor. If you have receptive instate schools, you're golden. If you have no instate schools, or live in CA, you need to really get your ducks in a row. Great personal statement, solid letters of recommendation, etc. Med schools want the whole package. Not just a great MCAT score. Good luck.

I have good EC too. I just worried that my GPA will make me not to get in.

 

[AnesthesiaMD]

I have good EC too. I just worried that my GPA will make me not to get in.

You have a B+ average, i'm sure it's not going to be that much of an issue.

 

[Law2Doc]

That alone will not get you into medical school. You also need good ECs, particularly lots of clinical experience/volunteering, to show that you know what you're getting into and have perspective in the medical field. ...
Great personal statement, solid letters of recommendation, etc. Med schools want the whole package. Not just a great MCAT score. Good luck.

Agreed. People who focus one dimensionally on the numerical stats are missing the big picture. You need to have both decent MCAT and GPA, plus have strong nonnumeric stats. The dude with the amazing nonnumeric stats with solidly adequate MCAT and GPA is going to edge out the slightly better MCAT guy frequently.

 

[jdla]

I just need some encouragements. My GPA go up and then come down. It remained the same throughout my undergraduate years.

 

[Drogba]

Mdapps is a legit site. It is self reported of course, but so is anything you see on SDN. I don't think there is much of an incentive to misrepresent oneself on MDApps since its not even a community. Go there.

 

[drizzt3117]

35 and above and a GPA at 3.3 get you in to medical school. I can not improve my GPA I have tried but I just going to rely on MCAT. My GPA just remain the same it goes up then down ...Did anyone with a high MCAT and a okay GPA?

Clearly despite a high MCAT score, verbal is not be your strong suit. 3.3/35 is probably good enough to get MD acceptances if everything else is good, depending what your state of residency is.

 

[jdla]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Chuckwalla]

Short answer is yes, you can get in a 3.3 GPA. The high MCAT certainly improves your chances.

 

[Maxprime]

Very possible, slaughter the MCAT and schools will give you some attention.

 

[horhay1241]

I would say you should be fine if you are at around a 3.4 or higher. I'm convinced that most med schools give more weight to the mcat than gpas, despite what they may say. Based on my experiences (low mcat, high gpa) and my friends experiences, i think you should have no trouble as long as you apply broadly

 

[chudog15]

I have 3.48 and a 38. I got accepted into mount sinai. it can be done.

 

[cliquesh]

MCAT>GPA in my opinion. You see more people with high MCAT scores and low gpas admitted than high GPAs and low MCATs. So, if you can 'slaughter' the mcat, you will be fine.

 

[jdla]

Thanks everyone I appreciate your comments.

 

[Magical Brownie]

If med schools want to know what you are getting yourself into...could you say that your mom/dad was a doctor and you have seen what they do/experience on a daily basis.(along with volunteering/clinical stuff)

 

[nogolfinsnow]

35 and above and a GPA at 3.3 get you in to medical school. I can not improve my GPA I have tried but I just going to rely on MCAT. My GPA just remain the same it goes up then down ...Did anyone with a high MCAT and a okay GPA?

I had a 3.33 and a 36, played Division I baseball, 2 yrs research at a major academic institution, volunteering at same institution, and got 1 interview. I got in, thankfully, but you need to apply broadly and realistically. I'm fairly certain my 3.33GPA got my app thrown out at a lot of schools. I was prepared to reapply to a vastly different field of schools where my GPA was closer to the average matriculating GPA even though my MCAT was several points above the school average. My undergrad also didn't send a lot of people to med school, so the prestige of your undergrad could help you out a little if your GPA is "low"

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

I had a 3.33 and a 36, played Division I baseball, 2 yrs research at a major academic institution, volunteering at same institution, and got 1 interview. I got in, thankfully, but you need to apply broadly and realistically. I'm fairly certain my 3.33GPA got my app thrown out at a lot of schools. I was prepared to reapply to a vastly different field of schools where my GPA was closer to the average matriculating GPA even though my MCAT was several points above the school average. My undergrad also didn't send a lot of people to med school, so the prestige of your undergrad could help you out a little if your GPA is "low"

I'll be in pretty much the exact same situation as you when I apply next year:

3.4 gpa (engineering)
35 MCAT
4 years varsity sport
2 years research, volunteering

I'm surprised you only got one interview.

How many schools did you apply to?

 

[Drogba]

I'll be in pretty much the exact same situation as you when I apply next year:

3.4 gpa (engineering)
35 MCAT
4 years varsity sport
2 years research, volunteering

I'm surprised you only got one interview.

How many schools did you apply to?

I feel sorry for you engineers. It doesn't seem med schools care about this when looking at your GPA.

 

[spanamit]

It probably won't get you into Harvard or WashU. But it will probably get you into say a second/third tier school.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I'll be in pretty much the exact same situation as you when I apply next year:

3.4 gpa (engineering)
35 MCAT
4 years varsity sport
2 years research, volunteering

I'm surprised you only got one interview.

How many schools did you apply to?

24. But in retrospect, it was not a good list of schools for the most part. I thought my MCAT and ECs would help make up for the GPA, so I applied to a lot of hypercompetitive schools, but I think they only go so far if the GPA isn't there. I was also a CA resident, so the state schools are hard enough to get into without having a below avg GPA. I was planning on reapplying, so I was taking a good hard look at the MSAR and looking for schools where the average matriculant GPA was around 3.5 instead of 3.8, even if the average MCAT was 31 or 32.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

It probably won't get you into Harvard or WashU. But it will probably get you into say a second/third tier school.

I agree. I'm at a (i hate these distinctions) non-top tier school. But once you're in, you can bust your azz so you can compete with the Harvard and UCSF graduates for residencies. Some people will say you're at a slight disadvantage coming from a lesser name school when it comes to residencies, but it really depends on your specialty, Step Is, LORs, etc. Just apply smartly (unlike me) and EARLY

 

[astrocreep96]

I was in a similar situation. I applied to six schools, 4 of which were top-tier-ish schools (applied to those because I had a decent MCAT), my state school, and one other state school (as an OOS) that I applied to on a recommendation of a friend who really likes it there. I was accepted into the other state school quickly, and my state school doesn't get back to anyone until next spring (non-rolling admissions, sort of).

It can be done, but I wouldn't recommend it. In retrospect, I think I underestimated how competitive the process was and thought my MCAT would carry me through. Not that I was totally uninformed, but I think I could have benefited from hanging out here early in my undergrad.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

It can be done, but I wouldn't recommend it. In retrospect, I think I underestimated how competitive the process was and thought my MCAT would carry me through. Not that I was totally uninformed, but I think I could have benefited from hanging out here early in my undergrad.

Yeah, I thought apply broadly meant apply to a lot of schools. Hanging out here too much can be detrimental to your health. Try talking to your health professions adviser (hopefully they'll help you maintain a sense of reality).

 

[0Complications]

Yeah, I thought apply broadly meant apply to a lot of schools. Hanging out here too much can be detrimental to your health. Try talking to your health professions adviser (hopefully they'll help you maintain a sense of reality).

Amen to that.

I think it's possible, but you should definitely apply more broadly.

 

[astrocreep96]

Yeah, I thought apply broadly meant apply to a lot of schools. Hanging out here too much can be detrimental to your health. Try talking to your health professions adviser (hopefully they'll help you maintain a sense of reality).

I would have done the "apply broadly" route, but I was unsure of whether or not I should have applied this year in the first place. My MCAT score, while good, was pretty horribly unbalanced (I didn't finish the test), and I thought it might be good to retake it and get a more consistent score. So, I threw in only a few applications after talking to the dean at my school, and, to my surprise, landed an acceptance.

 

[howdy2u]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=233319

 

[liveagain]

isn't the listed gpa's in the MSAR and the posts listed above cumulative rather than bcpm?

does it look terribly bad if your bcpm was greater than 0.1 lower than your cumulative??

 

[ZagDoc]

I got 3 acceptances with a 35 MCAT/3.5 GPA. Then again, applying to medical school is kind of a crapshoot when you're a borderline applicant. Your mileage may vary.

 

[timurx]

yes it definitely can lead to an acceptance...much more so than the opposite (low MCAT and high GPA)...i think we tend to think that both GPA and MCAT are equally important, but I the reality is that high MCATers w/average GPA seem to have the edge.

 

[Kiara]

yea it def can be done...
im an engg 3.4 gpa/36 from canada, did postbac + 1 yr clinical research, sev clinical/volutneering experiences and i just got accepted to vcu..
so dont give up hope!!!

 

[UMP]

as long as you make up... errr do some EC's, you'll be fine

 

[gingii]

I have 3.48 and a 38. I got accepted into mount sinai. it can be done.

so what did you do to get the 38? how did you study?

 

[Mayday]

Clearly despite a high MCAT score, verbal is not be your strong suit. 3.3/35 is probably good enough to get MD acceptances if everything else is good, depending what your state of residency is.

I have a feeling English is not the OP's first language.

 

[drizzt3117]

That's no excuse for incoherence. Adcoms certainly won't give you a free pass. English isn't my first language either.

 

[Cirrus83]

Well, my overall GPA wasn't super low (3.55) but I had a pretty low science GPA (like a 3.33 or something) and I still got into med school as well, which I think had at least something to do with my MCAT showing that I wasn't quite that awful at science

Still, I'd work my butt off to raise that GPA if I could, especially if you don't have any particularly great ECs and live in a state where medical school is fairly competitive.