Can someone explain admissions rate to med schools...?

[TheBiologist]

So you see these top med schools (top 30 lets say) with average GPA's being 3.7-3.9, but they accept maybe 2 or 3 percent of all applicants. How can that be?

How many people with a 3.7 3.8 3.9 get rejected?

Is it just that not many people with a high GPA apply? for instance do like 80 % of the applicants have a 3.5 or below a 3.6?

I have an above average GPA but what does that mean? Could I still be rejected easily?

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[Ismet]

So you see these top med schools (top 30 lets say) with average GPA's being 3.7-3.9, but they accept maybe 2 or 3 percent of all applicants. How can that be?

There are a lot of qualified applicants. Especially at top med schools, which typically have a more self-selected pool of applicants (i.e. a person with a 2.5 isn't going to be applying to Harvard). You really can't fully appreciate how many qualified applicants there are until you're sitting on the other side of the table.

How many people with a 3.7 3.8 3.9 get rejected?

Many, if there are concerns that warrant rejection. More likely, they get waitlisted and end up going elsewhere.

Is it just that not many people with a high GPA apply? for instance do like 80 % of the applicants have a 3.5 or below a 3.6?

I believe the average GPA of a matriculating medical student is still hovering in the 3.6 vicinity. So not 80%.

I have an above average GPA but what does that mean? Could I still be rejected easily?

It means you worked hard in school and got mostly A's. That gives medical schools confidence that you can also excel academically in medical school. That's just one piece of the puzzle.

Yes you could still be rejected. MCAT score, lack of clinical exposure, bad LORs, extremely poor writing/essays, poor interview skills, professionalism concerns...all reasons people can be rejected. There are many factors that go into an admissions decision, and I've seen each and every one of these things be the downfall of someone with a 4.0.

Grades and numbers are not the be-all-end-all. Everyone is shocked when a 4.0/40 applicant doesn't do well in an application cycle, but it's really not that shocking and there's usually a reasonable explanation for it.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

GPA is a very small part of an application. And people with good grades do get rejected a lot. I got rejected at 25 of 27 schools with a 3.9.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

GPA is a very small part of an application. And people with good grades do get rejected a lot. I got rejected at 25 of 27 schools with a 3.9.

Was there a mainstream problem in your application? How many interviews did you get? 25/27 rejections with that GPA usually results from a single flaw like MCAT, lack of clinical exposure, or very poor interview skills.

Anyways, to answer your question OP, if you have a 3.7+, then your are fine. At that point, focus on your MCAT. If you are at 30+ (i'm not sure what that equals to for the new one), then you are fine. At that point, countless factors come into play (some totally in your control, some totally out of your control).

 

[Cookiess]

GPA is very significant, but still is only one part of the pie. If we're talking specifically about the top tier of medical schools, the reality is that there are a lot of really well qualified applicants and only so many seats available at these schools. Yes, there are a lot of applicants with a 3.7 GPA or higher who are applying. But once you reach the point of demonstrating that you can handle the academic rigor of medical school (based on GPA/MCAT), then the other factors come into play. How were the LOR? Is the applicant well rounded in terms of EC? Is there something special about this applicant? Has this applicant demonstrated a strong passion for something? Leadership? Those are just some of the factors that come into consideration.

Also, some academically strong applicants are great on paper but do not always interview well. Some may not have strong life experiences or strong leadership/EC. They may not have great communication and people skills. An interview can help distinguish applicants that can have great stats (which can help get the interview) but lack these qualities and factors.

At the end of the day, top tier schools will have a strong pool of applicants and this pool is somewhat self-selecting. At these schools, most of the applicants who are interviewed will have good stats and the GPA/MCAT cutoff to receive interviews may be higher than other medical schools outside of the top tier. But even with applicants who have high GPA/MCAT scores, there will be great variation as far as the rest of the applicant's profile goes. So the end result is that a number of applicants with really high stats will be rejected at these top tier schools.

 

[DKMA]

Don't forget that admissions rates are also usually shown as (matriculants/applicants)*100.
That number is much lower than (acceptances/applicants)*100.

The admissions rates you are looking at may be deflated (or may be correct, I didn't apply to most top schools so I don't know their acceptance rates). There are MD schools with ~10% acceptance rates when all is said and done, which higher than my undergrad's acceptance rate

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

I think OP should also understand that acceptance rates of an individual school are not that important. A school might know have 100 seats for 5000 applicants. They simply can't accept everyone that is qualified.

The overall acceptance rate of about 40 percent (20000 of 50000 applicants) gives a better idea of what to expect.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

So you see these top med schools (top 30 lets say) with average GPA's being 3.7-3.9, but they accept maybe 2 or 3 percent of all applicants. How can that be?

How many people with a 3.7 3.8 3.9 get rejected?

Is it just that not many people with a high GPA apply? for instance do like 80 % of the applicants have a 3.5 or below a 3.6?

I have an above average GPA but what does that mean? Could I still be rejected easily?

Everyone else has made good points and covered the meat of the answer.

One other thing I wanted to add is that not all GPA's are created equal. The 3.8 in biomedical engineer from MIT is looked at a lot different from the 3.8 communications major at Local U who took all their pre-reqs during summer classes. Especially at those predominantly private top 30 schools, where undergrad prestige is considered of significant importance.

Plus, like others have said 3.7+ is not that rare, but 3.7+, 510+, volunteering, clinical experience, and good essays/interview skills is pretty rare.

 

[md-2020]

3.7+, 510+, volunteering, clinical experience, and good essays/interview skills is pretty rare.

"Rare" enough that you'll probably get in somewhere, but hardly rare at top 30 schools (bother numbers are below average for their acceptees, by a fair amount).

Tldr: medical admissions is EXTREMELY competitive....completely unlike college admissions, even for the Ivies.

 

[piii]

You can quantify what percentages of accepted applicants have which scores here https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf

50% of applicants have a 3.6+, 26% have a 3.8+

 

[mellie0]

You can quantify what percentages of accepted applicants have which scores here https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf

50% of applicants have a 3.6+, 26% have a 3.8+

I was looking at that table and... 3 people were accepted with an MCAT within the range of 5-14