cGPA vs sGPA

[RoyalMule]

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I was looking over the GPA and MCAT grid that shows the acceptance rates for the combination of the two. I assume that grid is showing students' cumulative GPA, correct? How much do the schools weigh the science GPA compared to cumulative?

For example, I have a rather uncompetitive 3.30 cumulative GPA, but a 3.89 science GPA. Haven't taken the MCAT yet, so that score will be the major determining factor on where I land in the acceptance rates on the grid, but I just didn't know if I need to score 33+ to have an above average chance. Obviously there is a lot more to being accepted than the GPA and MCAT, but I am just using the grid for a quick and dirty scale on my chances.

I'll definitely be applying DO as well, but there are some MD schools at the top of my list.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Probably weighted average of the two with CGPA being 2/3 and SGPA being 1/3.

 

[darklabel]

This is very broad question and it boils down to it depends on the school. No school exclusively looks at just one, but they usually prefer one over the other (which tends to be the sciGPA).

In my opinion, depending on your MCAT score, the cGPA will not hold you back from an MD school. You should definitely get some II's since sciGPA is usually the most scrutinized and hardest for people to raise/keep up since there aren't really any "fluff" classes to raise it, unlike your cGPA.

 

[pachewisc]

I was looking over the GPA and MCAT grid that shows the acceptance rates for the combination of the two. I assume that grid is showing students' cumulative GPA, correct? How much do the schools weigh the science GPA compared to cumulative?

For example, I have a rather uncompetitive 3.30 cumulative GPA, but a 3.89 science GPA. Haven't taken the MCAT yet, so that score will be the major determining factor on where I land in the acceptance rates on the grid, but I just didn't know if I need to score 33+ to have an above average chance. Obviously there is a lot more to being accepted than the GPA and MCAT, but I am just using the grid for a quick and dirty scale on my chances.

I'll definitely be applying DO as well, but there are some MD schools at the top of my list.

Thanks in advance.

I think an important point that hasn't been noted is how many courses have you taken that are science compared to non-science. Since your sGPA>>cGPA (relatively), it seems like you haven't taken very many science courses overall. At least not enough to make a large dent against your much lower grades in non-science classes. Graduating with a high sGPA is not significant enough to trump your cGPA if you only took the entry level, required classes(~30 credits depending on the school).

What your cGPA vs your sGPA tells me is that you're struggling in a majority of your courses (which are non-science), even though you do well in sciences. I would suggest taking more higher level science courses and avoiding non-science as much as you can because they're a detriment to your GPA. That would both boost your cGPA and give more importance/weight to your sGPA.