competitive science gpa with upward trend but lower prereq grades??? OK?

[Doc.Holliday]

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the further i go along in my major the better my grades have been. ive had ~3.4ish gpa these past 2 years, but things have taken a turn for the better. i think my lower grades for the prereqs were do to "weeder courses", heavy courseload, and just adjusting to college life. my question is, if this trend keeps up (and i'll make sure it does) and i have a more competitive gpa (say a 3.6 or 3.7 or so) by application time, will i be penalized any because of lower grades in earlier courses? in other words would someone consistently at a 3.7 have a big advantage over someone like me who worked up to it instead? id think that showing mastery of higher level sciences would make up for some mistakes early on in my college carreer, but since they are the so called main requirements for medical school i wonder if they are given more weight. thanks

 

[nico05]

in other words would someone consistently at a 3.7 have a big advantage over someone like me who worked up to it instead? id think that showing mastery of higher level sciences would make up for some mistakes early on in my college carreer, but since they are the so called main requirements for medical school i wonder if they are given more weight. thanks

It's hard to say how you will match up with a candidate who has pulled a 3.7 since freshman year but I will tell you this; the improvement in GPA along with a consistent upward trend in solid grades will play in your favor, focus on progress. Best of luck.

 

[nabeel76]

the further i go along in my major the better my grades have been. ive had ~3.4ish gpa these past 2 years, but things have taken a turn for the better. i think my lower grades for the prereqs were do to "weeder courses", heavy courseload, and just adjusting to college life. my question is, if this trend keeps up (and i'll make sure it does) and i have a more competitive gpa (say a 3.6 or 3.7 or so) by application time, will i be penalized any because of lower grades in earlier courses? in other words would someone consistently at a 3.7 have a big advantage over someone like me who worked up to it instead? id think that showing mastery of higher level sciences would make up for some mistakes early on in my college carreer, but since they are the so called main requirements for medical school i wonder if they are given more weight. thanks

I would think that a 3.7 is a 3.7, regardless of how you got there. Just as long as your science GPA is in the same ball park.