did anyone get in top 10 medical school with GPA below 3.7?

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You might want to ask this again toward the end of the month. The vast majority of the top 10 schools are non-rolling and therefore start sending out acceptances in the next couple of weeks.
 
I'm pretty sure UW is in the Top Ten and I have a friend who got in with less then a 3.7 through the WAMI program, but maybe that is cheating?
 
My brother did around seven or eight years ago. Hoping for a repeat! :xf:
 
It is definitely possible, but probably not very likely. Every year on SDN we see threads that say why didn't I get in anywhere? Then you look at the applicant's stats (3.5ish, 30), and the list of schools (Harvard, Johns, and 10-15 other top tier schools). Don't make that mistake. It's a waste of your time and money. Apply broadly, and mostly to mid/lower-tier schools whose stats match yours. It's ok to apply to a few reach schools, but focus on getting in somewhere, not into the best.
 
I know some in-state people at UCSF with lower than a 3.7...
 
I got into (US News) #22 and #23, with a 3.58cum/3.62BCPM. Both out of state, and one of them is a school with strict out-of-state limits, and both with no research.

Definitely not top 10, but I think it's still something. I didn't even apply to the top 10. I got an interview at #20 but canceled it because I was already almost certain where I'd be going.

Even though those schools aren't top 10, I think it's still significant and useful info because my GPA is/was about .1 below your designated limit.
 
I am pretty sure they burn your amcas application if you attempt top 10 schools with anything less than 3.7....pretty sure.
 
diosa428 said:
I know some in-state people at UCSF with lower than a 3.7...
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Since a few of the Top Ten schools are state schools I think you may see some of that at schools like UCLA, UCSF, UW because they are less strict about people in state. Especially UW I think because they have to let in people from Idaho/Alaska/Montana/Wyoming.
 
Yes.

It took *years* of hard work to overcome my GPA, though. There is no easy way out.
 
More than 90 percent of acceptance at UW are applicants from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana or Idaho (WWAMI). UW is not really any less strict about people from out of state, they just consider residents of WY, AK, MT, ID as residents of WA for purposes of the application. If you are not from one of these states, you probably don't have too much of a chance.
 
if you're URM, anything is possible, the world is your oyster
 
EatParsley said:
More than 90 percent of acceptance at UW are applicants from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana or Idaho (WWAMI). UW is not really any less strict about people from out of state, they just consider residents of WY, AK, MT, ID as residents of WA for purposes of the application. If you are not from one of these states, you probably don't have too much of a chance.
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I didn't mean that.

What I meant is that if you are from one of the WWAMI states (especially a non-washington) you don't need the same grades/scores as you would if you are from OUT of the WWAMI system. So they are "less strict" on the people within the system, in terms of getting in. Part of the advantage of having your state school in the Top 10, it is easier to get into a "top ten" because you have an in-state advantage at one of them.
 
true that

just seems like kind of a pointless thread...what can anyone do with this info anyway? seems like more of a rhetorical question to me.
 
docontheroc said:
true that

just seems like kind of a pointless thread...what can anyone do with this info anyway? seems like more of a rhetorical question to me.
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It's really an MSAR issue. I mean, a 3.7 or a 3.6 or a high 3.5 isn't a low GPA, not even for med school, not even for top tens. Understandably the lower it is, the more that has to be made up for in terms of MCAT score and ECs, but I think that with a solid GPA and MCAT you can get into a top 10. There are extenuating circumstances, of course, I mean it's unlikely that you'll get into Vandy or Harvard with a 3.5, but it's been done. Statistically speaking, though, it's problematic.

My advice: Shoot for the stars. You're already spending hundreds of dollars on apps, why not spend a few more and apply to those reach schools if you think you have a shot.

*attempts to liven thread*
 
but what is a thread asking about whether or not it's possible going to do. (peace of mind, maybe?) of course it's possible, but i don't see how hearing that other people have done it should influence your decision to apply to top 10 school anyway. i agree with riley, apply to schools you'd want to go to. seems like the logical way to go about things...
 
Peace of mind, I bet. Heck, this thread is givine me some peace of mind. I feel a little more hopeful.
 
I got into ucla with a 3.4 gpa, and 36 mcat (9v,11p,15b), and I'm not a urm. Actually over-represented minority.
 
Long Dong said:
I got into ucla with a 3.4 gpa, and 36 mcat (9v,11p,15b), and I'm not a urm. Actually over-represented minority.
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Were you a california resident?

And were you a traditional or non-traditional application? (Applying straight out of college, or maybe 1 year between or was it some years later?)
 
DrWookie said:
Were you a california resident?

And were you a traditional or non-traditional application? (Applying straight out of college, or maybe 1 year between or was it some years later?)
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Also would you say your LORs and ECs and PS were excellent/spectacular?
 
DrWookie said:
Were you a california resident?

And were you a traditional or non-traditional application? (Applying straight out of college, or maybe 1 year between or was it some years later?)
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Yes california resident, non-traditional (worked 3 years after graduating college and then applied to med school).
 
BlueElmo said:
Also would you say your LORs and ECs and PS were excellent/spectacular?
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LORs average, EC's excellent, PS pretty good. What I think got me in with a 3.4 gpa was my mcat and ECs.
 
Long Dong said:
LORs average, EC's excellent, PS pretty good. What I think got me in with a 3.4 gpa was my mcat and ECs.
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I think being from california and non-traditional probably helped also (the non-traditional part mostly in allowing you to have great ECs)
 
Obviously lots of people have been...if the avg is around a 3.8, there have to be some GPAs < that.
 
Remember that the MSAR posts AVGs. So like someone above stated, if the average at a school is 3.8, then there's probably really unique applicants who get in with 3.7s, maybe even 3.59?
 
Long Dong said:
I got into ucla with a 3.4 gpa, and 36 mcat (9v,11p,15b), and I'm not a urm. Actually over-represented minority.
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you got accepted because you could magically make 9 + 11 + 15 = 36 😀
 
Lukkie, nice catch! Is someone making up an MCAT score... because that would make this thread entirely meaningless.
 
Lukkie said:
you got accepted because you could magically make 9 + 11 + 15 = 36 😀
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Yeah my bad it was 9, 12, 15. It's been a while since I looked at my mcat score, like 7 years or so.
 
BlueElmo said:
yeah, but exactly how many.
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When we are talking about average numbers being around 3.7-3.8, that means that about half of the matriculants had GPAs below that number. This is a guarantee. And if for some reason the matriculants with below the average GPA make up LESS than about 50% of the class, then it only means that the GPA must go even lower. There must be a compromise. Simple arithmetics.

Every year there are many people with GPAs below 3.0 getting in (URM and Non-URM). In fact, even with GPAs below 3.0 you can have over 20% chance of getting accepted. This should tell you that numbers alone do not mean anything. If you have a good "hook," you can get into any school, top 10 or not. Finally, don't forget the MCAT. It is clear from statistics that MCAT means much more than the GPA. Your GPA may be pretty low, but if you combine it with a very high MCAT and have other interesting attributes (publications, LORs, ECs, or PS), suddenly you are better than average even with a low GPA.

Making up for a low MCAT with a high GPA is another story. Depending on how low your MCAT is, that may not work.
 
I got into University of Michigan (#11), 3.12 at the time of AMCAS, 38 on the MCAT. Not URM. Out of state.
 
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Excelsius said:
When we are talking about average numbers being around 3.7-3.8, that means that about half of the matriculants had GPAs below that number. This is a guarantee.
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*sigh*

This is NOT a guarantee. Simple stats people, come on.

10 gpas - 3.81-3.79-3.82-3.78-3.8-3.75-3.8-3.85-3.8-3.2

Average: 3.74

9 above - 1 below.
 
So what exactly are the top 10 med schools? People just going by research rankings? Because markers for a quality med school don't get much worse than that.
 
CRB 717 said:
So what exactly are the top 10 med schools? People just going by research rankings? Because markers for a quality med school don't get much worse than that.
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They're called "research" rankings but they incorporate several factors, and it's pretty clear that they are least good rough markers for selectivity (high GPA average, high MCAT average), so I think it's still a relevant question.
 
Is Pitt a top ten? I was accepted to Pitt with a 3.42 and a 34, and I'll be hearing back from Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Columbia, and NYU in a few weeks. Threads like these are pointless because everyone knows that if you got in with less than stellar numbers it meant you had stellar ECs.
 
scarletgirl777 said:
They're called "research" rankings but they incorporate several factors, and it's pretty clear that they are least good rough markers for selectivity (high GPA average, high MCAT average), so I think it's still a relevant question.
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isn't the answer a resounding yes, it's quite possible? what's the debate here.
 
variablistic said:
*sigh*

This is NOT a guarantee. Simple stats people, come on.

10 gpas - 3.81-3.79-3.82-3.78-3.8-3.75-3.8-3.85-3.8-3.2

Average: 3.74

9 above - 1 below.
Click to expand...

Read what I wrote again. Namely:

Excelsius said:
And if for some reason the matriculants with below the average GPA make up LESS than about 50% of the class, then it only means that the GPA must go even lower.
Click to expand...

i.e., your example of 10 GPA calculations explained in a single sentence.
 
variablistic said:
*sigh*

This is NOT a guarantee. Simple stats people, come on.

10 gpas - 3.81-3.79-3.82-3.78-3.8-3.75-3.8-3.85-3.8-3.2

Average: 3.74

9 above - 1 below.
Click to expand...
The MSAR book does show you the 10th percentile for the GPA of accepted applicants, by looking at the gray bars on each school's page, so the 10th percentiles for the top ten are:
Harvard, John Hopkins, and Washington U 3.7 overall, 3.6 Science
University of Pennsylvania 3.6 overall, 3.5 Science
UCSF 3.4 overall, 3.3 science
Duke 3.5 overall, 3.4 science
University of Washington 3.4 overall, 3.2 science
Stanford 3.5 overall, 3.5 science
UCLA 3.4 overall, 3.3 Science
Yale 3.5 overall, 3.4 Science

Again these are the 10th percentile, so ten percent of people have those numbers or lower and still get accepted.
 
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