Difference between a 3.597 and a 3.607?

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godawgs39

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I know this may be a stupid question, but please bare with me. I haven't submitted my AMCAS app yet and I just finished the first session of summer classes. I received an A in my 3 credit class, which bumps my overall gpa up from a 3.597 to a 3.607. Would it be worth it to resend my official transcripts so that I have the extra gpa boost? I had a 30Q (11V,11B, 8P) so I'm about average there but on the lower end of the gpa scale. I'm just worried that if some schools screen based on gpa and mcat, I might miss out because without this class, I'm slightly below the 3.6 mark. Also, for reference, up until this year I was a biomedical engineering major (not sure what happened with my low PS score) and had a 3.05 gpa after freshman year, otherwise it would be higher.

Assuming that grades aren't made official until the second session begins next week, I could easily have the transcripts at AAMC by next Friday, which is probably the earliest that I'd be submitting due to the fact that I still haven't finished my PS. I guess I just answered my own question, but what do you guys think? Would it be worth the hassle and the extra $10 to get the transcripts there by next week? Thanks for any input.
 
if it bothers you that much, resend. Otherwise you're splitting hairs between a 3.60 and a 3.61. If the A is in a science and helps out that part of the GPA I would resend. Otherwise, just make note of it in your secondaries
 
Yeah, if you're not going to have your PS finished within the time that it takes for the new transcript to get there, just do it 😀
Ten bucks is nothing in the application cycle.
 
Turkeyman said:
Yeah, if you're not going to have your PS finished within the time that it takes for the new transcript to get there, just do it 😀
Ten bucks is nothing in the application cycle.
the difference is the 3.607 is higher
 
Turkeyman said:
Yeah, if you're not going to have your PS finished within the time that it takes for the new transcript to get there, just do it 😀
Ten bucks is nothing in the application cycle.


I say wait, you can work on your PS and submit a marginally better application. why the heck not? 🙂
 
godawgs39 said:
I know this may be a stupid question, but please bare with me. I haven't submitted my AMCAS app yet and I just finished the first session of summer classes. I received an A in my 3 credit class, which bumps my overall gpa up from a 3.597 to a 3.607. Would it be worth it to resend my official transcripts so that I have the extra gpa boost? I had a 30Q (11V,11B, 8P) so I'm about average there but on the lower end of the gpa scale. I'm just worried that if some schools screen based on gpa and mcat, I might miss out because without this class, I'm slightly below the 3.6 mark. Also, for reference, up until this year I was a biomedical engineering major (not sure what happened with my low PS score) and had a 3.05 gpa after freshman year, otherwise it would be higher.

Assuming that grades aren't made official until the second session begins next week, I could easily have the transcripts at AAMC by next Friday, which is probably the earliest that I'd be submitting due to the fact that I still haven't finished my PS. I guess I just answered my own question, but what do you guys think? Would it be worth the hassle and the extra $10 to get the transcripts there by next week? Thanks for any input.

If you truly believe that the difference between a 3.597 and a 3.60 is what is going to make or break you at any medical school, you are totally out of your mind -- seek help. Seriously. No school is so "by the numbers" that there will be an appreciably better chance of admission with one or the other of these scores. I promise you that there will be people in your med school class with lower GPAs, lower MCAT scores. There are other things besides numbers that get factored in. Chill out.
 
Law2Doc said:
If you truly believe that the difference between a 3.597 and a 3.60 is what is going to make or break you at any medical school, you are totally out of your mind -- seek help. Seriously. No school is so "by the numbers" that there will be an appreciably better chance of admission with one or the other of these scores. I promise you that there will be people in your med school class with lower GPAs, lower MCAT scores. There are other things besides numbers that get factored in. Chill out.

Thank you. I read the thread title and thought, "this has to be a stupid joke." Please tell me you people don't really think that hard about stuff like this?!
 
Well, it is silly, but I can understand where the OP is coming from. Even if it's irrational, we want to look the best we can, and we want to be represented as what we are or have earned. I was actually disappointed that my AMCAS verified GPA was 3.65 instead of 3.67, like I thought it would be. I know that it doesn't make a difference, but it still bothered me when I saw it. And I was more disappointed when I realized, months ago, that the GPA I graduated with, 3.686, would be reduced on AMCAS because of transfered credits.

So what I'm saying is that it's irrational, but it's understandable.

OP: Wait and send in the transcript. You'll feel better about it if you do. The extra week won't hurt you, and you can finish up your PS in that time.
 
Actually, AMCAS truncates, right? So it would be a 3.59 vs a 3.60. It's not that unreasonable to think that, psychologically, there would be a bigger perceived difference between, say, 3.59 and 3.60 than 3.61 and 3.64.
 
godawgs39 said:
I know this may be a stupid question, but please bare with me. I haven't submitted my AMCAS app yet and I just finished the first session of summer classes. I received an A in my 3 credit class, which bumps my overall gpa up from a 3.597 to a 3.607. Would it be worth it to resend my official transcripts so that I have the extra gpa boost? I had a 30Q (11V,11B, 8P) so I'm about average there but on the lower end of the gpa scale. I'm just worried that if some schools screen based on gpa and mcat, I might miss out because without this class, I'm slightly below the 3.6 mark. Also, for reference, up until this year I was a biomedical engineering major (not sure what happened with my low PS score) and had a 3.05 gpa after freshman year, otherwise it would be higher.

Assuming that grades aren't made official until the second session begins next week, I could easily have the transcripts at AAMC by next Friday, which is probably the earliest that I'd be submitting due to the fact that I still haven't finished my PS. I guess I just answered my own question, but what do you guys think? Would it be worth the hassle and the extra $10 to get the transcripts there by next week? Thanks for any input.

As long as those numbers take into account the +/- grades you received, your AMCAS GPA will turn out to be the same either way. My science GPA was actually a 3.619, and they rounded me up to a 3.62. Hence, don't worry about it and get going!
 
Haha, seriously, I'm not one of the students that is like :scared: or 😱 all the time, basically all I was trying to determine was whether or not you guys know of schools that have hard cutoffs for gpas. For instance, for non-residents applying to UMiami you have to have at least a 3.6 according to the MSAR. That was the only school I saw that, so I didn't know if there were other schools that had an unofficial cutoff. I personally don't see a difference between a 3.59 and a 3.6, but some school's computerized student application hacking machine might. That's all, don't worry, I'm not crazy or freaking out. 😉
 
tigress said:
Well, it is silly, but I can understand where the OP is coming from. Even if it's irrational, we want to look the best we can, and we want to be represented as what we are or have earned. I was actually disappointed that my AMCAS verified GPA was 3.65 instead of 3.67, like I thought it would be. I know that it doesn't make a difference, but it still bothered me when I saw it. And I was more disappointed when I realized, months ago, that the GPA I graduated with, 3.686, would be reduced on AMCAS because of transfered credits.

So what I'm saying is that it's irrational, but it's understandable.

OP: Wait and send in the transcript. You'll feel better about it if you do. The extra week won't hurt you, and you can finish up your PS in that time.


Just a question: does anyone include the grade from a statistics class into BCPM GPA? Stats and Math are in different departments in my school.
 
You guys are all wrong. The difference between 3.607 and 3.597 is 0.01.

:laugh:
 
godawgs39 said:
but please bare with me

But we only just met! 😱 :laugh:

On a more serious note, I think the difference in GPAs is negligible. But, if the extra time will allow you to perfect your PS, you might as well kill two birds with one stone.
 
UCLAstudent said:
But we only just met! 😱 :laugh:

lol, I was going to say something very similar but thought better of it 😛

re: statistics, it does count in BCPM, if I recall correctly. You can check in the AMCAS handbook.
 
sorry to say it, but its people like the OP and tigress who ruin the atmosphere in our class.

0.01...are you joking? My undergrad GPA was 2.83. if it was 2.84, im sure it would have made a huuuuuuuge difference. 🙄 🙄 🙄
 
tigress said:
lol, I was going to say something very similar but thought better of it 😛

re: statistics, it does count in BCPM, if I recall correctly. You can check in the AMCAS handbook.

Tigress - haven't seen you on SDN in a long time. What school are you going to?
 
Apparition said:
Tigress - haven't seen you on SDN in a long time. What school are you going to?

might want to PM her, her post was from 6/30/05 😉
 
strawberryfield said:
might want to PM her, her post was from 6/30/05 😉

I was going to say - wha't's going on here?Is this really a revived thread from last year? That's absurd...
 
Some people in this thread say GPAs are truncated, others say they are rounded. Can someone clarify?
 
godawgs39 said:
I know this may be a stupid question, but please bare with me. I haven't submitted my AMCAS app yet and I just finished the first session of summer classes. I received an A in my 3 credit class, which bumps my overall gpa up from a 3.597 to a 3.607. Would it be worth it to resend my official transcripts so that I have the extra gpa boost? I had a 30Q (11V,11B, 8P) so I'm about average there but on the lower end of the gpa scale. I'm just worried that if some schools screen based on gpa and mcat, I might miss out because without this class, I'm slightly below the 3.6 mark. Also, for reference, up until this year I was a biomedical engineering major (not sure what happened with my low PS score) and had a 3.05 gpa after freshman year, otherwise it would be higher.

Assuming that grades aren't made official until the second session begins next week, I could easily have the transcripts at AAMC by next Friday, which is probably the earliest that I'd be submitting due to the fact that I still haven't finished my PS. I guess I just answered my own question, but what do you guys think? Would it be worth the hassle and the extra $10 to get the transcripts there by next week? Thanks for any input.

HOLY GOD! The difference between 3.579 and a 3.607 is worth $1,000! Ten bucks is a bargain for that kind of extra application power.

Think about an admissions officer reviewing your application: "Jesus, a 3.579? What in the hell are they thinking?" VS "GIVE AWAY MY FIRST BORN! A 3.607! Call this applicant, send them a private jet, and offer them $99,000,000!"

Sweet.
 
It improves your application so why not? Go for it man.
 
dmoney41 said:
Actually, AMCAS truncates, right? So it would be a 3.59 vs a 3.60. It's not that unreasonable to think that, psychologically, there would be a bigger perceived difference between, say, 3.59 and 3.60 than 3.61 and 3.64.

You mean kind of like how retailers set the prices at $.99 instead of just rounding up 1 cent to the next whole dollar? Interesting. If it deesn't set you behind in the application cyle, then go ahead and do it, you have nothing to lose, it can only help. But like others have said, that small of a difference will not make a difference in your application.
 
woops, now i feel stupid. still an idiotic post and a waste of cyberspace...
 
Haha, interesting to see this thread revived, I remember starting this thread last year and realizing that I should have just asked "Are there any schools besides Miami that have an automatic cutoff at 3.6?" which was the intent of my question. Ah well, for those of you still looking to give advice, I decided not to go for it and still somehow got accepted with a lowly <3.6 gpa, lol. Good luck to everyone applying this cycle and if you ever feel like you want to ask a question, don't spend an entire paragraph trying to ask something that could be stated in one sentence. It makes you seem like one of those crazy pre-meds. 😉
 
dopaminesurge said:
I was going to say - wha't's going on here?Is this really a revived thread from last year? That's absurd...
that's why I once suggested they list the thread start date along with the OP on the thread list; i was told it was a good idea and not too hard to do...so where is it?
 
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