Do GPA's at "Hard" Universities Count For More than GPA's From "Easier" Schools?

[Arbor Vitae]

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yolo

 

[pfaction]

I got a joke.

UCLACycling.

That's the end of the joke.

I laughed, a little bit.

 

[Neurosis]

Someone should be telling high school kids to go to the easiest UG they can find if they want to get into medical school.

wouldn't you want your school to be rigorous enough to prepare you to be able to score proficiently on the MCAT?

 

[kpcrew]

You and your little buddies must have reading comprehension issues.

I never told you my GPA. I asked, in general, what the perceived difference is between a 3.3 and 3.6 at a hard vs easy school, respectively.

This place makes me laugh. Look at all you little premed wankers squabbling.


Bwahahahaha

As long as I'm here, I might as well throw 2 cents at all y'all:

if you go to an easy school, your grades aren't looked at the same way.

It's cool, though. I'll get into medical school somewhere. And then I'm going to bump this thread and laugh at you.

Bwahahahaha

i look forward to this.

 

[notbobtrustme]

According to the MSAR, 3.3 is below 10th percentile at almost every university except the historically black colleges.

Good ****ing luck with that one.

 

[StarlingForce1]

According to the MSAR, 3.3 is below 10th percentile at almost every university except the historically black colleges.

Good ****ing luck with that one.

Bottom 10 percent of matriculants to medical school?

 

[TBMcGee]

I think you should honestly go and try to help yourself before you go and help others, doc...if you ever earn that name....3.3? Lmao.

 

[circulus vitios]

wouldn't you want your school to be rigorous enough to prepare you to be able to score proficiently on the MCAT?

Grades/GPA aren't about what you know. They're about how well you answered questions on exams.

 

[StarlingForce1]

Bottom 10 percent of matriculants to medical school?

I would like to add to this thread, that I was in a similar situation before starting a Masters degree. I had spoken with several directors of admissions at top 25 schools, and a number of them said "a 3.3 from your school is nothing to sneeze at." So, even if you have a GPA such as a 3.3, it doesn't mean game over. Go do an SMP or Masters or Postbacc, annihilate your coursework, and your GPA, though not forgotten, will be considered a thing of the past.

 

[sector9]

I would like to add to this thread, that I was in a similar situation before starting a Masters degree. I had spoken with several directors of admissions at top 25 schools, and a number of them said "a 3.3 from your school is nothing to sneeze at." So, even if you have a GPA such as a 3.3, it doesn't mean game over. Go do an SMP or Masters or Postbacc, annihilate your coursework, and your GPA, though not forgotten, will be considered a thing of the past.

Yes but the situation you're presenting is way different than what the OP is talking about

 

[StarlingForce1]

Yes but the situation you're presenting is way different than what the OP is talking about

Correct; so I am recommending doing an SMP.

 

[gettheleadout]

I would like to add to this thread, that I was in a similar situation before starting a Masters degree. I had spoken with several directors of admissions at top 25 schools, and a number of them said "a 3.3 from your school is nothing to sneeze at." So, even if you have a GPA such as a 3.3, it doesn't mean game over. Go do an SMP or Masters or Postbacc, annihilate your coursework, and your GPA, though not forgotten, will be considered a thing of the past.

I would also point out that you must have attended a competitive/grade-deflated school for undergrad, so your 3.3 was not representative of a 3.3 for most applicants. Also an M.S./M.A. is not typically recommended for grade improvement (notwithstanding the fact that grad GPA is calculated separately on AMCAS.)

 

[thelaw986]

Say you had a 3.3 from UCLA, and a 3.6 from UC Santa Cruz, do you think admissions committees feel that one's worth more than the other?

UCLA isn't easy, especially being a chemistry major (me), but I'm doing well enough.

I know friends that went to easier schools, people that I regularly outscored on most everything, with higher GPA's than me.

I'm either going to kick myself for going to UCLA, or congratulate myself for not taking the easier option. I'm not sure that I know which is which, yet.

What do you think?

HAHAHAHAHA. stop it.

 

[MonkeyDRuffy]

I would presume that the MCAT should account for any significant difference across GPAs from different schools no? I mean there are other factors but the MCAT is a standardized exam, and people across different Universities would receive the same exam. Besides, your choice of undergrad is a personal choice (I understand that various factors can hinder your choices).

If you really are brilliant and deserving of a spot in Medical school your application SHOULD reflect this. Keep in mind, I go to a school in Canada that is known for grade deflation and I am doing fine (I don't consider myself to be some sort of genius, just a hard worker).

 

[CodeRedDew]

I would presume that the MCAT should account for any significant difference across GPAs from different schools no? I mean there are other factors but the MCAT is a standardized exam, and people across different Universities would receive the same exam. Besides, your choice of undergrad is a personal choice (I understand that various factors can hinder your choices).

If you really are brilliant and deserving of a spot in Medical school your application SHOULD reflect this. Keep in mind, I go to a school in Canada that is known for grade deflation and I am doing fine (I don't consider myself to be some sort of genius, just a hard worker).

:thumbsup:

 

[StarlingForce1]

I would also point out that you must have attended a competitive/grade-deflated school for undergrad, so your 3.3 was not representative of a 3.3 for most applicants. Also an M.S./M.A. is not typically recommended for grade improvement (notwithstanding the fact that grad GPA is calculated separately on AMCAS.)

Right; which is why I recommended SMP. Only reason I can get away with MS is I have been out of school for quite some time, I ROCKED my pre-reqs, and MS was the most practical option for me, as it confers more opportunity in the job market if I am not successful with my first application to medical school. Also, many schools have made it clear that no distinction is made between a post-bacc or an MS; sure, one will up your uGPA, but if there is clearly upward trend between the two, no distinction is made. Also doing the MS in 2 years opens up the schedule to improve on other areas of my app (volunteering, shadowing, research, etc.) So all things considered, MS is not necessarily in and of itself an impunity in academic remediation. If I had the resources and the time, however, I would have likely done an SMP.

 

[snorlax]

I would presume that the MCAT should account for any significant difference across GPAs from different schools no? I mean there are other factors but the MCAT is a standardized exam, and people across different Universities would receive the same exam. Besides, your choice of undergrad is a personal choice (I understand that various factors can hinder your choices).

If you really are brilliant and deserving of a spot in Medical school your application SHOULD reflect this. Keep in mind, I go to a school in Canada that is known for grade deflation and I am doing fine (I don't consider myself to be some sort of genius, just a hard worker).

👍 I don't know if UCLA students have a higher average MCAT score than students at other UC's. However more rigorous classes could mean less time to prepare for the MCAT.

I don't know if UCLA is considered a grade-deflating school, but given the large class size, there are bound to be a ton of students with high GPAs.

 

[SLC]

I got the chance to work closely with the admissions office at my school this year, I thought I'd pitch my 2cents in here based on my experience.

I was assigned to help out at an open house designed for potential applicants at my school. There were undergrads there; but there were also highschool kids with their parents. Some people are just that neurotic eh?

Anyway, during a Q&A session with the admissions director, one parent asked where he should send his Daughter to college if she wanted to become a doctor. He asked about UofA vs. ASU (we're in Arizona).

The director told him it didn't matter where in Arizona he sent her. She said all the schools are held in essentially the same regard. But then she mentioned that some schools such as Cal., Stanford, UCLA, U Washington, U. Utah, USC are held above others. That some faculty consider a 3.0 from one of the above to be equivalent or better than a 3.5 from other schools. It appears that certain schools have gained reputations for turning out extremely well prepared medical school candidates.

 

[09ine]

I think this is a common feeling for a lot of UC students. Coming out of high school, all the students decide to go to the best UC they got accepted to. I think all of the UCs offer a good experience so picking the most competitive UC is not the best choice for every student.

Yeah seriously, it doesn't matter if he has a good GPA or not, seems like he just needs a boost of confidence since he's in Cali.

 

[sliceofbread136]

If you are really so much smarter than state schoolers you should get a 40ish mcat to make up for your low GPA. If you're full of crap, then you'll get an average MCAT (which is what I would put my money on).

 

[Saf1]

You and your little buddies must have reading comprehension issues.

I never told you my GPA. I asked, in general, what the perceived difference is between a 3.3 and 3.6 at a hard vs easy school, respectively.

This place makes me laugh. Look at all you little premed wankers squabbling.


Bwahahahaha

As long as I'm here, I might as well throw 2 cents at all y'all:

if you go to an easy school, your grades aren't looked at the same way.

It's cool, though. I'll get into medical school somewhere. And then I'm going to bump this thread and laugh at you.

Bwahahahaha

You sound like a person of really bad character. It's not that I don't wish the best in your applications, but I hope you gain some decency and respect. People aren't out to get you and you'd do well to be nice to people instead of being so defensive.

 

[Copernicium]

:troll:

 

[TriagePreMed]

LOL We get one of these kids every once in a while. They think because the graduate students, professional students and the researchers/professors are making a name for the school that their lowly status is somehow meaningful to why the university is considered to be a top school. This reminds me a lot of my friend that went to an Ivy. Then she went to retake a class at a CUNY campus and ended up with the same grade. Surely it's safe to say going to UCLA over UCSC means at least +0.8 in GPA lol. And no, didn't attend UCSC.

 

[iMed17]

I got the chance to work closely with the admissions office at my school this year, I thought I'd pitch my 2cents in here based on my experience.

I was assigned to help out at an open house designed for potential applicants at my school. There were undergrads there; but there were also highschool kids with their parents. Some people are just that neurotic eh?

Anyway, during a Q&A session with the admissions director, one parent asked where he should send his Daughter to college if she wanted to become a doctor. He asked about UofA vs. ASU (we're in Arizona).

The director told him it didn't matter where in Arizona he sent her. She said all the schools are held in essentially the same regard. But then she mentioned that some schools such as Cal., Stanford, UCLA, U Washington, U. Utah, USC are held above others. That some faculty consider a 3.0 from one of the above to be equivalent or better than a 3.5 from other schools. It appears that certain schools have gained reputations for turning out extremely well prepared medical school candidates.

Do you happen to know which schools are considered to have these reputations? I went to a University that is pretty well known for its grade deflation, and I have a middle range cGPA and an sGPA on the lower side, so I was wondering if my middle range cGPA would hold up because of the grade deflation?

 

[NickNaylor]

Do you happen to know which schools are considered to have these reputations? I went to a University that is pretty well known for its grade deflation, and I have a middle range cGPA and an sGPA on the lower side, so I was wondering if my middle range cGPA would hold up because of the grade deflation?

There's nothing you can do about it at this point. Why worry yourself with what is, at best, an estimation or, at worst, a pre-med spewing complete crap he/she knows nothing about?

(sent from my phone - please forgive typos and brevity)