Early Assurance programs - Does HS performance matter?

[EntireTree]

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High school senior here. Definitely going to try to aim for an early assurance program when I get into college.

The thing is, does your high school performance matter? I was told that one of the things they look at is your HS senior GPA. Does it matter?

Thanks.

 

[benjamin94559]

For flexmed they wanted our high school transcripts and I have a feeling it will be the same for most other similar programs; it's too big of a gamble to guarantee you a spot with only one or two years of academic information on you.

 

[EntireTree]

Ugh. There goes senioritis.

 

[md-2020]

The earlier you apply, the more HS grades will matter. If you're looking at a Flexmed type timeline (apply as a sophomore), then high school grades are still pretty important, because they only have 1.5 years of (probably most gen-ed) college coursework to judge you on. Oh, and probably the SAT/ACT 🙂

I'd recommend the normal cycle, as the pre-med life is condensed enough already. But to each his own, by no means are early programs bad or anything.

 

[GrapesofRath]

These type of programs can afford to be extremely picky in ways that no other program can be. For top BS/MD programs I know of some with defacto unofficial 1450+ SAT requirements and top 1% High School class rank just to even have a chance of being competitive(and amongst those who meet these criteria the odds of an actual acceptance are still rather low due to many applicants fit this). For as disgustingly competitive Ivy league admission is these days, it's no comparison to the level of competition at these BS/MD type programs. The lower ones might not be as competitive but they also might not have the same level of guarantee(ie they might require you to take the MCAT and/or maintain a pretty high GPA).

As for the FlexMed program md2020 hit it correctly your HS GPA is going to matter. Not necessairly in the sense that a strong HS showing will really help as much as a less than ideal one will really stand out in a pool full of hoards and hoards of HS val/sal's with 2300+ scores and 3.8+ college GPAs. These programs are taking a gamble on applicants not just because they are only taking you based off a couple semesters of college work, but also because they arent requiring an MCAT score.

To make the gamble they are taking justifiable, the standards are really really high for academics and any blemish will stand out. And of course it's worth noting academics are often the least of many applicants concerns for these programs; it's "standing out" in non academic ways where the standards for such are so incredibly high(Id argue the EC standards for a program like this are clearly higher than they are for traditional top med school admission).