I just finished my second year at UNC-CH. My grades have not been too good(a lot of B's and some A's == 3.44). I'm taking physics in the summer right now and will most likely pull out an A this would bring me up to about a 3.5 something. I'm wondering if I have a chance at admission to any med school in the states, if I try to pull up my grades next year. I am currently doing undergraduate research in the bio department and will most likely continue till I graduate, and I've done Habitat for humanity and voluteered at the hospital all of last school year + Honor society. Any help would be appreciated.
Give it to me straight, also
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Although some may disagree with me, no med school will take a 3.44 GPA unless you have tight connections or have done something else spectacular, and I mean
SPECTACULAR. Question for you and the rest of the forum: How the hell does a person who wants to go to med school and knows that grades are probably the
most vital part of your application let his/her grades slip below a 3.5? I mean how hard is it to get an 'A' as an undergrad if you just show up to lecture, take notes,
read the book and study your notes from time to time before the tests? Who are these people who pull horrendous sub 3.5 GPAs and then ask what their chances
are? I mean med school admissions is just going to look and ask Why? What's your excuse? Why are your grades so bad when you know we look at grades so
heavily in the admissions process?
Sounds harsh, but admissions are harsh. Remember, the real committee never see your face... only your numbers and some evaluations. There should be no reason for you to get lower than an A.
SPECTACULAR. Question for you and the rest of the forum: How the hell does a person who wants to go to med school and knows that grades are probably the
most vital part of your application let his/her grades slip below a 3.5? I mean how hard is it to get an 'A' as an undergrad if you just show up to lecture, take notes,
read the book and study your notes from time to time before the tests? Who are these people who pull horrendous sub 3.5 GPAs and then ask what their chances
are? I mean med school admissions is just going to look and ask Why? What's your excuse? Why are your grades so bad when you know we look at grades so
heavily in the admissions process?
Sounds harsh, but admissions are harsh. Remember, the real committee never see your face... only your numbers and some evaluations. There should be no reason for you to get lower than an A.
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This might be true, but if he can pull an A in the physics course (thus pulling his GPA up to 3.5) and kicks the hell out of the MCAT (mid 30's), he definitely stand a chance. There are lots of schools whose entering class has GPA's in the 3.5-3.6 range, and some even have averages at about 3.4 (few, though). I say he stands a chance if the MCAT turns out favorably.
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I completely disagree about the comment made referring to the 3.4 or 3.5 GPA and not getting in. I know a student who is doing very well in med school who only had a 2.9 GPA overall. He got practically straight C's in all the prerequisites and did not do much else while in college except party. He managed to work his butt off for the MCAT and pulled a 36S. He got interviews with Duke, UNC-CH, and a few other schools. Anything is possible! Go for it and do the best you have with you've got! 🙂
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You sound to me like a fairly young person who has few responsibilities outside of getting your homework done on time.
When you start paying your own bills, then you can start making judgements about other people's level of motivation based on their GPA alone. If you are paying your own bills, then you're behind the learning curve in ways that can't be reflected by a GPA.
Your immaturity is showing...
Nanon
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Nanon, well stated. I was waiting for someone to reply to monster. Hey monster, have you ever heard of out of control incidencs, like a death of a parent. Now tell me, would you seriously want to study as hard when you hear that news. Give me a break. Go back to your desk and study....while I go play a round of Golf..btw...soon to be med student.
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monster2 is taking heat here as well....
monster2 you seem to be making statements that are a bit immature and ignorant about the subject matter..... just an observation.... you've done this is the pre-dent as well as here now....
Not that your brutal honesty is not welcomed.... feel free to comment on such topics but I'm sure you'll be in constant heat because your statements don't have factual basis....
monster2 you seem to be making statements that are a bit immature and ignorant about the subject matter..... just an observation.... you've done this is the pre-dent as well as here now....
Not that your brutal honesty is not welcomed.... feel free to comment on such topics but I'm sure you'll be in constant heat because your statements don't have factual basis....
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I hate to comment on individual users, but since people use this board for advice, you have to rein in the lunatic fringe every so often. Monster2 does not know what he/she is talking about. The average GPA for all medical school matriculants is just over 3.5! So, HALF of all your medical school classmates will have a GPA lower than 3.5 (probably closer to 3.6) The statement "No medical school will take you with a 3.4" is pure crap.
Ductang- Obviously, you should strive to do your best in school. No, that doesn't necessarily mean abandon all other activities to become a point-grubbing GPA hound, but you should put in a good deal of work. The better your grades, the better your chances, but you need perspective and need a life outside of the classroom. Keep up the good work, post a solid MCAT, and your chances are excellent. Good luck!
Ductang- Obviously, you should strive to do your best in school. No, that doesn't necessarily mean abandon all other activities to become a point-grubbing GPA hound, but you should put in a good deal of work. The better your grades, the better your chances, but you need perspective and need a life outside of the classroom. Keep up the good work, post a solid MCAT, and your chances are excellent. Good luck!
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I don't think this is accurate. A 3.5 average does not necessarily mean that every 4.0 is balanced by a 3.0, say. Suppose everyone in med school has a 3.5--the average GPA is once again 3.5. I think this scenario is closer to the truth; a good number of the matriculants have a GPA of 3.5 or so. A GPA <3.5 puts you at a disadvantage.
Word. This assertion I agree with wholeheartedly. Just rock the MCAT, raise the GPA, and roll the dice. Who knows...
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Yeah, cm7b5 nailed me on that one. Means are a pretty meaningless statistic. (In my defense, I've never sean SDs posted on any GPA breakdowns.) http://www.medicalgold.com/premed/mcatgraph2.html gives a good listing of statistics (that they claim are from the AAMC, mind you) and mention "high end" and "low end" of SD. Whatever the hell that means. Maybe one SD on each side? It looks to be approximately 0.25 and without going into statistics too much, seems reasonable (4.0 GPA = 2SD above mean).
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That's insane. A 3.5 and a 30+ on the MCAT and you will at least get interviewed. That's completely bogus. A 3.5 is a good GPA.
Now, if you want to go to Harvard or Yale or Johns Hopkins, you may encounter some trouble. But for lower tier schools a 3.5 is right where you want to be. Take the MCAT, if you score above a 30, you will be fine. I can only dream of having a 3.5 GPA.
Now, if you want to go to Harvard or Yale or Johns Hopkins, you may encounter some trouble. But for lower tier schools a 3.5 is right where you want to be. Take the MCAT, if you score above a 30, you will be fine. I can only dream of having a 3.5 GPA.
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OK - tell me if I'm abusing these statistics or not:
What I see from the AAMC website is that for matriculants in 2000, the verbal mean (I choose verbal because I did soooo poorly in it) was 9.5 with a SD of 1.8 - this means that 67% of matriculants had verbal scores between 7.7 and 11.3...
Looking at the second SD (95% of matriculants)the verbal scores are between 5.9 and 13.1...
Since the second SD represents 95-67= 28% of matriculants, dividing this by two, we see that 14% of matriculants for the year 2000 had a verbal score in the lower second SD range - that is, between 5.9 and 7.7...
If this is correct, that are a hell of a lot of matriculants with "crappy" verbal scores. In 2000, there were 16,301 applicants. This means that 2,282 applicants were admitted to medical school with verbal scores that some people on this board have told me necessitate an MCAT retake - that I am almost guaranteed a letter of denial. Maybe there really is something to this "we look at the applicant as a whole" business. Maybe I will get a letter of denial, but these numbers make me think that everyone who has something going for them should apply and see what happens. I think that this also emphasizes that you have to take advice with a grain of salt. Much of the advice given is very good, but it is still advice and could be wrong. Why put your future in someone else's hands (whom you don't even really know)? Take a risk!!
There is comfort in statistics...
What I see from the AAMC website is that for matriculants in 2000, the verbal mean (I choose verbal because I did soooo poorly in it) was 9.5 with a SD of 1.8 - this means that 67% of matriculants had verbal scores between 7.7 and 11.3...
Looking at the second SD (95% of matriculants)the verbal scores are between 5.9 and 13.1...
Since the second SD represents 95-67= 28% of matriculants, dividing this by two, we see that 14% of matriculants for the year 2000 had a verbal score in the lower second SD range - that is, between 5.9 and 7.7...
If this is correct, that are a hell of a lot of matriculants with "crappy" verbal scores. In 2000, there were 16,301 applicants. This means that 2,282 applicants were admitted to medical school with verbal scores that some people on this board have told me necessitate an MCAT retake - that I am almost guaranteed a letter of denial. Maybe there really is something to this "we look at the applicant as a whole" business. Maybe I will get a letter of denial, but these numbers make me think that everyone who has something going for them should apply and see what happens. I think that this also emphasizes that you have to take advice with a grain of salt. Much of the advice given is very good, but it is still advice and could be wrong. Why put your future in someone else's hands (whom you don't even really know)? Take a risk!!
There is comfort in statistics...
give me a break 😡 😱 u r wundeful brake aleg ur personality aint worth a sh..
even if u hada 4.0 ur dead leg won't cary u 😕 😕 u spend too much time on this bs...just study do ur best, have a personality that's all thats matters a 4.0 with a 35 mcat won't help if ur middle leg is too long
even if u hada 4.0 ur dead leg won't cary u 😕 😕 u spend too much time on this bs...just study do ur best, have a personality that's all thats matters a 4.0 with a 35 mcat won't help if ur middle leg is too long
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What did rxfudd do to deserve that? 😕
