gpa or mcat score???

[tdkneo]

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i've always thought that gpa was more important than the mcat score but recently i talked to some of my friends who are already in medical schools, and they said, a high mcat score is favored more heavily now, and gpa can be over looked if the mcat score is high enough.........so i was wondering if this is true or not........or the two are just equally important on the weight scale?? thanks

 

[LifetimeDoc]

It depends on the school. Some schools even try to look past the GPA/MCAT scores a little bit to bring in a diverse class. Best bet is to get the highest GPA and MCAT you can muster first, then work on other aspects such as shadowing/ECs.

 

[medstuddude]

whatever is the lower, schools want to use it to reject or waitlist you.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

whatever is the lower, schools want to use it to reject or waitlist you.

True...

• School gets 16000 applications. ($1.2million in secondary fees, bank!)
• OMG 16000 applications and only 150 spots!
• We can't interview more than 600 of them.
• What to do?
• Well, we gotta prioritize.
• What do we want out of our class?
• Well, we want them to pass the USMLE and graduate.
• What are the best predictors of this?
• MCAT for the USMLE and GPA for graduating.
• Okay, apply a filter to the list of applicants, MCAT/GPA, state residency, etc.
• Minimum 3.0 GPA and 24 MCAT.
• Application count now 10000. Need to cut down to 600.
• Filter at 3.2 GPA and 26 MCAT.
• Application count now 8000. Still not there.
• Divide up the applications among 40 reviewers and skim.
• <Insert image of dart board>
• Got list down to 1200
• Okay, actually read the applications now in a second pass, discuss in smaller groups.
• Okay, got list down to 600. Send out interviews during this whole process.
• Look at those 600 closely, vote on each one, accept 150, wait-list the other 450.
• Look at their ECs, pick and choose from this pool those who would be a good fit for our school.

 

[BC7106]

I agree, it is very school dependent.

I think many schools may use either or both as a low-point cutoff. So that if you have below a certain GPA OR MCAT, they just chuck your application. Assuming you meet that minimum, I would think that the GPA is weighted more. I mean the MCAT is just one test, so they have to understand that you may be having an off day.

Check out my blog at www.drbyron.blogspot.com if you want to hear about my medical school and internship experiences. It may give you some insight into applications.

 

[njbmd]

i've always thought that gpa was more important than the mcat score but recently i talked to some of my friends who are already in medical schools, and they said, a high mcat score is favored more heavily now, and gpa can be over looked if the mcat score is high enough.........so i was wondering if this is true or not........or the two are just equally important on the weight scale?? thanks

One does not "outweigh" the other. You need to be competitive with both MCAT and GPA. The average undergraduate GPA for 2006 matriculants was a little over 2.6 and the average MCAT score was 30. Those were the averages meaning some folks were above and some were below.

You cannot overcome a poor undergraduate GPA with MCAT and you cannot overcome a poor MCAT with undergraduate GPA. From now 5 years of medical school admissions experience, I can tell you that undergraduate GPA or MCAT is never "overlooked".

 

[littlealex]

You meant a 3.6

 

[munnabhai]

One does not "outweigh" the other. You need to be competitive with both MCAT and GPA. The average undergraduate GPA for 2006 matriculants was a little over 2.6 and the average MCAT score was 30. Those were the averages meaning some folks were above and some were below.

You cannot overcome a poor undergraduate GPA with MCAT and you cannot overcome a poor MCAT with undergraduate GPA. From now 5 years of medical school admissions experience, I can tell you that undergraduate GPA or MCAT is never "overlooked".

Just for the record, I think you mean that the avg GPA for matriculants is a tad over 3.6, right?

 

[armybound]

 

[midn]

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