GPA question

[The Philosopher]

Alright, so with medical schools wanting to "make sure" that you can handle their courses and make the cut, about how many semester's worth of "good, solid grades" do you think it's necessary to prove yourself?

The question sounds kinda weird, but if an individual has like a 3.55 cum and 3.4 science, for example, those can be brought up to pretty competitive levels within a year.

But what if that 3.55 had a declining trend, or was just riddled with C's and stuff here and there, rather than having an upward trend.

Then, would a year's worth of 3.7/3.8 etc. prove to admissions committees that you can handle their coursework? or would it take longer?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Tweetie_bird]

been there...done that.....
I started with a 3.2 in my freshman year, then something happened in my family and I was getting 2.1's all over the place. This includes biolgy, math, and general chemistry (my BCPM is only a 3.2). I realized then and there, that if things keep going the way they are, not only will I lose my "MD dream" but also the scholarship I got to to to school. I decided to get my act together, and started pulling good grades starting my second year and beyond. YET, my cum is only a 3.4. My point is this--it's always better to start really low (like I did) and move up, than have a downward trend. IF you are going down, then they look at "by how much?" obviously, if you aced Gen Chem and Bio elementary classes, but started going down in Orgo and biochem, they are not going to like it. But let's say that in the HIGHEST level of classes (upper level Bio, Biochem etc) you achieve your best grades (and I mean entire series/year of that class should be 3.5 and above), that would be enough for Ad Coms to get past the whole downward trend earlier in your life. Just make sure you max out at the end . Take this advice with a grain of salt...I know plenty of exceptions to what I have just said. My best wishes to you.

Tweetie

 

[relatively prime]

I think a year of 3.7/3.8 would definitely look good... the question is: is it worth it to you? You can certainly get into medical school with a 3.5 or 3.4, but you might not get into a top 40 school. Then again it really depends on your MCAT scores and ECs...

Whatever you decide to do... good luck