GPA Question

[Virgil]

When people say that you have a good chance of getting into medical school with a 3.5 GPA / 30 MCAT, are they talking about science GPA or cumulative GPA? I worry because my cumulative GPA is at about 3.58, but I have never received less than an A in a non-science course. I have a C+ in Calculus II, a C in Gen Bio I, a B in Gen Chem II, a B in Microbiology, and various other A minuses in my science courses--essentially the only classes which brought my GPA down were science courses. Also, is there some online tool or something to calculate my AMCAS Cumulative/Science GPA?

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[AnesthesiaMD]

When people say that you have a good chance of getting into medical school with a 3.5 GPA / 30 MCAT, are they talking about science GPA or cumulative GPA? I worry because my cumulative GPA is at about 3.58, but I have never received less than an A in a non-science course. I have a C+ in Calculus II, a C in Gen Bio I, a B in Gen Chem II, a B in Microbiology, and various other A minuses in my science courses--essentially the only classes which brought my GPA down were science courses. Also, is there some online tool or something to calculate my AMCAS Cumulative/Science GPA?

An overall GPA of 3.5 and 30 MCAT is a good bet that you'll get into an MD school somewhere. I wouldn't worry about the other non "A" grades that you've received especially the ones that are Bs because those will be ignored by adcoms anyway. A lot of people that apply to medical school will have a few Bs and Cs, so it's not a big deal.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

They are generally talking about the overall GPA, but assume that you did well in your science courses and your BCMP GPA (those classes that are Biology, Chemistry, Math, or Physics-related) is at or above your overall GPA.

I would focus on your BCMP as the ADCOMs will be looking to see if you can handle medical school sciences, and the BCMP is the best overall gauge of this.

 

[Virgil]

They are generally talking about the overall GPA, but assume that you did well in your science courses and your BCMP GPA (those classes that are Biology, Chemistry, Math, or Physics-related) is at or above your overall GPA.

I would focus on your BCMP as the ADCOMs will be looking to see if you can handle medical school sciences, and the BCMP is the best overall gauge of this.

The only classes I took that are non-A's are science classes, but I am thankfully improving. For example, I got a C- in OCHEM 1 (really killed my GPA) but I just retook it and got an A-. So do you think that an overall GPA of 3.5 (even if your science GPA is much lower) and a good MCAT (at or above a 30 to prove that my low science GPA is a weak indicator of my knowledge of science) would be a good bet for at least getting into an M.D. school? I can't really do much for my science GPA but continue improving it...it's probably around a 3.0 right now. Would a post-bacc or masters be necessary to rectify this given an upward trend?

 

[nka1985]

If you can't get it at least over a 3.0, then yes, a post-bacc or masters program might be what you need to prove that you can handle tough science courses.

 

[Nasem]

what if somebody (such as myself), has an overall GPA of 3.1-3.2 but the BCMP is about 3.5-3.6 (this was all accomplished by doing a 1.5 year post-bacc)

 

[LifetimeDoc]

The only classes I took that are non-A's are science classes, but I am thankfully improving. For example, I got a C- in OCHEM 1 (really killed my GPA) but I just retook it and got an A-. So do you think that an overall GPA of 3.5 (even if your science GPA is much lower) and a good MCAT (at or above a 30 to prove that my low science GPA is a weak indicator of my knowledge of science) would be a good bet for at least getting into an M.D. school? I can't really do much for my science GPA but continue improving it...it's probably around a 3.0 right now. Would a post-bacc or masters be necessary to rectify this given an upward trend?

Yes

Well, I can only give you my experience. I had a 3.0 BCMP and 3.1 overall GPA after 5 years of undergrad. I went back full time and got a 4.0 with many upper-division sciences and got accepted to one allopathc (M.D.) medical school in the USA. A post-bacc with upper-division sciences looks like something that would help your application, but you would need to get all "A" grades with a rare B in the sciences from now on. A MCAT of 30 or better would be a must to ensure that you prove that your GPA isn't a reflection of your basic science and test taking abilities.

 

[Virgil]

Has anyone applied with a really low science GPA in comparison to their cumulative? What has been your experience with that?

Also, is there an AMCAS GPA calculator floating around anywhere?

 

[twohearted]

Has anyone applied with a really low science GPA in comparison to their cumulative? What has been your experience with that?

Does anyone have any experience with the opposite? A high BCPM with low overall?