Gpa?

[murph]

Hey

Just wondering the range of GPA needed to get in the osteopathic schools. I knw that MCAT scores and experiance and overall character are important. I just wan to know what I am looking at.

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[San_Juan_Sun]

This is a very rough guess, but bottom end you need at least a 3.0 BCPM GPA, and a 3.3 overall GPA. If you had those grades, you'll probably need more going for you.

Sorry for the rough guess, but I hope it helps. Good luck to you.

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

Originally posted by murph
Hey

Just wondering the range of GPA needed to get in the osteopathic schools. I knw that MCAT scores and experiance and overall character are important. I just wan to know what I am looking at.

Murph,

It's been stressed a lot on this board recently that it is kind of irrelevent to compare grades with other applicants. My understanding is that you can have a borderline gpa and average MCAT scores, but great ECs and be a shoe in. Conversely, you could have a 3.9 GPA, 30S MCAT and tell the adcoms at your interview that you want to be a neurosurgeon and get rejected.

Look, the bottom line is this. As long as you had good grades and MCATs, and show an honest sincere interest (and knowledge) in osteopathic medicine and you will have a decent shot. In speaking with admissions officers at two DO schools, and reading about the SDNers admitted to DO schools, I have learned that the Osteopathic adcoms focus on the individual merits of each student. The grades and mcat scores only get you in the door; it is who you are and whether they think that you will make a good physician that is what they care about most after that.

Good luck,

WannabeDO

 

[HockeySniper39]

Hey

Don't think that 3.3 will get you in, at my school the average is a 3.6, with 3.5 science. I would always shoot for the average or better. It is also my experience that allot of people that I have met here had one thing on there app that really stood out (high MCAT, high gpa, past medical career, etc..).


JIM
MWU-CCOM MS-1

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Originally posted by HockeySniper39
Hey

Don't think that 3.3 will get you in, at my school the average is a 3.6, with 3.5 science. I would always shoot for the average or better. It is also my experience that allot of people that I have met here had one thing on there app that really stood out (high MCAT, high gpa, past medical career, etc..).


JIM
MWU-CCOM MS-1

That's why I said at the very least you'd need a 3.3. In any case, not all GPA's are alike. The major and the school will definately play a part in that evaluation.

Also note that I said that a person with a 3.3 will need something more to thier app to stand out.

In any case, I don't have a problem with a person wondering what it might take to have a shot at an interview. I DO have some concerns with an attitude that asks "What's the bare minimum I'll need to do...."

Good luck to you Murph.

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

Originally posted by HockeySniper39
Hey

Don't think that 3.3 will get you in, at my school the average is a 3.6, with 3.5 science. I would always shoot for the average or better. It is also my experience that allot of people that I have met here had one thing on there app that really stood out (high MCAT, high gpa, past medical career, etc..).


JIM
MWU-CCOM MS-1

Well, with any average, there will be highs and lows. Obviously, a student should shoot for the high, but a good candidate should not be discouraged if he or she is towards the bottom. They may have many other things going for them.

By the way, and I mean this with all respect, even though I don't have a 3.6 gpa, I did learn somewhere around 3rd grade that "a lot" is two words.

Take care,

WannabeDO

 

[njdesi]

Look, I dont feel I have the absolute BEST stats out there, but they were certainly enough to get me 5 interviews so far (out of the 11 DO schools I applied to). The only school that I thought was absolutely anal was CCOM, rejecting me outright without waiting for my second set of MCATs in August 2002. I have a 3.08 science (with an upward trend between undergrad and postbaac), overall 3.4, MPH 3.8, and 25 P MCAT. I interviewed at AZCOM (waitlist), TUCOM (11/4), PCOM (11/20), LECOM (11/11), and UHS just told me I have an interview. SO it is all relative.

 

[Dr JPH]

Every year, the individual osteopathic schools publish the average GPA and MCAT of the matriculating students.

If I wanted to know the answer to the question you asked, I would search out this information.

USNews is a good place to start.

You can also try the website for each school.

Numbers alone won't get you in. No one here can tell you if you will get an interview or not.

If you want to compare yourself to something, then compare yourself to the schools averages, not to other people.

But in my humble opinion, it means jack squat.

 

[HockeySniper39]

"By the way, and I mean this with all respect, even though I don't have a 3.6 gpa, I did learn somewhere around 3rd grade that "a lot" is two words.

Take care,

WannabeDO"



Wow you got me!, make sure you put that on your medical school application after all, you may not be very good at school but darn it you never make freak typos. Or wait do you?

And I quote "Murph,

It's been stressed a lot on this board recently that it is kind of irrelevent to compare grades with other applicants."

Last time I checked it was IrrelevAnt had an a in it.

I was only posting to let students know that they shouldn't try and get the bare minimum of stats for getting in, if you shoot for the average or higher you know that you have a better chance of getting in. Osteopathic medicine may have been easier to get into at one time but things are defiantly changing.

I would like to say this now because I see it in medical school and its taboo to even think about mentioning. The students who have higher MCAT scores and GPA's are a cut above the rest of the class. I see it, people who did in the 30+ on their mcat learn quicker and are defiantly having an easier time with medical school then those who were let in because they have life experience (maybe its because we take allot (ha ha) of multiple choice tests. I am not saying that those with life experience wont make great docs, they will, they will just have to work harder then the people who did better as undergrads and on the MCAT. If you want to be a good medical school applicant then try your hardest in U.G. volunteer and bust your ass on the MCAT. That?s what matters in the end, don't concern your self with meeting the bare minimum requirement.

 

[mountainlander]

Speaking from personal experience, there are MANY reasons that anyone of us may have a gpa that is not representative of our academic abilities. Myself--try an almost divorce coupled with a very real almost custody battle. And, wandering around your undergraduate without a clue as to what it is you want to do. GPA isn't everything, just a part of the complete package. If other aspects of your package are exemplerary then I wouldn't worry about your GPA too much.

0.02

 

[DoctorDoogie4]

I agree with some in this post. GPA reflects only a little bit of what we do. Like many, I have had many adversity in my academic career. My mom was still completing her residency while having 2 little brothers and a husband/father who had heart problems. ON top of all this, I had to coach high school sports, hold a job, and volunteer to show my interest in medicine. All of this is no regret. As a result of all of this adversity, it added character to myself and maturity. I think and would hope that osteopathic medical schools see this. Don't try to aim for a high GPA just because you think it will solidify your chances. Aim to build character and develop maturity as well as succeeding and trying your hardest in academics.

 

[smc927]

Get in touch with some schools and ask what the average GPA for their incoming students is. I have done that with several via email and received fairly fast replies. I believe the official 2001 report was 3.4 (remember, that is an average, not a minimum). <br>
As has been mentioned, do what you can to boost that GPA before applying. A year or two of much improved GPA will show you have corrected whatever inhibited you before and that you can handle the work load of medical school.
<br>
Suerte,
Shawn