GPAs for transfer students

[Gloves]

Hey everyone

I'm just wondering how the GPA shows up when you apply to a medical school. I heard they might use cutoffs, and while I'm fortunate enough to not fall that low it's still kind of scary to think that they could do that.

I transferred schools recently (after 2 years at the old one) and I'm going to really try to do better at the new school. I was just wondering if my overall GPA will be displayed as the one at the new school and how BCPM will work now. Also if I could retake organic chemistry II I wonder if the old one would get replace by the new one... hm

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[Barcu]

Hey everyone

I'm just wondering how the GPA shows up when you apply to a medical school. I heard they might use cutoffs, and while I'm fortunate enough to not fall that low it's still kind of scary to think that they could do that.

I transferred schools recently (after 2 years at the old one) and I'm going to really try to do better at the new school. I was just wondering if my overall GPA will be displayed as the one at the new school and how BCPM will work now. Also if I could retake organic chemistry II I wonder if the old one would get replace by the new one... hm

Schools will see all your grades. The AMCAS app breaks it down so schools can see grades by year, both BCPM and all other. While your gpa will reset at your new school for you, AMCAS will average your gpas together to get a new overall gpa. I'm not sure if the DO app works the same way (probably). While this is the case, an upward trend in grades will be beneficial to your app, so doing better at your new school will not only raise your gpa but will also make you more competitive with the upward trend.

In terms of retaking classes, MD and DO are different. MD will average the two grades when calculating the gpa. DO schools will take the new grade as a replacement. Either way, it should be a benefit, but it will be a larger benefit for DO schools.

 

[Gloves]

Ah thanks! That clarifies it all quite nicely. I don't think I'm going to retake if they just get averaged (I got a B so an A would just get me B+/A- I suppose)

 

[3by4]

Schools will see all your grades. The AMCAS app breaks it down so schools can see grades by year, both BCPM and all other. While your gpa will reset at your new school for you, AMCAS will average your gpas together to get a new overall gpa. I'm not sure if the DO app works the same way (probably). While this is the case, an upward trend in grades will be beneficial to your app, so doing better at your new school will not only raise your gpa but will also make you more competitive with the upward trend.

In terms of retaking classes, MD and DO are different. MD will average the two grades when calculating the gpa. DO schools will take the new grade as a replacement. Either way, it should be a benefit, but it will be a larger benefit for DO schools.

I have a question, and it may seem fit just to ask it on here...
At my first school I had a GPA of 3.93... I then transferred to another school and currently have a GPA of 3.73... Would this work against me? I'm trying to get it up, but I highly doubt I can get close to 3.9...
Any comments would be appreciated..

 

[Barcu]

Ah thanks! That clarifies it all quite nicely. I don't think I'm going to retake if they just get averaged (I got a B so an A would just get me B+/A- I suppose)

Definitely do not retake. One B will certainly not kill your app. Plus, if you pulled a B again (or worse) that would not look good on your app.

I have a question, and it may seem fit just to ask it on here...
At my first school I had a GPA of 3.93... I then transferred to another school and currently have a GPA of 3.73... Would this work against me? I'm trying to get it up, but I highly doubt I can get close to 3.9...
Any comments would be appreciated..

Tough one. Maybe adcoms on here may be able to answer this question better, but I will give it a shot.

Downward trends are usually frowned upon. However, both of your gpas are at or above the national average for accepted MD students, so I'm not sure if that is a huge issue. Again, an adcom on here may be able to answer this better.

My advice to you would be just to keep working hard to improve that gpa and get it as high as you can. Your gpa is still very competitive.

Another factor may be your schools. Did you transfer to a school that is more prestigious? That may make the drop in gpa less of an issue.