Grad School Grades

[runningpenguin00]

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Hello, was wondering if there are grading distribution of grad schools available for viewing. Especially for the basic sciences like bio, physiology, molecular biology. Are there websites/links for this sort of info? There are a number of websites online that posted grade distribution in undergraduate college classes (i.e. # of A's,B's, C's). I'm asking because my current GPA from undergraduate years should be on par with med school, so I'm worried that I could be spending approx $50,000 on a degree when I don't need to & damaging my academic standing. So I guess my question is how can I find out what the grades are like at a given grad school (other than word of mouth)?

 

[Goro]

You're expected to do well in these programs. If you're doing poorly, that's on you, not the program.

So stop thinking like a pre-med.

Hello, was wondering if there are grading distribution of grad schools available for viewing. Especially for the basic sciences like bio, physiology, molecular biology. Are there websites/links for this sort of info? There are a number of websites online that posted grade distribution in undergraduate college classes (i.e. # of A's,B's, C's). I'm asking because my current GPA from undergraduate years should be on par with med school, so I'm worried that I could be spending approx $50,000 on a degree when I don't need to & damaging my academic standing. So I guess my question is how can I find out what the grades are like at a given grad school (other than word of mouth)?

 

[runningpenguin00]

You're expected to do well in these programs. If you're doing poorly, that's on you, not the program.

So stop thinking like a pre-med.

Lol, I know that. I'm a non-traditional who has been out of school for a while. I still think like a pre-med because I am one- I'm trying to get into med school. Aside from working hard in the actual program, the greatest control I have is whether I go into a masters & which school/classes I take. I'm interested in the masters, but I don't want to create an issue when I'm doing okay right now.

 

[efle]

Grad classes are notorious for being inflated iirc. If you held up a ~3.7+ in undergrad prereqs wouldn't worry about that.

Whats the motive for the masters if you're aiming for med school? Why not take some cheap past-bacc classes instead of dropping 50k for something that admissions doesn't care much about?

 

[Lurkvey]

You really should not do a grad program as a pre-med if you are already worrying about how a low gGPA can hurt your med school app and the grad program won't work as/towards a backup you'd love to have. You'll might end up spending a ton of time worrying how one to three Bs (depending on program+classes) can drop your gGPA enough to be at a questionable level for med school.

gGPA pretty much doesn't matters to anyone other than pre-meds and the very few grad students that get kicked out for sub-3.0 grades, so you're unlikely to find a site about grades in grad school.

 

[runningpenguin00]

Grad classes are notorious for being inflated iirc. If you held up a ~3.7+ in undergrad prereqs wouldn't worry about that.

Whats the motive for the masters if you're aiming for med school? Why not take some cheap past-bacc classes instead of dropping 50k for something that admissions doesn't care much about?

I have average GPA, low MCAT, so post-bacc won't fix my application. I know grad classes are inflated, but I need a sense of how difficult it is because I haven't been in school for years while many of my peers would probably be fresh out of their undergrad science classes. I'm interested in the content.

 

[JustAPhD]

At many (most?) graduate programs in the life sciences, a C is a failing grade. So even if programs published grade distributions, it would be pretty boring data.

 

[efle]

I have average GPA, low MCAT, so post-bacc won't fix my application. I know grad classes are inflated, but I need a sense of how difficult it is because I haven't been in school for years while many of my peers would probably be fresh out of their undergrad science classes. I'm interested in the content.

And you have 50k to drop on something of interest?? I don't mean to sound critical if so! But you might get more out of an MCAT retake as far as competitiveness, or postbacc science classes as far as assessing your own academic performance.

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[runningpenguin00]

And you have 50k to drop on something of interest?? I don't mean to sound critical if so! But you might get more out of an MCAT retake as far as competitiveness, or postbacc science classes as far as assessing your own academic performance.

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No offense taken at all. I have a 3.8 overall (it's average for med school) and science GPA. I was under the impression that a postbacc was for individuals who need to improve GPA, not necessarily those who are just older. Not sure, but don't people who go for MPH/nutrition do the same thing-- pay $50000 for a degree out of interest that they might incorporate into their their careers later on (especially the MPH)?

 

[efle]

No offense taken at all. I have a 3.8 overall (it's average for med school) and science GPA. I was under the impression that a postbacc was for individuals who need to improve GPA, not necessarily those who are just older. Not sure, but don't people who go for MPH/nutrition do the same thing-- pay $50000 for a degree out of interest that they might incorporate into their their careers later on (especially the MPH)?

People usually take postbacc for grade repair yeah, because most people don't worry that being a few years out from college means they've lost their academic ability. I have occasionally seen people way out of college be advised to take some undergrad science courses to show they've got what it takes and help get them brushed up on sciences for the MCAT.

I think it's more like 50k for an MPH that they expect will be necessary for their career path of choice, not so much "that looks interesting, and what's one more year and 50k more debt added to this process?"

 

[efle]

If you have a 3.8 and are only a few years out of school, and an MCAT below ~508, the latter is going to matter much more for admissions and a higher score is a better way to show you've got what it takes academically

 

[runningpenguin00]

If you have a 3.8 and are only a few years out of school, and an MCAT below ~508, the latter is going to matter much more for admissions and a higher score is a better way to show you've got what it takes academically

Yeah, I agree. I'm not interested in the masters for the sake of boosting my GPA. It really is because I like what I'd be learning. It's a lot of money I know, hence the hesitancy to spend so much on a degree that I'm doing out of interest & could end up being a bit of a risk.

 

[efle]

Yeah, I agree. I'm not interested in the masters for the sake of boosting my GPA. It really is because I like what I'd be learning. It's a lot of money I know, hence the hesitancy to spend so much on a degree that I'm doing out of interest & could end up being a bit of a risk.

I think it will be really tough for anyone to advise you without knowing exactly what 50k means for you personally, what kind of work you're currently doing and how much you enjoy it, exactly what MCAT range you're in and the other details of your app. Wouldn't worry about getting bad grades in a masters program, would worry about the $ cost, and the opportunity cost compared to what else you might do with the year that would matter a lot more to admissions

 

[Dr. Jan Itor]

Unless you really want to do research, I'd maybe find some interesting courses through MIT, Coursera, etc. and just read journal articles.

I don't know when you plan to apply to med school, but most schools will expect you to finish your graduate program before you can matriculate. So applying to and finishing a program will add another 2-3 years before you start med school. Even if you do have a spare $50k, that's a bit of lost earning potential.

Regarding the difficulty, that's going to be program dependent. I went to grad school for physical chemistry and it pretty much kicked my ass. My husband's grad program in English was butterflies and rainbows.


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