Grade Inflation/Deflation

[goldfishdoc]

I go to a pretty small top liberal arts college where not a huge amount of kids apply to med schools. How do med schools know if your school is notorious for inflating grades or deflating grades?

Thanks

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[Goro]

I go to a pretty small top liberal arts college where not a huge amount of kids apply to med schools. How do med schools know if your school is notorious for inflating grades or deflating grades?

Thanks

Maybe our wily old Admissions dean does, but we Adcom members sure don't.

We do know the caliber of the graduates of our feed programs though.

 

[efle]

They honestly don't know, most of the time. Enrolling somewhere like Harvey Mudd is adding a giant new hurdle if you decide to be pre-med. People familiar with the school will know a B+ average means you're actually above-median among a group of very capable STEM majors with top percentile SATs, etc... but to a random med school admissions department your 3.3 GPA is still ruinous for your app and your outcomes will be a lot worse than if you'd just enrolled over at Pomona instead.

 

[HomeSkool]

The variability of grading practices between professors, departments, and institutions is a big part of why we look at the MCAT as The Great Equalizer.

 

[LizzyM]

Some adcom members will look at the selectivity of the undergrad institution (was it hard to get into) as a measure of whether you faced stiff competition in the classroom. (e.g. Yale is more selective than University of New Haven) Some letters from faculty or advisors will put your performance in perspective in comparison to other students that year or other students in the past ("in the top 5% of chemistry majors I've taught in the past 20 years" or "among the top 3 of the 15 chemistry majors here at Podunk College this year most of whom will be going on to graduate school".)

Yes, the MCAT is the great equilizer but it is nice to know if a 3.6 GPA is at the bottom or the top of the heap for a specific school and even if at the bottom of the heap if the heap was a high flying one. (e.g. I would not worry about a 3.6 GPA from UChicago which is notorious for tough grading).