High gpa but low MCAT

[alok]

Hey guys,

Does it harm you if you have high gpa (above 3.9) and low mcat score (low 30s)? I have heard that this is the case because with a low mcat score, but high gpa, it seems that you didnt try hard enough on mcat. What would the top med schools (mainly CA, TX) think about this?? I'm really worried that i get a low mcat score i will have less chances of getting in.

Any comment helps!!

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[Old ortho]

If you have a MCAT at least 31 (at least 9 in each section), together with GPA of 3.9, you should be OK.

 

[ahhh123]

Hey guys,

Does it harm you if you have high gpa (above 3.9) and low mcat score (low 30s)? I have heard that this is the case because with a low mcat score, but high gpa, it seems that you didnt try hard enough on mcat. What would the top med schools (mainly CA, TX) think about this?? I'm really worried that i get a low mcat score i will have less chances of getting in.

Any comment helps!!

a low mcat score will def lower your chances of getting in.. but i don't think low 30s is a bad score.. with a 3.9 and above a 30 mcat you should be competitive at a non top 20 school

 

[scgroat]

I'll try to bite my tongue and not lash out at you. Low 30s is NOT a low MCAT score by most standards. Plus, when it's paired with a gpa of 3.9 or higher, it's a very good combo. You will have no trouble getting into most decent schools if everything else is good to go. Now, admittedly, you might be at somewhat of a disadvantage for some of the very elite programs, but absolutely no doors are shut with those stats. What you need to consider is whether you would be happy to go to, say, USC if you did not get into UCSF. Then, if you don't get into your top choices, you at least won't feel like you're settling. Good luck.

 

[bioteach]

A low 30's is not a low MCAT score. Anything in the low 30's is going to be above average at most schools. I was thinking you meant low as in....24... 20... something like that....

 

[MDAdam]

If you keep up your GPA, and you get in the low 30s, there is a good chance that you will get into medical school. Just make sure you don't blow off your personal statement and hopefully you have some research and/or clinical exposure. What specific schools are you thinking about applying to?

 

[alok]

MDAdam,

I was thinking about UC Davis, Baylor, UT- Houston...schools along this line. But, i'm only applying to schools in CA and TX. I'm a dependent on my parents and they are in Texas so I think I'll be considered a texas resident and will have higher chances (in the 90% range for TX residents). I took the mcat in April so i dont know my score yet, but i have a feeling that i didn't do my best.


Thanks everyone for commenting. It really helps!

 

[MDAdam]

MDAdam,

I was thinking about UC Davis, Baylor, UT- Houston...schools along this line. But, i'm only applying to schools in CA and TX. I'm a dependent on my parents and they are in Texas so I think I'll be considered a texas resident and will have higher chances (in the 90% range for TX residents). I took the mcat in April so i dont know my score yet, but i have a feeling that i didn't do my best.


Thanks everyone for commenting. It really helps!

Make sure to apply early! And it is good that you took the MCAT in April so you can apply early. I took the MCAT April 16th and I don't feel too good about it either. But hopefully there will be a nice little surprise here in a few weeks. I will be applying to Baylor as well--maybe I will see you there!

 

[chandelantern]

If you can declare TX residency I predict you'll be a successful applicant with a 3.9 gpa and a decent mcat (at least 9's in each section). However I wouldn't bother applying to UC Davis without CA residency...they only accept 1-2 OOS/year and it wouldn't be worth it. The other CA schools are also very difficult to get into even for state residents so you'll have to decide if it's worth spending your $$ applying to them.

As a side note - I got into several schools w/ a "high gpa/lower mcat" combo. my mcat score came up once at an interview but other than that it was never even mentioned.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Hey guys,

Does it harm you if you have high gpa (above 3.9) and low mcat score (low 30s)? I have heard that this is the case because with a low mcat score, but high gpa, it seems that you didnt try hard enough on mcat. What would the top med schools (mainly CA, TX) think about this?? I'm really worried that i get a low mcat score i will have less chances of getting in.

Any comment helps!!

What's your u-grad? It may reflect on the quality of basic science teaching when compared to a more rigorous school. Otherwise you should retake it.

 

[xucardsfan08]

FYI, the AVERAGE mcat score for matriculants was 30. The average....that means people got in with less, and people got in with more. A low 30s is NOT "low" and can even be considered a good score. With a 3.9 GPA, 32 MCAT, and good EC's you can get into Top 20 programs.

Don't listen to people here, most people on this board consider a [3.8 GPA, 33 MCAT, good ECs] as a "sub-par" applicant and will most likely have to apply broadly just to get in somewhere.

 

[BigRedPremed]

My friend was asked why her MCAT (30) was so low compared with her Cornell GPA (3.9+) at one of her interviews (more than half of Cornell applicants with 3.9+ GPA's have 35+ MCAT scores). Then again, she got interviews at Harvard and Upenn.

 

[xucardsfan08]

I guess in her case, the MCAT would be considered low in comparison to her GPA. In other words, if she was able to obtain a 3.9 GPA at Cornell, one would assume she would be of above-average intelligence, and henceforth achieve an above-average MCAT score.

Relative to other MCAT applicants, her score isn't low, but her relative MCAT score is low. They might wonder if she was just overachieving for her GPA.

 

[Psyche Estrelle]

I am in that exact boat (GPA 3.87, MCAT 31"O"). So far I have mostly waitlists, one acceptance (at a top school/top choice ), and some rejections. Don't lose hope, ok?

What I learned:
1) Don't apply to mostly top/popular schools - I should have balanced my selections better
2) Keep an open mind, you NEVER know what could happen
3) Don't decline interview invites like I did!!! I declined invites at top schools in the East Coast because I didn't want to waste my money and thought I had no chance... then I get into UCSF and was waitlisted at all of my middle-tier schools... the moral of the story is that you never know... imagine if I didn't interview at UCSF or something like that... I'd have been screwed!!
4) Don't assume a ton of interview invites = assured acceptance - you are in no place to be arrogant until you are holding your first acceptance, which for me didn't come until almost half a year after I started interviewing.
5) DO NOT APPLY LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!%@#!@ (My AMCAS was submitted in AUGUST and wasn't verified until early October. At the time I had NO idea this was as bad as it was. AHH!!!)

 

[BigRedPremed]

I guess in her case, the MCAT would be considered low in comparison to her GPA. In other words, if she was able to obtain a 3.9 GPA at Cornell, one would assume she would be of above-average intelligence, and henceforth achieve an above-average MCAT score.

Relative to other MCAT applicants, her score isn't low, but her relative MCAT score is low. They might wonder if she was just overachieving for her GPA.

Right. I think that's the question the OP has as well. Anyone smart enough to get a 3.9 GPA is smart enough to know that a 30 or 31 isn't low compared with the general applicant pool. However, a 30 will call your 3.95 GPA into question when applying to competitive schools.

 

[Quix]

Yep, yer screwed. Anything under 4.0/40 and you're automatically earmarked for podiatry or business school. AMCAS actually has a check-box for screeners to that effect.






Seriously, as others have said, low 30's isn't a low MCAT - a 30 means that you scored better than at least 3/4ths of those who took the test.

EDIT: And for those making the "relative to QPA" argument, that will also depend upon the field of study. 3.9+ is easier in some fields than others.

 

[xucardsfan08]

EDIT: And for those making the "relative to QPA" argument, that will also depend upon the field of study. 3.9+ is easier in some fields than others.

And thus the reason for the MCAT....the great equalizer. Separating the overachievers, underachievers one exam at a time.

 

[jstuds_66]

Low 30's is a low MCAT score?????? If so, I'm screwed with a 29!!!

 

[IUHoosier21]

27R, 3.96 overal, 3.92 BCPM.

I applied to 10 schools. Got secondaries from all except Wake Forest.

6 interviews -- but withdrew 3 of them before I heard anything one way or the other.

2 acceptances. (Penn State and MCW)

1 decision still pending. (Indiana)

Withdrew all applications except MCW and IU.


At each interview I was asked about my low MCAT. Basically I told them that I wasn't in the position to make excuses for myself and was not going to do it. I accepted that I scored lower than what I expected and was disappointed, however, I still wanted to pursue admission this cycle. I feel like the MCAT can be overrated (except for the top 20s where you're dealing with very small differences between matriculants in terms of stats and other achievements), especially on SDN. My advice is to keep working hard in your classes, start your personal statement as early as possible (and like I've said before, write from the heart -- adcoms know when you're BSing them), revise your personal statement, revise again, revise one more time, start on your LOR's early, and get all of the AMCAS stuff done ASAP. My personal feeling is that LOR's might be more important than what some people think. Almost all of my interviewers have said how strong my LOR's where and I really think that was a key to my acceptances. Anyways, back to the topic at hand, don't sell yourself short. The MCAT is not the end-all-be-all that some people insist. Yes, the MCAT is important, but it's only ONE of MANY factors. Besides, patients don't know (or care) what your MCAT score is...maybe we should focus more on the people skills than knowledge of sciences that really have no impact on our careers as physicians (..I'm pretty sure my doctor has never discussed vaccuum filtration, electron orbital theory, or the golgi apparatus with any of his patients...).

 

[Tired Pigeon]

Low 30's is not a "low score". However, the combination of a low-30's score with a stellar GPA will perhaps cause a school to look more closely at your undergrad coursework. They may want to know if this disparity was possibly due to a sub-par undergrad science program or if you padded your GPA with easier coursework. At most schools, though, a low 30's MCAT won't, in and of itself, disqualify your application.