high gpa/ low mcat vs low gpa/ high mcat

[premed2013]

Which is a better situation? Right now I have a 3.5 GPA with a 3.4 sGPA.

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[Mithril]

The MCAT can always be re-written. GPAs are more resistant to change.

 

[hownowmauvecow]

The MCAT can always be re-written. GPAs are more resistant to change.

Agreed. And if you have a higher GPA there is going to be less pressure to do well on the MCAT. Well at least compared to having a low GPA and feeling like you need to 'prove' yourself with your MCAT score.

 

[Tapepsi]

Speaking from personal experience, it's definitely better to have the high GPA/ low MCAT combo.

You can explain one five hour test, but it's more difficult to explain 4 undergrad years.

 

[Person0715]

High GPA is the more favorable situation as long as your MCAT is decent (30+).

According to this table having a GPA of 3.20-3.39 and an MCAT of 39-45 yields, on average, a 62.4% chance of being accepted anywhere. However, only 98 people had such stats from the years 2008-2010. On the other hand, a GPA of 3.60-3.79 and an MCAT of 30-32 yields a 72.1 percent chance of acceptance.

Remember that these numbers cannot be viewed in a vacuum and chances are if your GPA is on the low side, your MCAT will likely be on the low side, unless you spend an insane amount of time studying for it and get very lucky.

 

[gerrymcgraw]

I love how some people actually get accepted to med school with a GPA under 3.0. Maybe I should have just done the MCAT instead of starting a new degree.

 

[bambam02]

#1--GPA
#2---MCAT
#3 - LOR and Extra Curriculars
#4- Personal Statement

 

[Swiss Medical]

A professor told me at College Station during a summer program that when gpas and mcat scores are not "equal", there is a tendency for admission committee to put more weight on the mcat score. I guess there is some forumla that they use because I do not know what would deem a gpa and mcat to be equal.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

high mcat for sure, especially if the gpa is not abysmally low. there is statistical evidence for this if you look at the percentile values of each.

ps. ohlookitsthisthreadagain.jpg

 

[FuturePharm21]

so high MCAT makes up for everything??? Kind of not fair because this favors strong standardized test takers vs people that do well in classes and work hard to achieve excellent grades, yes tests are important but the MCAT doesn't really predict how good doctor you will become....verbal is important but BS is the most similar to medicine in actuality

 

[circulus vitios]

Four years of classes vs one test.

 

[bluetwosky]

I think someone mentioned this on a "what is the most important aspect of your application" but between your MCAT and GPA, the more important one is whichever is weaker.

EDIT: meaning that if you have high GPA/low MCAT - your MCAT will be "more important" and if you have low GPA/high MCAT - your GPA will be "more important"

whatever is "low" ends up sticking out...

 

[LizzyM]

High MCAT (>35) and low but decent gpa (between 3.30 and 3.59): this is a very good standardized test taker with poor skills when it comes to day-to-day work OR this is a good student in a hard major at a school without grade inflation. One needs to look deeper.

Low MCAT (26-29) and good gpa (3.6-4.0): this is a poor standardized test taker or someone who had a bad day. Depending on the split, it might be someone who learned English at an older age (verbal <8, other sections >9). It could also be someone who attended a school with substantial grade inflation and/or who did not take challenging courses.

As the gpa goes below 3.2 and even worse when it is below 2.7, but the MCAT is excellent there is a real worry that the applicant is brilliant but doesn't make an effort day-to-day.

When the MCAT is < 26 but the gpa is very good, there is a concern that the applicant is not good enough at standard test taking to pass the boards. MCAT < 26 indicates a higher risk of not graduating in 4 years and the lower the MCAT the greater the risk.

 

[flatearth22]

I've heard from a UC adcom that MCAT is more important than GPA (assuming your GPA isn't terrible) because it is an "equalizer" as it is taken by all applicants and can be compared across the board - ie comparing apples to apples. A 30 MCAT with 10's accross the board is equal to another 30 MCAT with 10's accross the board...no questions asked.

GPA on the other hand is extremely variable between universities, majors, classes taken in the same major, and even different profs of the same class at the same university - ie comparing apples to oranges. A 3.5 GPA from StateU majoring in sociology is not equal to a 3.5 GPA from Princeton majoring in mathematics.

Also a key thing with GPA is the upward trend. A 3.5 GPA from the same school and same major aren't always the same if Student A started off with a 4.0 in their first year and their GPA lowered to 3.5 compared to Student B who started off with a 3.0 and raised their GPA to 3.5.

 

[muhali3]

A professor told me at College Station during a summer program that when gpas and mcat scores are not "equal", there is a tendency for admission committee to put more weight on the mcat score. I guess there is some forumla that they use because I do not know what would deem a gpa and mcat to be equal.

MCAT = (GPA x 10) - 5

That's my guess.

 

[CrushMCAT]

My opinion: I tend to agree with the MCAT over GPA. GPAs fluctuate not only among varying universities, but even within the same school. We all know some professors grade more leniently than others even within the same school. Being that the MCAT is standardized, it provides a "fair" way to measure applicants with various academic backgrounds.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

a cynic may also note that the mcat is worth double of gpa in the usnews methodology..

http://www.usnews.com/education/bes...cal-school-rankings-methodology-2012?PageNr=2

Mean MCAT Score (.13 in the research medical school model, .0975 in the primary-care medical school model) The mean composite Medical College Admission Test score of the 2010 entering class.
Mean Undergraduate GPA (.06 in the research medical school model, .045 in the primary-care medical school model) The mean undergraduate grade-point average of the 2010 entering class.

 

[premed67783]

I'd say that MCAT is a better way to differentiate between applicants, unless your GPA dips lower than ~3.4. At that point, it doesn't matter how high your MCATs are, because you're already shown 4 years of sub-par performance. As long as you're above 3.4 though, your MCATs are going to carry a lot of weight.

 

[carlogu]

also keep in mind that choosing an easier major (spanish for spanish speaker) extra credit,sucking up to the teachers, whining and moaning, and cheating are going to allow you to change manipulate your GPA(things which I HATED when I saw them take place)........not so much for the MCAT.....you cant really manipulate that number.....

 

[Whatyousay]

To append on to this discussion, at what point do MCAT scores start providing diminishing returns? I think the difference between a 30 and a 35 is a lot more substantial than the difference between a 35 and a 40 (obviously, a 40 is still much better than a 35). After a certain point, the test becomes less about how competent someone is at taking tests, and more about how the applicant felt on test day, the nature of the questions on the test, etc.

People on SDN throw out numbers like 32+/ 34+/ 35+/ 36+/ 38+, but it all seems arbitrary.

 

[235788]

Which is a better situation? Right now I have a 3.5 GPA with a 3.4 sGPA.

get er up. Some schools screen at 3.5

 

[premed67783]

To append on to this discussion, at what point do MCAT scores start providing diminishing returns? I think the difference between a 30 and a 35 is a lot more substantial than the difference between a 35 and a 40 (obviously, a 40 is still much better than a 35). After a certain point, the test becomes less about how competent someone is at taking tests, and more about how the applicant felt on test day, the nature of the questions on the test, etc.

People on SDN throw out numbers like 32+/ 34+/ 35+/ 36+/ 38+, but it all seems arbitrary.

to give you a more quantitative answer: 38 is about 99th percentile, so from 38-45, the differences in your score compared to everyone else is less than 1%. I'd say that anything 38+ is so close together that it's not worth distinguishing.

 

[studentdoctor08]

Speaking from personal experience, it's definitely better to have the high GPA/ low MCAT combo.

You can explain one five hour test, but it's more difficult to explain 4 undergrad years.

While obviously the best case scenario is to have a high GPA and high MCAT, if you had to have a slightly lower score in one of the areas I've heard that it "looks better" to have a slightly lower GPA but higher MCAT because this shows that you can do well on the standarized tests, while if you have the other way around (high GPA but low MCAT) ad coms may associate that with grade inflation at your school