I will be starting my Junior year this week. I currently have a (very horrible) 2.6 GPA, with 67 credits taken so far (I had one very horrible semester due to a family issue and that cause my very average GPA to tumble down to a horrible level; I did retake some of these classes but they haven't been replaced yet, so my GPA will be close to a 3.0 once that happens, but for the sake of this question I'm not thinking about that boost as of right now). I still have this upcoming year and next year worth of classes (about 40 credits left to take towards my major). Assuming I do good from this point on how much can my GPA possibly rise by the time I graduate? I'm just trying to find a little motivation before the semester starts, because I feel pretty bad at this point and I don't want my motivation to go down before the semester even starts. I know I'm probably jumping to far ahead and I should just focus on now, but I just want to know how far I can raise a 2.6 GPA in 2 years. Also, any tips on anything extra I could do? Aside from doing really well in my remaining courses towards my major, should I take a few easy/enjoyable non-science courses that I could guarantee an A in just for a little extra, or would those extra credits work against me in the calculation of my GPA? I'm not even asking this question thinking about med school admission, as I'm sure that dream will remain just that, but just in terms of my GPA at the end of my undergraduate studies. Please help with any advice possible!
How high can I possibly raise my GPA before graduation?
- Thread starter Emdenopt
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They might be replaced as far as your school goes, but when you apply to med schools the old grades will still be included and averaged in. All grades will count.
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Your AMCAS gpa will not include grade replacements - they do not count in their eyes.
I assume that you will likely close to double your credits in two years. Lets pretend you have 60 credits left. If you get 4.0 on all 60 credits, and you had 2.6 on 60, then you will be right around 3.3. It is likely not possible to get all 4.o, so a 3.1-3.2 would be pretty darn good no doubt.
I assume that you will likely close to double your credits in two years. Lets pretend you have 60 credits left. If you get 4.0 on all 60 credits, and you had 2.6 on 60, then you will be right around 3.3. It is likely not possible to get all 4.o, so a 3.1-3.2 would be pretty darn good no doubt.
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When you apply through AMCAS for med school, you will have to enter every single course you took and the grade you got in each course. AMCAS then calculates its own GPA that is presented to PDs. If you retake a course and your institution "wipes" away the old grade for the new grade to calculate your GPA, it won't matter when it comes to AMCAS; med school admissions departments will see both grades and it will lower your GPA.
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I really cringe when I see these kinds of posts. You have basically just crowd-sourced a junior high math problem, in the context of asking about a career as a physician. Spend 45 minutes with Excel, you will be averaging numbers in no time. Hate to unload, but even a college student should be able to figure this.
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I took this post as referring to more than a math problem. Taking more non-science classes to raise a GPA rather than more pertinent science classes (with the risk of not hitting an otherwise achievable GPA goal) is a quandary. On one hand, Adcoms will certainly not want to see a bunch of fluff on a transcript, but on the other hand, your application may not even get read if it's below some sort of GPA cutoff.
