How many interviews you get with <3.6GPA

[Chalupa Batman]

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I know a ton of people on SDN are ridiculously smart but I wanted to make a thread for us normal kind to give us hope before we (re)apply.

I have a few questions for those who had GPAs lower than a 3.65:

1. Your GPA

2. Your MCAT score

3. How many schools you applied to

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received

5. And any tips for the rest of us


Thank you future doctors 😍

 

[jr93]

1.) 3.22 (Mechanical Engineering)
2.) 31P
3.) 7 Secondaries
4.) 5 interviews / 2 full acceptances, 1 waitlist
5.) Apply to schools that care more about character than scores. In the end, the first 2 years is heavy self study anyway and in many large cities 3rd and 4th years share the same teaching hospital with a number of different universities of different "prestige" levels so just try to make it into a school. Once you're in, the rest is on you no matter where you go and almost every school does their best to prevent you from failing. Ignore the people that talk about top-tier/low-tier schools.

 

[aspiring20]

ideally, you want a 3.6+ in BOTH GPAs, and a 31+ on the MCAT. if you are relatively lower on one area, then a higher performance in the other can compensate. this is assuming that your ECs are in order and you have no serious red flags

i have many friends with 3.3 sGPAs that have gotten into great (even a top 10) schools because of strong ECs and high MCAT scores ranging from 33 to 37.

good luck

 

[brazenredhead]

Non-trad. with residency in a southern state. MPH research with add'l ~2 years clinical/volunteering/shadowing experience. Primary care oriented.

GPA:
3.86 ug
3.45 science + post-bacc.
3.93 MPH (epidemiology)

MCAT: 28Q

Apps/secondaries: 12 (10 MD, 2 DO)
Interviews: 4 (all MD, 3 state, 1 private)
Rejected: 1
Accepted: 1
Waitlisted: 2 (1 state, 1 private)


Advice: Apply early. Apply broadly. If you're really desperate, figure out how to get residency in a state that has a strong propensity for taking in-state with average stats. I did. If you're from California, I'd say move elsewhere for a year or two, build your app, and apply from there.

 

[syoung]

1. 3.53
2. 30-33 range
3. 15 schools
4. 5 interviews, 2 acceptances.
5. Have a good amount of extra curriculars that help set you apart. Remember schools are looking to diversify their class, so find something you really like or are good at and make it even better. Get passionate about things. Apply early and to a variety of schools that are within your range.

 

[darkjedi]

I had a 3.63 and had decent luck in the admissions cycle, feel free to peruse my mdapps for more details if you want. I had a good MCAT, which is what boosted my application significantly at the end.

If you have a decent GPA, the MCAT will start holding significantly more weight in the application process.

 

[KTDseven77]

1. 3.54 (3.3 sGPA)

2. 32R

3. 18 schools applied to

4. 5 interviews, 4 attended. 2 acceptances, 2 WL

5. Have at least a couple things to list in all the major categories (research, ECs, volunteering, medical experience/shadowing) so you can pass the pre-screen and grab an interview. Pick 1-2 of these activities to get involved with more deeply and demonstrate a theme to your application (e.g, intramural soccer captain for 3 years, volunteer coach for local elementary school's soccer team for 3 years)--this shows commitment to a cause and makes the admissions committee feel like they know you beyond the generic applicant. Then, be personable and show that you're a good team player during the interview. FWIW, I'm on the adcom at my school now, and wish I had known how important the interview was then--for better or for worse, if your interviewer(s) enjoy talking with you, they'll advocate for you and the committee's votes are strongly guided by the interviewers' opinions. Good luck, all 🙂

 

[mimelim]

GPA: 3.4
MCAT: 41
Applied to 12 schools
Offered 11 interviews
Interviewed at 7
Accepted to 6

Step 1: 240s
Step 2: 250s
Honored 1 pre-clinical class
Honored all clinical clerkships
Matched #1 choice in Vascular Surgery

Tips:
1) Smile.
2) Be productive.

If you do #1 and #2 you will get into medical school and match well.

 

[darkjedi]

Honored 1 pre-clinical class

This gives me hope haha

 

[Irish Football]

I know a ton of people on SDN are ridiculously smart but I wanted to make a thread for us normal kind to give us hope before we (re)apply.

I have a few questions for those who had GPAs lower than a 3.65:

1. Your GPA

2. Your MCAT score

3. How many schools you applied to

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received

5. And any tips for the rest of us


Thank you future doctors 😍

1. 3.5, 3.4
2. 29, 35
3. 14 (but withdrew from 3 of those pre-interview invite)
4. 2 interviews, 1 acceptance, 1 waitlist
5. Figure out what works for you in regards to studying well and stick to that. Make friends with people in your class who seem to be doing well in the class and study with them.

 

[skais595]

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=26534

Be prepared to address your grades and, importantly, talk about how you know you can do better in the future. Be sociable.

 

[pachewisc]

1. 3.6/3.76 on AMCAS

2. 35 MCAT

3. 14 applied

4. 6 interview offers (mostly middle-tier) > 5 attended > 2 acceptances and 3 WLs

5. My app was greatly helped out by lots of non-medical volunteering, research, some leadership, and amazing LORs. I also graduated early.

ADVICE: Apply early, avoid too many reach schools, keep those schools updated (!), and really convince the AdComs that you bring more to the table than the basic, rawly intelligent applicants.

 

[ClemsonFirst]

1. 3.6

2. 32 MCAT

3. 1 applied early decision

4. 1 acceptance

Advice: I had a lower GPA but solid MCAT (but not great) with ECs that I loved and that I had prolonged experience with. If you have a lower GPA, do well on your MCAT and have great ECs (leadership, shadowing, volunteer, things you love and make a difference). Apply early. I did early decision because I was sure of where I wanted to go and knew they often times are more lenient with early decision.

 

[dweji16]

1. Your GPA
~3.1 cGPA
~2.9 sGPA

2. Your MCAT score
32

3. How many schools you applied to
~30

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
3 interviews (attended 2); 1 acceptance, 1 wait list (ORM)

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Perseverance.... Patience.... And hope.

 

[Acoustica]

1. Your GPA
3.5

2. Your MCAT score
34

3. How many schools you applied to
30

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
8 invites, attended 6, accepted at 4, waitlisted at 2

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Apply early. Get on top of your apps.

 

[jr93]

Looks like the common thing is a 30+ MCAT to compensate for the "low" GPA. I think 1 person at 1 school mentioned my GPA to me and the discussion lasted maybe 2 minutes.

 

[tantacles]

I had a 3.54 and a 30Q (10 10 10)

Applied to 30

Interviews at 7

Accepted at 2.

 

[Chalupa Batman]

Thanks this really gives me hope!

 

[polynopaedia]

1. Your GPA
3.97

2. Your MCAT score
40

3. How many schools you applied to
24

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
10 invites, attended 8, accepted at 4, waitlisted at 4

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Apply early. Get on top of your apps. Be self aware as you write secondaries.

 

[xffan624]

1. Your GPA
3.97

2. Your MCAT score
40

3. How many schools you applied to
24

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
10 invites, attended 8, accepted at 4, waitlisted at 4

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Apply early. Get on top of your apps. Be self aware as you write secondaries.

For someone with such a high GPA, you have trouble with reading comprehension. This thread's for the dummies (of which I am a proud member) who have a GPA below 3.65.

But I'm sure you're happy for any excuse to strut your scores around

 

[Contemplating]

For someone with such a high GPA, you have trouble with reading comprehension. This thread's for the dummies (of which I am a proud member) who have a GPA below 3.65.

But I'm sure you're happy for any excuse to strut your scores around

+1

1. Your GPA: 3.5

2. Your MCAT score: 32

3. How many schools you applied to: 15

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received: 4 interviews, attended 2, accepted 2

5. And any tips for the rest of us: be passionate and genuine about your extracurricular activities, be humble to your peers and everyone you meet, absolutely stay strong!

 

[darkjedi]

For someone with such a high GPA, you have trouble with reading comprehension. This thread's for the dummies (of which I am a proud member) who have a GPA below 3.65.

But I'm sure you're happy for any excuse to strut your scores around

high five you

 

[virtuoso735]

I know a ton of people on SDN are ridiculously smart but I wanted to make a thread for us normal kind to give us hope before we (re)apply.

I have a few questions for those who had GPAs lower than a 3.65:

1. Your GPA

2. Your MCAT score

3. How many schools you applied to

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received

5. And any tips for the rest of us


Thank you future doctors 😍

1. 3.45 cGPA, 3.33 sGPA
2. 31S
3. 18
4. 5 interviews, attended 4. 2 acceptances, 2 waitlists.
5. Apply early, write good essays, know your strengths.

 

[WildEMDoc]

GPA:

cGPA 3.45, sGPA 3.4

MCAT

29O (10/9/10)

Schools applied to:

15 DO, 5 MD

Interviews/Acceptances/Waitlists

10 DO II's, 5 Attended, 4 Acceptances, 1 Waitlist

2 MD II's, 2 Attended, 2 Waitlists

Tips
Apply early! Have a strong PS, with a good story. Strong answers to "Why Medicine?" in the interview

 

[scrubulous]

cGPA: 3.52
sGPA: 3.41

MCAT: 32O

21 secondaries completed

10 interviews, went to 5, 4 acceptances, 1 wait-list

I'll also second the "apply early" sentiment --it's basically the only thing in the whole crazy process that you have control over and will get you looks that you wouldn't otherwise get with sub-par grades.

 

[jamiechan]

cGPA: 3.52
sGPA: 3.41

MCAT: 32O

21 secondaries completed

10 interviews, went to 5, 4 acceptances, 1 wait-list

I'll also second the "apply early" sentiment --it's basically the only thing in the whole crazy process that you have control over and will get you looks that you wouldn't otherwise get with sub-par grades.

Congrats on the acceptances! 🙂 Were they all MD?

 

[CognitiveSci]

Gahh, this thread gives me soooo much hope! Thanks guys!

 

[bretonnia]

1.) 3.22 (Mechanical Engineering)
2.) 31P
3.) 7 Secondaries
4.) 5 interviews / 2 full acceptances, 1 waitlist
5.) Apply to schools that care more about character than scores. In the end, the first 2 years is heavy self study anyway and in many large cities 3rd and 4th years share the same teaching hospital with a number of different universities of different "prestige" levels so just try to make it into a school. Once you're in, the rest is on you no matter where you go and almost every school does their best to prevent you from failing. Ignore the people that talk about top-tier/low-tier schools.

Which schools care more about character than scores? Which schools did you apply to?

Thanks

 

[einstein1990]

3.62 cGPA/3.58 BCPM
32 (11/11/10) MCAT
Applied to 16 schools
7 interviews, 2 acceptances, 5 waitlists
Reapplicant

Apply early! Have a kickass PS and essays. Have stellar LOR from people who genuinely know you and believe in you - this makes a difference. I had a lot of volunteering and community experiences, as well as research and leadership/mentoring roles. You can look at my MDApps for more details.

 

[scrubulous]

Congrats on the acceptances! 🙂 Were they all MD?

Thanks! Yes, all MD.

 

[dwills]

1. Your GPA: ~3.4

2. Your MCAT score:33

3. How many schools you applied to: 29

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received 20 invites, 15 attended, 9 accepted, i rejected, 5 waitlist

5. And any tips for the rest of us: apply early, spend time on your amcas/secondaries, be enthusiastic at your interview,

 

[DolFAN]

GPA : 3.4~
MCAT : 30

DO Interviews: 3 DO Accept: 3
MD Interview : 3 MD Alternate list : 3

 

[anguisette]

GPA: 3.5/3.5
MCAT: 36Q
Applied: 30+ schools (withdrew pre-interview from 10+ by dec)
Interviews: 11 offered/10 attended/8 acceptances

Tips: Make a smart school list. Quality > Quantity. Smile a lot, and be yourself at your interview. Oh, and save money to apply.

 

[earf]

1. Your GPA
3.51

2. Your MCAT score
36Q

3. How many schools you applied to
42

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
16 interviews offered
10 interviews attended
3 acceptances
5 waitlists

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Always show your best case in everything that you do in the application: write a kickass PS, write an awesome (and true) description of all your extracurriculars (specific results, why you did it, what you learned, and how it'll help you become a doctor), keep schools updated often (I got 5 more interviews after I sent my first update letter in October), and practice interviewing. Use ALL your resources to help you in this process, including books from barnes&nobles, SDN articles, google, etc.

Oh and apply early. Preferably before the end of August, but as early as possible without your application looking like a first draft.

Someone mentioned about explaining your grades above. I never once got asked about my grades.

 

[Chalupa Batman]

GPA: 3.5/3.5
MCAT: 36Q
Applied: 30+ schools (withdrew pre-interview from 10+ by dec)
Interviews: 11 offered/10 attended/8 acceptances

Tips: Make a smart school list. Quality > Quantity. Smile a lot, and be yourself at your interview. Oh, and save money to apply.

1. Your GPA
3.51

2. Your MCAT score
36Q

3. How many schools you applied to
42

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
16 interviews offered
10 interviews attended
3 acceptances
5 waitlists

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Always show your best case in everything that you do in the application: write a kickass PS, write an awesome (and true) description of all your extracurriculars (specific results, why you did it, what you learned, and how it'll help you become a doctor), keep schools updated often (I got 5 more interviews after I sent my first update letter in October), and practice interviewing. Use ALL your resources to help you in this process, including books from barnes&nobles, SDN articles, google, etc.

Oh and apply early. Preferably before the end of August, but as early as possible without your application looking like a first draft.

Someone mentioned about explaining your grades above. I never once got asked about my grades.

1. Your GPA: ~3.4

2. Your MCAT score:33

3. How many schools you applied to: 29

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received 20 invites, 15 attended, 9 accepted, i rejected, 5 waitlist

5. And any tips for the rest of us: apply early, spend time on your amcas/secondaries, be enthusiastic at your interview,

Holy crap so many interviews!!
Which schools look for character rather than just gap.mcat scores?


thanks for all the posts and congrats to everyone who received acceptances!👍

 

[calimdluv]

1. 3.51/3.43

2. 31Q

3. 35 MD schools

4. 6 interviews, 3 acceptances, 2 waitlist

5. Apply early, spend time on the applications (amcas, ps, secondary, etc.), research and apply to appropriate schools

 

[Helixkam]

Wow awesomeness this gives me hope =]

 

[IncognitoGuy]

For someone with such a high GPA, you have trouble with reading comprehension. This thread's for the dummies (of which I am a proud member) who have a GPA below 3.65.

But I'm sure you're happy for any excuse to strut your scores around

OP, check out my MDApps. I had a 3.5 sGPA (but I did have a 3.7 cGPA).

 

[alamofire]

1. Your GPA
3.52 overall, 3.59 science, white guy

2. Your MCAT score
34N

3. How many schools you applied to
17

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
Interviewed at Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia and Tulane

Accepted into Dartmouth and Tulane

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Interviews are everything for people with low stats so make sure you do a few practice ones. I think I was wait listed at Columbia and Brown because I didn't practice. Can't complain however because Dartmouth is my top choice in that group.

 

[Chalupa Batman]

thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[Pacna]

1. Your GPA: 3.9 at college, but my senior year of high school counts in AMCAS, so 3.6

2. Your MCAT score: 36

3. How many schools you applied to: 9

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received: 1, 0.

5. And any tips for the rest of us: Never retreat, never surrender.

 

[VictorAlpha]

1.) 3.22 (Mechanical Engineering)
2.) 31P
3.) 7 Secondaries
4.) 5 interviews / 2 full acceptances, 1 waitlist
5.) Apply to schools that care more about character than scores. In the end, the first 2 years is heavy self study anyway and in many large cities 3rd and 4th years share the same teaching hospital with a number of different universities of different "prestige" levels so just try to make it into a school. Once you're in, the rest is on you no matter where you go and almost every school does their best to prevent you from failing. Ignore the people that talk about top-tier/low-tier schools.

1. Your GPA
~3.1 cGPA
~2.9 sGPA

2. Your MCAT score
32

3. How many schools you applied to
~30

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received
3 interviews (attended 2); 1 acceptance, 1 wait list (ORM)

5. And any tips for the rest of us
Perseverance.... Patience.... And hope.

these guys are my new heroes. Congrats to both! 👍👍🙂

 

[274631]

This thread is giving me some hope! I hope I can be posting in a thread like this next year.

 

[NeuroSpeare]

1. Your GPA: 3.9 at college, but my senior year of high school counts in AMCAS, so 3.6

2. Your MCAT score: 36

3. How many schools you applied to: 9

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received: 1, 0.

5. And any tips for the rest of us: Never retreat, never surrender.

Amen to #5

1. cGPA: 3.5; sGPA: 3.1
2. MCAT: 37
3. ~23
4. 2 interviews, 2 wait lists
5. Tips: Apply early, broadly, etc.

 

[collegegolferMD]

GPA: 3.55 cGPA, 3.55 sGPA

MCAT: 34R (10V, 11BS, 13PS)

Schools Applied To: 18 MD

Interviews: 6 MD (Accepted at 3, Waitlisted at 3)

Advice: Apply early, Apply broadly and apply to schools that fit your goals and what you want out of a medical school education rather than purely based on numbers

 

[gtace]

GPA: 3.38 cGPA, 3.25 sGPA
MCAT: 33
Schools: >30
Interviews: 12 MD invites, attended 7, accepted to 3, waitlisted at 3
Advice: I would reiterate apply early and broadly... if you're not the strongest applicant, I think it's worth it to spend a bit more and have a longer list. The secondaries end up repeating themselves eventually so it's not that much more work, and it would suck to have to apply again.

 

[JoeM]

1. 3.47 cgpa, 3.14 sgpa
2. 31
3. about 35 schools
4. 3 interviews, 2 waitlists, 1 rejection
5. early and broadly, don't be afraid to go post bac, and do your research

 

[EMshockaa]

1. 3.55c, 3.43s

2. 27P

3. 14 applications

4. 9 interviews (6 wait lists, 2 acceptances)

5. Give it a shot...

 

[Status Sciaticus]

1. 3.55c, 3.43s

2. 27P

3. 14 applications

4. 9 interviews (6 wait lists, 2 acceptances)

5. Give it a shot...

wow... where did you interview?

 

[aspiringdoc1234]

I know a ton of people on SDN are ridiculously smart but I wanted to make a thread for us normal kind to give us hope before we (re)apply.

I have a few questions for those who had GPAs lower than a 3.65:

1. Your GPA

2. Your MCAT score

3. How many schools you applied to

4. How many interviews and acceptances you received

5. And any tips for the rest of us


Thank you future doctors 😍

1. 3.46 Cum, 3.39 Sci

2. 30R (11/11/8)

3. 25 initially, but only submitted 15 secondaries after getting a lot more interviews than I expected.

4. 12 interviews received, went to 7 of these, and straight out accepted at 2. Was rejected at 1 and wait-listed at the other 4. Who knows if I would've eventually been accepted at these places since I withdrew after only a couple months due to my early acceptances.

5. You may be tempted to see my low numbers and think "oh wow, URMs have a huge advantage." Although I think I would've had a harder time if I was Caucasian/Asian, this doesn't even tell a tenth of my STORY. And that's my advice for every single applicant: Make sure there's a theme/story to your application. No human being is the same, so then to present yourself as the "typical" applicant is doing a disservice to yourself and the life YOU have lived thus far. I don't care how "insignificant" you may feel some events in your life may have been, the truth is that these events together make you who you are today. To give examples, throughout my life I have moved at least 10 times (from Latin America to the US and throughout various cities), I was an undocumented immigrant for 10 years, I am a native Spanish speaker, and I specifically worked with the undocumented, uninsured community in my area for 3 years. Now dig deep inside and find the common thread through your life. If you can capture this, and put it into words, I guarantee you will have success. On an unrelated note, my GPA was low because my 1st year I had a 2.9 cum GPA, which was followed all 3 years after with 3.6+ GPAs. Again, focus on the whole story.