HS Dual Enrollment Inflating GPA

[CliffTheBigRedDog]

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I took roughly 40 credits of dual enrollment credits through a local university while in high school. I did very well, receiving mostly As. None of these credits could be transferred to my current college. Due to this, my cGPA, calculated using UG + DE credits, is considerably higher than my cGPA calculated using only my UG credits. I am aware that all college credits, whether taken during UG or HS, need to be submitted come application time, but am unaware as to how DE credits are viewed by adcoms.

1. How seriously are these DE credits taken by adcoms, when compared to credits earned during UG?

2. Will DE credits affect my sGPA?

3. When applying, should I stick to using solely my UG GPA when looking at potential medical schools? Or should I use my DE + UG GPA?


Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!

 

[LizzyM]

Using only your undergrad GPA will underestimate your competitiveness at schools that will just look at your total GPA without regard to when the grades were earned. It might be best to be more conservative when applying but it might also cause you to unfairly put aside schools where you would have a solid chance. You could consider using your undergrad GPA and then being generous in adding "reach" schools that would not be reaches based on your total GPA.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I tell advisees, the primary application acts as a huge calculator/spreadsheet. Many admissions committees know that the cumulative GPA doesn't tell the whole story. That's why we want the breakdown of GPA by year and by subject (science/BCPM/AO). Ask schools on your list what they value.

 

[chilly_md]

It would be helpful to see what the actual numbers come out to as well.

 

[purpledoc1]

I took roughly 40 credits of dual enrollment credits through a local university while in high school. I did very well, receiving mostly As. None of these credits could be transferred to my current college. Due to this, my cGPA, calculated using UG + DE credits, is considerably higher than my cGPA calculated using only my UG credits. I am aware that all college credits, whether taken during UG or HS, need to be submitted come application time, but am unaware as to how DE credits are viewed by adcoms.

1. How seriously are these DE credits taken by adcoms, when compared to credits earned during UG?

2. Will DE credits affect my sGPA?

3. When applying, should I stick to using solely my UG GPA when looking at potential medical schools? Or should I use my DE + UG GPA?


Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!

1. It doesn't really matter if it was dual enrollment vs. your first college experience. College classes are college classes.
2. Yes--do yourself a favor and calculate it, in order to plan ahead!
3. Don't make it too complicated.

I made a GPA spreadsheet that was like this:

Class| Credits| Grade (convert on a 0-4.0 scale)| Out of (4.0)

This is an easy way to calculate your GPA yourself in an hour or so, without having to have AMCAS drop the ball on you. Make sure to have all of your college transcripts ready.

In summary, yes medical schools will consider all college classes that you've taken. Dual enrollment would not necessarily be viewed as "high school" classes--that's why med schools don't ask for high school transcripts. Do your best, get the best grades that you can, and plan based on that. Let me know if the formula that I posted doesn't make sense to you or if you want further help.

Best of luck <3