Is +0.1GPA a big improvement?

[LXS17]

Topic.
Myself and a friend of mine are reapps. His GPA last year was a 3.5, this year he's applying with a 3.6. He got a 28 on the MCAT last year. His new score is coming out in a few days...
I had a 3.6, now it's around a 3.69. I got mid 30s on my MCAT

Is there really a big difference in 0.1 GPA? I feel like it is super hard to bring it up by that much when you have completed like 120 credits...

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[Phosphorus Ylide]

Do u think it was the GPA last year or did you have a different MCAT, less ECs?

 

[muhali3]

If you didn't get in with a 3.6 and mid-30 MCAT, then it was probably something else that was wrong with your app, like ECs, PS, LORs, etc.

 

[LXS17]

If you didn't get in with a 3.6 and mid-30 MCAT, then it was probably something else that was wrong with your app, like ECs, PS, LORs, etc.

I think it's because of my 2.9 semester, which includes a C+ in orgo. I also made the mistake of applying late and finishing like 10 secondaries. I have fixed these problems, so hopefully it works out this time around...

but really though, is there a huge diff. between like a 3.5 and a 3.6?

 

[ILikeDrugs]

GPA in general is hard to bring up. The number of credits involved really doesn't matter. Even if your just dealing with 10 classes, getting a C is the equivalent to throwing a friggin wrench into a machines engine. My current sGPA is at a 3.59. This includes about 6 classes, 4 As, 1 B, 1 C (the C is from 4 years ago, all others are from the past year). I will have to get 6 As in the next 4-5 units classes just to being it to a 3.7. Without that C I would be at a 3.9. I think they won't look look down on your GPA as long as they see consistent improvement with As. A 3.69 is really no different from a 3.7. It looks different because of the different number but I can see why you'd be worried. I am in your same position. Appearance is everything sometimes, unfortunately. Good luck.

 

[JonBonesJones]

In addressing the original question, a +.1 difference in GPA matters relative to where your overall GPA stands. For example, 3.2 --> 3.3 matters a lot, as does 3.3 --> 3.4, and other lower/middle GPAs.

Evidence for this comes from the MSAR book, specifically the graph depicting Y-axis=acceptance %, X-axis=GPA. The slope of the line is steepest in the middle GPA ranges, indicating a higher marginal benefit. This makes sense qualitatively, if we assume that GPAs are simply an objective way to measure academic ability, and thus floating thresholds are set (which may vary per institution).

However, improvements on the low end or high end, such as 2.8 --> 2.9, or 3.8 --> 3.9, probably won't affect you too greatly.

For your particular situation (3.6 --> 3.7), maybe that will newly qualify you for some top schools with high GPA standards, but I would guess that in general schools that wouldn't accept you before will not come banging down your door with acceptances.

 

[JonBonesJones]

One more thing to vent while I'm on here: It is ridiculous how hard it is to raise the GPA after a couple poor courses. I don't know if people read the non-trad forums ever, but there are tons of people in there who achieved ~3.0 under-grad, and then years later do post-bac programs at difficult universities and earn 4.0's. Yet, to med schools, their GPA will still only reach ~3.2. I'm not trying to discount people who get 4.0's through-out undergrad, but it seems really strange to me that med schools judge people by who they were +7 years ago. It's like, I peed my bed lots of times when I was a kid; obviously not a desirable quality for a physician. But should this be held against me? I don't know.

Disclosure: I'm not a non-trad with a poor GPA, so this isn't coming from personal anguish.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

One more thing to vent while I'm on here: It is ridiculous how hard it is to raise the GPA after a couple poor courses. I don't know if people read the non-trad forums ever, but there are tons of people in there who achieved ~3.0 under-grad, and then years later do post-bac programs at difficult universities and earn 4.0's. Yet, to med schools, their GPA will still only reach ~3.2. I'm not trying to discount people who get 4.0's through-out undergrad, but it seems really strange to me that med schools judge people by who they were +7 years ago. It's like, I peed my bed lots of times when I was a kid; obviously not a desirable quality for a physician. But should this be held against me? I don't know.

Disclosure: I'm not a non-trad with a poor GPA, so this isn't coming from personal anguish.

That is basically me. I transfered from community college with a 2.5, university GPA was a 3.7, graduated with an overall 3.07. Even after pre-med reqs plus additional bio coures, I don't expect my c.GPA to exceed 3.3. I think it's ridiculous that having 5 As and then 1 C will drop the GPA from 4.0 to 3.67, a .33 drop. Yet, if you get another A the 3.67 is raised to just 3.71, a .04 raise. I hate GPA. 😡