Is my sGPA too low

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Martin van Nostrand

My contention? Well yes, that's my contention.
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sGPA: 3.6 (may drop to 3.55 by application)
cGPA: 3.76

Being a psych major, none of my major prereqs count as sciences hence the low sGPA (my psych GPA is a 4.0). Is a 3.55/3.6 too low to be considered competitive at most mid range MDs or even low range MDs? Also on a side note I took a 3 credit Health class, would this be included in my science GPA or not? Thank you.
 
sGPA: 3.6 (may drop to 3.55 by application)
cGPA: 3.76

Being a psych major, none of my major prereqs count as sciences hence the low sGPA (my psych GPA is a 4.0). Is a 3.55/3.6 too low to be considered competitive at most mid range MDs or even low range MDs? Also on a side note I took a 3 credit Health class, would this be included in my science GPA or not? Thank you.
sGPA: 3.6 (may drop to 3.55 by application)
cGPA: 3.76

Being a psych major, none of my major prereqs count as sciences hence the low sGPA (my psych GPA is a 4.0). Is a 3.55/3.6 too low to be considered competitive at most mid range MDs or even low range MDs? Also on a side note I took a 3 credit Health class, would this be included in my science GPA or not? Thank you.
National average cGPS is a 3.71 (you are slightly above) and national average sGPA of 3.64 (you are slightly below). All told, you are about average on the GPA spectrum. Assuming everything else about you is right at the national average, well you look to be right on track to be the perfect Mid-Tier school candidate! With a 515+ MCAT, you could definitely add a couple more far reaches. With a 520+, your GPA is good enough to not hinder you at most schools, assuming other stellar-yet-cookie-cutter portions of your app.
 
sGPA: 3.6 (may drop to 3.55 by application)
cGPA: 3.76

1) Being a psych major, none of my major prereqs count as sciences hence the low sGPA (my psych GPA is a 4.0). Is a 3.55/3.6 too low to be considered competitive at most mid range MDs or even low range MDs?

2) Also on a side note I took a 3 credit Health class, would this be included in my science GPA or not?
1) Aim to keep your sGPA as close to the matriculant average as you can. If that isn't possible, at the least, end with a rising sGPA trend.

2) No.
 
no. target schools where the gpa and sgpa are within your range.
 
sGPA: 3.6 (may drop to 3.55 by application)
cGPA: 3.76

Being a psych major, none of my major prereqs count as sciences hence the low sGPA (my psych GPA is a 4.0). Is a 3.55/3.6 too low to be considered competitive at most mid range MDs or even low range MDs? Also on a side note I took a 3 credit Health class, would this be included in my science GPA or not? Thank you.
Nope, not at all.

Invest in MSAR and you can see where your GPAs are > the 10th %iles. Those are schools to target.
 
Adcoms/whoever else with knowledge on it please correct me if I'm wrong, but since the "average" includes very top schools, then the overall matriculant average for low/mid tier MD's barring those top 20's is a lower GPA. Like, on MSAR, a ton of schools' accepted GPA's are between 3.6-3.7, although national overall average is over 3.7.
One has to compare one's GPAs to the individual schools being targeted. If your GPAs are > thier 10th %iles, then you're good to go.

Now this rule diminishes the higher up the pole you want to climb. So once you start getting into Harvard/Stanford class schools, I recommend applying if your GPAs are as close to, or better than, their 50th %iles, and maybe their 25th.
 
Ahh interesting, I thought even for non-top tiers that it was just worth applying if you're above the 25th%ile.
This is correct, and even for the 10-25th %iles, it's worth a shot.

Isn't >10th%ile still too low though, even for the non-Harvards? The 10th percentiles for just a few low-tier schools I just checked like Albany's (3.33/3.16) and Georgetown's (3.36/3.24) are quite low stats.
No. Keep in mind that you can't stare at a single metric, either.


Realistically, a ~3.3/3.2 cgpa/sgpa combo would be considered pretty lethal for MD in general with the exception of URM or phenomenal MCAT, right? Or is that just an exception with low-tier schools?
Yup. I think once you get < 3.4, MD will be too difficult, unless one has a nice rising GPA trend, or have killer ECs, etc.
 
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