Is there a huge difference between 3.9 GPA and 3.85 GPA?

[Marspumpkin]

Is there a huge difference between 3.9 and 3.85 gpa? Or would adcom view them as similarly since both GPAs are above 3.7?

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[Symphonies]

No

 

[deleted678432]

Big difference tbh

 

[1ysh]

3.85 is better because it shows you’re academically competent but still do other thugs like extracurriculars

 

[surfline]

If my math serves me correct, I believe it is a difference of 0.05 GPA points

 

[deleted678432]

3.85 is better because it shows you’re academically competent but still do other thugs like extracurriculars

Can’t tell if this is serious or not

 

[Futuredentist(hopefully)]

3.85 is better because it shows you’re academically competent but still do other thugs like extracurriculars

uhm what...

 

[Life of Pablo]

On a more serious note, no I don't think there's that much of a difference. Both GPAs are excellent, and I doubt one person would be admitted over another simply because they have a .05 higher GPA.

 

[1ysh]

uhm what...

Sorry, I guess what I meant was if the GPA is high enough, like 3.85, but not near perfect, like 3.9 is, then that means the applicant still put in academic effort but also is involved in other extracurricular activities

 

[1ysh]

Because I think 0.5 difference is significant in the grade point average context.

 

[deleted678432]

Sorry, I guess what I meant was if the GPA is high enough, like 3.85, but not near perfect, like 3.9 is, then that means the applicant still put in academic effort but also is involved in other extracurricular activities

Completely untrue. Who's to say that you can't maintain a ~3.95 while balling out on the weekends and volunteering, shadowing, etc.? I know people with lower GPAs that refuse to step foot outside the library for anything.

 

[schmoob]

Because I think 0.5 difference is significant in the grade point average context.

*0.05*

3.85 is better because it shows you’re academically competent but still do other thugs like extracurriculars

That's silly, it could mean anything.
A 0.05 difference means nothing.

 

[deleted678432]

*0.05*

That's silly, it could mean anything.
A 0.05 difference means nothing.

Exactly. 0.05 is the matter of missing an A from an A- by a couple questions on the final

 

[ringofkeys]

Huge difference IMO. 0.03 is the difference of a whole question on a final, knocking you from an A to an A-. Does a dental school really want someone who misses that one question, when they can easily find someone who hasn’t? I think not.

So are you saying it is a big deal or that it isn't?

 

[1ysh]

*0.05*

That's silly, it could mean anything.
A 0.05 difference means nothing.

Yeah I mean it took me 2 semesters of straight A's to bump a 0.05 so I thought it was pretty significant, but yeah it could mean anything

 

[deleted678432]

So are you saying it is a big deal or that it isn't?

Do YOU think there is a difference between a 3.88 and a 3.85?

 

[1ysh]

Completely untrue. Who's to say that you can't maintain a ~3.95 while balling out on the weekends and volunteering, shadowing, etc.? I know people with lower GPAs that refuse to step foot outside the library for anything.

Yeah of course you can do that, I agree. I was just speaking from my personal experience which I couldn't do those things while maintaining that GPA, but I do think there are people out there who can do that.

 

[ringofkeys]

Do YOU think there is a difference between a 3.88 and a 3.85?

Personally, I wouldn't give it much thought, as long as an applicant had a good DAT score and was well-rounded in the other aspects. Would adcoms really sit there and look at two applicants' GPAs for that .03 and determine the one with the 3.88 should get in? I doubt two applicants could be exactly the same in every other way for an acceptance to ever come down to such a scenario.

 

[deleted678432]

Personally, I wouldn't give it much thought, as long as an applicant had a good DAT score and was well-rounded in the other aspects. Would adcoms really sit there and look at two applicants' GPAs for that .03 and determine the one with the 3.88 should get in? I doubt two applicants could be exactly the same in every other way for an acceptance to ever come down to such a scenario.

No way. They know that 0.03 could be the result of literally anything. Being sick, your dog dying, your girlfriend cheating on you, getting hit by an airplane, being kidnapped and held for ransom due to a bad rivalry stirred up by your great great uncle who was in the Irish mafia, missing a homework assignment, etc.

 

[schmoob]

Yeah I mean it took me 2 semesters of straight A's to bump a 0.05 so I thought it was pretty significant, but yeah it could mean anything

It doesn't. Wait until dental school, you will see some super smart and hard working folks. Your grades in dental school will be both higher and lower than your classmates who came in with higher stats.
Focus on your DAT and the rest of your app, and you'll be fine.

 

[ringofkeys]

No way. They know that 0.03 could be the result of literally anything. Being sick, your dog dying, your girlfriend cheating on you, getting hit by an airplane, being kidnapped and held for ransom due to a bad rivalry stirred up by your great great uncle who was in the Irish mafia, missing a homework assignment, etc.

so at what point is a GPA difference considered significant? .1? .2? or is it that anything about 3.7 is considered good, 3.5 is average, and lower numbers are considered not as good?

 

[deleted678432]

so at what point is a GPA difference considered significant? .1? .2? or is it that anything about 3.7 is considered good, 3.5 is average, and lower numbers are considered not as good?

Dude idk, go for the highest GPA you can and stop comparing yourself to others. At the end of the day, the decision is out of your hands, so make a good case for yourself. I came into college with that mindset and I've been doing great for myself.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

GPAs are a bit relative from school to school, hence the DAT. For example, Harvard is known for grade inflation and Johns Hopkins for grade deflation. Both are good schools, but a 3.6 GPA means something entirely different at these institutions.

I should also add that GPA is entirely relative based on one’s major. You give me two people, both with a 3.7 from the same school, with one majoring in electrical engineering and one in English literature and I can tell you without a doubt who had to hustle A LOT more.

Big Hoss

 

[I-hate-alginate]

Applying in June or August. That's a huge difference.

 

[Harvard Dental Student]

Yes, if you're applying to Harvard.