Low GPA, Engineering Major

[confuzzledkid]

I'm doing biomedical engineering at a top 5 school for bioengineering. Would a 3.3 cGPA, 3.3 sGPA and 41 MCAT even be considered by mid-tier schools?

I mean, will those stats get me past the intial threshold so that my application isn't trashed right away?

This is my GPA as the end of junior year. I can also apply after 4th year to boost my GPA - I don't mind doing a gap year.

Edit: Can a mod please move this to chances? Just realized that is the correct sub-thread.

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[sliceofbread136]

I'm doing biomedical engineering at a top 5 school for bioengineering. Would a 3.3 cGPA, 3.3 sGPA and 41 MCAT even be considered by mid-tier schools?

I mean, will those stats get me past the intial threshold so that my application isn't trashed right away?

This is my GPA as the end of junior year. I can also apply after 4th year to boost my GPA - I don't mind doing a gap year.

Edit: Can a mod please move this to chances? Just realized that is the correct sub-thread.

You're good for most mid tiers, apply broadly and you'll get into a solid school.

 

[CopaceticOne]

I'm doing biomedical engineering at a top 5 school for bioengineering. Would a 3.3 cGPA, 3.3 sGPA and 41 MCAT even be considered by mid-tier schools?

I mean, will those stats get me past the intial threshold so that my application isn't trashed right away?

This is my GPA as the end of junior year. I can also apply after 4th year to boost my GPA - I don't mind doing a gap year.

Edit: Can a mod please move this to chances? Just realized that is the correct sub-thread.

Make sure you've got the necessary & appropriate ECs. From what I've heard, you should make it through an initial screen but your app may raise some red flags due to the GPA (which I'm sure you already know). Is the cGPA representative of your entire ugrad career, or was there a blip that can be explained by extenuating circumstances? You have a upward trend for grades?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Make sure you've got the necessary & appropriate ECs. From what I've heard, you should make it through an initial screen but your app may raise some red flags due to the GPA (which I'm sure you already know). Is the cGPA representative of your entire ugrad career, or was there a blip that can be explained by extenuating circumstances? You have a upward trend for grades?

Honestly I don't think the GPA will be as red a flag as usual because he is in a program that obviously grades much more rigorously than most, and he demonstrated his academic abilities with a high MCAT. I think atleast some schools will take this viewpoint, so if he applies broadly I think he's good.

 

[confuzzledkid]

Grades have been on a pretty steep upward trend.

Bad grades earlier because I wasn't sure about medicine until after 2nd year - I was getting B's and just passing my classes. Once I realized I wanted to pursue medicine, I pulled it up to almost all A's in 3rd year.

EC's: Implemented low-cost sustainable water filters in 3rd world countries, shadowing a doc, running my own online business since high school, authored an ebook that has sold a few thousand copies (hoping this and online business might help me for MD/MBA programs, but not sure if I want to risk the competitiveness of those progmras). I'm not much of a research guy, I'm more business-oriented.

I would be extremely happy with mid-tier schools. I'll take what I can get, I don't think I'm in any position to be picky.

 

[CopaceticOne]

Honestly I don't think the GPA will be as red a flag as usual because he is in a program that obviously grades much more rigorously than most, and he demonstrated his academic abilities with a high MCAT. I think atleast some schools will take this viewpoint, so if he applies broadly I think he's good.

From personal experience, I have my BS in biomed engineering from a very strong program, a lower GPA is just a lower GPA regardless of the major. But, the strong recent performance coupled with the rockin' MCAT should mitigate any issue.

OP, some schools do weighted GPA calculations (U Washington comes to mind) and as a result, your GPA that they consider may be better. Other schools look at performance in the last XX credits taken. There are lots of permutations, so you should be in decent shape overall.

 

[DanGee777]

Other schools look at performance in the last XX credits taken./QUOTE]

Do you have any idea which schools do this? I have heard that Wayne State, for example, looks closely at the academic record over the last 30 credit hours, and may weigh it as least slightly heavier than the previous work, but am curious if you know of any others.

 

[CopaceticOne]

Do you have any idea which schools do this? I have heard that Wayne State, for example, looks closely at the academic record over the last 30 credit hours, and may weigh it as least slightly heavier than the previous work, but am curious if you know of any others.

Sorry, I don't remember which schools I saw that did that.

 

[chip2dale]

I'm interested in everybody's responses as well - I go to JHU for BME

 

[Cambino]

I'm doing biomedical engineering at a top 5 school for bioengineering. Would a 3.3 cGPA, 3.3 sGPA and 41 MCAT even be considered by mid-tier schools?

I mean, will those stats get me past the intial threshold so that my application isn't trashed right away?

This is my GPA as the end of junior year. I can also apply after 4th year to boost my GPA - I don't mind doing a gap year.

Edit: Can a mod please move this to chances? Just realized that is the correct sub-thread.

Engineering degrees are notorious for grade deflation, and your 41 compensates leaving no doubt that you wouldn't have much academic struggle in med school.

 

[Cambino]

From personal experience, I have my BS in biomed engineering from a very strong program, a lower GPA is just a lower GPA regardless of the major. But, the strong recent performance coupled with the rockin' MCAT should mitigate any issue.

OP, some schools do weighted GPA calculations (U Washington comes to mind) and as a result, your GPA that they consider may be better. Other schools look at performance in the last XX credits taken. There are lots of permutations, so you should be in decent shape overall.

Don't apply to UWSOM if you're OOS with a 3.3, regardless.

 

[Hemorrage]

I'm doing biomedical engineering at a top 5 school for bioengineering. Would a 3.3 cGPA, 3.3 sGPA and 41 MCAT even be considered by mid-tier schools?

I mean, will those stats get me past the intial threshold so that my application isn't trashed right away?

This is my GPA as the end of junior year. I can also apply after 4th year to boost my GPA - I don't mind doing a gap year.

Edit: Can a mod please move this to chances? Just realized that is the correct sub-thread.

holy s*** if you don't mind me asking how did you prepare for the MCAT? Also i think you have a very good chance at getting in top 20 schools. If they see you destroyed the MCAT you would be a good asset for them.

 

[Praefectus]

I think your task is very doable, regardless of your GPA. Way to dominate the MCAT!

 

[Aerus]

Grades have been on a pretty steep upward trend.

Bad grades earlier because I wasn't sure about medicine until after 2nd year - I was getting B's and just passing my classes. Once I realized I wanted to pursue medicine, I pulled it up to almost all A's in 3rd year.

EC's: Implemented low-cost sustainable water filters in 3rd world countries, shadowing a doc, running my own online business since high school, authored an ebook that has sold a few thousand copies (hoping this and online business might help me for MD/MBA programs, but not sure if I want to risk the competitiveness of those progmras). I'm not much of a research guy, I'm more business-oriented.

I would be extremely happy with mid-tier schools. I'll take what I can get, I don't think I'm in any position to be picky.

Congratulations on your achievements, both in and out of the classroom! Make sure you have plenty more of clinical experience (volunteering - you already have shadowing) and you're good to go!

Good luck!

 

[confuzzledkid]

Wow, thanks for the positive feedback guys.

I was pretty worried. My parents have been downers on me, telling me that I should start looking for a job (related to my major) because they believe my GPA wouldn't be acceptable by med schools.

I'll try to get that volunteering in there. I'm pretty busy this week, but I'll be back maybe next week to discuss how I prepared for the MCAT. I look forward to contributing more to this community

 

[LittleMonster]

From a fellow BME, just a quick piece of advice for interviews (which I am sure you'll get with that MCAT score), you're going to be going up against a prejudice that all engineers are robots (think Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory) so you've got to emphasize your ability to connect with others - any volunteering activities you can throw in there to help this out, I'd suggest. Also, you have to convince them that you can memorize and handle a high volume of information at once.

I had about three interviews go down the drain before I met with an adcom member from my school to discuss my application and interview answers before I realized that what I thought were great answers were being misinterpreted negatively. I was accepted at the school i interviewed with after said meeting.

But I wouldn't worry about the GPA so much - you seem to have a strong application, but I'd try to cram as much patient exposure / human interaction emphasis or extra ECs along those lines (if you can).

 

[LittleMonster]

Also, if you're gonna apply this cycle, ask about letters of rec asap!

 

[littlealex]

You'll be fine. Apply broadly, volunteer, hug babies, etc.

Apply to Case Western Reserve too. We love high MCAT people w/ BME from an engineering school. My year we have 23 CWRU kids, 13 Duke, 13 Hopkins, 8 Berkeley in a class of 160 and many of these kids were biomedical engineering majors.