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JSTAR04

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  1. Pre-Health (Field Undecided)
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what is considered a competitive gpa ranges please. We know 4.0 is very competitive so is a 3.9 but what is your opinion of a competitive gpa in a competitive university
 
what is considered a competitive gpa ranges please. We know 4.0 is very competitive so is a 3.9 but what is your opinion of a competitive gpa in a competitive university

Different schools have different ranges. Depends.

Anything 3.7+ is a safe bet.
 
Different schools have different ranges. Depends.

Anything 3.7+ is a safe bet.

This.

Once your GPA is above 3.7, your MCAT and ECs are far more important in determining whether you are a competitive applicant for a particular school.
 
People may argue about the specific cutoff, but you're already aware that higher numbers are better. Some med schools have specific criteria they're looking for, but GPAs are not all made alike. A GPA at a school that inflates grades is much different than one that rarely gives 4.0 to anyone. Med schools know this better than anyone. The transcript they pass on usually has a breakdown of the grading scheme so residencies can directly gauge how difficult it was to procure higher grades. One of the big reasons we use horrible standardized tests like the MCAT is that it (theoretically) levels the playing field.
 
^ Are you saying that they can see the actual numeric percentage grade in each class you've taken?
 
thanks guys always looking forward to your answers. Ill strive for a 3.7. oh btw has anyone taken microbiology yet ive heard many people have enjoyed the class, if you have care to share some insight.🙂
 
thanks guys always looking forward to your answers. Ill strive for a 3.7. oh btw has anyone taken microbiology yet ive heard many people have enjoyed the class, if you have care to share some insight.🙂

Micro was a snoozefest... now... Immunology? That's where the money's at... interleukin's for life.
 
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what is considered a competitive gpa ranges please. We know 4.0 is very competitive so is a 3.9 but what is your opinion of a competitive gpa in a competitive university

3.7+ M.D schools

3.5+ D.O schools
 
I took microbio and I thought it was an interesting course. You learn a lot about different micoorganisms which makes sense and I thought it was cool to plate them out and see how you can separate them with various differential tests like gram staining. Colonies of E. coli bacteria are a shiny metallic green color, which makes it unmistakable. I enjoyed learning little tidbits like that.
 
Micro is an extremely fun class, it's relatively easy and the lab is extremely hands on and active. It can be a bit of a pain if you're bad with your hands though.
 
thanks guys always looking forward to your answers. Ill strive for a 3.7. oh btw has anyone taken microbiology yet ive heard many people have enjoyed the class, if you have care to share some insight.🙂

Whether any class is good/enjoyable/interesting/worthwile or not is 80% dependent on the professor and only 20% on the actual material. Microbio has the potential to be either, really interesting or incredibly dry. Check out what the people at your school think about it (which it sounds like you already did) and go by what they say. At my school there was one teacher that made Microbio fun and one that made it hell...so I took it the semester that it was taught by the professor that made it hell...naturally.

On the GPA thing: competitive ranges depend on the school...."Go-go-gadget MSAR!"
 
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thanks guys always looking forward to your answers. Ill strive for a 3.7. oh btw has anyone taken microbiology yet ive heard many people have enjoyed the class, if you have care to share some insight.🙂

How about striving to do as well as possible?
 
thanks guys and to the comment above i am doing well but i want to do better if that makes any sense😛
 
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