people with 3.5 gpas who got into med school..

[djess11190]

I used to think my 3.5 gpa was pretty good. I've worked hard for it. now I'm finding out it's actually not so competitive for med school and more of a borderline gpa. This has me worried. unfortunately for me I've overloaded every semester that I now have so many credits my gpa isn't going to move much. I'm hoping to hear from people with gpas in this range who have gotten into med school, or if anyone who works on a medical school admissions committee has any advice for me on how I can improve my chances with this gpa. thanks

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[Deadlifts]

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/app...mcat-gpa-grid-by-selected-race-ethnicity.html

 

[tantacles]

I used to think my 3.5 gpa was pretty good. I've worked hard for it. now I'm finding out it's actually not so competitive for med school and more of a borderline gpa. This has me worried. unfortunately for me I've overloaded every semester that I now have so many credits my gpa isn't going to move much. I'm hoping to hear from people with gpas in this range who have gotten into med school, or if anyone who works on a medical school admissions committee has any advice for me on how I can improve my chances with this gpa. thanks

I got in with a 3.5 and a 30 on the MCAT.

To improve your chances:

1. Do well on the MCAT (30+ at minimum)

2. Do at least three hours of volunteering per week and keep this up for the next year.

3. Get some research experience - your current science professors are good resources for labs you might be able to join.

4. Get to know your professors as well as you can so that they can write you stellar recommendations.

5. Win a Nobel Prize. 😛

 

[BlackBox]

I used to think my 3.5 gpa was pretty good. I've worked hard for it. now I'm finding out it's actually not so competitive for med school and more of a borderline gpa. This has me worried. unfortunately for me I've overloaded every semester that I now have so many credits my gpa isn't going to move much. I'm hoping to hear from people with gpas in this range who have gotten into med school, or if anyone who works on a medical school admissions committee has any advice for me on how I can improve my chances with this gpa. thanks

Numbers aren't everything. Need proof? scroll through this year's BU thread. applicants have been rejected post secondary with 3.8/35+ and given an interview with 3.5/31.


Don't panic, just focus on making yourself a well-rounded applicant.

 

[Dbate]

I used to think my 3.5 gpa was pretty good. I've worked hard for it. now I'm finding out it's actually not so competitive for med school and more of a borderline gpa. This has me worried. unfortunately for me I've overloaded every semester that I now have so many credits my gpa isn't going to move much. I'm hoping to hear from people with gpas in this range who have gotten into med school, or if anyone who works on a medical school admissions committee has any advice for me on how I can improve my chances with this gpa. thanks

First, focus on killing the MCAT. The MCAT counts for alot in this process, and a top score can help with an average gpa.

Second, focus on schools where you are competitive. Throw out Harvard, JHU, etc. And focus on schools where your MCAT is above average to maximize your chances of an acceptance.

 

[scarlett14]

read abou tsomeone in the columbia thread who said they got in with a 3.5/35 off the waitlist.

on that note, i have a 3.5/35+ mcat and have 5 II so far and one from a top 10 school so don't fret. seriously, just focus on excelling on the mcat and having great ECs that are actually meaningful for you and you can say a lot about bc that will make you stand out 🙂

 

[as1212559]

Relax. Plenty of people with 3.5s get into MD schools. Try and rock the MCAT.

If you don't score 30 or better, consider some DO schools too.

 

[phonybone]

Numbers aren't everything. Need proof? scroll through this year's BU thread. applicants have been rejected post secondary with 3.8/35+ and given an interview with 3.5/31.


Don't panic, just focus on making yourself a well-rounded applicant.

Totally agree - 3.8/35 current applicant who got rejected post secondary from BU. Keep working at it, get a good MCAT score, and get your EC's all nice and shiny. You'll be all good!

 

[darkjedi]

I had a 3.5 coming from undergrad, but improved it a little with a postbac. The MCAT will be likely a very important factor in your application at a 3.5 however, so focus on that and crush it. If you can score exceptionally well, even top-tiers may not be out of the question if you have the EC's to back it up.

 

[MDforMee]

GPA isn't standardized across the applicant pool. You simply can't compare x and y GPAs among applicants how people compare MCAT scores.

Your major and alumni institution count for a lot.

Do you really think that admissions committees would weight a History degree from Cal State San Bernardino how they would a Physics degree from Stanford? 👎

 

[darkjedi]

GPA isn't standardized across the applicant pool. You simply can't compare x and y GPAs among applicants how people compare MCAT scores.

Your major and alumni institution count for a lot.

Do you really think that admissions committees would weight a History degree from Cal State San Bernardino how they would a Physics degree from Stanford? 👎

To an extent, alumni institution can bump your application up a little, but it would not make up for a mediocre GPA. Same goes for major. Generally speaking, it does not matter what your major is, as long as it's not something ridiculous. What matters more is the rest of your application at that point. Someone with a history degree may have leveraged his opportunities in the history dept more than the physics major, which would give him a big upper hand for example.

 

[khrisskhoras]

I got in with a 3.5 and a 30 on the MCAT.

To improve your chances:

1. Do well on the MCAT (30+ at minimum)

2. Do at least three hours of volunteering per week and keep this up for the next year.

3. Get some research experience - your current science professors are good resources for labs you might be able to join.

4. Get to know your professors as well as you can so that they can write you stellar recommendations.

5. Win a Nobel Prize. 😛

You should add #6: dont be a california resident.

 

[drabberbadge]

You should add #6: dont be a california resident.

Why does being a California resident negatively affect your app

 

[tantacles]

Why does being a California resident negatively affect your app

It doesn't. It was a joke.

 

[tantacles]

You should add #6: dont be a california resident.

Sorry, only 1 joke answer per reply! We're fresh out!

 

[mcloaf]

Why does being a California resident negatively affect your app

So many tryhard premeds in CA that many otherwise qualified applicants end up going to school OOS.

 

[Dbate]

GPA isn't standardized across the applicant pool. You simply can't compare x and y GPAs among applicants how people compare MCAT scores.

Your major and alumni institution count for a lot.

Do you really think that admissions committees would weight a History degree from Cal State San Bernardino how they would a Physics degree from Stanford? 👎

To an extent, alumni institution can bump your application up a little, but it would not make up for a mediocre GPA. Same goes for major. Generally speaking, it does not matter what your major is, as long as it's not something ridiculous. What matters more is the rest of your application at that point. Someone with a history degree may have leveraged his opportunities in the history dept more than the physics major, which would give him a big upper hand for example.

He may have a point. I have a 3.57 (from HYP) and a 35 and I got a really early interview at a Top 20 school.

At my single interview day, there were 3 Yale people, 2 UPenn, 1 MIT, a couple UChicago, and a ton of Rice people.

So admissions committees probably consider your undergrad somewhat (but I imagine it varies by school).

 

[GoPelicans]

For top schools, you would be naive to thing ugrad doesn't matter to an extent. The 4.0 40 candidate will shine no matter where he's from, but for GPA's less than a median, an ivy league gloss on the app will never hurt.

 

[tantacles]

He may have a point. I have a 3.57 (from HYP) and a 35 and I got a really early interview at a Top 20 school.

At my single interview day, there were 3 Yale people, 2 UPenn, 1 MIT, a couple UChicago, and a ton of Rice people.

So admissions committees probably consider your undergrad somewhat (but I imagine it varies by school).

There's some self-selection going on as well; people from those schools are far more likely to apply to medical school than those at lower-ranked schools, in my opinion.

 

[Dbate]

There's some self-selection going on as well; people from those schools are far more likely to apply to medical school than those at lower-ranked schools, in my opinion.

The school is Baylor so I doubt it.

The biggest self-selection is that people from Texas apply (almost all of us were from Texas).

Probably every person in the state of Texas applies to this school.

 

[Plue00]

My schools average GPA of people getting into an MD school is a 3.52. So if you go to a pretty hard school, med schools may acknowledge that your GPA is deflated compared to other schools.

I know schools like Swarthmore say that their undergrads should be fine with a 3.4, which probably translates to 3.7+ at most other schools.

 

[Goro]

Just apply carefully and you'll be fine.

Try to develop some really good and different ECs too. Everyone vols in a hospital, but how many do so in hospice? Or a nursing home? Or work for Teach for American? Or be a Big Brother/Sister?

I used to think my 3.5 gpa was pretty good. I've worked hard for it. now I'm finding out it's actually not so competitive for med school and more of a borderline gpa. This has me worried. unfortunately for me I've overloaded every semester that I now have so many credits my gpa isn't going to move much. I'm hoping to hear from people with gpas in this range who have gotten into med school, or if anyone who works on a medical school admissions committee has any advice for me on how I can improve my chances with this gpa. thanks