Postbac GPA

[TempestNinefingers]

Hi,

I was wondering if my postbac GPA will be weighted more heavily than my undergrad GPA? I was a non-science major, the only science course I took being a Bio course over 10 years ago. My BCPM postbac is 3.46, cumulative postbac is 3.51 (I took some psych and public health courses). Will this be too low to be competitive, even with great activities and extracurriculars?

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[Bonne Nuit]

Hi,

I was wondering if my postbac GPA will be weighted more heavily than my undergrad GPA? I was a non-science major, the only science course I took being a Bio course over 10 years ago. My BCPM postbac is 3.46, cumulative postbac is 3.51 (I took some psych and public health courses). Will this be too low to be competitive, even with great activities and extracurriculars?

Generally speaking, yes, applicants’ most recent credits carry the most weight with adcoms.

How much of an improvement is your postbac GPA from your undergraduate GPA? A ~3.5 sGPA/cGPA is on the low side for MD, but should be fine for DO. A good MCAT, as always, is going to be key.

 

[Goro]

Hi,

I was wondering if my postbac GPA will be weighted more heavily than my undergrad GPA? I was a non-science major, the only science course I took being a Bio course over 10 years ago. My BCPM postbac is 3.46, cumulative postbac is 3.51 (I took some psych and public health courses). Will this be too low to be competitive, even with great activities and extracurriculars?

Yes. Those schools that vanue reinvention will weight your PB and last 2-3 UG years more than the collective.

Your post bac GPAs are fine for DO schools, but you'll have trouble for MD, except maybe your own state school(s). Having killer ECs can help balance out weaker GPAs.

 

[TempestNinefingers]

Generally speaking, yes, applicants’ most recent credits carry the most weight with adcoms.

How much of an improvement is your postbac GPA from your undergraduate GPA? A ~3.5 sGPA/cGPA is on the low side for MD, but should be fine for DO. A good MCAT, as always, is going to be key.

my undergrad GPA was 3.0, so its difficult pulling it much out of that hole. The average GPA at my school though (known to be a very tough school) is 3.1, which is explained by my LORs.

Will schools pay attention to which classes I did well in during postbac? C+ in physics is dragging me down, but all my A's are in 300/400 level courses taken at top-tier schools.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

my undergrad GPA was 3.0, so its difficult pulling it much out of that hole. The average GPA at my school though (known to be a very tough school) is 3.1, which is explained by my LORs.

Will schools pay attention to which classes I did well in during postbac? C+ in physics is dragging me down, but all my A's are in 300/400 level courses taken at top-tier schools.

Medical schools will pay attention to ALL the classes you took during your postbac - the good and the not-so-good. The physics grade is what it is. You may get a question about it in interviews, but I don't think it's an app killer.

So, now that I know the full picture, a 3.0 uGPA and a ~3.5ish postbac GPA will be fine for DO and state/lower-stats MD assuming a good MCAT. You can post in the WAMC threads when you have your MCAT score to get a full list of schools where you might be competitive.