Question about GPA/upward trend

[coramDeo]

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Hello guys,

I just have a quick question about my GPA. Here is the breakdown (cGPA/sGPA):
2 Yrs Total @ Junior College : 3.19 / 3.24

4 Yrs Trend @ Top 30 School (in the world; according to the rankings anyways :/ )
Yr. 1 : 3.56 / 3.65
Yr. 2 : 3.21 / 3.12
Yr. 3 : 3.87 / 3.86
Yr .4 : 3.825 / 3.77

Juco + 4 Yr. College Overall : 3.47 / 3.499(3.50?).

Now, I have a couple questions:

1. Would it be worth to take 3 more classes to get my cGPA above 3.5? (Exactly at 3.5 to be precise.) Is the difference between 3.47 and 3.50 sizeable? Just debating the cost vs. efficiency here for my med school admissions, as I've read on several threads here that getting over the 3.5 hump is big.

2. Would my GPA trend be considered an upward trend?

I would love to get some feedback/advice! Thanks in advance 🙂

 

[jarednogeek]

Your junior college will be factored in to your overall gpa. That’s a good upward trend but it depends on what your MCAT is. I don’t need a point of taking 3 more classes.

 

[coramDeo]

@jarednogeek the overall GPA includes the grades from the Juco. I should've clarified that. But yes to the upward trend, and no to the 3 more classes?

 

[jarednogeek]

@jarednogeek the overall GPA includes the grades from the Juco. I should've clarified that. But yes to the upward trend, and no to the 3 more classes?

Whether you need to improve the GPA/apply to DO schools is going to depend on your MCAT. Try to get a 513+. Also on state of residence, URM status, gpa is but a piece of the pie.

 

[ginsengreset]

Focusing on single GPA is a myth that premeds have. It is a waste of time, money, effort in your case. You have about 3.8 last two years
Focus on MCAT

Right, it's a complete waste of time to worry about a 3.45 vs a 3.47. But I think a 3.47 vs 3.50 is worth a second look. Judging from a student adcom member Mount Sinai's thread, if either one of an applicant's stats is below a 3.60/510 benchmark, they are automatically queued for review below everyone else who passes that benchmark, unless they are flagged for having URM / first-gen / low-income status. I'm not saying they won't be able to get an interview in that situation, but they'd be at a massive disadvantage. I would wager that schools less selective than Mount Sinai have similar benchmarks, perhaps a 3.5/507 instead of a 3.6/510, but benchmarks nonetheless.

 

[ginsengreset]

ALL schools have a queuing/screening/priority system along the lines of above. However, all schools do this differently as the application processing software can be set anyway they choose. Example some schools will prioritize anyone with a 99% tile on MCAT, weight upward trends, etc. The initial screening/evaluation sets the application for full eval/review priority. You also have the risk of taking 3 classes and NOT getting the requires A and being exactly where you are.

Ah, I hadn't considered the possibilities regarding upward trend/MCAT. And yeah, the risk of getting below an A is significant in retrospect.

I will also offer an n=1 anecdote for OP, regarding GPA - when I began an attempt to explain my very U-shaped trend to an interviewer, they cut me off, saying "we all make missteps occasionally." Your upward trend is steep and will look very good to interviewers.

 

[coramDeo]

@gonnif @ginsengreset thank you guys for your input! I'm a Canadian applicant as well; does that have any implications on "benchmarks" that were mentioned above? Otherwise, I'll follow your guys' advice and focus on MCAT instead of taking more classes!

 

[Walter Raleigh]

MCAT will make or break this person. The two years of 3.8+ is good. I don't know anything about how international status affects the OP...but if he were an American looking to go to a US MD school, he'd want to have a 513+, preferably 515+.

 

[coramDeo]

@gonnif
I've yet to taken my MCAT, which was one of the reasons why I was contemplating against taking more classes to get up to 3.5; to focus on getting a stellar score on the MCAT instead of pushing for the extra 0.01.

I guess in order to demonstrate my academic competence - or excellence as I'm a Canadian applicant - on top of the last two years being solid, I would have to knock the MCAT out of the ballpark, right?

In terms of EC's, I think I'm in a good place and heading in the right direction to add more. As it was echoed above, I guess it would really come down to the MCAT, and 3.47/3.5 wouldn't make a difference as I'm below 3.7/3.8, right?

All in all, thank you guys for your help! @Walter Raleigh

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Killing MCAT > marginal GPA improvement. I can't say anything about how being a Canadian changes things.

 

[coramDeo]

Only 68 US MD schools that accept Canadian students (about 1/2 public 1/2 private).
Some states like CA, TX, WV and others are highly unlikely to consider
The top 30 or so are unlikely to consider
The OP is below median in every school
There are perhaps 20-30 schools to even target from the start
and that is before MCAT
OP may need SMP for even a moderate chance at US MD

Based on this post, I was thinking about targeting those schools in the post. Now, with a killer MCAT(520+ I would need I'm guessing), would that give me at least a "moderate chance" at US MD? (I know that's a big if, but trying to formulate a plan for the next 4 months and a specified goal with some assurance that it would give me a chance would mean a lot 🙁 ).

 

[coramDeo]

Even with that I wouldnt call your chances moderate. If overall international acceptance rate is 11%, Canadian rate would be likely 25-30% for highly qualified candidates as a guess. You are well below median so I would guess at best you have 20% at best, more likely 10-15% with 515+ MCAT

Thank you for your answer. I guess it’s a massive uphill battle from here...

 

[Goro]

Based on this post, I was thinking about targeting those schools in the post. Now, with a killer MCAT(520+ I would need I'm guessing), would that give me at least a "moderate chance" at US MD? (I know that's a big if, but trying to formulate a plan for the next 4 months and a specified goal with some assurance that it would give me a chance would mean a lot 🙁 ).

It's not helpful to engage in magic thinking. A 520 is 98th %ile. My take on international applicants is that they need to be superstars for US MD schools.

There are ~14 DO schools that accept internationals, especially UNECOM and MSUCOM.

 

[coramDeo]

It's not helpful to engage in magic thinking. A 520 is 98th %ile. My take on international applicants is that they need to be superstars for US MD schools.

There are ~14 DO schools that accept internationals, especially UNECOM and MSUCOM.

Thank for your reply. I'll just try to get the best score I can for the MCAT, and take it from there when the time comes. With that said, stats-wise, would you say an international applicant with a 3.47/520+ is a "superstar" in your books, or close enough to be competitive at least?

My question stems more from self-motivation than "magic-thinking" though 🙂. Just trying to get as accurate an idea as I can on what my stats can mean depending on my performance!

 

[coramDeo]

@Goro @gonnif I forgot to mention that the Yr. 4 GPA of 3.825 is not a full year, but just this past semester and my dilemma is whether to take another semester in January to bring it up to 3.5 or not. Also, I was wondering since it's not a full year of a 3.8, the upward trend would mean less? I appreciate your guys' time and responses!

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Only 68 US MD schools that accept Canadian students (about 1/2 public 1/2 private).
Some states like CA, TX, WV and others are highly unlikely to consider
The top 30 or so are unlikely to consider
The OP is below median in every school
There are perhaps 20-30 schools to even target from the start
and that is before MCAT
OP may need SMP for even a moderate chance at US MD

If OP doesn't mind DO, then I think if he can score well on the MCAT (510+), he'd be competitive for Canadian friendly DO schools like: MSU, KCU, LMU, CCOM, WesternU, UNECOM, TouroNY, AZCOM, NOVA.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile

 

[Goro]

@Goro @gonnif I forgot to mention that the Yr. 4 GPA of 3.825 is not a full year, but just this past semester and my dilemma is whether to take another semester in January to bring it up to 3.5 or not. Also, I was wondering since it's not a full year of a 3.8, the upward trend would mean less? I appreciate your guys' time and responses!

It's not about having the cGPA of 3.5, but of the two year streak of >3.8. Therefore, keep taking courses and doing well. THAT is what shows the you of now is not the you of then.

 

[coramDeo]

It's not about having the cGPA of 3.5, but of the two year streak of >3.8. Therefore, keep taking courses and doing well. THAT is what shows the you of now is not the you of then.

Is 1.5 year streak enough to demonstrate that, or would you say another semester to make it a full year is needed?

 

[Goro]

Is 1.5 year streak enough to demonstrate that, or would you say another semester to make it a full year is needed?

I think that two full years are needed. I vaguely remember one med school's admission's website stating something like "the last two years are weighted more heavily".

 

[coramDeo]

I think that two full years are needed. I vaguely remember one med school's admission's website stating something like "the last two years are weighted more heavily".

Thank you for your answer! Lastly, does the number of credits/hours matter as much? Of the last 2 years, I took full course load (30 credits) in the first year, but the second year, I took/am taking 21 credits. Would that be an issue?

 

[candbgirl]

I would doubt a school would consider an American student with a 3.4 /520+ a superstar so I don’t think an international student with those stats would be considered one. An American student with those stats might not be accepted at an MD school. Are you adverse to DO schools?

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your answer! Lastly, does the number of credits/hours matter as much? Of the last 2 years, I took full course load (30 credits) in the first year, but the second year, I took/am taking 21 credits. Would that be an issue?

The more rigorous your academic challenges, the better. Again, medical school will be harder than anything you're taking now.