Science GPA vs. Cumulative GPA

[Clumpofstuff]

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[drneurodork]

I'm sure having a better science GPA than an overall GPA is advantageous, especially since you're entering a medical discipline, but I think some schools are interested in seeing students who do well in a broad array of classes and not just the typical science classes. Either way, both GPA's you have listed look appealing.

 

[Special Delivery]

Although I'm sure it's on a case by case basis, and in my limited experience, I would say sGPA carries a lot of weight in an application.

I know someone who went to college planning on getting an art degree and going to work for Pixar, and when ahe took her first required science course at the end of her second year, ran into a professor who saw she had a gift for biology. It was too late in the game for her to change majors, so she graduated with a Fine Arts degree (in Pottery) and then took an extra 2 years to finish all the prereqs for med school. In the end, she had a 3.6ish cGPA (ironically thanks to all the B's she got in art classes), but a 4.0 sGPA, and a 24m for MCAT. She's in med school now.

 

[intj]

Also, along the lines of this question... what about sGPA vs the grades for the prereqs?

I took a bunch of science classes that weren't part of the core pre med classes, like biology and neuroscience classes, an advanced math class or two that I didn't need, etc and got B- and Bs.....

then I decided I wanted to go to med school, am taking the prereqs, and I've been getting better grades on the pre-reqs. I'm anticipating a 3.8 or 3.7 on my pre-req classes (which is around my cGPA), vs a 3.5 for my sGPA.

I'm guessing the pre-reqs grades don't matter as much as the general sGPA but would be delighted to be proven wrong

 

[Catalystik]

I wanted to go to med school, am taking the prereqs, and I've been getting better grades on the pre-reqs. I'm anticipating a 3.8 or 3.7 on my pre-req classes (which is around my cGPA), vs a 3.5 for my sGPA.

Actually, it happens that a school might figure the prereq-only BCPM GPA, but this isn't common from my experience. What will look good in your situation, and be appreciated by every school, is the steep upward grade trend on a year-by-year basis.

 

[intj]

Thanks, catalystik