Should I stay an extra year in college just for the purpose of bringing up GPA?

[studentdoctor08]

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I just finished my 3rd year of college and I have a 3.5 GPA right now. I'm taking summer classes and if all goes well, I hope to have a mid-3.6 ish GPA when I graduate. With admissions becoming increasingly more difficult, the average GPAs of schools are slowly getting higher, and I'm afraid that with a 3.6 GPA I won't be competitive enough. I'm hoping to go to a mid-tier school like Tufts, BU, George Washington, etc. all with average GPAs of ~3.7. Do you think it is better that I spend another year just working on my GPA?

 

[MetabolismASE]

rock the mcat and u should be fine

 

[Tapepsi]

If it's something you're willing to do, I say go ahead and do it. Keep in mind though that a stellar MCAT score can help your application, especially since your GPA isn't that bad (even with a 3.5).

Although I never got the whole "tier" thing. How can they compare medical schools (okay except for the ivy leagues) when each school has different missions and values? Like one will specialize in research while the other in primary care. The school I'm going to some will consider "low tier" but when you see their match results you would think otherwise. Also in my opinion, basing it on how high the average MCAT and GPA is can give you some idea, but not all schools necessarily put as much emphasis on those numbers compared to others, or may put emphasis more on one than the other (ex: my school has below average MCAT scores but the average GPA is 3.8).

 

[DrYoda]

Is your MCAT competitive? If it is (and your ECs are decent) I vote apply, that GPA isn't bad enough to warrant burning a whole year over.

 

[patel2]

I just finished my 3rd year of college and I have a 3.5 GPA right now. I'm taking summer classes and if all goes well, I hope to have a mid-3.6 ish GPA when I graduate. With admissions becoming increasingly more difficult, the average GPAs of schools are slowly getting higher, and I'm afraid that with a 3.6 GPA I won't be competitive enough. I'm hoping to go to a mid-tier school like Tufts, BU, George Washington, etc. all with average GPAs of ~3.7. Do you think it is better that I spend another year just working on my GPA?

absolutely not. A 5th year of college just to raise your GPA from a 3.6 to a 3.7? Talk about low yield and a huge waste of time. Just focus on the MCAT and rock it...that's what will be far more significant than a tenth of a gpa point.

 

[estradiol9]

I would advise against staying an additional year just for the sole purpose of raising your GPA because it doesn't exactly look good to take five years to completely 4 years worth of work. However, I think if you pick up some sort of double major then it might not be viewed upon as negatively? Double majors usually take significantly more credits than somebody who only has one major so taking five years to complete a double major in let's say math and biology? may not raise as many eyebrows as taking five years just to major in biology.

 

[MyCarIsDirty]

I'm with everyone else. Rock the MCAT. If you're average on it (I'd say 30ish+), I would apply assuming everything else is about right.

 

[TribalSeeds]

I'm staying in school an extra year to take some extra classes that will give me a boost like extra bio, chem, math, and english courses. If it's just for the GPA, I'd say forget it.Also factor in your financial situation. School is expensive!

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

I agree. Don't stay in school just to raise your gpa by .1.

What if your GPA is a 3.1? Still not worth doing some extra classes to raise to a 3.2?

 

[yamaraja808]

What if your GPA is a 3.1? Still not worth doing some extra classes to raise to a 3.2?

My advice to you is apply anyway. If you don't get into the schools that you want this coming cycle, then apply again with your improved stats. Don't waste a year contemplating on the "what if," just go for it. You maybe surprised by the result.