SMP with gpa less than 3.0?

[AM1243]

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Has anyone gained acceptance into a SMP with a low gpa of 2.8.

All of the SMP that i have been checking out have a minimum gpa of 3.0.

 

[JSReed]

Not impossible, but DEF not easy. You basically need to have everything else on your app perfect, i.e. research, volunteering, MCAT, LORs, definite upward trend. I applied at less than 3.0 and got into a few SMPs. Although you're kind of late for this cycle...

 

[AM1243]

Thanks!! Can i ask you which SMPs you applied to?! I plan on applying for the next cycle.

 

[HopesandDreams]

I also was accepted with gpa less than 3.0 (BU MAMS). I applied to georgetown , u cincinnati, and tufts as well, havent heard back from them yet my applications for those were just recently completed due to a recommender sending letter in late. I also had a 38 mcat, volunteering/research, some informal post bac classes raising my gpa, and good LORS. Some previous post bac students have also told me in private messages that they also had sub 3.0 ugrad gpas so it does happen. Why are you planning on waiting a year? IMO get your application in ASAP, dont waste a year if you can avoid it. I've heard quite a few stories on this forum of peopel applying for SMP towards the very end of the cycle and being admitted off the waitlist just a few weeks before the start of the program.

Also the 3.0 minimum GPA's are not always a hard cut off. I've e-mailed several of the programs(also ones I didnt end up applying like USC) asking that question and the response I have got back from every program was that they view the total application and it's not a hard cutoff at 3.0.

 

[deleted248403]

I also was accepted with gpa less than 3.0 (BU MAMS). I applied to georgetown , u cincinnati, and tufts as well, havent heard back from them yet my applications for those were just recently completed due to a recommender sending letter in late. I also had a 38 mcat, volunteering/research, some informal post bac classes raising my gpa, and good LORS. Some previous post bac students have also told me in private messages that they also had sub 3.0 ugrad gpas so it does happen. Why are you planning on waiting a year? IMO get your application in ASAP, dont waste a year if you can avoid it. I've heard quite a few stories on this forum of peopel applying for SMP towards the very end of the cycle and being admitted off the waitlist just a few weeks before the start of the program.

Also the 3.0 minimum GPA's are not always a hard cut off. I've e-mailed several of the programs(also ones I didnt end up applying like USC) asking that question and the response I have got back from every program was that they view the total application and it's not a hard cutoff at 3.0.

Yea but the key for u was the 38. No MCAT and a low-GPA is a much harder sell.

 

[DoctaSleepy]

Getting in is certainly possible, but being prepared to hit the ground running and do extremely well in the SMP itself is the bottom line. There is a common thread among folks who get into an SMP with a sub-3.0 GPA and then make it into medical school: they got one or two SMP acceptances, worked extremely hard and did very well in the SMP itself, and gained admission to the SMP school's med school and no others. Of course, there are exceptions, but this is the case for the majority of sub-3.0 GPA applicants.

 

[JSReed]

I also was accepted with gpa less than 3.0 (BU MAMS). I applied to georgetown , u cincinnati, and tufts as well, havent heard back from them yet my applications for those were just recently completed due to a recommender sending letter in late. I also had a 38 mcat, volunteering/research, some informal post bac classes raising my gpa, and good LORS. Some previous post bac students have also told me in private messages that they also had sub 3.0 ugrad gpas so it does happen. Why are you planning on waiting a year? IMO get your application in ASAP, dont waste a year if you can avoid it. I've heard quite a few stories on this forum of peopel applying for SMP towards the very end of the cycle and being admitted off the waitlist just a few weeks before the start of the program.

Also the 3.0 minimum GPA's are not always a hard cut off. I've e-mailed several of the programs(also ones I didnt end up applying like USC) asking that question and the response I have got back from every program was that they view the total application and it's not a hard cutoff at 3.0.

Not to attack you Hopes, but to be honest, I feel like your extremely high mcat makes you an exception to the rule. And in terms of applying this cycle there are definitely people who apply pretty late and get in, but your chances go down pretty significantly if you're also below 3.0. The OP could definitely look into applying, but know that they won't do as well as they could because its so late. Their apps won't even be complete for a couple of weeks due to the processing of paperwork. Kind of a tossup.

The important thing about applying with a sub-3.0 is that you have a really strong upward trend. You want to be able to show that at least recently, you've been able to hold yourself to a high academic standard. If you don't have this, its pretty unlikely one of these schools will give you a spot simply because they have no proof that you will pass your classes or have any ability to boost their stats by getting into med school. Additionally, you need to be average or better in every other part of my app.

In terms of my specific case, I got into BU, Tufts, VCU, and Drexel. GT and Cincinnati waitlisted me, which I think was specifically because I'm below a 3.0-- goes to show that this stuff is important at some level.

Stats:
2.9/2.7 in Molecular Bio at a public university in the top 25, took some grad classes to show I could perform at a high level
33S (straight 11s)
18 months of cell bio research with a couple of presentations
Summer Translating in an ER
3 months working on an in vivo study
Multiple outreach trips to central america
8 months volunteering at legal advocacy NGO
3 very strong LORs


If you're a sub-3.0 applicant, you need to be at a point where you feel like you could get into med school based on everything other than GPA. I've talked to people (real life, not SDN) who are/were enrolled in many different SMPs; all of them told me that if you're GPA is really low (a.k.a. below 3.0), you need to finish all your other stuff before you start so you can spend your time solely on school.

Didn't mean to piss anyone off or sound mean, just my $.02

 

[HopesandDreams]

Not to attack you Hopes, but to be honest, I feel like your extremely high mcat makes you an exception to the rule. And in terms of applying this cycle there are definitely people who apply pretty late and get in, but your chances go down pretty significantly if you're also below 3.0. The OP could definitely look into applying, but know that they won't do as well as they could because its so late. Their apps won't even be complete for a couple of weeks due to the processing of paperwork. Kind of a tossup.

The important thing about applying with a sub-3.0 is that you have a really strong upward trend. You want to be able to show that at least recently, you've been able to hold yourself to a high academic standard. If you don't have this, its pretty unlikely one of these schools will give you a spot simply because they have no proof that you will pass your classes or have any ability to boost their stats by getting into med school. Additionally, you need to be average or better in every other part of my app.

In terms of my specific case, I got into BU, Tufts, VCU, and Drexel. GT and Cincinnati waitlisted me, which I think was specifically because I'm below a 3.0-- goes to show that this stuff is important at some level.

Stats:
2.9/2.7 in Molecular Bio at a public university in the top 25, took some grad classes to show I could perform at a high level
33S (straight 11s)
18 months of cell bio research with a couple of presentations
Summer Translating in an ER
3 months working on an in vivo study
Multiple outreach trips to central america
8 months volunteering at legal advocacy NGO
3 very strong LORs


If you're a sub-3.0 applicant, you need to be at a point where you feel like you could get into med school based on everything other than GPA. I've talked to people (real life, not SDN) who are/were enrolled in many different SMPs; all of them told me that if you're GPA is really low (a.k.a. below 3.0), you need to finish all your other stuff before you start so you can spend your time solely on school.

Didn't mean to piss anyone off or sound mean, just my $.02

Thanks for sharing your experience I'm sure other students with sub 3.0 gpas will find it useful. I definitely agree my case is a pretty unique one with the high mcat and also I was a biomedical engineering major which may garner a little more forgiveness towards low gpa. I pretty much agree with you on everything you wrote, but I just want to make one point and that's that you have multiple acceptances with a gpa under 3.0. Eventually you and many others, possibly including myself, will have to decline several of those spots meaning that potentially applicants with lower stats would have a decent chance to get in off the waitlist. This may be a moot point anyways since the OP may not be able to get mcat or prereqs done in time and might have to wait until next year.

I guess in conclusion we can say that it is possible to get in with under a 3.0 gpa but start working your ass off on every single part of your app (upward trend, mcat, volunteer, research etc etc). Even more so because smp acceptance is only the beginning!