Upward Climb and Freshman Year GPA

[Luvahgilahsa]

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Hi everyone,

I have a 3.65GPA, and very high upward trend.
Freshman year GPA was 3.1, Sophomore year was 3.95, and Junior year was 4.0.

I was wondering, do the medical schools really look at upward trend as importantly as overall GPA? I've heard from people that as long as I have an upward trend, the medical schools don't really mind the overall GPA as much. However, now that I'm applying, I noticed that people's overall GPA are all very high, and I'm kind of afraid that my GPA, even with an upward trend, is not good enough to get into medical school, especially since I'm not really that special or distinct applicant. I don't really have a strong extracurricular background. I don't have papers published or anything. I have 2 years of research experience, 1 year of volunteering, and some shadowing. Other than that, I don't really have anything else on my application.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

Hi everyone,

I have a 3.65GPA, and very high upward trend.
Freshman year GPA was 3.1, Sophomore year was 3.95, and Junior year was 4.0.

I was wondering, do the medical schools really look at upward trend as importantly as overall GPA? I've heard from people that as long as I have an upward trend, the medical schools don't really mind the overall GPA as much. However, now that I'm applying, I noticed that people's overall GPA are all very high, and I'm kind of afraid that my GPA, even with an upward trend, is not good enough to get into medical school, especially since I'm not really that special or distinct applicant. I don't really have a strong extracurricular background. I don't have papers published or anything. I have 2 years of research experience, 1 year of volunteering, and some shadowing. Other than that, I don't really have anything else on my application.

1. Overall cGPA
2. sGPA vs. cGPA
3. Trends

Basically sums up what I've gathered for order of importance. They consider it, but it's really not likely to be a huge factor unless they're comparing two applicants head to head for something like an interview/acceptance and that's the only difference. Your MCAT will make the biggest difference, as your GPA is about at the average for all MD acceptances. Grain of salt though, I don't work for an AdCom

 

[Narmerguy]

I think different schools will handle this differently. Some schools have stated policies where they use certain multipliers that weight each year's grades. Thus, your junior year counts more than your sophomore year which counts more than your freshman year.

Others may take a more "holistic" approach or simply give your application an eyeball check (they get a graph that charts our your GPA for each year so it's easy to see a trend like yours). Which courses you did poorly in may matter as well.

It's hard to get a concrete answer. Of course, your GPA record won't be as impressive as someone who has averaged 3.95/4.0 the whole time, but it will be more impressive than someone who has averaged 3.65-3.70 the whole time.

Personally, I like your chances. I think most Adcoms will quickly realize that perhaps you had trouble adjusting your first year. A strong record after that, combined with plenty of EC's, research, and hopefully a good MCAT score will remove a lot of the doubt. I do not think your GPA will hold you back that much (outside of many of the Top 10's which expect you to bring something else to the table even if you did have a great GPA).

 

[Jojokarade]

For many medical schools if the number of credits are equal then years two, three, and four are worth twice as much, three times as much, and four times as much of year one, respectively. I finished with a 3.57, tons of ECs, and really no grade trend. I think you will do just fine of you can get a decent MCAT score.

 

[davidbm95]

Hi everyone,

I have a 3.65GPA, and very high upward trend.
Freshman year GPA was 3.1, Sophomore year was 3.95, and Junior year was 4.0.

I was wondering, do the medical schools really look at upward trend as importantly as overall GPA? I've heard from people that as long as I have an upward trend, the medical schools don't really mind the overall GPA as much. However, now that I'm applying, I noticed that people's overall GPA are all very high, and I'm kind of afraid that my GPA, even with an upward trend, is not good enough to get into medical school, especially since I'm not really that special or distinct applicant. I don't really have a strong extracurricular background. I don't have papers published or anything. I have 2 years of research experience, 1 year of volunteering, and some shadowing. Other than that, I don't really have anything else on my application.

The GPA is obviously more important than the trend itself but it helps a lot. It shows your capability to succeed and change. A 3.65 itself isn't that bad itself. That can still be competitive even for top schools. If top schools is what you are shooting for you could have a shot and the upward trend definitely shows. You could of worked a little on your EC's but you should be fine and do the best you can on the MCAT. Best of luck.

 

[UnclePhil]

Your grades are fine. There is a reason why they break down the grades into Freshman GPA, Sophomore GPA, Junior GPA, Senior GPA on your AMCAS, they'll look at that. Nice work on your last two years of college, you clearly worked very hard and stayed on top of things, I doubt it'll go unnoticed. No school is going to reject you because of your GPA.