I would say that an upward GPA helps, but also the classes and course work that you take is also significant and can help. I believe that this is what led to my acceptance, despite my subpar MCAT. I was even asked about it during my interview
my first two years at community college, my cumulative GPA was 3.66
classes under my belt during this time,
Bio I lec and lab- B
Bio II lec and lab - A
Chem I, Chem I lab, Chem II, and Chem II lab- A
The most credit hours that I took during this time was 14
Transferred to a 4-year university for my last 2 years to obtain my B.S in Biology
First semester- 4.0 , 17 hours
Second semester- 4.0 18 hours
Summer School- 4.0, 6 hours
Third semester- 4.0, 17 hours
Fourth semester- 3.88, 14 hours
All of my classes were upper division sciences, which helped. My GPA for the last 2 years came out to a 3.97, and my overall GPA that was verified by AACOMAS was:
cGPA=3.83
sGPA =3.91
This significantly helped me gain acceptance to DMU. It has been my only interview and acceptance so far. And just to let you know, I took the MCAT 3 times:
1st attempt PS-9 V-4 W-Q BS-8 21Q
2nd attempt PS-10 V-4 W-R BS-9 23R
3rd attempt PS-9 V-5 BW-R BS-10 24R
my interviewers told me that they thought my GPA, the rigorous coursework (and was able to maintain 4.0 despite working, tutoring, volunteering), and my work experience outweighed my performance on one section of the MCAT. I think this is significant, because it shows that DO schools really take a more open approaching to selecting applicants, and not just viewing stats. I was rejected by ALL of my instate MD schools (as expected)
and to give you an idea of the coursework during last 2 years:
1st semester- genetics lec (3), genetics lab (2), Ochem I(4), Ochem I lab (2), biostatistics (3), drugs&society (3) Total=17 hours
2nd semester- microbiology(3), brain and behavior (3), physics I(3), physics I lab (1),Ochem II(3), Ochem II lab(2), introductory macroeconomics (3) Total=18 hours
Summer school- physics II(3), cell biology (3)-Total=6 hours
3rd semester-advanced physiology(3), advanced physiology lab(2), biochem(3),biochem lab(2), physics II lab (1), neuropsychopharmacology(3), human growth&development (3) Total=17
4th semester-neurobiology(3),neurobiology lab(2),cancer biology(3),cell bio lab(2), independent research(4)Total=14 hours
if you ask me, this made a difference because my first two years were nothing like this in terms of science classes. They consisted of mainly algebra, speech, history, gov, english classes (the basics). This is why I think it helps to have an upward trend but to also have that trend while taking more difficulty UD classes
just my 2 cents
. good job.
