What Med Schools are Realistic with a 3.6?

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Premedgirl15

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I'm trying to decide realistically what med schools would be good to start focusing in on. I haven't taken the MCAT yet, I'm simply looking for answers based solely on a GPA range!

Thanks
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Are you sure? I feel like it's so low compared to most school's with 3.8 averages!
 
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My cGPA is around there...and while I feel like it didn't hurt me, it definitely doesn't help me. In fact, I feel like my application is pretty much only saved (because my MCAT is around average accepted too..so it's nothing special really) due to my awesome sGPA. So...tl;dr would be make sure you have something else that "pops" on your app with a 3.6
 
calm down, breath...

A 3.6 GPA is fine and can get you into any med school in the country. It all really depends on your MCAT (plus ECs and intangibles).

Don't worry, there's a good chance based on your GPA
 
Get an MSAR subscription. You'll see that even some of the top schools accept people from a wide range of scores.
 
Premedgirl15 said:
I'm trying to decide realistically what med schools would be good to start focusing in on. I haven't taken the MCAT yet, I'm simply looking for answers based solely on a GPA range!

Thanks
Click to expand...
As of right now you have zero chance with that GPA at any medical school....because you haven't take the MCAT yet! Don't start thinking about what med schools you should apply to before having your MCAT score. It's useless and a waste of time to think about. Your GPA is actually below average for MD matriculant (3.7 GPA average) and not excellent. It is definitely not bad however. That's about as much we can say.
 
3.6 is not unrealistic provided that you have a good MCAT
 
MCAT matters way more. Depending on MCAT you may be only be able to apply to Caribbean or if high enough apply to Harvard.

EC's need to be up to snuff as well, but its all about the MCAT.
 
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Dear Neurotic Pre-Med Student,

What year are you?
You can bring it up - but more importantly you should go kill MCAT and still filling in some meaningful checkboxes (EC).
 
I don't think the simple 3.6 GPA is the issue. Med schools will look at what courses you got the Bs and maybe Cs in. And, of course, if you spank the MCAT, that will also be meaningful.

Are you asking about cum GPA or BCPM GPA?

If your cum GPA is a 3.6 and you got the B's or C's in Art History or Music Appreciation or other non-BCPM course, the 3.6 GPA would be looked at more favorably. But, if you only aced the courses in your non-science major, and got mostly B's in the premed prereqs, then that would likely be an issue.

what is your BCPM GPA? Are you a junior?
 
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I had around a 3.6 and it worked out fine. As others mentioned, your ECs/experiences are far more important once you're above a certain Lizzy score anyway.
 
MCAT score is the limiting reagent here. A 525 would mean schools like Penn, Harvard, Hopkins etc. anything below a 500 and Most likely nowhere.. Kill the MCAT is the advice everyone is/will give you
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
MCAT score is the limiting reagent here. A 525 would mean schools like Penn, Harvard, Hopkins etc. anything below a 500 and Most likely nowhere.. Kill the MCAT is the advice everyone is/will give you
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If the OP is asking about the typical unhooked applicant, then really anything lower than a 505 is a serious issue. That's 68th percentile
 
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SOMBound13 said:
If the OP is asking about the typical unhooked applicant, then really anything lower than a 505 is a serious issue. That's 68 percentile
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Very true. I should have clarified: anything lower than about a 508 and it might be time to be thinking about DO only, anything below a 500 could take DO off the table as well
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Very true. I should have clarified: anything lower than about a 508 and it might be time to be thinking about DO only, anything below a 500 could take DO off the table as well
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a 508 is like a 30 right?
 
My sGPA was <3.6 and it worked out. That being said, I was sure to compensate in other areas (EC's, LOR's, etc.)
 
Gandyy said:
a 508 is like a 30 right?
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Yeah it's right about a 30, that is great for DO if you have at least somewhat decent GPAs. Like 3.2+, 3.0+ is still possible with that. For MD a 3.6 and 30 is possible but it might get a little dicey, depending on which state you are from.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Yeah it's right about a 30, that is great for DO if you have at least somewhat decent GPAs. Like 3.2+, 3.0+ is still possible with that. For MD a 3.6 and 30 is possible but it might get a little dicey, depending on which state you are from.
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Man, it's ridiculous that a 3.6/30 is considered "dicey" for today's admission standards. Just ~3 years ago, these were the stats that people were shooting for!
 
Gibbward said:
Man, it's ridiculous that a 3.6/30 is considered "dicey" for today's admission standards. Just ~3 years ago, these were the stats that people were shooting for!
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Yea about 3-4 years ago, you were told that you were golden if you made a 3.6/3.7 gpa with a 30 MCAT. Nowadays those starts are like 50/50. Its horrendous.
 
Gibbward said:
Man, it's ridiculous that a 3.6/30 is considered "dicey" for today's admission standards. Just ~3 years ago, these were the stats that people were shooting for!
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It's not really "dicey." 3.6/30 is just below the national median of matriculants (3.7/31). 3.6/30 with the average ECs is probably somewhere around 80%+ chance of admission.
 
realistically, anywhere from HSM to LUCOM.
 
Wow so about half of medical school matriculants have a mcat score 1 standard deviation above the mean
 
I'm reviving a zombie thread because this is this first result on Google when you search "SDN 3.6 GPA," and I want to share important advice:

Yes, you can try to apply to any school with a 3.6, but in my experience this cycle, most schools will turn you down. I had a high MCAT (95+ percentile), multiple extraordinary ECs, an upward GPA trend (straight A's final two years in a hard science major) and strong personal statements and LORs. But it didn't redeem me for top schools.

All of my interviews were at schools whose median GPAs were low. And to clarify, I applied with a 3.6 cumulative GPA, and a 3.5 science GPA.

So this thread sets up false expectations. Still I'd advise readers in this situation to throw in top schools if they think something might redeem the low GPA (because some people get lucky, and maybe I'm wrong about all this!), but to make sure to apply to very broad range of "lower tier" schools. If you have a 3.6 and don't have a high MCAT or something redeeming, I think it might be wise to *also* apply DO just so you don't end up with no acceptances.

Disclaimer: If you have a truly exceptional EC or apply as disadvantaged/URM, my advice doesn't hold weight.

Lastly, don't take anything you read online as dogma. Corroborate with people in real life!
 
I'm not sure why we are told to work hard for our GPA when the MCAT is the limiting factor here.

My peers who are already in the green zone GPA-wise are busy fussing about the difference between an A- and an A when they really should be fussing about the MCAT.
 
Sunbodi said:
I'm not sure why we are told to work hard for our GPA when the MCAT is the limiting factor here.

My peers who are already in the green zone GPA-wise are busy fussing about the difference between an A- and an A when they really should be fussing about the MCAT.
Click to expand...

You’re told to maintain a high gpa because it’s necessary for the best chance at being accepted. That doesn’t mean it’s sufficient. Just like a killer MCAT won’t save you if your gpa is abysmal, you need both to really ensure you have the best chance (plus the other stuff).
 
If a 3.6 is not a bad GPA for med school admissions (any tier), than I have been stressing out waaay too much recently. This raises my hopes
 
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