Medical What schools should I apply to with a higher MCAT but lower GPA?

[Mr.Smile12]

I scored a 514 on my MCAT but have a 3.57 cGPA and a 3.31 sGPA. I'm creating my school list, but I'm not sure if I should aim for schools based on my GPA or MCAT. Based on GPA, I should apply to low tier schools and DO, but based on my MCAT, I should be aiming for mid-tier MDs. Should I do both? What is a happy middle?

GPA in general is a stronger factor compared to MCAT because (rule-of-thumbs says) GPA can be a proxy for consistency of performance over time as coursework difficulty presumably increases. Standardized exams usually predict performance on standardized exams only.

I tell people choose the schools in the same way you want your application to be selected for interview. If you choose schools valuing only GPA/MCAT, then you probably want to be evaluated as such by schools. I say that because most of my advisees have always wanted us to focus on activities, or personality, or something else other than the metrics. You want to find schools that value those experiences as much as your metrics because they would at least take a chance to review you holistically and find the context in your performance. DO schools tend to do that well in general. So I'd look for schools where I feel I have the best fit, the best support, and the best opportunities to hone my clinical skills necessary to succeed in residency and beyond.

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[Goro]

I scored a 514 on my MCAT but have a 3.57 cGPA and a 3.31 sGPA. I'm creating my school list, but I'm not sure if I should aim for schools based on my GPA or MCAT. Based on GPA, I should apply to low tier schools and DO, but based on my MCAT, I should be aiming for mid-tier MDs. Should I do both? What is a happy middle?

Do you have a rising GPA trend? If not the disparity between MCAT and your sGPA will be a problem.

The flip side to my wise colleague's advice on GPA is that the MCAT is a standardized predictor, as compared to GPAs, which can vary due to the differing rigor of UG schools. We have no way of knowing if one is, for example, simply a good test taker but lazy and unmotivated.

I'm not sanguine on MD schools; you're fine for any DO school, including mine.

I suggest the following, but invest in MSAR ONline and rule out schools where your sGPA is < the school's 10th %iles for acceptees.
BU

USF Morsani (maybe)

U Cincy (maybe)

UCF

Hofstra

U Toledo

U IA

U VM

Pitt

Miami

St. Louis

Albany

Albert Einstein

Rochester

Rush

Rosy Franklin

Wayne State

MCW

NYMC

VCU

EVMS

Wake Forest

Jefferson

Temple

Tufts

Drexel

Creighton

George Washington

Georgetown

Emory

Tulane

Dartmouth

Loyola

Netter

TCU/UNT

Oakland-B

Western MI

Seton Hall

Your state school(s).

Nova MD

CUSM IF you're from CA

Kaiser IF you're from CA

Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)

Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me.