which one is better?

[soo21085]

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i received a 36 on the MCAT but have a 3.2 gpa.
my friend has a 3.8 gpa, but he received a 24 on the mcat.

which one is better?
we both have in-state preferences for the medical state in our state.

do we both have chances at gettign accepted?

 

[stoppushingit]

i received a 36 on the MCAT but have a 3.2 gpa.
my friend has a 3.8 gpa, but he received a 24 on the mcat.

which one is better?
we both have in-state preferences for the medical state in our state.

do we both have chances at gettign accepted?

yours. hands down.
but we also need to take into account which schools you guys come from/apply to, and also what EC's you guys are involved in, how well you wrote your personal statements, etc.
your friend might have a harder time getting accepted just based on the low MCAT.

 

[TPROrgoTutor]

If his MCAT was about a 31-33 I would say him, hands down. But he is def. outclassed by you with his mcat. Good luck to both of you, though.

 

[desidr]

If his MCAT was about a 31-33 I would say him, hands down. But he is def. outclassed by you with his mcat. Good luck to both of you, though.

agreed. the 3.8gpa is invalidated by the low MCAT. wheras the 3.2 is 'acceptable' and the 36 is outstanding.

 

[coffeebythelake]

But your friend can retake the MCAT and get a 30+, while you cannot retake your GPA.

 

[Gabujabu]

You are in a much better situation. If you're grade trend is upwards, rather than downwards, you should be able to get in.

 

[63768]

yours. a 24 makes it really really difficult to get in. your 3.2 is far more doable.

 

[ether^O^]

If the question was: which is better, a 36 & 3.2 compared to a 30 & 3.8, I'd say the latter is better

 

[Wizard of Oz]

You both have a chance, but if you want a state school in the state where you are a resident, you are probably already accepted in 40-45 out of 50 states. Granted, I haven't actually seen your grades (hope you didn't fail introductory biology or something).

I would give your friend very poor odds with a 24 unless his 3.8 is in physics or engineering and he tanked his verbal or something.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

If the question was: which is better, a 36 & 3.2 compared to a 30 & 3.8, I'd say the latter is better

I'd agree with you re: 30/3.8 > 36/3.2

OP, your situation is better. That 24 MCAT is gonna sink your friend's battleship. But don't celebrate just yet, 3.2 with a 36 is still going to be a tough fight. The 3.2 can really hold you back.

 

[Falco2525]

You are in the better situation...which undergrad institution did you attend...that will make a difference if you go to a "tough" school for your gpa especially with that mcat score...your friend is in some trouble...and needs to improve significantly on their mcat to have a chance to get in...you however have a decent shot

 

[gujuDoc]

So I'd like a little bit more information. What is the home state??? What kind of ECs do each of you have???

For you if things dont work out you can probably do an SMP to show your improvement in grades. For the friend, they'd need to retake the MCAT if they don't get in and are not considering DO or carrib.

 

[baylormed]

how about 28/3.9 or 29/3.8 😀 ? Now, that gets really interesting!

NO PLEASE NOOOOOOOO!! **runs away in horror**

(haha, I know you're joking, but some people DO post questions like these...🙄 )

I hate these threads. There is more to an application than grades. It's all a crapshoot, people with good scores don't get interviews at some schools while others with lower scores do. Why, because adcoms consider trends, undergrad institutions, extracurriculars, disadvantaged status, employment while in school, clinical experience, personal statements, alumni parents, etc.

So please stop torturing yourselves because there is no way that a group of bored procrastinating pre-meds on SDN is going to be able to predict anything like this.

 

[somemaybedoc]

NO PLEASE NOOOOOOOO!! **runs away in horror**

(haha, I know you're joking, but some people DO post questions like these...🙄 )

I hate these threads. There is more to an application than grades. It's all a crapshoot, people with good scores don't get interviews at some schools while others with lower scores do. Why, because adcoms consider trends, undergrad institutions, extracurriculars, disadvantaged status, employment while in school, clinical experience, personal statements, alumni parents, etc.

So please stop torturing yourselves because there is no way that a group of bored procrastinating pre-meds on SDN is going to be able to predict anything like this.

True, but at this point stats remain a big part of the process.

 

[somemaybedoc]

OP's is better. There would most likely be serious doubts about aptitude for his friend.

 

[JediBookworm]

I was just curious when reading this post. I know 24 is really down there , but it seems that in the US, MCAT can sort of make up for GPA and not vice versa... Why do you think that might be?

 

[junebuguf]

You both are longshots. Given that you are both (likely) to fail this cycle (hey, I'm in the same boat), I think in the long run, I would take your friends circumstances over yours, because its easier to increase a woefully bad MCAT score than a woefully bad gpa (not that yours is *that* bad). Given that your friend has a 3.8, he's clearly not stupid, and probably just needs to give it a little extra attention. There are tons of stories of people improving a 24 MCAT to a 29-30, but there arent many stories of people improving 3.2 gpas to a 3.7.

 

[JediBookworm]

Who said that?? They were just trying to imply that High MCAT/ low GPA is somewhat better off than low MCAT/ High GPA...

That was what I meant. It seems to be the reverse in Canada...

 

[DenmarkDoctor]

That was what I meant. It seems to be the reverse in Canada...

But we are in the US of A!

 

[JediBookworm]

But we are in the US of A!

Just trying to compare philosophies here... I was just curious in how so many people here (yes, I know they are not on adcoms) jumped to say that the high MCAT/low GPA still somewhat reigned over the low MCAT/high GPA...

 

[JediBookworm]

This is what I think:


High GPA/ low MCAT = good work ethic and decent intellegence, highly motivated, poor testing skills, fold under pressure, can't self study,etc

High MCAT/ Low GPA = high aptitude in Science and English, good test taking skills, and great big game performers, lack motivation- kind of lazy, have care free personality -hence, don't feel the pressure,etc.

Ok I have to disagree.

High GPA/low MCAT: good work ethic? What about studying properly for the MCAT? I believe intelligence is required for both profiles... If they don't have good testing skills and can't self-study how did they get their GPAs in the first place? Isn't there pressure associated with doing undergrad studies?

Low GPA/high MCAT: Don't you need high aptitude in science and english and many other fields to get a high GPA?? Don't you need high motivation to study for a thing as big as the MCAT?

I'm sorry, but your points just contradict too much...

 

[junebuguf]

This is what I think:


High GPA/ low MCAT = good work ethic and decent intellegence, highly motivated, poor testing skills, fold under pressure, can't self study, easy undergraduate institution, cheated on some classes, etc.

High MCAT/ Low GPA = high aptitude in Science and English, good test taking skills, and great big game performers, lack motivation- kind of lazy, have care free personality -hence, don't feel the pressure, frequently lack attention span, etc.

You should revise these divisions to accomodate trends. For instance, I have a 2.82 cum/3.25 bcmp amcas and 34 MCAT, but my gpa over the last 84 credit hours is 3.96, and 84 credit hours is three years, or about what most applicants present to adcoms when applying.

 

[JediBookworm]

How do adcoms actually evaluate post-bac or masters GPAs with respect to undergrad GPA?

 

[UMP]

You should revise these divisions to accomodate trends. For instance, I have a 2.82 cum/3.25 bcmp amcas and 34 MCAT, but my gpa over the last 84 credit hours is 3.96, and 84 credit hours is three years, or about what most applicants present to adcoms when applying.

you're still lazy and lack an attention span... 😛

Revive the low GPA thread!!!

 

[Wizard of Oz]

How do adcoms actually evaluate post-bac or masters GPAs with respect to undergrad GPA?

AMCAS will usually factor post-bac into undergraduate computations as long as you had not been admitted to a graduate program before you enrolled in the classes. Classes taken in graduate school have their own GPA (and are often not looked at--at least such was true in my experience).

 

[JediBookworm]

Thanks. Let me get this clear -- is a masters considered "graduate study" in the US? People seem to be lumping "post-bac" and "masters" together on this board...

 

[junebuguf]

you're still lazy and lack an attention span... 😛

Revive the low GPA thread!!!

Nothing to report...sigh... I'll update when interviews/(if) acceptances pop up.

Why don't your revive it!

 

[junebuguf]

Thanks. Let me get this clear -- is a masters considered "graduate study" in the US? People seem to be lumping "post-bac" and "masters" together on this board...

post-bacc usually refers to any undergrad level coursework taken after you receive your bachelor's degree. I guess, technically, post-bacc would encompass a masters degree, but on AMCAS, post-bacc and graduate gpas are reportedly differently.

And to the previous poster who said grad gpas dont count, well, this may be your personal experience, but for the vast majority of applicants who do complete a Master's or PhD degree, the grad gpa counts as much, if not more, than your undergrad grades.

 

[JediBookworm]

post-bacc usually refers to any undergrad level coursework taken after you receive your bachelor's degree. I guess, technically, post-bacc would encompass a masters degree, but on AMCAS, post-bacc and graduate gpas are reportedly differently.

And to the previous poster who said grad gpas dont count, well, this may be your personal experience, but for the vast majority of applicants who do complete a Master's or PhD degree, the grad gpa counts as much, if not more, than your undergrad grades.

Ok then...thanks for clarifying. In Canada, masters is considered graduate study, with no connection to undergrad whatsoever. People might take an extra year to do their Bachelor's (to boost GPA), but there isn't anything that I know of that allows you to do any further undergrad in a similar major (bio sciences) after you've graduated...

 

[MossPoh]

The graduate studies weight kind of depends on the program. I have heard accounts of certain things being counted as less but then others as more. I had an adcomm guy tell me that he enjoyed seeing a person with a great grad gpa after a fairly dismal undergrad because it ment there was a shift in study habits and that he/she worked hard and understands what work is like now....that isn't every case though. Post-bacc can be considered those smp masters programs and stuff...there is really two areas to it so it isn' fair to just say "post-bacc". If you are fulfilling premed reqs like me then it is more of a way of distinguishing from a previously mediochre gpa or to just get the courses out of the way. If you took the premed courses already then it is to prove you can take the course load and do well in it...which is the harder of the two. Upward trends in gpa are always good though.Currently, if you took my first year and a half of college out of the equation I'd have a 3.6 or so in a double major. Using my first year and a half I have a 3.08 if that tells you how bad I messed up. I have people looking at my current major and asking for interviews for very very good jobs yet my cum may prevent me from doing what I truly want.😛

 

[Rafa]

Agree with everyone that the first set of stats is stronger. If you do the gpa x 10 + mcat thing, it's a 68. The second score is a 62.

 

[Law2Doc]

how about 28/3.9 or 29/3.8 😀 ? Now, that gets really interesting!

No, not interesting. Both would get considered at the same places, as there is no hard and fast formula used that separates these two at most schools. The one with better non-numeric stats would have a better chance of getting in.

 

[Law2Doc]

How do adcoms actually evaluate post-bac or masters GPAs with respect to undergrad GPA?

Undergrad level postbac grades are combined with your undergrad GPA to make the category that is considered as the "GPA" adcoms reportedly use, and undergrad postbac courses are included into BCPM.
Masters and other graduate GPAs are not as strongly relied upon or included, but can give evidence of current ability in the sciences or ability to handle medical school level courses (in the case of a SMP), which is helpful for admission for some.