Hello,
I was concerned about my GPA and overall application.
TLDR; My graduate GPA is low (3.14), and I took the MCAT 3 times with a final score of 509. My undergrad is from India, so I realize that I must complete a bachelor’s from a US school. So far, I have a 3.92 GPA (undergrad~99 credits). Are my three retakes (506, 503, 509) and low graduate GPA major red flags that will keep me out of medical school? What can I do to improve my chances?
A bit of background about me: although I was born in Ohio, my family moved to India, and there I completed my undergrad (Biochemical Engineering) with a 3.58 GPA (WES evaluated). I wasn’t sure about pursuing medicine back then, so I went to graduate school. I graduated with a 3.14 GPA from the University of X. My low GPA was due to poor time management skills and study habits. At some point, I decided to go for medicine. I left with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and pursued my second bachelor’s degree at the University of Y. So far, I have a GPA of 3.92 with 99 credits. I did the second bachelor’s degree because most med schools prefer a US degree. Ever since I completed my master’s, I have tried my best to improve my GPA and overall application by maintaining a good GPA and gaining significant clinical experiences. Please let me know what else I can do to improve my application further.
Hi there!
My take:
Not at all. You GPA isn’t actually low, from what I can tell, it’s just not “competitive.” But, you have a story and no real red flag numbers. Now, I think you’re saying that you got a bachelors and then got a masters with a lower GPA and are now getting another degree with a higher GPA. The lower GPA isn’t great, trend-wise, so be ready to explain that. Also, try to take some higher level course (if you’re confident you can ace them, even in the one or two areas you had a misstep in at grad school) to prove that you can succeed with more demanding coursework.
As for your MCAT scores, you showed improvement and always scored above 500, almost got to 510, so again, it’s not a red flag. What you didn’t say is in how close succession your testing was done in. If you took these one month after the other after the other, that’s not a great sign, but seeing the improvement, I actually doubt that was the case, or you were at least willing to evaluate some stuff and really course correct rather than applying some quick-fixes.
Now, like I said, your numbers are perfectly fine, just not competitive. I think you should just keep at it, make sure you’re developing your extracurricular stuff based on passion rather than obligation so that you can write about and discuss it, and apply wisely. If you can make the decision for yourself, apply early decision. Either way, be ready to apply to many [other] schools. Go ahead and submit to a few stretches, but also include schools where your numbers fit the spread more. Seriously, I think your numbers won’t hold you back at all if you keep up the good work.