I am currently working on my application list for MD schools (2018).
I got a degree in Sociology and finished with a 3.0 GPA. I then went back to school, became a paramedic and then took my post bac classes at BU.
Attempting to apply with the following stats…
27 years old
Overall GPA: 3.33
Overall BCPM GPA: 3.49
Post Bac GPA: 3.76
Post Bac BCPM GPA: 3.55
Anticipating a 510 on the MCAT (Testing on Thursday)
I have thousands of clinical hours, great volunteer experience, good recommendations, and a good story that I will not bore you with.
My questions are as follows…
- While making my list what GPA should I be using? If my cumulative GPA is below the listed 10th percentile of a school should I not apply there? Should I pick schools based on my PB GPA?
I know that most places will look at the big picture but, I don’t want to apply anywhere that will throw my application out without looking deeper.
- Any recommendations of schools that either put more weight on the PB courses or tend to ignore UG GPA all together? (I know that this is a stretch)
I know this has been asked before but, the answers are not ideal. A list of schools is a start, but details on why/how those schools are different would be ideal.
Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
It’s kind of impossible to know how each individual school will view your academic record between undergrad and postbacc. I think the safest bet is to use your cumulative gpa when making the comparison. The best theory going is that most recent grades matter most, but the cumulative will always count for something because it accounts for a bigger picture of your academic history. The more historic your lower grades, the better you will look overall. The good news is your cumulative should get you past most/all autoscreens so a human will at least look at your stuff.
- Just because you’re below the 10th% doesn’t mean you can’t get into the school. There’s gotta be at least a few people admitted with that kind of GPA in order for it to be a statistic. If you’re strapped for cash, the safe bet would be to avoid those schools because you’re at a statistical disadvantage. If money isn’t a problem, shotgun blast the schools and make them tell you “no.”
- No idea. Sometimes school websites will have some explanation of how they view grades, but good luck trying to find that information at most places.
- I don’t have a list, but you may want to check out the MSAR (for MD schools). It is a pay database that has most of the general information about every MD school. You can also type notes into it for your future reference. I think the subscription is for a year, so now would be a good time to get it. DO schools have a less user-friendly version you can easily find with google (http://www.aacom.org/news-and-events/publications/2018-cib). There may still be a PDF version out there that was a little more consolidated than their website is now.