Hey guys,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Finishing up my last semester of pre-reqs has taken up a lot of freetime. But, now it’s all done (yay) and I’ve been crunching some BCPM numbers. Overall, it looks like it comes out to a 3.43. OChem II was the major dinger, having gotten a C+ in lab and lecture. Now, on to my question…
I am looking to apply to 3 schools in my region, 2 DO and 1 MD. I feel that I am competitive with that GPA at the DO schools. However, they are each about 1 1/2 hours away and the MD school is less than 30 minutes from my house. (On their website, the avg BCPM of matriculants is 3.6).
What I am wondering is if it would be worth the extra time and money to go through AMCAS for the one MD school if it doesn’t seem like I would be a competitive applicant.
Oh, and I have NOT taken the MCAT yet either (which could render this whole question moot when I do)
Hard to say without knowing your MCAT score and the rest of your application. Bear in mind that AMCAS does factor in the “+” to your grades in their calculations, so that will help you out some.
If your MCAT is competitive, and your ECs are okay, I’d say it’s worth the $200 to submit AMCAS.
I didn’t know that AMCAS did that. So with AACOMAS it’s all straight A,B,C then? Say they convert a B+ into a B and a B- into a B (for example)?
AACOMAS factors in the +/- as well.
Like bennard said, GPA is only one part of the whole package. You’re slightly below the average, but people have to be in order for it to be an average…you still have a shot if the rest of your app is strong. Each school admissions office looks at applications in its own unique way. Hard to say whether you fit the mold for the one MD school, which is why people suggest applying to a broad range of schools. I guess if you don’t want to move, it’s definitely worth the money to apply to just the 3. Knowing nothing else, I would say you have a better shot at the DO programs (GPA alone).
Be prepared to explain “what happened” that got you the C+. It’s not a kiss of death, but they’ll probably ask you. I had multiple interviewers ask me if I had anything below a B-.