Does anyone know how med schools admissions committess treat grades from graduate school? For instance, I have about a 3.3 undergrad GPA, but I finished undergrad about 10 years ago. I do have, though, a 4.0 GPA from my MA and PhD program. I’ve heard that med schools don’t give grades from grad school that much credit b/c of the impression that they’re inflated. Is this true?
Also, if I take my med pre-reqs over the next year, how would those grades fit into my GPA? If I re-take a course that i took in undergrad (e.g., Bio 1) would the most recent grade take the place of the older one?
Just trying to figure out how competitive my GPA will be for med school…
- Johnny G Said:
Does anyone know how med schools admissions committees treat grades from graduate school? For instance, I have about a 3.3 undergrad GPA, but I finished undergrad about 10 years ago. I do have, though, a 4.0 GPA from my MA and PhD program. I've heard that med schools don't give grades from grad school that much credit b/c of the impression that they're inflated. Is this true?
Yes, that's generally true. In many grad programs, a "C" is the equivalent of an "F" and a "B" is considered "average". Some adcoms might give more consideration to a grad GPA depending on what the degree is in and what school it's from - if they are familiar with the rigor of the program.
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Also, if I take my med pre-reqs over the next year, how would those grades fit into my GPA?
They will be listed on your application as "post-bacc" courses. AMCAS will calculate a separate GPA for those courses and then will also combine those grades with your previous undergrad grades for a cumulative undergrad GPA. There are a couple of posts on here where Adam posted a picture of how AMCAS breaks down your various GPAs.
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If I re-take a course that i took in undergrad (e.g., Bio 1) would the most recent grade take the place of the older one?
Only if you are applying to osteopathic schools. The osteopathic application service does take the higher grade when calculating your GPA. AMCAS (the allopathic application) does not - both grades will be counted towards your overall GPA.
Since you have been out of undergrad for 10 years and will now be taking the pre-reqs, the adcoms will look pretty closely at your new grades. Do well in the pre-reqs and on the MCAT and you should be in decent shape GPA wise - your 3.3 undergrad GPA is not that bad. In fact, if you didn't take a lot of science/math courses in your original degree, you could actually end up with a pretty high science/math GPA on your application. I had a 2.78 undergrad GPA, but because I only took 3 science/math classes, my final math/science GPA was something like a 3.7 when I applied.
Good luck!
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There are a couple of posts on here where Adam posted a picture of how AMCAS breaks down your various GPAs.
Thanks! That helps clear things up. Any idea how i can find those posts by Adam (about the AMCAS GPA breakdown)? I searched for him in the members section, but couldn't figure out who you were specifically referring to...
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In fact, if you didn't take a lot of science/math courses in your original degree, you could actually end up with a pretty high science/math GPA on your application. I had a 2.78 undergrad GPA, but because I only took 3 science/math classes, my final math/science GPA was something like a 3.7 when I applied.
I took 6 of the basic math/science courses when I was in undergrad (Bio I and II, Chem I, Physics II, and Calculus I and II). I basically got Bs in them all except for Calc I where i got an A.
My plan for post-bacc courses was to retake all of the required science pre-reqs over the course of one year (and hopefully get almost all As). I figured this would:
1. Show that I could successfully handle the material and a difficult science courseload.
2. Improve my undergrad science and non-science GPA.
3. Help me prep for the MCAT (undergrad seems like a lifetime ago- don't figure that I've retained too much from those early courses).
Do you think that this is a good strategy?
On a different topic, I've got a question about how admission committees look at volunteer activities. I've got an ok record of volunteerism, but not much in traditional medical environments. For example, I've done a good bit of volunteer work as a sport psycholgy consultant (to high school and university teams/athletes), but my only experience in traditional medical environments is some shadowing that I did recently. Obviously I would look to get much more involved volunteering in medical environments over the next year before I applied. But would admission committees look at it like I've tried to "cram in" my volunteer activites just so they show on my application? Would they get the impression that I don't really know what I'm getting into? Am I naive to think that one year of direct medical volunteer experience is adaquate to get into med school?
My impression is that gpa and MCAT scores are your main ticket into med school and that volunteering is like icing on the cake. Is this accurate?
- Johnny G Said:
Thanks! That helps clear things up. Any idea how i can find those posts by Adam (about the AMCAS GPA breakdown)? I searched for him in the members section, but couldn't figure out who you were specifically referring to...
You can find the graphic here
. The green bars are where Adam blocked out his GPAs.
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My plan for post-bacc courses was to retake all of the required science pre-reqs over the course of one year (and hopefully get almost all As). I figured this would:
1. Show that I could successfully handle the material and a difficult science courseload.
2. Improve my undergrad science and non-science GPA.
3. Help me prep for the MCAT (undergrad seems like a lifetime ago- don't figure that I've retained too much from those early courses).
Do you think that this is a good strategy?
1. Show that I could successfully handle the material and a difficult science courseload.
2. Improve my undergrad science and non-science GPA.
3. Help me prep for the MCAT (undergrad seems like a lifetime ago- don't figure that I've retained too much from those early courses).
Do you think that this is a good strategy?
In addition to retaking your previous pre-reqs (which is a good idea due to how old they are) and the ones you have yet to take, you may want to consider taking a few additional upper level courses. The reason I say this is because A's in courses you are retaking aren't going to impress adcoms nearly as much as A's in courses you've never taken.
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On a different topic, I've got a question about how admission committees look at volunteer activities. . . . But would admission committees look at it like I've tried to "cram in" my volunteer activites just so they show on my application? Would they get the impression that I don't really know what I'm getting into? Am I naive to think that one year of direct medical volunteer experience is adaquate to get into med school?
I think you're fine. You've done some shadowing, which is great. Some medical experience would be helpful. There is no magic formula for shadowing/volunteering that tells an adcom that you have a enough experience(s) to know what you are getting yourself into. As long as you can clearly articulate that you have thoroughly investigated the path and that you know what you are getting into, you should be fine. Also - think more about quality than quantity when thinking about ECs. Most adcoms would rather see that you were passionate about and devoted quality time to one or two activities than that you devoted a little time to many different activities. A person who can list involvement in 30 different activities does not necessarily have anything over a candidate can demonstrate significant involvement in one or two activities.
And - one year of medical experience should be fine. Some people have more, some less. Again, there's no magic number.
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My impression is that gpa and MCAT scores are your main ticket into med school and that volunteering is like icing on the cake. Is this accurate?
GPA and MCAT are definitely the first things that get looked at. Different schools place different emphasis on the qualities that are most important to them at their institution. Some schools may prefer students with a strong research background. Some may prefer strong clinical experience. I will tell you that schools increasingly seem to be favoring "well-rounded" applicants. They want to see that there is more to you than the ability to get a great GPA and MCAT score. Is there evidence that you are a good person? That you play well with others? Will you fit in with their student body?
Hope that helps.
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