I just finished my freshman year at a top-10 university. I don’t want to give out too many specifics, but I got mostly B’s, one C (sigh), and a few A’s this year. I did not take any electives this year (basically science/math courseload).
My GPA is around 3.0 right now. I have significant leadership positions in science/pre-med extracurriculars, and am already working in a lab.
Will an upward trend in GPA be fine for when I apply to med school, if I do not plan to take a gap year? I think I took too heavy of courseloads this year (maximum whenever possible), so I’m planning on lightening up next year to focus more on my classes.
I know this has been posted a lot, so my apologies; I’m just extremely worried.
Also, how much does the “name” of the university affect the admissions process? I’ve been seeing mixed comments on this.
Thanks. If anyone wants more specific details about my grades or whatever, let me know. I’m also East Asian so URM won’t help me any.
Upward trend is always good, but it’s going to have been very steep to compensate for such a low starting GPA. You will still need to get your GPA up into the 3.6+ range to get the best consideration during admissions.
The name of your university may have some small influence on how your GPA is perceived, especially if it comes from an undergrad with a widely recognized penchant for grade deflation and/or an extremely difficult major. (One adcomm’s example: nuclear engineering at MIT might get a pass on a slightly lower GPA).
Assume that the effect of your undergrad’s name is going to be much less than you hope it will be.
You most likely WILL have to take a gap year. It’s unlikely you’re going to get a 4.0 from here on out.
If you don’t do a gap year, then you’ll only have 2 years of grades to help bring up your GPA…
Let’s say that you took 30 credits this year and got a 3.0
If you get a 3.5 GPA soph year (30 credits)
and a 3.8 GPA junior year (30 credits)
Then your cum GPA would be 3.4?
I don’t know what your BCMP GPA would be because I don’t know what your major is …and this frosh year was all BCMP.
there’s another poster here whose D went to a top 10 school and I think she had a 3.5 GPA. She didn’t get any MD acceptances. I don’t think she got any interviews, either.
It’s very hard to non-URM traditional applicants to make it thru to the “interview pile” when they have a 3.5 GPA.
3.0 is fixable. Your goal is straight As from now on. It is possible, just do whatever it takes. And, ORM is NOT such a bad status (as it may appear). Most of D’s Medical School class were in fact Asian. They are a great bunch to be around, hard working and achieving, and adcoms are aware of this fact also. Anyway, I do not believe that ORM status will hurt.
Sorry, going to a top 10 school isn’t going to make up for the Bs and a C. Not even if you have 4.0 hereafter (which is highly unlikely) because med schools separately calculate your science GPA. And it has nothing to do with being an ORM. If you were a URM, these grades would still keep you out of medical school.
Take a look at the SMP program at Georgetown University School of Medicine for students who may not have the necessary background or grades to get into medical school without some repair work: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/403693_2
I often warn pre-meds to take a LIGHT load freshman year until they get the lay of the land. NEVER load up on pre-med reqs in your first year unless you know you are a STEM superstar. This is a common mistake and lots of potential docs are weeded out after year one simply as a result of over-reaching.
I don’t know what do you mean by top 10 schools. I did see one Columbia student on SDN with a 3.0 overall Gpa did not get Any interview invites from any U.S. Md or Do schools.
You can fix your Gpa if you work hard from now on, but it will be an uphill battle. IMHO, you are half way being weeded out, nevertheless. Sorry to give you the bad news. Med school don’t care when and where the grades from, they only care about the Gpa, upward trend may have some affect, but it will be very little.
Unless you got in because of some hook (eg legacy), I assuming you got admitted into a top 10 university because of your high school accomplishments. Med schools aren’t going to let you stroll into med school because of how you did in high school. They will expect to see that you’ve done more in college. And a “GPA is around 3.0” is NOT doing more. Yes an upward trend can be good, and already working in a lab can be a positive. I’m not sure how after one year you have “significant” leadership positions in science/pre-med ECs when you’ve been taking a “heavy/maximum whenever possible” class loads. Maybe that’s part of problem. You may have to put those ECs aside (which will tend to weaken your app) because at this point every non A grade will make your goal disappear. Your top 10 university will not save you. You’ve dug yourself into a hole. Reread above posts and stop digging. Go have a chat with premed advisor. Good luck.
@WayOutWestMom, @mom2collegekids
So, I figured out that I can retake the class in which I got a C in. While the class will still be on my transcript (with a notation that I retook the class), the new grade will be replaced with the old one; the new grade, therefore, will be factored into my GPA; I think my GPA will be around 3.3 with an A? If I get an A the second time around, will this still be okay? I’m still going to work much harder this upcoming year; I’m purchasing a textbook for one of my fall classes to get a head start.
@Jugulator20 haha no I don’t have legacy at my school. I’m aware that high school doesn’t have an effect on med school admissions. I know that I can’t solely rely on ECs. What I mean by “significant” leadership positions is being on a board of a student group (which is done via an application), and being in charge of planning campus events, doing significant service, etc. (sorry I don’t want to go into too many specifics to protect my identity) Again, I’m definitely going to plan my time better for the upcoming year.
@mjscal a state with a not very good medical school haha; I live out-of-state from my college. PM me for specifics if you want.
NOT IN THE EYES OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS! AMCAS requires all your grades and they calculate your GPA outside of whatever your school does.
You better get an A the 2nd time around. Not getting an A will be very bad. I’d only retake if you’re open to/planning on applying to DOs.
90% of Asians with a 3.0-3.2 GPA don’t get accepted to a single medical school. (https://www.aamc.org/download/321516/data/factstable25-3.pdf) Beggars can’t be choosers and there’s no such thing as a “not very good medical school”. If it’s an accredited medical school it’s going to have to be on your list.
I am not sure I understand this. Top undergraduate Colleges generally seem to have decent pre med advisors to guide you. A heavy science course load is generally not a good idea and I do not believe that it is a good idea to retake a class just because you got a C in it. Grade replacement as stated above only good if you are applying D.O. Coming from a state without a "very good "medical school may actually be beneficial to you as it might be your best bet for admission.
I do not think a 3.0 your freshman year kills you but you will have to perform significantly better over the next several years to make it into medical school. A 3.0 is likely to be significantly below average for your College as most if not all of the top private Colleges have significant grade inflation. A 4.0 average from now is unlikely even with such inflation.
A 3.7 for the next three years with a gap year would bring your GPA above 3.5 which is not unreasonable from a top College. It is not that uncommon to see students underperform during their first year. This is where coming from a top College will help you in applying to private medical schools. You will however be hurt by your ORM status. You will need a good MCAT score along with the usual extracurriculars.
Your new grade will NOT replace your old grade. It doesn’t matter that your undergrad might do this…the med schools will NOT. AMCAS will recalculate your GPA with that old grade in.
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state with a not very good medical school haha; I live out-of-state from my college. PM me for specifics if you want.
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THERE IS NO SUCH THING! There is no such thing as a “net very good medical school” in the US. All are very good. ALL.
What state are you from? You can PM that to me if you wish.