What is a Good GPA for Medical School?
If you are applying to medical school in Canada, US or anywhere else, you’ll need to submit your undergraduate transcripts as part of your application. These transcripts will include your GPA, which can be used to filter out your application before the evaluation process ever begins.
To ensure your application doesn’t end up in the “do not review” pile, you should compare your GPA to the average med school GPA at your target schools. This can give you a solid indicator of which schools would view you as a competitive candidate. Understanding how schools evaluate GPAs can also give you a helpful leg up on your competition.
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In this article, we will answer the question “What is a good GPA for medical school?” and provide tips on how to improve your chances of getting accepted into medical school with a competitive GPA.
How Important is GPA for Medical School?
For most medical schools, GPA and MCAT scores are the top two considerations when evaluating applicants. Admissions officers view your GPA as an indicator of how seriously you take your studies. Medical schools are looking for students who have demonstrated academic excellence during pre-med and have the potential to succeed in a rigorous and demanding program. A high GPA can demonstrate that an applicant has the necessary academic skills and work ethic to excel in medical school.
Since medical school is even more rigorous than undergraduate programs, low undergrad GPAs on a student’s transcript can raise red flags during the applicant evaluation process. While a low GPA won’t necessarily eliminate you from consideration, it’s important to understand how you rank compared to other applicants and how admissions teams will view your undergraduate work.
Which GPAs are Med Schools Given?
When you apply for medical school, admissions officers are actually given multiple versions of your GPA. When viewing your application, they will see:
- Your overall GPA – This is typically the GPA listed on your undergraduate transcripts; it is an aggregate of all classes you took during undergrad without any additional weighting.
- Your non-science GPA – This is the GPA for all non-science courses you took during your undergrad program, such as humanities and social science classes.
- Your science GPA – Also referred to as your BPCM GPA, this calculation accounts for all your science and math classes. BPCM stands for Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Math, and most admissions counselors view it as a good representation of how you would perform in similar classes in medical school.
So which GPA calculation is most important? The answer is “it depends”. Each medical school has its own algorithm for evaluating med school applications, and schools assign different weights to the different GPAs. Which GPA is most important for you will depend on which schools you’re applying to and what other assets you have to include in the rest of your application package.
However, there’s a strong argument for assigning the most importance to your overall GPA. In many cases, schools will use this as a filtering mechanism before the first human admissions officer ever looks at your application. If your overall GPA doesn’t make the cutoff, chances are your application will never be reviewed. For that reason, a high overall GPA is important when you’re applying to medical school.
What is a Good GPA for Med School?
GPAs can vary significantly across different medical schools, so it pays to do your research before applying. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported an average GPA for medical school of 3.60 across all applicants for the 2021-2022 application cycle. For the same year, applicants had an average science GPA of 3.49 and an average non-science GPA of 3.74.
Applying to schools where your GPA or MCAT scores are well below the median can put you at a significant disadvantage compared to other applicants. Likewise, applying to schools where your GPA is above the median is a solid indicator that you would make a competitive candidate for the program.
What Is the Minimum GPA Required?
Entry or non-entry is not guaranteed based on a specific GPA. However, there are some general guidelines that can be followed when applying. It is highly recommended that you have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be considered for acceptance to any medical school.
Although 3.0 is often considered a rule of thumb for the minimum GPA required for medical school, most schools do not have an official minimum GPA requirement. Moreover, GPA requirements may differ for in-state and out-of-state applicants. For instance, some universities may prioritize in-state applicants, and therefore, out-of-state applicants must have a GPA of 3.8 or higher.
What Should I Do If My GPA is Low?
If your GPA is lower than your target school’s median, that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t apply. You can take the following steps to position yourself as a more competitive candidate, even with a lower GPA:
- Retake classes to improve your grades. If you have one or two courses that are weighing down your GPA, consider retaking them. The higher grade will replace the lower one in your GPA, giving you healthy boost to your application.
- Add an addendum to your med school application package. If your GPA is lower due to an isolated semester, share your story as an addendum to your AMCAS application. Your addendum shouldn’t come across as making excuses; instead it’s your opportunity to explain a personal struggle that you were dealing with for a limited time and demonstrate what you learned from it and how you’ve improved as a result.
- Focus on your MCAT score. While you may not be able to significantly improve your GPA in just a few months, you can improve your MCAT score with a few months of focused preparation.
- Shift your target schools. While many medical schools place the largest weight on GPA, not all of them do. Your determination in finding the right fit will be noticed and appreciated by some med school admissions teams. At AUA, for example, we believe in a holistic approach to candidate evaluation that sees you as more than just your GPA or MCAT score.
What Is a Competitive GPA?
To increase your chances of getting accepted into a medical school program, you need to have a competitive GPA. Check the GPAs of previous students who were accepted into the program to determine the required GPA. Look at matriculants’ GPAs, not just the applicants, to ensure you apply to programs where you have a good chance of being accepted.
Generally, a GPA of 3.5 or higher is ideal. You are still considered competitive if your GPA is within 0.1 points of the medical school’s average. However, it may be considered low if your GPA is more than 0.3 points below the average (or in the school’s 75th or 80th percentile).
Comprehensive List of Median GPA and MCAT Scores for Medical Schools
The Bottom Line
A good GPA for medical school depends on the particular program and its competitiveness. Generally, a GPA of 3.5 or higher is considered good, but it is not the only factor considered during the admissions process. Medical schools also consider an applicant’s MCAT score, work experience, extracurricular activities, and personal qualities.
Ultimately, a well-rounded application that showcases an applicant’s academic, personal, and professional achievements is more likely to be successful in gaining admission to medical school.
FAQs
How important is GPA compared to other factors like MCAT scores?
Your MCAT and GPA are the two most important objective measurements in a medical school application, and your GPA is particularly important in predicting your ability to handle the academic rigor of medical school.
Can a high GPA compensate for other weaknesses in my application?
A high GPA can certainly help in compensating for other weaknesses in your application. However, it is not a guarantee since medical schools will look at the whole picture. If your GPA is high, but you lack research or clinical experience, or your MCAT scores are low, it may not be enough to make up for those weaknesses.
Can non-traditional students with lower GPAs still get into medical school?
Yes, non-traditional students with lower GPAs can still get into medical school. Medical schools consider many factors in their admissions decisions, including MCAT scores, life experiences, work experience, research experience, and volunteer work. Non-traditional students who have higher MCAT scores and can demonstrate their passion for medicine and their ability to handle rigorous coursework may still have a chance of getting into medical school.
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