Medical School

[Anonymous]

I only have one child (a JR in college) and there are no doctors in our family. She almost killed herself to get into a good university. But she did get in.

She wants to go to med school but has had some challenges in college. Her GPA is 3.2. Her major is biology.

Will there be med schools that will accept her? I honestly know nothing about how that will go.

Thanks for all and any info. Suggestions are appreciated too!

[Anonymous]

Surely her college has a counselor she can talk to? It depends on a lot of factors.

[Anonymous]

OP,

A junior with 3.2 GPA is simply not enough for a med school. Even for DO schools, that's not enough. GPA is one of the most important factors med school Adcom will consider (along with a few other factors like MCAT).

[Anonymous]

Yes I assume her college does. I am just trying to get a handle on her odds and what she needs to do as I financially support her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

A junior with 3.2 GPA is simply not enough for a med school. Even for DO schools, that's not enough. GPA is one of the most important factors med school Adcom will consider (along with a few other factors like MCAT).

It won't help that her degree is from Northwestern U? Anybody else want to confirm PP's statement?

[Anonymous]

Yeah the chances of acceptance to a US medical school with that GPA are very slim.

What about PA school?

[Anonymous]

OP here. PA school might work. I dread the day she realizes Med School is not an option. Have med schools always been this competitive?

[Anonymous]

I am 10:17. I will add if you don’t mind the cost of applying despite low chance of admittance and casting a relatively wide (expensive) net then she should try.

If she is declined, she does some extra course work, relevant volunteer work, and perhaps some research and tries again.

After that round is she is still not accepted, then look at alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. PA school might work. I dread the day she realizes Med School is not an option. Have med schools always been this competitive?

Yes. It’s been very competitive for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. PA school might work. I dread the day she realizes Med School is not an option. Have med schools always been this competitive?

It's getting more competitive is my understanding.

[Anonymous]

OP, as a data point, my kid applied ~50 schools, got into 3-4, WL at a few more but mostly rejects. Overall GPA of 3.85/science GPA of 3.8... MCAT score of 96-97%tile... two gap years to work on research/clinical exp. had thousands of ours of volunteer hours, interviewed well... Finaly in med school. The entire process is really expensive and really tough.

[Anonymous]

A 3.2 will not exclude someone but they need other factors to get in like high test scores and accomplishments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 3.2 will not exclude someone but they need other factors to get in like high test scores and accomplishments.

Bloviator

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

A junior with 3.2 GPA is simply not enough for a med school. Even for DO schools, that's not enough. GPA is one of the most important factors med school Adcom will consider (along with a few other factors like MCAT).

It won't help that her degree is from Northwestern U? Anybody else want to confirm PP's statement?

OP, the average Northwestern GPA is a 4.1. It's going to be lower for people who take a lot of science courses, but her GPA is in the "gray area" if it were just the science courses (undiluted), according to advice Northwestern gives to its own pre-med students. https://www.northwestern.edu/health-professions-advising/pre-health-tracks/pre-medicine/admission-factors/index.html

Advisers also want you to be aware of the factors that may weaken your application:

- The science GPA is below 3.0 (3.0 - 3.3. is still a gray area).
- The MCAT is below the national average (changes from year to year).
- They have not had a chance to test their decision with clinical experience.
- They are ambivalent about pursuing a career in medicine

If any of those apply to you, meet with an advisor about your decision to apply. We would love to talk with you about ways to strengthen your application, as well as other options and pathways to a career in the health professions!

And it's just the way the process is weighted:

GPA

When it comes to med school, your GPA is vital. You should be looking for colleges where you can score well, as a strong GPA is so important for medical school applications that it even supersedes class rank. The reason is that most medical schools use a mathematical formula that takes in the numerical value of GPA to assess students. For example, having a 3.5 GPA and being #18 in your class at one college is often worse than having a 3.9 and ranking #35 in your class at another for the purposes of medical school admission.

While GPA is often more important than rank, you should still aim to be amongst the strongest students on campus. Most college classes are graded on a curve, and being at the top of the curve translates to a high GPA. For example, you’d be much better off with a 3.95 at Bates College than a 3.35 at Princeton. Additionally, you want to avoid schools that have grade deflation (very difficult curves) and instead, look for the schools that have moderate to strong grade inflation (easier curves).

https://blog.collegevine.com/2018-best-pre-med-schools/

The problem is that for everyone applying to med school with a 3.2 from Northwestern, there are 4 with 3.85 and 2 with 4.9s. It's really hard. That doesn't mean your daughter isn't amazing.

[Anonymous]

^^two with 4.0s