26M and 2.75 from Lower Ivy School-Can this person get in?

[OzFan321]

Yeah you've seen this a million times but I'll add another thread. This is for a friend who just took the August MCAT. Also, this person is non-minority white (don't bash me for the race issue, its a legit factor), so factoring this in as well as decent ec's, can they get in? If this school has a rep among med schools for being extremely difficult do they add a "difficulty value" to th GPA to make the applicants for comparable to Podunk State U students?

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[indianboy]

Not with those stats.

To summarize: No.

Hope that Helps.

P 'Welcome to Reality' ShankOut

 

[OzFan321]

How about DO school?

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by OzFan321
If this school has a rep among med schools for being extremely difficult do they add a "difficulty value" to th GPA to make the applicants for comparable to Podunk State U students?

If they do, it's not much. Your friend has pretty much no chance at this time.

Sorry.

PS: As for DO, the GPA is still awfully low, but I recommend you ask the pre-DO guys and see what they have to say.

 

[toomuch]

Perhaps, a DO school. However, I have similar stats, a little higher MCAT and am finishing a Master' s program, but I'm still applying. I don't plan to try to boost my undergraduate GPA, I feel it's impossible so I'm praying the adcoms will take a look at my graduate work.

tm

 

[Amy B]

From VCOM's web site....
"""" To be considered a competitive applicant of VCOM, candidates should have achieved at least 3.0 science and cumulative grade point average, on a 4.0 scale. Although the minimum GPA is 2.75, the admissions process is competitive, and a much higher grade point average results in improved chances for acceptance. VCOM places emphasis on the last 120 credit hours including the science and required courses. The average GPA for VCOM?s first class is 3.4."""""

 

[PrincetonRocks]

I think it's really really difficult to make it to med school with a GPA lower than a 3.5 and an MCAT lower than a 27. A high MCAT cannot substitute a low GPA. The same also goes for a low MCAT score and high GPA. I don't know about all the Ivy sisters...but Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell are all infamous for grade inflations...

Personally, I thought I was a very competitive applicant until I went on my interviews. There are just too many applicants with the "whole package" out there. Even with great numbers, it's too difficult to make it into medical school... unless you're a NY or OH resident where there are more state med schools than super qualified candidate.

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

I seriously doubt it. I don't think the Ivy name will really make up for the 2.75 GPA or the 26 MCAT. The prestige of the school only plays a factor in private schools admissions and it can help to offset a GPA that is slightly lower than the average GPA for the school (for instance...if applicant A from Yale applies to a med school with a 3.5 bcpm GPA and the average GPA for the med school is a 3.6). However, this appliants GPA would be significantly lower than the average GPA for all American MD schools. My best advice is to either tell your friend to do post-bacc work to up the GPA or just go into a Master's program (I'm not sure if MS programs have minimum GPA requirements...I'd imagine that they do and the better ones would probably have a minimum GPA requirement that is higher than 2.75). Well, best of luck.

 

[Idiopathic]

You might be surprised how much the GPA hurts here, especially when you consider how much the MCAT is stressed. A GPA that low (showing a large body of work), pretty much wipes an applicant off the map, unless they can take a year (30 hours) of straight A's and show a quality upward trend. I went to school with a guy who had a sub 3.00 GPA (~2.9) and a 41MCAT. Waitlisted @ Emory and got into a second-tier state school Texas system)

 

[blackopal]

If this person really wants to become a doctor, they may want to consider the foreign med schools. Just do some research first to be sure that you pick a reputable, well-established school.
I also think this person should be brutally honest with him/herself about why this happened. If the person has a tendency to goof off or procrastinate, then they need to fix that problem first. Otherwise going to the Carribean med schools will just be a waste of money if the person continues to goof off down there.

 

[....]

""A high MCAT cannot substitute a low GPA""

(ahem) 3.36 science 35 mcat, got in.

 

[Idiopathic]

Of course you got in. Since when did an B+/A- average (3.35) become a low GPA? Low GPA is 2.9-3.1, without an upward trend. If you had a 3.0 with two years of 3.5+, that would be just as good as a level 3.3. I had a 3.45, with a 3.7 my last two years, and had no probs.

 

[....]

I dunno. I got plenty of winces from proffesors who heard i was premed with that GPA. I mean you dont think i would have gotten in if i didnt do so well on the mcat do you? A 3.35 and a 28-29 white male. sounds like a recipe for disapointment to me.
and if your cum gpa was 3.45 i bet you had an above average mcat to make up for your below average gpa

 

[DD214_DOC]

My cumulative/AMCAS GPA is a 3.35, prolly a 3.4 by the time I apply. My AACOMAS GPA is currently a 3.43 and will be around a 3.5 by the time I apply.

I think I'm in good shape for DO, especially since the average is a 3.4

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by hightrump
(ahem) 3.36 science 35 mcat, got in.

That's not low GPA. I know two guys with under 3.0 GPAs and very high MCATs (37 and 40) from top ugrads with excellent ECs who did not get in on the first try. I would call 3.36 borderline, and I think that can easily be overcome by ECs and MCAT scores.

Professors often have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to admissions. I still run into the MD applicants and pre-meds who were convinced they needed 3.9 - 4.0 GPAs, 36+ MCATs, and at least a first authored publication to get into MD/PhD. Of course we know that's not the truth

 

[Bonds756]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a "lower Ivy."

 

[Ms. Dawson DO]

Originally posted by Bonds756
I didn't know there was such a thing as a "lower Ivy."

I didn't either until I went to a socalled upper ivy. At Princeton alot of people think of Dartmouth, Brown (more so), Upenn and Columbia as 'lower ivies'. This isn't my personal opinion but it seems like a common opinion amongst some of my ivy league cronies who attended Princeton, Harvard, Yale or Cornell even..

 

[skypilot]

They can kiss my lower ivy butt. What the heck does that mean?

Harvard is probably the most famous for grade inflation. So what makes them upper ivy?

 

[Idiopathic]

Originally posted by hightrump
I dunno. I got plenty of winces from proffesors who heard i was premed with that GPA. I mean you dont think i would have gotten in if i didnt do so well on the mcat do you? A 3.35 and a 28-29 white male. sounds like a recipe for disapointment to me.
and if your cum gpa was 3.45 i bet you had an above average mcat to make up for your below average gpa

Misleading...I did my last three years at a different school. Graduating cum took like a 3.67, I was ~3.70. The key is upward trend (did I mention I had an F in Bio the first time? and a C in O-Chem II?)