What everyone wants to know about -- GPAs!

GPAs are what everyone is talking about & it’s what everyone wants to know, but let me tell you it’s not THAT important. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out! Yes, it will definitely make the application process easier (one less thing to worry about) if you have a high GPA, but what if you made mistakes?

It means nothing to compare your application stats to someone else’s because people have gotten in with below 3.0 GPA as well. What makes your application unique is your personal statement, experiences, showing that you can overcome difficulties academically and in personal life and of course your interview and how you interact with humans in real life.

If you don’t have a 3.0 -- try your best to raise it to at least that so you can be “eligible” for application review since some schools might throw out applications automatically if you don’t meet the minimum requirements. If you want to shoot your shot, there are schools with a minimum 2.5 and above GPA requirement! Apply to holistic schools that look at the application as a whole, not just focusing on GPA; this may require research, reading forums and talking to current students.

If you already have above a 3.2 work on other parts of your application, especially the personal statement (PS) & interview. Higher GPA can lend you interviews as long as your PS is strong, so make sure to prep for both of those extensively and of course continue gathering shadowing, volunteering, and patient care experiences.

Types of GPAs

Even though overall and science GPAs are the most important, make sure you read the GPA requirements for each school very carefully. I have made mistakes even on the 3rd cycle overlooking what kind of GPA the school is requiring, causing my application to be tossed out immediately. I made this mistake for 4-5 programs each cycle. For example, Yale Online had a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0, which is exactly what it sounds like, they wanted the bachelor’s degree GPA to meet that requirement. They didn’t care about what I did during post-bac aka after completing my 4 years of bachelor's, so please read very carefully about what GPAs each school is asking for so you don’t waste money!

• Overall GPA

• Science GPA

• Pre-requisite GPA

• Undergraduate GPA

• BCP (biology, chemistry, physics) GPA

• Post-Bac. GPA

• Last 60 or 90 units - this will not be on the CASPA breakdown, schools that consider this will calculate it themselves.