I touched on this in a different, earlier posting but it warrants its own posting given some of the questions that I have been fielding.
It's difficult to give a specific GPA or MCAT that will result in you being admitted to medical school. On the one hand, GPA and MCAT scores are the bread and butter of admissions. What I mean is that GPA and MCAT are the only standardized ways to compare applicants; however, the medical school admission process takes into account other factors such as the difficulty of major, salience of the personal statement, personal grit/determination, extracurricular activities, etc. Different medical schools weight different things differently and some may place greater emphasis on grades and MCAT's while other schools may take a more holistic view of the applicant. That said, as a rule, the higher your GPA and MCAT numbers, the better off you will be. A science and overall GPA of 3.5ish or greater is a good number to aim for. When looking at MCAT scores, these actually are school dependent, but aiming for a 507 or better would put you in a good spot for admissions consideration. When I applied, I spent a lot of time researching the medical schools that I was interested in and finding out their average GPA and MCAT scores for accepted students, so I could gauge myself and determine if it was worth it to spend the money to apply to a particular school(remember, you are paying to apply).
The reality is that your chances of acceptance depend on a lot more than just good MCAT scores. It’s a combination of the following pieces of your med school application :
My undergraduate grades were not stellar; I graduated with a 3.19 science GPA and a 3.36 overall GPA. My hard science masters GPA was a 3.67 and later, I completed 18 credits as a non-degree seeking student in an SMP at Saint Xavier University where I earned a 3.778. My MCAT score was not stellar at a 495 but I had outstanding extracurriculars, had great letters of rec, and showed my grit and determinantion during my interviews. I not only hold three acceptances, I am still getting interviews. Medical schools are looking for a complete package, not just strong scores and a high GPA.
The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) and AACOM (Association of American College of Osteopathic Medicine) collects and organizes a lot of data on the subject. Check this out:
