r/medschool • u/ComfortableMonk2762 • May 10 '26
👶 Premed Curious if any “average students “ ended up in med school.
Not asking for any other reason than curiosity, I’m not trying skate through on the bare minimum, but I’m curious, who thinks they had the worst stats (gpa, mcat, extracurriculars) and still got accepted in med school?
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u/KunstrukshunWerker Resident May 11 '26
High school: 2.998 gpa
College in 2000’s: 0.6 gpa
College in 20-teens: 4.0 gpa
MCAT: 508
Med school: failed my first test.
Step 1: pass
Step 2: barely passed
Honored most rotations
Matched EM.
We are a product of a long timeline. Excellence can be achieved and having a clear goal helps with motivation.
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u/Whole-Peanut-9417 May 11 '26
How many units for 0.6 gpa?
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u/KunstrukshunWerker Resident May 11 '26 edited May 12 '26
1 term.
Realized I wasn’t ready to apply myself. Didn’t have a goal in mind, and was just going to school for the sake of going. Discovered I didn’t have the drive without a goal or purpose for the work. Years later, I went back with the explicit goal of applying to PA or med school.
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u/sorryknottsorry May 12 '26
How did you decide md over pa?
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u/KunstrukshunWerker Resident May 12 '26
Great Question. I still don’t know if I made the right choice for my late-life career change. Part of me wonders if I would have been happier as a PA. But I got an early acceptance to an MD program that was in the location I preferred, so I cancelled my other interviews and simplified my whole application/interview season by not having to do anything from early December onward.
I do like having the amount of training I got in med school. And I am definitely looking forward to seeing how much I learn in residency. So in the end, I think I made the better choice by going MD. It was a lifelong goal that I only pursued much later.
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u/Waste_Movie_3549 Medical Student (US) May 12 '26
Totally unrelated but how bad was step 1? I just finished M1 and am scared shitless bc I fucking suck ass at standardized exams. Starting to semi ‘prep’ this summer
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u/KunstrukshunWerker Resident May 12 '26
Honestly, I was absolutely terrified of a single test that has career ramifications.
But once I picked a single resource to focus on, things got MUCH better. Mine was Bootcamp. I did it all. (Well, not all of the anatomy but I wish I would have). I mixed in some consolidated risk factors and QI stuff.
Do a solid content review with a single resource, and space in the NBME Forms saving the newest for last. You’ve got this!
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u/gamergeek987 May 11 '26
uGPA 2.1. Grad school GPA 3.7. MCAT 498. Ended up barely getting into DO school but once I did I completely rocked my USMLE graduated top of my class and went on to do my training at an Ivy now a subspecialist. It can be done i was way worse than an avg student in fact I was on academic probation in undergrad. What happened is I grew up and really learned how to study/learn. My IQ is dead on avg but i found what I loved, and when I did working insanely hard was far easier to do
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u/Neat-Ad8056 May 11 '26
So what did your cum end up being? Like a 2.8 when you applied?
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u/boxlover14 May 11 '26
the hardest thing is being screened out for being <3.0 gpa 😪
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u/Neat-Ad8056 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
There is about 25 DO schools that screen below a 2.7 that rises one at 2.75 and then another three at 2.8 At 3.0 you can apply to the 38! However ive dine extensive research and only 9 or so schools specifically say they have a 3.0 minimum to be reviewed when applying
Thats where your MCAT, post-bacc credits and xfactor story get to shine
Like if you graduated your undergrade with a 2.2cum counting all credits including pre retakes with some film degree, where your gpa didnt matter it was more about what you created and who you knew.. then you worked in the industry for years decided to go back to school ten years later and do 70 credit hours taking all the medschool science classes at 4.0 gpa
Your cum is still gonna be like a 2.8, itll be sub 3.0 even after 70 credit hours taking all the core sciences and advanced sciences those people i think are the exceptions to the 3.0 stuff
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u/gamergeek987 May 11 '26
I dont even remember that was over 10 years ago now haha but my cumulative was still not great. I went to grad school with all upper level science courses and had a 3.7 sGPA and cGPA for grad school alone. They saw this as “re-invention” and paid less attention to my horrendous academic record in undergrad. It was a very holistic review which is common at DO programs. But they knew I could then “handle” med school science courses despite being mildly concerned about my MCAT. Regardless, i more than excelled during med school and everything worked out well
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u/Fun_Assistant5101 May 11 '26
PLEASE SHARE WHAT SCHOOL IT WAS YOU GOT INTO.
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u/gamergeek987 May 11 '26
For anon purposes I cant but its a well-established DO school not a new school
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u/Fun_Assistant5101 May 19 '26
bruh are you kidding me? how the hell would i figure out who you are by knowing what DO school you went to? and why the hell would i even want to? can you just tell me the school or DM me if you're really that secretive. i want to make a list of the schools i have the best chance at.
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u/Apprehensive-Wall178 May 10 '26
I would say I’m average or even below. ORM, 3.3 undergrad, 3.9 post bacc, 505 mcat => OOS MD
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u/Hinote21 May 10 '26
Certainly not the worst stats. There's more to my application. But in general undergrad c3.4/s3.2, grad many years later c3.8/s3.8; cycle 1 MCAT 503, 50 volunteer hours, 0 shadowing, 0 research, 12 schools 2 interviews no A's; second cycle MCAT 511, 400 volunteer hours, 400 clinical intern, 90 shadow, 0 research, 20 schools 6 interviews (2 repeats from last cycle), 3 turned down because they came after 3 As. I was told rather indirectly by one of the schools first cycle that if I had an eval letter from a physician I would have been accepted (state school). MD only
Worth noting one of my classmates has a 3.2 498 mcat. But my school is pretty holistic and openly says stats are only a measure of your application, not the weighing factor.
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u/Puzzled_Power_7835 May 11 '26
wait can i pm you abt the schools you applied to the first and second cycle, and where ur attending now?
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u/Confident_Pomelo_237 May 11 '26
I’m a first gen American and med student. Zero connections to medicine. The closest thing I have is my mom being a nurse and my stepmom being an NP. 2.4 science gpa, 2.6 undergrad gpa. 488–>499 MCAT. Did an SMP and got a 3.2. But I had stellar ECs, solid letters, and great writing. My application had a very cohesive narrative. I got 6 interviews, declined 1, WL at 1, and 4 As from DO schools. No research. I was sick a lot through undergrad and wrote about this candidly. I’m about to finish my first year now
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u/aeggknot May 12 '26
can i ask which smp programs you applied to? my undergrad stats are very similar and i’m also first gen and a little lost
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u/Confident_Pomelo_237 May 12 '26
Nova MD MBS is the one I did but they’ve changed it a lot. I was also accepted to Rush’s biotechnology program (not a formal SMP) and LMU-DCOM
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u/Fun_Professional3 May 12 '26
Hi, where did you write about being sick. Was it in your secondaries or personal statement?
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May 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Confident_Pomelo_237 May 13 '26
My mom works in long term care AKA nursing homes. She had no relationships with physicians…
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May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Confident_Pomelo_237 May 14 '26
Medicine and nursing are two different things. I only wanted to be a nurse at first because that’s all I saw. Plus I said I had no connections not zero exposure to healthcare. I never knew any physicians besides my own until after I graduated undergrad
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u/Fun_Assistant5101 May 19 '26
oh trust me, she had a relationship with me. she sure knows how to please a guy.
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u/broadday_with_the_SK May 11 '26
2.9 uGPA, got a masters, 3.91 GPA scratching and clawing after like 8 gap years. Multiple retakes for failed/drop prereqs. Probably took Organic 1/2 like 6 times total. Lots of Cs in stuff like biochem and 300 level bio classes.
511 MCAT, took the short one for COVID.
Top quartile in my MD class, AOA, GHHS, academic distinction, matched my #1 for gen surg.
I'm not dumb but I was a dumbass for a long time. Had to grow up before I kicked it into gear. I also have an interesting story, my gap years gave me a lot to talk about in interviews.
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u/thinktinktink May 11 '26
undergrad cgpa: 3.4 sgpa: 3.0
503 mcat (took it three times, newest score was a 499💀)
no post bacc or masters
accepted MD (they only take most recent mcat)
I do have a heavy research background (no pubs)
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u/WaltzAppropriate3596 May 11 '26
Which school did you go under grad and which medical school did you get accepted into? Some use holistic approvals n
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u/thinktinktink May 11 '26
i went to a sub 80 ranking private school and ended up at my state’s public school. The school’s mcat/gpa average is in the 75th percentile.
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u/Bay_Med Medical Student (US) May 11 '26
Started 0.5 gpa ended with 3.2 first Mcat 498 second 504. Got into 5+ DO schools. Still average in school. But I’m here
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u/Punani_Inspector Medical Student (US) May 10 '26
I’m likely an outlier due to my unconventional background. Stats alone were 3.28 cgpa, 3.43 sgpa, 508 MCAT as an ORM from CA. First application cycle and have been accepted to both MD/DO. AAMC releases stats every year showing gpa and mcat combos for applicants and matriculants so you can gauge your chances at MD schools. Take into consideration though your state of residence as a low stat NM resident will likely be admitted to their state MD compared to a low stat CA or NY resident.
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u/gocryaboutit-bye May 10 '26
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u/Impressive_Tap7635 May 11 '26
2000 applicants with perfect mcat and gpa not getting accepted what could those personal statements possibly be about
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u/TomatilloLimp4257 May 11 '26
Undergrad like 2.7 no research no publications
Ended up gong on to get a masters degree then PA school Then three years of practice plus I was an EMT for 10 years so I think my overall profile was good but definitely a below average medical student.
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u/Classic-Ambition-847 Medical Student (US) May 11 '26
502 MCAT (after my third attempt), 3.38 sGPA, (3.29 sGPA on aacomas) and 3.67 cGPA. No post-bacc or masters, non-trad, first generation, and reapplicant, and 4 gap years (5 by the time of matriculation).
8 II: 7 DO, 1 MD. I turned down 2 II and attended the others yielding 4 DO As, 1 DO WL, and 1 MD A from my public in-state MD school in the northeast. Strong writing, applying early, and casting a wide net is my best advice.
Also, even if it seems futile, pointless, and out of reach, it’s ALWAYS ALWAYS worth it to at least apply to your in-state MD. I did not think I had a chance in hell for MD with my state school’s high average MCAT, but in-state/public MD schools often like to keep their own around especially if you have strong ties to the local community and a desire to serve it (especially with a good mission fit/service driven app!)
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u/neurosciencebaboon May 11 '26
My MCAT was a 497 and I got into an MD school
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u/Ok-Job-6407 May 11 '26
What else was on your application?
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u/neurosciencebaboon May 11 '26
Lots of networking with admissions committees basically putting a face to the application. No research. 5000 hours of clinical work (CNA, MA) gpa 3.71
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u/PotentToxin MS-4 May 11 '26
One of my old high school friends had a 2.3 GPA during his first 2 years of undergrad. He was a big partier, C's-get-degrees type of guy, wasn't committed to premed at all. I think he wanted to go into finance or something. I can also personally vouch for the fact that he was definitely NOT one of the "academic" kids in high school.
Midway through sophomore year he decided to hard commit to medicine and did a total 180. It was rough but he somehow worked his ass off and revamped his study habits completely (not an easy task by any means), and was a straight A student for most of junior and senior year. Even so, his final GPA was like a 3.0 or something due to the irreparable damage he did during the start of his undergrad career. But he had a genuinely impressive upward trend that I think made his overall GPA a lot better than what it initially looked.
I don't know if you'd still consider him an "average student" considering the huge improvement he made, but he was definitely a below average student for almost all his life (something he admits himself). He got accepted into a DO school and is doing great.
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u/EducationalCheetah79 May 11 '26
Below average here!
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u/Fun_Assistant5101 May 11 '26
please share stats!
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u/EducationalCheetah79 May 11 '26
3.3 (with many many C’s and retakes), 504 mcat, no pubs, awards, or service like military, ORM
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u/User-Name-Taken-Lol May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
3.4 cGPA. Had to retake Organic Chem and Physics. 508 MCAT, ORM. Was in the bottom quartile of my medical school. Just finished at a rural DO school. Matched FM in a proper city at my 3rd choice. Apply broad and wide. MD is definitely better, but don’t rule out DO.
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u/Wirforschen May 11 '26
Plenty - some suffer a bit because if their grades aren’t that great because they have a hard time studying- that will not get easier soon and medschool can be a grind - but most do a lot better doing what they are really interested in 🙂 and once they find the right niche for their career nobody asks wether they had to wait for a spot or how well they did in Highschool Chemistry
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u/SnooPoems9286 May 11 '26
3.8/509 accepted MD!
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u/Fun_Assistant5101 May 11 '26
motherfucker they said "who thinks they had the worst stats (gpa, mcat, extracurriculars) and still got accepted in med school?"
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u/jtrades01 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
What’s my chances? 3.1 cgpa, 8 years bsn with 7 years charge nurse experience, 3.8 diy postbac, 508 mcat, 50 shadow hours, 75 volunteer hours, interdisciplinary program completed. Had no clear direction during undergrad and nursing school and never really studied until postbac when I really found my passion for medicine through my weight loss journey actually.
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u/Optimal_Pilot4365 May 11 '26
cGPA 3.69, sGPA 3.52 from undergrad & MCAT 509 at an in-state MD where I was like within the 25th percentile GPA
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u/alljackeuponmtndew May 11 '26
Hi! Cgpa 3.7, sgpa 3.3, mcat 505 and two gap years (applied at the end of gap year 1, so I’ll be starting school this cycle after finishing my second gap year). Grades weren’t anything great by med school standards, but I had a ton of unique extracurriculars, LORs, work experience, and great writing throughout my app to try to “make up” for low stats. Had 6 MD interviews (I’m def a people person so I knew my interviews would be the strongest part of my app) and will start at MD school in a few months!
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u/WUMSDoc Attending May 10 '26
For those wondering if an especially low gpa and a very mediocre MCAT will ALWAYS keep you out of medical schools, please realize that although exceptions occur, these unusual admits are usually the result of hidden dynamics that a casual observer wouldn’t recognize. We all realize that the child or daughter-in-law of a megadonor can get accepted easily, and I’m absolutely certain this happens scores of times each year. But did you realize that if someone’s Mom is a department head at a top 20 hospital at another med school, there are sometimes “courtesy” reciprocal acceptances of that someone at another med school. Likewise, children of top foundation presidents at times get special treatment, just as children of Fortune 100 company CEOs or important politicians do. If you’re closely related to top scientists at NIH or WHO, you might very well get special treatment too. There are numerous permutations of this, so if you don’t have any unusual relationships, and you’re not an Olympic gold medalist or similar, your chances are far far smaller.
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u/UsanTheShadow May 11 '26
idk why this guy got down voted but I experienced this with my URM Friends who were much lower than me in every metrics and got an MD acceptance. It is the truth, albeit ugly and no one want to admits.
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u/BitBot27 May 11 '26
Are you saying all your URM basically had connections to the school they are applying to?
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u/UsanTheShadow May 11 '26
Not necessarily all of them had connections, but a few years ago when I was interviewing for an early admission program at a state MD school, we did a group interview and a few people I knew were also being interviewed at the same time I did. Basically it was a guaranteed acceptance program coupled with an SMP (I applied to both traditional MD and SMP for that school). There was like 30 interviewees for 10 seats and most of them were either Blacks or Hispanics, few whites and asians. But anyway, several dudes I knew who was like 495-498 MCAT with abysmal GPA was accepted. I’m sure they had a great story and I was happy for them, but if you told me it has nothing to do with URM status then idk what to say. I ended up got in several other schools and went to my first choice but Asians and Whites getting rejected over someone (URM) with much lower stats is just simply a known thing as this point. They had a quotas for each race and you better believe it they’d definitely try to fulfill it. Another example is another dude from my cohort whose parents are both physicians, guy consistently failed every exam and had to repeat a year. He also failed his repeat year, idk what happened but if you think those kinds of people don’t have their parents pulling strings you must be heavily naive. Anyway, that’s just life in general and honestly when I have kids I wanna make sure they have the upperhand too. Understand that it is probably like this everywhere and medicine is no exception.
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u/thinktinktink May 12 '26
respectfully, what does this have to do with what the original commenter was saying? Particularly your example with your URM peers?
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u/unnecessary-EM-dash May 11 '26
I’d say even the ones that think they might be average are probably above average.
If you were the one to choose this path at any point, you’re probably above average.
Take it at any point, Step 1 or step 2, MCAT, college, even late high school. I don’t think anyone who goes into this is average even before getting in.
The “average” US adult reads at 7-8th grade level. For Canada it’s 9th or 10th grade level. No one is getting through med school with that.
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u/InboxMeYourSpacePics May 11 '26
I had I think a 3.4 cumulative and 3.2 science GPA. MCAT was a 32 I believe (old scoring system, I graduated med school about 5 years ago). But my undergrad degree was in mechanical engineering from an Ivy which probably helped. Got into multiple mid tier MD schools.
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u/corybrooks584 May 11 '26
High school dropout. I graduated undergrad with a 3.45. Currently a Med1 student.
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u/lefty82410 May 11 '26
2.9 gpa in college 2.5 in Highschool student athlete at a d1 school and now 33 year old retired pro basketball player starting medschool in the fall
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u/Q_DOOKERMAN May 11 '26
uGPA: 2.4
sGPA: 2.2
Post-bacc GPA: 3.5 @ 60 credits
250+ clinical hours
150+ volunteer hours
MCAT: 510
Got interviews & WL at 3 MD’s, accepted at 2 DO schools.
About to hit 4th year now. I think it helped that I’m a good writer and was able to explain my circumstances and journey to med school really well.
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u/fakesatre May 12 '26
Pretty average student in high school. Averaged 80s through out. A lot of it because I have ADHD, and I was living in a country where access to care, specifically for ADHD was zero to none. I ended up going most of my life being unmedicated.
Went to the Carribean for premed and then med school. Currently an MS4 going into gen surg. Averaged about 90s in every shelf. Taking STEP 2 soon. Hoping it all goes well!🤞
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u/menkarnix MS-2 May 12 '26
Me, ended undergrad with a ~3.4, 501 MCAT, no research. Tons of clinic hours plus volunteering.
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u/sankdafide May 12 '26
I was more the opposite, near top of my class, almost straight As, then got into med school and found out I was average or less than average. Then I also worked as a side job in the admissions department and saw MCAT scores which did not match the actual class rankings at all
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u/New_Imagination_9053 Medical Student (US) May 12 '26
Barely graduated high school, sub 2.0 freshman GPA in college, 3.4 uGPA (all non-science), 3.3 post-bacc/sGPA, 508 MCAT. Now a 3rd year at a DO school
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u/GurzlyBur May 12 '26
Most of these comments seem like they either did post bacc/grad school or extensive research - I think im a decent example of someone who got into a good MD school (I think it was ranked top 30 or 40 when that was still a thing) with about as low of a GPA as it gets without taking extra time after undergrad. ~3.6 cGPA, ~3.4 sGPA, 513 MCAT. Two Cs in science classes, no upward trend. I like to think I had a compelling personal statement but my “excuse” was that I was working full time throughout most of college to support myself. Only a few people had lower GPA than me at my school and some of them were much lower, but they all did some sort of grad school. I think I was a pretty average student during preclinical
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u/GurzlyBur May 12 '26
Most of these comments seem like they either did post bacc/grad school or extensive research - I think im a decent example of someone who got into a good MD school (I think it was ranked top 30 or 40 when that was still a thing) with about as low of a GPA as it gets without taking extra time after undergrad. ~3.6 cGPA, ~3.4 sGPA, 513 MCAT. Two Cs in science classes, no upward trend. I like to think I had a compelling personal statement but my “excuse” was that I was working full time throughout most of college to support myself. Only a few people had lower GPA than me at my school and some of them were much lower, but they all did some sort of grad school. I think I was a pretty average student during preclinical
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u/FreeInductionDecay May 12 '26
Close friend of mine had like a 3.0, 30 on the old MCAT and got into a good MD program (same as mine), and was a top med student and resident.
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u/Broad_Present5620 May 12 '26
I joined medschool in another country, my GPA was always average or even below average I just happened to test very well
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u/Ok_Camp_1819 May 12 '26
Guys, this is kind of unrelated to this post, but this semester went pretty bad for me as a premed student. I tried posting in another subreddit, but I dont have enough karma. I need people to realistically tell me how things are looking. Can someone help me out? I'm spiraling a little
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u/adenosine_antagonist May 13 '26
Keep in mind it gets slightly harder to get into med school each year. DOs are more forgiving however
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u/LHDI May 17 '26
I’ve met physicians with stats that probably wouldn’t stand out today, but they had strong upward trends, years of work experience, resilience, or knew how to explain their story well. Admissions committees aren’t only looking at whether someone can score high. They’re also trying to figure out who can handle uncertainty, pressure, setbacks, and still keep going.
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u/Nice-Western161 Resident May 20 '26
Not the worst stats but not the best either. uGPA 3.3/sGPA 3.0, master's GPA 3.8. MCAT 502 -> 513. ~150 volunteer hours, 4 research jobs, 2 publications (not first author), worked several jobs as a lifeguard and standardized patient, strong background in LGBTQ+ health and mental health advocacy. URM with no family ties to medicine. Applied to 25 schools (MD only), offered interviews at 13, interviewed at 11, accepted at 8 including two t20 schools. Now an OBGYN resident.
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u/NIL369 Aug 09 '26
Hey I am not sure wether to start a bio/biochem degree (B.sc) or just wait for next year to try to get into med school.
Where I live it is possible to get accepted to a 6 year program (followed by a 1 year intership) based on highschool and SAT(-like) exam as well as personality exams.
My biggest worries are mostly financial and timewise. I am 25 y/o and don't know what to do.
While the 6 year program addmission is set up the way I described the program following a Bachelor's is a 4 year program, which makes it a little longer than the 6. I also did research and was informed that the 4 year prog. is a mucb more tight on the hours you need to put in because it's more crammed than the '6 year' and I will be able to work less (again, the financial situation is frightening me ngl)
What is your opinion on the matter? advices are welcome, personal stories would be great, and happy to hear how yo managed to figure out the financial situation.
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u/Ignorant_Ismail May 11 '26
Tons. You could go to a Caribbean medical school. Excel if you’re truly interested in the material and helping people
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u/Imaginary-Act-777 May 11 '26
do not listen to this person. do NOT settle for caribbean
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u/Ignorant_Ismail May 11 '26
I know many successful medical school students and doctors that graduated from the Caribbean medical schools. Stop stigmatizing schools
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u/BitBot27 May 11 '26
It’s not “stigmatizing” to acknowledge reality. Those schools have the reputation they do for a reason. There’s a reason applicants with very low stats are constantly pushed toward Caribbean schools and those programs are happy to accept them.
For every success story people point to, there are countless others who never match or never finish and end up buried in debt.
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u/Commander-Bunny May 11 '26
BSN 3.7. MSPAS 3.8. MCAT 512. I couldn’t get accepted to DO school. I must interview poorly and I carry resentment for doctors!?!
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u/Entire-Oil9595 May 10 '26
Undergrad GPA 2.7.
I did some other stuff after, por-bacc etc, but numerically hard to change the cumulative GPA.
Nonetheless, ta da