Why GPA is So Important

Medical schools are incredibly competitive, and most applicants have high GPAs. Needless to say, you must have a strong GPA to be considered because GPA is probably the single most important factor in successful admissions. Most premed students graduate with at least a 3.5 GPA, and unless your MCAT scores are high, a low GPA is going to raise some red flags. This is especially true if you attend a school with a reputation for grade inflation. For example, if everyone at a certain school graduates with a minimum GPA of 3.2, your 3.4 GPA is barely above the minimum and is not going to look particularly good.

GPA is important for three reasons. One, grades are really the only way to quantify academic performance against others in your class. If you make C’s in all your science classes, it’s an indication that you probably won’t do well on more difficult exams throughout medical school. Two, four-year graduation and dropout rates are much higher for students with GPAs below 3.0, whereas medical school graduation rates are above 90 percent for students with 3.0 to 4.0 GPAs. And three, your GPA is often seen as a reflection of your work ethic. When someone looks at a student’s low GPA, they immediately think that he or she just didn’t work hard enough. I’ve had many bright students who graduated with 2.8 GPAs and many average but hard-working students who graduated with 3.5 GPAs and ended up in medical school.

If you look at the grades of students who’ve been successful in getting into medical school, less than 5 percent had C averages, and those few had exceptional MCAT scores. High grades, on the other hand, can have a positive effect on lower MCAT scores. If your MCAT scores are not that great, but your GPA is high, it could mean the difference between an interview or not.

Despite the emphasis on grades, premedical GPAs are not always the number one criterion for admissions. For instance, three students I helped get admitted to medical school all had GPAs of around 3.0, and they’re all practicing physicians now. Obviously, other factors came into play that helped overcome low grades. These students all had terrific extracurricular activities, and they did well on their MCAT. These are the exceptions. The fact is that to be competitive and to improve your chances of admission, you need to maintain a high GPA.

There’s one other factor about grades I feel is important. Admissions committees take other things into consideration when selecting students who don’t have very high GPAs. A student may have experienced extraordinary circumstances that prevented him or her from doing as well in school (having to work 40 hours a week to support a family, for example). In the end, though, the rule of thumb is that too many C’s hurt, B’s don’t hurt but can help, and A’s definitely increase your odds.

From: The New Medical School Preparation & Admissions Guide, 2025, 5th Edition