Getting Into Med School with a Low GPA in

Tip #1: Increase Your GPA (If You Still Have Time)

The best strategy to increase your GPA while you’re still in college is to follow your passion, and put in a solid effort to succeed! If you’re struggling, it may be worth investing in a tutor or finding a study group…or reconsidering what courses you’re taking altogether. We highly recommend you major in a discipline you excel in and take courses you actually like instead of doing what is traditionally considered the “premed path.”

For instance, if you are a science major getting Cs and Bs, then maybe it’s not the right path for you; and that’s okay, as there are certain medical schools that don’t require prerequisites. At those institutions, your premed major doesn’t matter as much as your grades do – if you’re somebody who excels in social sciences or humanities, that might be your best bet. Here’s what one of our experts recommends:

“The #1 piece of advice would be taking courses you genuinely enjoy… When you are doing something that you enjoy, you automatically end up going the extra mile, which shows in both the quality of your work as well as the results.” – Dr. Neel Mistry, MD

Tip #2: Boost Your MCAT Score to Overcome A Low GPA

Many medical schools in Canada and the US look at your GPA and MCAT in tandem. So, if you are trying to get into medical school with a low GPA, strive to get the highest MCAT score possible. Take a look at this chart that outlines medical school acceptance rates based on GPA and MCAT scores of applicants. And remember:

“MCAT and GPA are important as screening tools. They won’t be the end all for you to get in or be rejected from a school, but they are often that first look.” – Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

While some students can study for the MCAT on their own and get a high score, do not be afraid to research MCAT prep courses and MCAT tutors who can maximize your chances of success.

Tip #3: Apply to Medical Schools With Lower GPA Requirements

Using MSAR, research medical school GPA requirements for the schools you are interested in and apply to schools where you meet and exceed the requirements. 

Pro tip: aim to exceed the average accepted GPA of the latest cohort set in the previous year. Do not simply look at the minimum official requirement – it’s usually significantly lower than what schools actually expect.

If your GPA is too low and you do not qualify for any medical schools in the US or Canada, jump to tips #6 and #7.

Tip #4: Stand Out With Your Medical School Application (Despite A Low GPA)

Assess your applicant profile and find ways to make your medical school application stand out. Every student is unique, so ask yourself: what makes your journey to becoming a doctor memorable? Is it your non-traditional background? Is it the fact that you are an accomplished athlete? Is it your personal experience?

Identify what makes you unique and find ways to tell a captivating story of your journey in your medical school personal statement, your work and activities sections, or your secondary essays. Especially your diversity secondary essay!

Remember, your GPA is only the beginning of your application review – it’s a screening tool. You can compensate for a low GPA by using essays and other qualifying components of the application to impress the admissions committee; this may include an AMCAS statement of disadvantage, where you will have the opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances that may have presented you with barriers in applying to med school and achieving a higher GPA

Pro tip: Remember, they read thousands of essays every year, so make sure to do something that grabs their attention. Our admissions expert Dr. Jaime Cazes shares his experience being on the admissions board of his alma mater, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine:

“It is very easy to make the 'cookie cutter' personal statement. 'Hello my name is Steven, and I am a 4th year...' There are probably hundreds of letters that start like this. To a reviewer who is reading tens of these at a time it can become quite boring.” – Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine



Tip #5: Ace Your CASPer Test and Interviews to Compensate For A Low GPA

Your CASPer score and other application materials will have a significant effect on whether you get invited to an interview. If you impress the admissions committee with the rest of your application, despite the low GPA, you will have a stellar chance to demonstrate why you belong in their school during the interview.

If you’re applying to medical schools that require CASPer or AAMC PREview, or some other situational judgement test (SJT), make sure to prepare. Do not believe the widely spread myth that all you need to score well is to “be yourself”. It’s simply not true. These tests are designed to test learned professional behaviors, not your “nature.”

And be sure to actually prepare for the interview. Find out what format they use (traditional? MMI? Panel?) and practice with relevant questions. Some medical school interview questions such as “tell me about yourself” or “why do you want to be a doctor?” can be used as MMI questions as well as traditional questions, so there is a lot of overlap there.

Pro tip: make sure to practice with realistic mock interviews. There is really no other way to get a feel of what your medical school interview will look like. Trust us!

Tip #6: Consider Post-Bacc Programs, DO Schools, and Caribbean Medical Schools to Boost Your GPA

If you were rejected the fist time you applied or if you want to increase your GPA despite having graduated from college, take a gap year before medical school and enrol in a post-baccalaureate program for medical school. There are programs that specifically focus on increasing your GPA. Additionally, some medical schools will take your grad school GPA into account – that means if you have a higher GPA from a special Masters program or PhD program, it may boost your GPA on your med school application.

Do not forget to check out DO schools’ GPA requirements. Osteopathic medical schools can be slightly less demanding when it comes to GPA than traditional allopathic schools, so you may have a higher chance of getting accepted there.

Another option to keep in mind is Caribbean medical schools. They typically have very low GPA and MCAT requirements, so students who have lower statistics have more chances of getting accepted there than in the US or Canada.

Tip #7: Re-Enroll In A New Undergraduate Degree to Fix A Low GPA

Ultimately, if your GPA is too low for MD, DO, Caribbean schools and even post-baccs, then you might want to re-enrol in a new undergrad program. This is a radical decision, and it will take you a lot longer to become a doctor, but this time you will know exactly what you will need to do to keep your GPA high. Plus, you will have more time to strengthen your application! Participate in strong extracurriculars, gain more quality clinical experiences, and take your time to prepare for the MCAT. This option can sometimes be a blessing in disguise!

BeMo Medical School Application Help Reviews

Want BeMo's help getting into medical school? Check out some BeMo reviews from our successful students!

"Cathleen was so helpful and friendly when it came to discussing courses to choose and how they would affect my GPA! She also shared so many experiences of hers that were helpful!" - Mariam, BeMo student.

"Dr. Kassam was awesome! She was very through in explaining the medical school admissions process (specifically for US) and was more than willing to spend an extra couple minutes in clarifying any questions I had. She gave me a very detailed overview on each aspect of the medical school criteria and how I can work on strengthening each aspect (study plans for gpa, building relationship with professors for improved grades and rec-letter etc.). She was a great mentor for my introductory session and I'm glad she was my introduction to BeMo consulting!" - BeMo student.

"Mikky Atser was a great med planning advisor. He answered all of my questions to the best of his abilities and provided plenty of insight and advice for medical school. I am very glad I was able to talk to him and discuss my path going forward in the future." - BeMo student.

"Great experience and very informative. Dr. Joseph Narusis was very helpful in helping me plan out a timeline, going over my extracurricular activities, GPA, and research, and giving me some preliminary information concerning the MCAT exam." - BeMo student.

"I've been an active applicant for medical schools for 3 years straight with no success in Canada. So I decided to apply to the United States for the first time and went to BeMo for advice and coaching. Thanks to their help throughout the whole process, from brainstorming essays to writing them to doing nonstop interview prep, I managed to get both an acceptance and waitlisted acceptance into two US Medical schools! Without them, I believe I would not have had the necessary information and coaching needed to be so successful. Upon acceptance, I had no US citizenship, my GPA was 3.84 and MCAT was 516. I would definitely recommend them if you feel like you need that slight push and support to succeed! :) " - BeMo student.

"Kyle was very helpful in giving me detail-oriented advice and provided me with some additional steps I can take to improve my GPA and activities." - BeMo student.

"Dr. Mehdi Khalfallah was really helpful in helping me navigate how to outline the work and activities section, especially since there is a low character count! He helped me go through each of my activities and brainstorm what I wanted to convey about each one, and made it easier to get started on writing." - BeMo student.

"I was initially skeptical about BeMo because I hate their advertising lol but as soon as my session began I was immediately sure that this is exactly what I needed. The help and guidance I have been unsuccessfully searching for in other companies was immediately apparent in my tutor when he started by acknowledging my previous experience and tailored his tutoring, including his review about CASPer itself, to my specific needs, instead of just repeating a script or giving me pre-constructed answers. The scores given at then end of each question that was reviewed was helpful, and the final score very much reflected my current ability (which is low), showing me that his assessment of my skill was accurate. He also gave me an additional 30 minutes of his time, free of charge, in order to ensure we covered everything in detail before our session was over. More than anything else, after our session ended, I felt hopeful for the first time about this god-forsaken test that I have dreaded so much over the last year or two. I actually believe that, if I apply what I'm taught through this program, I actually can achieve my goal. Not feeling confident was one of my biggest hindrances, and this initial session has completely changed that outlook. I am now confident that success is within my grasp. Thank you Anant Singh, for your highly skilled service!" - Coleen Soos, BeMo student.

"Dr. Hanlin Liu Dr. Hanlin Liu. Dr. Hanlin Liu. This man needs his FLOWERS!! I waited to give this review so it could be thorough! (1) First- this instructor was always very prepared, knowledgeable, and passionate about teaching. (2) Second- he was always punctual and willing to stay later and willing to provide extra work to gauge my understanding. (3) Third- It was late into the process of MCAT preparation that I was able to identify Dr.Liu as a key instructor that would be willing to work on my REAL issues/low comprehension areas- not just the practice problems in the lesson plans ***My lowest section on the MCAT was CHEM and seeing as its the first section. I would panic when I didn't feel comfortable. Multiple times I never even saw all the questions and would have to blindly guess on more than 15% of the questions. It was a mess. I did all the BEMO chem lesson plans and even many of them twice and yet my practice exam scores were not moving up consistently. Finally a month before my exam I did about 8 long sessions with Dr. Liu. I know I worked hard for months, prayed and prepared, but Dr. Liu also helped me. This week I got my results from my 2024 MCAT and I am proud to say that I improved all the way to the 85th percentile in that section and above the 85th percentile OVERALL. I am so happy and I want to say thank you to Dr. Liu. I hope you see this. I did it and you made a major impact. God Bless!" - BeMo student.

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