GPA/ Interview score correlation

[Bede]

Here's a question:

 

Do you guys think that the reason so many people with high GPA's get into med school is because they are generally better communicators and do better at the interview, or is it because GPA is weighted so heavily?

[Jochi1543]

Well, I don't think you have to be a good communicator to have a high GPA at all. You can spend all of your undergrad sitting alone in a basement and get a 4.0. I think ECs are a much better indicator of your communication skills. If your ECs involve a lot of leadership and contact with people, you are probably pretty good at communicating with others. Especially if your ECs involve things such as working with developmentally disabled people, counseling, working with kids, or with recent immigrants who may not be very well-versed in English.

[future_doc]

To get an Interview GPA counts (I believe) for 32% & 43% at Mac and U of Alberta respectively, UofC has academic weighting of 50% pre-interview, U of Manitoba less than 30% for GPA, etc. and post interview, the percentage value of GPA is reduced by med schools. A very high GPA is not essential but due to 'supply and demand' considerations (there are far more qualified candidates than available seats), it sure helps, together with other factors, to be invited for a MMI (and there are so many applicants to choose from with amazing GPAs, so with a lower GPA, you need to really stand out from the crowd in a special way with MCAT, ECs, research and/or volunteering). This may be one way to get a ticket into the lottery for invitations to a MMI, but GPA guarantees applicants absolutely nothing.

 

Once you reach the interview stage, it is another ball game. Communication (being personable and professional, critical thinking, problem solving, being concise and able to see and state all options to a problem, good judgment and ethics) skills are required for the MMI, and scoring factors in the MMI higher than GPA. McGill formula ranks the MMI at 40%, with GPA at only 10% I believe, Mac the MMI is given 70% with GPA only 15% (and 15% for VR of MCAT), at U of Alberta MMI=25% and GPA=25%, UofC GPA=20%%.

 

The game is called "survival of the fittest" and "don't necessarily expect to be accepted in your first or second years of applying". In the end it takes a combination of the right qualities, stamina, relentless determination to stay faithful to you goal and luck!