3.54 – That’s the mean science GPA of all med school applicants. Can you outmatch that? As a premed student, you know that your grades can have a big impact on the success of your application to medical school, especially those that count as science classes. Therefore, you want to know exactly how to calculate your science GPA so that you can keep track of your performance and make sure you are on the right path!
In this blog post, we will cover…
- Which of your classes actually count towards the science GPA
- How to find the data for your science GPA
- How to calculate science GPA
- What is a good science GPA for med school?
- How can you raise your science GPA after graduation?
So if you are still far from topping the average science GPA to stand out among the thousands of other applicants, no worries – there are options! I will also share some snippets on how I got accepted to 10 medical schools with a lower GPA.
This post is all about how to calculate Science GPA.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.
Find out how to calculate Science GPA
What is a Science GPA vs. Overall GPA?
Your overall or cumulative GPA is the average of all your undergraduate grades as well as any additional post-bacc or master programs afterwards. The science GPA on the other hand only includes the average grade point for all the prerequisite science classes. We will cover exactly what courses that includes in this blog post.
Medical schools also calculate your Non-Science GPA which includes only the courses that are not listed as eligible science courses, check the list below for clarity.
Is Science GPA More Important?
How much weight the different types of GPAs get in your applications depends on the medical school you apply to. Some schools even have a GPA cut-off to pre-select the right candidates for their application process.
In general, your science GPA holds more weight though, since medical school is a science-heavy field which requires a deep understanding of complex scientific concepts and principles. So testing your ability to perform well in such classes, can also help you (and the admissions committee) to determine if medical school is the right fit for you.
What Classes Count Towards Science GPA
Surprisingly, not all science classes count towards your science GPA. So if you have been acing your grades in computer science, this won’t count towards your science GPA for your medical school application.
See the full list of what classes count towards science GPA for MD schools (AMCAS) below.
Does Science GPA Include Math?
Yes! For MD schools, your science GPA includes different math classes like Applied Mathematics, Biostatistics, Mathematics and Statistics. Keep in mind that DO (osteopathic) schools don’t count math towards your science GPA though.
Does Psychology Count As Science GPA?
No. Behavioral and social sciences like psychology and sociology are not included in the science GPA.
Does this mean you won’t need to perform well? Some medical schools list behavioral sciences classes as a requirement or at least recommended option in order to apply. Applicants are also often encouraged to have completed social science classes upon applying to med school.
Apart from that, psychology and sociology make up a quarter of your MCAT exam so taking them (and performing well) will also help you to get ready to reach a competitive score in this very important med school readiness test.
Are Labs Included in Science GPA?
Yes, if your lab class ends up on your transcript including credits and a grade, then they also count towards your science GPA. Of course, assuming they are a lab for one of the classes that actually count towards the science GPA, such as biology or chemistry labs.
Keep in mind that in case you receive a lab grade that ends up being a part of your overall grade in that class, the overall grade will be the one getting included into your science GPA, not both. For example if you get an A in the lab that’s part of your physics class, with overall getting a B in that class, only the overall grade would count towards your science GPA.
All the Classes that Count Towards Your Science GPA
Here are all the classes that count when calculating your science GPA. A quick acronym you can use to remember the included science classes is BCPM (Bio, Chem, Physics, Math). Any other classes still count towards your overall GPA though, which can also hold a lot of weight for applying to medical school.
Biology
- Anatomy
- Biology
- Biophysics
- Biotechnology
- Botany
- Cell Biology
- Ecology
- Entomology
- Genetics
- Histology
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
- Zoology
Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
- Thermodynamics
Physics
- Astronomy
- Physics
Mathematics
- Applied Mathematics
- Biostatistics
- Mathematics
- Statistics
How to Find Science GPA Data
For this, all you need is your yearly transcripts which will show your letter grades for all the different classes you took. Before you can calculate your science GPA, you will first have to convert your letter grades from any of the eligible science classes to grade points.
Simply use the table below to convert them one by one and not down your grade points for each class.
Letter grade | percentage | grade points |
A+ | 97-100 | 4.0 |
A | 93-96 | 4.0 |
A- | 90-92 | 3.7 |
B+ | 87-89 | 3.3 |
B | 83-86 | 3.0 |
B- | 80-82 | 2.7 |
C+ | 77-79 | 2.3 |
C | 73-76 | 2.0 |
C- | 70-72 | 1.7 |
D+ | 67-69 | 1.3 |
D | 65-67 | 1.0 |
F | below 65 | 0 |
If you have any AP or honors classes, they hold more weight so there is a slightly different conversion:
- A = 5 grade points
- B = 4 grade points
- C = 3 grade points
- D = 2 grade points
How to Calculate Science GPA
If you have made a list of all the grade points for the classes that count towards your science GPA, now it’s time to finally reveal your science GPA. To get a first idea, you simply add them all together and divide by the amount of science classes – so just calculating the average grade point.
When it comes to your application process to medical school, depending on which application system you will use your science GPA will look a bit different though since they each use a specific conversion process. So for MD schools you will use the AMCAS system, for DO schools AACOMAS conversion and for any Texas medical schools the TMDSAS with their own GPA calculations.
To already get a more accurate view on your cumulative and science GPA for every application processing system, you can enter your grades in this GPA calculator.
What is a Good Science GPA for Med School?
For the 2023-2024 application cycle, the mean science GPA of matriculated students was 3.71 – so as a competitive med school applicant, you would want to aim for anything around 3.6 or higher to be able to stand out from the over 52,570 other applicants.
Med School Applicants
- GPA Science: 3.54
- Overall GPA: 3.64
Matriculated Students
- GPA Science: 3.71
- Overall GPA: 3.77
But please don’t let those numbers scare you! Your application is much more than your GPA and although it can hold a lot of weight, you can still get accepted with a 3.3 GPA like I did.
The secret? Improving all other factors in your control, such as impressing with a high MCAT score, lots of meaningful clinical experience, etc.
As well as using specific strategies throughout the application process to maximize your chances.
If you want to learn the key steps that helped me stand out within the application process, sign up for my Free Premed Workshop to learn all the details:
First of all, if you end up with a lower GPA, it’s great to at least show an upward trend in your grades. If you’ve already finished your undergraduate studies and either your GPA is just too low or you didn’t get to create a notable upward trend, you want to show med schools a recent track record of performing well in upper level science classes. This way they can be more confident that you will succeed once you’re a med student!
It doesn’t matter if you choose a DIY or a formal post-bacc, or even go for a masters program. Honestly, whatever you can get into and take more rigorous science classes.
Some masters programs may be hard to get into with a low GPA so it would probably be easier to search for post-baccs that are meant for academic enhancers (that’s what I did). The AAMC Post-Bacc Database can be a good place to start. Additionally you could take classes at a university near you without being in a formal program (the DIY route).
Here is how I got to increase my grades and create an (at least slight) upward trend from 3.1 to 3.3 after my undergraduate studies:
In the end, if you get stuck with a lower GPA, putting a greater emphasis on strengthening all other factors in your control can be the game changer for still getting accepted. Especially aiming for a higher MCAT score can show the admissions committee that you are ready for the complex study subjects in medical school. This is one of the factors that helped me to stand out despite my lower 3.3 GPA.
I share all the inside strategies to build your perfect MCAT study schedule in my online course MCAT Roadmap. Here, you will learn how to create a study plan that helps you to actually stay consistent and motivated over several months of preparation, what are the best materials and resources, how to choose your MCAT test date and (much) more.
Final Thoughts on How to Calculate Science GPA
If you are an aspiring medical student, keeping close track of your science GPA can give you some valuable insights on your track record towards medical school. In the end, performing well in science classes is one of the key points to not only increase your chances of acceptance but also prepare yourself for the high demands in medical school. I hope that by reading this blog post, you also realized that you can still get accepted with a lower GPA by creating a meaningful upward trend in your grades while improving any other factors in your control.
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