What is a good GPA for medical school?

• Students entering MD programs in 2025 averaged a 3.81 overall GPA (AAMC).^1,2
• Students entering DO programs in 2025 averaged a 3.62 (AACOM).³

Use those as national context, then check each school’s own published profile and requirements.

If yours is lower, the useful question isn’t “am I doomed?” It’s what your full academic record shows, and what you can still improve. That’s what this guide is for.

What is the average GPA for MD and DO medical school students?

The official numbers for students who enrolled:

MD and DO science GPAs use different course classifications, so those two columns aren’t directly comparable. (More on that next.)

One more number: everyone who applied to MD programs in 2025 averaged a 3.67 (AAMC).^1,2 The students who enrolled averaged higher than the full applicant pool.

These are national averages, not minimum requirements. They describe the students who enrolled; they don’t tell you whether your application meets a particular school’s expectations. School profiles and requirements vary, and some schools don’t publish usable GPA figures.

What’s the difference between overall GPA and science GPA?

Start by checking which GPA you’re looking at, because medical schools see several, and they’re calculated by the application service, not by your college.

• Overall (undergraduate) GPA: your qualifying undergraduate coursework, calculated under the application service’s own rules.
• Science GPA: it depends on where you apply.
  • AMCAS (MD): science GPA is called BCPM: biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.⁷
  • AACOMAS (DO): uses its own subject list. Mathematics counts in the non-science GPA; the science GPA covers subjects like biology, biochemistry, chemistry and physics.⁴

Applying to both MD and DO? Calculate each service’s GPA separately. Your two “science GPAs” can come out different from the exact same transcript.

One rule that surprises people: AMCAS and AACOMAS both include grades from repeated courses, even when your college uses grade replacement. AMCAS “counts grades for all attempts of a repeated course, even if your school does not,”⁶ and AACOMAS says “all grades earned for repeated courses are factored into your AACOMAS GPA.”⁵ So if your school replaced a grade when you retook a class, the application service still sees both.

Is a 3.5 GPA good for medical school? What about 3.3, 3.7 or 3.9?

The question everyone types at 1 a.m. Here’s the straight comparison with the national averages:

This compares overall GPA with national entering-student averages.^2,3 It doesn’t assess eligibility, your full academic record or admission outcomes.

So, is a 3.5 good? A 3.5 overall GPA is below the 2025 national entering-student averages for both MD and DO programs. That comparison alone doesn’t decide whether you should apply. Look at your science GPA, your grade trend, your MCAT and each school’s published requirements before you decide your next step.

Your school list matters too, because published profiles and requirements differ from school to school.

Do medical schools have a minimum GPA?

Some publish one; many don’t. When a school publishes a minimum, it’s on that school’s own admissions page, so treat it as real. When it doesn’t, don’t invent one from a forum post.

A school’s average is not its minimum. It describes the class that enrolled, not a line you have to clear.

Does an upward GPA trend help?

Your transcript tells a story that one cumulative number can’t. The AAMC describes mission-aligned selection (formerly called holistic review) as considering applicants’ experiences, attributes and academic metrics together, to select people who will best contribute to a program’s goals.⁹

There’s no universal rule for how schools weigh an upward trend. Strong recent coursework, especially in upper-level science, can help show your current academic performance.

Does a post-bacc or master’s program change my GPA?

This one matters before you spend real money, so here’s how the pieces fit.

• Undergraduate post-bacc coursework. In AMCAS, these grades are shown separately as post-baccalaureate work and count toward your undergraduate totals.⁷ Your earlier grades stay in the calculation, so new coursework adds to your record; it doesn’t erase anything.
• Graduate coursework, including a special master’s program (SMP). In AMCAS, graduate grades are reported separately, as their own status alongside your undergraduate GPAs.⁷ A strong graduate record adds academic evidence alongside it.
• The program label alone doesn’t tell you which bucket you’re in. “Post-bacc” programs serve different purposes: the AAMC lists academic record enhancement, career change and MCAT prep among them, and some award a master’s degree while others give a certificate.⁸

Before paying for a program: compare the cost, the coursework, the advising and any published linkage agreements with medical schools. Ask yourself, ideally with a pre-health advisor, whether more undergraduate science or a graduate program better addresses your specific gap.⁸

Can a high MCAT make up for a low GPA?

There’s no universal GPA-to-MCAT weighting that applies across medical schools. If a school publishes how it evaluates applicants, read it. A high MCAT doesn’t erase your GPA; schools can consider both alongside the rest of your academic record.

How Preceptorly handles it: in our School Strategy, the lower of your two academic comparisons decides which group a school lands in. That’s our organizing rule, so a great MCAT never hides a GPA gap. It’s not a claim about how any school weighs your application.

Want the MCAT side? → What Is a Good MCAT Score?

My GPA is lower than I’d like. What can I actually do?

A lower GPA is something to work on, not a final answer. The honest options:

1. Keep building strong grades now. Every semester of solid upper-level science adds recent evidence.
2. Retake courses, strategically. AMCAS and AACOMAS both count every attempt,^5,6 so a retake adds a new grade rather than replacing the old one. A stronger second grade shows improved performance; the original stays on the record.
3. Additional undergraduate coursework or a post-bacc, if your gap is in undergraduate science (see above).
4. A graduate program or SMP, if you want graduate-level evidence, knowing it’s reported separately (see above).
5. Build your list carefully. Compare your record with each school’s published profile and requirements before you choose. If osteopathic medicine fits your goals, DO programs are a full path to becoming a physician; pick them for fit, not as a fallback.
6. Consider timing. If another year would fix a specific weakness, and you have a clear plan for what it will improve, it’s worth weighing before you spend on applications.

How do I see where my GPA sits for the schools I want?

• Our school pages list each school’s own published GPA and MCAT, labeled average or median, with the class year and an official source link. → Browse schools
• Preceptorly’s School Strategy lines your GPA and MCAT up against each school’s published numbers and groups schools as “At or above,” “Near” or “Worth reaching for.” It never shows an admission-prediction score. → Join the waitlist