Insider Medical Admissions: AMCAS Science Calculations

Friday, February 5, 2010

AMCAS Science Calculations

I receive a lot of questions about AMCAS' GPA calculations. (Please see previous blog entries on this topic.) One question in particular for those considering post-undergraduate science GPA boosts is the following: How does AMCAS calculate science classes taken after college graduation? Are they placed in the BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math) undergraduate or graduate category?

Post bacc courses are counted as part of the undergraduate GPA. Courses taken after graduation - unless specified as graduate courses in transcripts - are considered post bacc courses, so they are also calculated as part of the undergraduate GPA.

Hope this helps. Contact me for admissions assistance.

About Me

Years of candidate selection at Harvard taught me what characteristics comprise a desirable applicant and how even bright candidates make mistakes that undermine their admissions success. I am a practicing Emergency Physician with nine years of experience training medical students, residents and fellows. I won three teaching and mentorship awards while at Harvard. Please see Insider Medical Admissions for the full array of personalized services I offer to clients applying to medical school, residency, fellowship and post baccalaureate programs.

Dr. Finkel thanks David Presser, MD, MPH for his contributions to the content of her blog entries. Dr. Presser is a practicing Emergency Physician who has written several primers for applicants to medical school and Emergency Medicine residency. Dr. Presser is a graduate of Stanford University, UCSF Medical School, the UCLA/Olive View-UCLA Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the Harvard School of Public Health.

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