GPA and Standardized Tests

Academic Forgiveness & Pre-Health

At GW, students are eligible to repeat for credit and grade forgiveness three undergraduate level courses taken at GW in which they received a grade of D+ (1.3) or below (except if the failing grade was due to a violation of GW’s Code of Academic Integrity).

However, if you are a pre-health student, please keep in mind several additional policies put forth by various health professional schools associations:

AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges): "Academic forgiveness policy: If your school has an academic forgiveness policy and replaces the original grade you received with a special transcript symbol, the original grade and attempted credits must be entered on your AMCAS application, regardless of whether they appear on your official transcript. If the original grade is not entered, the AMCAS program will return your application to you to enter the original grade, which may cause you to miss application deadlines and forfeit fees." (2023 AMCAS Applicant Guide, pg. 26)
AACOM (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine): "Record full credit values and grades for all repeated courses. AACOMAS is required to include all repeated courses in GPA calculations, regardless of an institution's or state's academic forgiveness policies." (AACOMAS Help Center)
PAEA (Physician Assistant Education Association): "CASPA considers a course to be repeated if you enrolled in the same course again at the same college or university. Report all attempts of repeated coursework (including those that are currently in-progress or planned) and be sure to mark them as repeated during Transcript Review. Enter the number of credit hours attempted for each course, regardless of how many credits were actually earned. The CASPA GPAs factor in all coursework taken, regardless of the college or university and any academic forgiveness policies." (CASPA Applicant Help Center)
ADEA (American Dental Education Association): "Indicate if you repeated any of your courses. Courses should only be marked as repeated if you repeated them at the same institution (i.e., you retook the course for a higher grade). Withdrawn courses, courses taken at different schools, and courses taken multiple times for new credit (i.e., school band, physical education, etc) are not considered repeated. Record full credit values and grades for all repeated courses. ADEA AADSAS is required to include all repeated courses in GPA calculations, regardless of an institution's or state's academic forgiveness policies." (AADSAS Help Center)

If you have any questions or concerns, email [email protected]. If your profession is not listed on this page, reach out and we can let you know the specifics, but the policies are pretty much the same across the board.

Using the BCPM Calculator

Download the template BCPM Calculator Spreadsheet (Excel Doc).
Input courses outlined in the orange box on the AMCAS Course Classification Guide (PDF). (All courses from the CHEM, BISC, BIOC, PHYS, ANAT, MATH, & STAT departments are automatically included. For all other courses, consult the Guide.)
Input the course department and number (ex: CHEM 1111) under the Course (GW science and transfer science courses must be included.)
Input the credit total for the course under Credit.
Input your letter grade under Grade.
You must include all attempts of a course. Note: Because AMCAS does not honor grade forgiveness policies, if you have an 'RP' on your transcript, the original letter grade earned must be reported. See pages 4-5 of the AMCAS Application Guide for more information.
Save File as a PDF and upload to Privatefolio with the title "GPA Calculation."

BCPM Calculator Spreadsheet (Excel Doc)

Professional Entrance Exams

MCAT

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) is developed and administered by the AAMC. This test is a standardized, multiple-choice exam created to assist admission offices assess your problem solving, critical thinking and knowledge of natural, behavioral and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine.

In April 2015, the AAMC launched a new version of the MCAT exam. Scores are reported in four sections:

Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems (BBLS)
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems (CPBS)
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior (PSBB)
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS)

Pre-med students typically take the MCAT after they have completed the prerequisites for medical school and before applying to medical school. Scores are generally valid for two to three years depending on the individual medical school's admissions requirements.

Average GPA and MCAT scores of Allopathic and Osteopathic Matriculants

	Allopathic Matriculants (PDF) 2021-2022	Osteopathic Matriculants (PDF) 2019-2020
Average MCAT Score	511.9	504.31
BBLS	128.2	126.9
CPBS	127.9	125.89
PSBB	128.8	126.92
CARS	127.0	125.2
Average Undergrad. Cum. GPA	3.74	3.54
Average Undergrad. BCPM GPA	3.67	3.45
Average Undergrad. Non-Science GPA	3.83	3.64

GW has a partnership with The Princeton Review. GW students receive 10% off one‐on‐one tutoring as well as all medical school admissions services.

DAT

The Dental Admission Test (DAT) is a dental education admission test designed to provide dental education programs with a means to assess program applicants’ potential for success. The DAT is administered year-round by Prometric test centers in the United States, its territories (including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) and Canada. The DAT is comprised of multiple-choice test items presented in the English language. The test is developed according to established test specifications. The DAT consists of a battery of four tests on the following:

Survey of the Natural Sciences
Perceptual Ability
Reading Comprehension
Quantitative Reasoning

Dental School Matriculants Average DAT and GPAs (2020 Excel File)

Average DAT Score	20.8
Total Science	20.4
Total Perceptual Ability	20.5
Average Cum. GPA	3.58
Average Science GPA	3.49

GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement your undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate-level study. The GRE General Test features question types that closely reflect the kind of thinking you'll do in graduate school. The GRE consists of a battery of three tests on the following:

Verbal Reasoning: Measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among words and concepts.
Quantitative Reasoning: Measures problem-solving ability using basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.
Analytical Writing: Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills, specifically your ability to articulate and support complex ideas clearly and effectively

Competitive scores and GPA vary by program.

GRE Interpretive Data by Broad Health & Medical Sciences Graduate Major Field (2018-2021 PDF)

Average Verbal Reasoning	150
Average Quantitative Reasoning	149
Average Analytical Writing	3.8

GW currently partners with SherpaPrep, a locally owned test prep company in the Washington, D.C., area that specializes in GRE preparation. GW students receive a $50 discount on GRE prep courses.