What is the AAMC acceptance grid?

Each year the AAMC publishes a table of acceptance rates for applicants grouped by GPA band and MCAT band. The cell where your GPA row meets your MCAT column gives the historical share of applicants in that group who received at least one MD acceptance. This tool reproduces that grid.

Which GPA does it use, overall or science?

The AAMC grid is built on overall (total) GPA, so the acceptance estimate uses your overall GPA. Your science (BCPM) GPA is shown alongside because schools scrutinise it heavily, and a science GPA well below your overall GPA is a flag even when the grid looks favourable.

Is the percentage a guarantee?

No. It is a historical base rate for a large applicant group, not a personal prediction. Two applicants in the same grid cell can have very different outcomes depending on clinical experience, research, letters, school list, and interview performance.

What counts as competitive?

A GPA at or above 3.7 with an MCAT at or above 511 places most applicants in grid cells with acceptance rates well above the overall ~40 percent applicant average. Below 3.4 GPA or 502 MCAT, acceptance rates drop steeply and a strong, broad school list matters more.

Does this cover DO schools?

No. The grid here reflects allopathic (MD) admissions. Osteopathic (DO) programs generally accept somewhat lower GPA and MCAT profiles, so your real options may be broader than this MD-only estimate suggests.

Medical School GPA + MCAT Competitiveness Tool

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For MD applicants, GPA and MCAT together set the statistical starting point of an application. The AAMC publishes an acceptance grid each cycle showing what share of applicants in each GPA-by-MCAT band received at least one acceptance. This tool drops your numbers into that grid and returns the historical acceptance rate for your cell.

How it works

Your overall GPA selects a row and your MCAT total selects a column. The cell at their intersection holds an acceptance rate distilled from AAMC applicant data:

GPA bands:  <3.20, 3.20–3.39, 3.40–3.59, 3.60–3.79, ≥3.80
MCAT bands: <494, 494–501, 502–505, 506–509, 510–513, ≥514

acceptance% = grid[gpaBand][mcatBand]

The rates rise sharply toward the top-right of the grid (high GPA, high MCAT) and fall toward the bottom-left. Your science (BCPM) GPA does not change the grid cell but is reported so you can judge whether your academic record is balanced.

Example and notes

An applicant with a 3.7 overall GPA and a 511 MCAT lands in a high-probability cell with an acceptance rate well above the roughly 40 percent overall applicant average. The same MCAT with a 3.3 GPA falls into a noticeably lower cell, showing how the two factors compound. Treat the figure as a base rate for a large group, not a personal prediction — experiences, letters, and school strategy move individual outcomes substantially.