Science GPA: what it is, why it matters, and how to boost it
If you are planning on applying to PA school in the 2025-2026 or future cycle, you have likely heard of the science GPA as a key component in applications. In this article, we discuss what the science GPA is, how it is used by admissions committees to determine candidacy, and what you can do to make yours stick out.
What it is:
Science GPA is broken down into two components by many schools: the overall Science GPA and the BCP (biology, chemistry, and physics).
The BCP is your “core” sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics. This tends to be the lowest of all of an applicant’s calculated GPAs, as many of these courses are graded on curves, are mainly based on test performance, and are taken early on in college careers.
The overall science GPA includes the BCP in addition to other areas of study listed on the CASPA website, such as environmental science, public health, research courses, physiology, and more.
Some schools will consider only cumulative science GPA and some will look at BCP in particular. Be sure to be prepared for your school to break the science GPA into these two different categories, even if they don’t “officially” do this.
Why it matters:
Here’s a big secret: PA schools like to keep their attrition rate (dropout rate) as low as possible, so they are looking for applicants who will be able to keep up with the coursework. PA school is one big sprint of sciences courses, so schools want to see how an applicant will perform under these conditions. The best proxy for this is the science GPA, as the idea is that your science GPA reflects how well you are able to apply and retain science-related knowledge. However, I would like to emphasize that your science GPA is just one piece of your application puzzle, so if biology and chemistry are not so much your thing, there are ways that you can boost your application with an average science GPA and still get an acceptance to your dream school. Which brings us to…
How to boost it:
Especially early on in your undergraduate days, it is advantageous to protect and prioritize your science GPA in a couple of different ways:
Pace yourself:. Spread out your science coursework evenly throughout semesters. I can’t emphasize this enough. Make a plan and stick to it. I created a 4 year pre-requisite course planner at the end of my freshman year when I knew I would be applying to PA school and mapped out what semesters I needed to take certain courses. While there were certainly still a few semesters that were heavier than others in terms of science coursework, planning helped me avoid the mad dash that I saw many of my other pre-PA friends doing towards the end of undergrad. Because I planned ahead, I was only taking 2 science courses per semester and could focus majority of my time and energy on those courses, which led to better grade outcomes than the semesters that I crammed things in to get them done in time.
Boost your overall sGPA with “other sciences” courses. These were some of the top courses that I used in PA school anyways, so my advice is to load up on these to balance your BCP science classes with courses that explore the softer skills of science- psychology, bioethics, etc. These courses also help differentiate you from other applicants and express your individuality through your coursework
Boost your BCP with upper level and elective BCP courses once you have gotten the general requirements out of the way. Typically, these are graded less stringently than the “weed out” intro bio, chem, organic chem, and physics courses. The classes themselves are also much smaller, allowing you to connect more personally with professors that might have opportunities for research, mentoring, and teaching assistant roles.
Repeat coursework if needed. CASPA includes both the original and the retake GPA for a course, so if you have a lower than desired grade in a BCP course, consider re-taking it for a small boost in your science GPA. I would caution against repeating too many courses, as it can take valuable time away from other courses that might not only boost your science GPA but will give you tangible skills for PA School.
A note on resilience
I see many students who are anxious about if their science GPA is high enough, if it “looks bad” that they might have gotten a C in into chem and then went on to get an A- in organic chem, or if it is an application death sentence to retake coursework. While all of these are individualized situations, I will say that what PA schools are looking for overall is resiliency. Fortunately, this characteristic can be shown in many different ways. Say you’re like me and tanked a class the first semester of college because you were overwhelmed and hadn’t figured out how to study yet. Or, perhaps, you had to repeat a course due to an ‘incomplete’ due to a chronic illness. Or, you simply got a lower grade than you would have liked in a course because it was just plain difficult. First of all, you are not alone. Every applicant has an insecurity about their application and it is important that we create spaces to talk about how to overcome those, not hide them in a dark corner of our CASPA and hope that the admissions committee skips over that section. Second, I want to reassure you that schools are looking for candidates who are resilient, who bounce back from setbacks, and are able to pivot out of less than ideal situations. It is much more about how you react to a low grade and what you do going forward. Give yourself some grace, control the factors that are within your control to boost your cumulative GPA, and then call it a day. After all, as providers, we are not asked to be perfect, but we are asked to be resilient.
Questions about where you stand? Book a getting started meeting to meet one- on - one with a team member to discuss your application