You must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in all your courses with us to be considered in good academic standing.
If your GPA falls below this, you are in poor academic standing. If you remain in poor academic standing for the following two terms, (including summer terms during which you are enrolled in classes) you will be required to withdraw from the program.
You need to complete at least two-thirds of your attempted Harvard credits to make satisfactory progress in the program.
If you are in poor academic standing or not making satisfactory progress, you are ineligible for financial aid. If you are receiving financial aid, be sure to speak with a financial aid advisor before withdrawing from any course. Even one WD grade can affect your eligibility to receive aid.
Grade-Point Average Calculation
Once accepted, all Harvard grades are included in the program grade-point average calculation (medical science and non-medical science courses).
Premedical Program courses taken at Harvard Extension School during the two terms (fall and spring) prior to your June admission to the Premedical Program will be included in your program GPA and count toward the WD policy (see below); courses completed with grades of B or above will be applied toward your assigned credit requirement for program completion/sponsorship eligibility. The only exception is if the courses were applied to our own Bachelor of Liberal Arts (ALB) program.
WD policy. The first two grades of withdrawal (WD) are not included in the calculation of the cumulative grade-point average, but the third and subsequent WD grades count as zeroes.
Ordinarily, registration in a course—not the course’s credit value—determines the instance of a WD grade. For example, if you register for an 8-credit course and withdraw from it, you would earn one WD grade. An exception to this policy is if one subject has separate lecture and lab registrations and you withdraw from them both in the same term, in which case you would earn only one WD grade; however, if you withdraw from only the lab or lecture course, you are held to the policy and would earn one WD grade.
See Grades for the values used for the calculation.
Repeat Courses
You may not repeat a course to improve your grade point average (GPA), unless a failing grade was earned. A repeated course will appear on your transcript but will not count toward the program or your GPA. For example, if you earned a grade of C, and then repeated the same course and earned an A, only the C will count.
The only exception to the repeat policy is if you are specifically advised by the Premedical Program to repeat a core medical science course because you earned a grade below the minimum required, then, both grades count toward your GPA.
Please contact the program if you have questions about how to avoid registering for repeat course work or to obtain permission to repeat a core requirement. Also, visit Enrollment for more information about repeat courses.