This varies from track to track and from school to school, but some aspects are nearly universal:

• Very high G.P.A.s (above 3.7) don't matter much. A student who gets an A- in every course is nearly as likely to make it through professional school classes as a student who gets an A in every course. Professional schools know this, and so there isn't much of an advantage to having a 4.0 rather than a 3.7.
• An applicant with a 3.3 G.P.A., while not ideal, will generally receive some consideration for admission, regardless of the track. For some tracks (e.g. pharmacy), minimum realistic G.P.A.s may be a bit lower.
• If an applicant's G.P.A. is on the low side, test scores (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, OAT, GRE) become especially important.
• If an applicant has low grades early in their academic career, but then "turns a corner" (perhaps by changing their work schedule or simply becoming more serious about school), they may receive consideration by consistently and exclusively receiving B+, A-, and A grades over an extended period of time, even if their overall G.P.A. is low. In some cases, a student might be able to demonstrate this in their junior and senior years; in other, post-bac classes or a master's degree might be helpful. Consult your pre-health advisor for specific advice and options.

While you can look up the formula for G.P.A. or use a G.P.A. calculator, it's helpful to think in terms of what you need to do to maintain a 3.5 G.P.A., which is a reasonable target for pre-professional students.

• If you receive an equal mix of A- and B+ grades, you have a 3.5 G.P.A.
• If you receive a B, you can stay on track for a 3.5 by receiving an A in another class (assuming they are the same number of credits)
• If you receive a B-, you can stay on track by receiving A's in two other classes
• For a C+ or C, you need A's in three other classes
• For a C+ or C, you need A's in four other classes
• For a C-, D+, or D, you need A's in five other classes
• For an F, WU, or other failing grade, you need A's in seven other classes

From this, you can see how hard it is to recover from even a single D or F! If you think you are headed toward a D or an F in a class, do not give up. If it is not past the withdrawal date, you can withdraw--that's better than the D or F, but don't do that too often. Otherwise, speak to the professor to see if she has suggestions for how to improve your standing, get tutoring, form a study group, reduce your work hours...whatever you need to do (without violating academic integrity!) to get yourself back on track.

You can also see that you shouldn't panic about some B+'s, or even the occasional B. Most doctors practicing today had some B's and B+'s sprinkled across their transcript.

Why would someone intentionally fail a course? Because of a misunderstanding of the Lehman policy on repeating a course they failed.

Generally, Lehman is willing to treat up to 16 credits of failing grades as if they never happened, as long as you repeat the courses. As far as Lehman is concerned, if you get an F in BIO 166 and repeat it with a B+, the F doesn't count. Similarly, the repeated course counts toward, e.g., most financial aid requirements (but always check with financial aid in specific cases!).

For that reason, students sometimes think that if they intentionally get an F in a course they're doing poorly in, that they can retake it without penalty.

The problem is that professional schools don't use the G.P.A. that Lehman calculates! Instead, they recalculate it themselves from what appears on the transcript, and the initial F does appear on the transcript. So an F in BIO 166 followed by a B+ in BIO 166 is counted by many medical schools as an F and a B+, even though Lehman just counts it as a B+.

The bottom line: never fail a class intentionally. It is always better to get a D than an F.