The issue is that going to a school with easier grading to improve chances of getting into graduate schools is a terrible idea because grades are viewed relatively so long as you go to a well-known school. My other point was that the magic 3.6+ number that many people throw around is rubbish.
They're somewhat viewed relatively, but how that relativity works is not always clear, and no one can say whether a 3.5 from Hopkins or a 3.9 from Brown is stronger. When in doubt, if you know you want to do something (say, medical school), go to the school that has the best track record for that particular thing (assuming you have a choice). 3.6+ was for MPH only and was an arbitrary ballpark number. For medical school, it's a whole host of other factors, and GPA is a "necessary but not anywhere near sufficient" component. Also no one is going to look at a 4.0 from Brown and be like "he went to an easy school so that 4.0 doesn't matter". If they only have a 30 (yes I know its scored out of 528 now - this is around a 509 on the new test) MCAT and got a 4.0 at Brown, then yeah, maybe someone's going to be like "wtf is going on here", but if that 4.0 is backed up by a monster 38 (521 new) or something, no one is going to care that the 4.0 is from an easy school. That's the main reason the MCAT exists - to provide something that is standardized to give context to something that is inherently unstandardized. If you go to Hopkins and do BME and get like a 3.3 or something, but you then get a 40 (522ish) MCAT, they're probably gonna be like "damn okay this kid is pro and his GPA doesn't tell the whole story". However, if you do the same thing and get a 31 they're gonna be like "uhhhh there isn't really anything here that's saying this kid is strong academically, let's come back later maybe". So there's a whole mess of things to worry about and yes GPA doesn't exist in a vacuum, so you can't just say school A 3.3 = school B 3.8 and have them be the same all else being equal because
all else will never ever ever be equal.
My general advice for people that need a high GPA for something is as follows:
1) go to a well-regarded school that you like and think you will be happy at
2) go to a school that isn't going to kick your ass (so unless you're literally one of the smartest kids ever, generally avoid WashU, UChicago, Hopkins if you have a choice between them and other comparable schools with good track records of getting people where you wanna go)
3) go to a cheaper school if money is an issue or if you're going to be in debt forever because med school loans suck (this can either mean your state school or a scholarship to a strong private school)
4) Don't get too hung up on which school is easier, but understand that some schools are harder to get a higher GPA at than others and you don't want to make things harder for yourself than they have to be unless you have a very good reason to
I had this in mind when writing that post. I really don't know how admissions works for MD/PhD, but I know research experience is important.
MD/PhD is even harder than MD alone. Median stats for MD alone is 3.7/31 while for MD/PhD they're closer to 3.8/34 - an enormous jump. The most competitive applicants for top MD or MD/PhD programs will generally have 3.8+/37+. Research experience is also important, but you just have to show familiarity and understanding - productivity, while valued, is not an absolute necessity.
These are good things to talk about and consider if you want to go into medicine, but they are not the end-all-be-all. Just things you need to keep in mind.
