Greenman1212 Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I was just hoping to get some opinions. Im half way through my psychology degree (84% average), but I'm considering taking a year off to pursue a diploma in manual osteopathy and practicing as a manual osteopath for the final 2 years of my degree. My question: Do you think having a diploma in osteopathy and practicing as a manual osteopath for 2 years would hinder or help my chances of being accepted into Canadian medical school. Im in Ontario by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvestpro Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I was just hoping to get some opinions. Im half way through my psychology degree (84% average), but I'm considering taking a year off to pursue a diploma in manual osteopathy and practicing as a manual osteopath for the final 2 years of my degree. My question: Do you think having a diploma in osteopathy and practicing as a manual osteopath for 2 years would hinder or help my chances of being accepted into Canadian medical school. Im in Ontario by the way. The diploma its self would not. But GPA is king, so depends on how those final 2 years work. Are you going to finish that psychology degree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman1212 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I do plan on finishing my psych degree. I just figured the experience working as a manual osteopath could be seen as an asset? Especially since its different than the classic hospital volunteer work and what not so I assumed it would make me stand out. Im also in the process of becoming an armoured officer in the Canadian army reserves. Would these all be assets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvestpro Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I do plan on finishing my psych degree. I just figured the experience working as a manual osteopath could be seen as an asset? Especially since its different than the classic hospital volunteer work and what not so I assumed it would make me stand out. Im also in the process of becoming an armoured officer in the Canadian army reserves. Would these all be assets? I wouldn't take a year off in the middle of your degree for boosting your application. It's better to finish your degree without interruptions, make sure you take 10 courses (30 units) each year. Focus on grades more than ECs. 84% is pretty good. Have you written the MCAT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman1212 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 is 84% competitive? Not yet, wasn't really sure when the best time would be to write the MCAT, i was thinking maybe the end of year 3. The issue is I'm going into my second year but my first year was not a full course load. I took 4 courses semester 1 and 4 courses semester 2. Im set to take 3 courses in my third semester because I work full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvestpro Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 is 84% competitive? Not yet, wasn't really sure when the best time would be to write the MCAT, i was thinking maybe the end of year 3. The issue is I'm going into my second year but my first year was not a full course load. I took 4 courses semester 1 and 4 courses semester 2. Im set to take 3 courses in my third semester because I work full time. I see. Since you didn't take a full course load, you would not benefit form alternative GPA calculations. Can you convert your GPA to an omsas scale and break it down by year? Ie. convert every course you took to a 4.0 scale in the year, then find the average of that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Why don't you just go to an osteopathic medical school in the US? lol, you learn the osteopathic manipulative therapy (the manual osteopathy part), and you get to be a fully licensed doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman1212 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Why don't you just go to an osteopathic medical school in the US? lol, you learn the osteopathic manipulative therapy (the manual osteopathy part), and you get to be a fully licensed doctor. I want to be able to return to Canada, I know this is possible, but aren't the odds only in the range of around 70%? Also, its extremely expensive and I'm not sure where to get that kind of money on escrow. My omsas GPA for year 1 is 3.7. I'm going into year 2 in may. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh fry Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Don't join the army to boost your application. If you want to join the reserves: join the reserves, but doing for an application is not going to get you through the first week and it doesn't look all that spectacular on an application anyway. Not ntil you have done something and been somewhere and that is many years down the road. Will probably take you 3 years just to get through basic and trade specific training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman1212 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Don't join the army to boost your application. If you want to join the reserves: join the reserves, but doing for an application is not going to get you through the first week and it doesn't look all that spectacular on an application anyway. Not ntil you have done something and been somewhere and that is many years down the road. Will probably take you 3 years just to get through basic and trade specific training. I have wanted to join the army as an officer for years. I wouldn't be joining to boost my application, rather i'd be joining so that if all else fails I have a solid career and one I can be proud of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I want to be able to return to Canada, I know this is possible, but aren't the odds only in the range of around 70%? Also, its extremely expensive and I'm not sure where to get that kind of money on escrow. My omsas GPA for year 1 is 3.7. I'm going into year 2 in may. Dude, I'm in Canada . Coming back to Canada is a non issue, especially for FM. The 70% rate was the match rate for an US ACGME program 7 years ago, it's 80% this year, not your chance of coming back to Canada. There's actually no way to determine "chance of coming back to Canada", only chance at matching at a US or Canadian residency. The cost is expensive, that is true, but so is any med school tuition in the US (MD/DO), international options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoopityBoop Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Greeman1212,I agree with everyone else's sentiment about the importance of GPA. But as far as EC's go, don't do anything just because you think it would increase your chances of getting into medical school. Do what you're passionate about, and truly enjoy it.If you are passionate about sci-fi conventions and/or fan expo's, try to get involved with your local fan expo and the planning process. If you are passionate about coffee, try working as a barista in a cafe that imports a range of coffee roasts and beans. If you are interested in manual osteopathy because you benefited in the past as a client, then learn manual osteopathy.One of the most important things students (not just premed's) forget to do is grow as people in addition to growing their CV's. You may think you know where you want to end up and stack your CV for it, but unless you grow as a person it can really back fire down the road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 I do plan on finishing my psych degree. I just figured the experience working as a manual osteopath could be seen as an asset? Especially since its different than the classic hospital volunteer work and what not so I assumed it would make me stand out. Im also in the process of becoming an armoured officer in the Canadian army reserves. Would these all be assets? Sure, it could help for non-academics, but not all schools even care about that. It wouldn't be viewed much different than any other customer service job, or life experience - its what you take from it and grow from that matters. Army service also would be good, but again not intrinsically any better than other involvements. But looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Finish your psych degree with a strong GPA, and then if you want to do the manual practitioner diploma to get a job do that as well. Or do any other job that is in the customer service realm, doesn't really matter. Allied health care experience is useful, but not required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenman1212 Posted February 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Ill finish my psych degree then. In everyones opinion if I hold my 3.7 GPA and get at least a 30 on the MCAT I would have a chance here in Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvestpro Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Ill finish my psych degree then. In everyones opinion if I hold my 3.7 GPA and get at least a 30 on the MCAT I would have a chance here in Canada? I'd recommend looking at the accepted GPA and mcat scores in the various threads of each school subforum. So the MCAT changed and it has more sections now, but to answer your question. To be honest a 3.7 and a 30 MCAT is not that competitive. It's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futureGP Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 No, I think if you want to safe you'd want in >=3.85 range. If you have geographical status 3.7 may be enough but I wouldn't count on it. GPA is King, MCAT not as much. EC not at all (including osteopathy). Nobody will give a damn that you were a manual osteopathy practitioner if your GPA is shit. If you have $$$, you can go to osteopath school in the U.S. and come back to do FM residency and you'll work in Canada. It's not hard to land FM residencies in Canada if you have no foreign accent and have decent work ethic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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