dkallday93 Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hello fellow pre-meds, I am a 4th year student at UBC, and I (unfortunately) have no friends who are looking for future in medicine, figured I'd post here to get some advice on my chances at some med schools. My case is sort of a fuzzy one, so would like some advice on my profile. Academic: 2 years at 2 different colleges GPA: 3.2-3.3/4.0 (did 2 years at a college due to playing CCAA basketball) UBC - Major in Math, Minor in Chemistry GPA: 81% Avg. (Not sure how this translates to UofT or McGill per se) (Have gotten the best grades in my 4th year) MCAT planning on taking this summer before applying at the end of the year.(Having done pure math extensively, I feel I should score decently, at least in the CARS section) ECS: 2012-2014 2 Year college athlete 2014 National Champion Team Member in CCAA Jan. 2015 ~ Students' Committee President in Church / Volunteer for a mentoring program Oct. 2016 ~ Working in a Organic Chemistry Lab as a part of total synthesis project ----- I think that's the key summary of my profile. My reach school would be Toronto, but would still love to get into McGill/UBC. My profile being sort of unique(for the better or worse) and having close to no one who is interested in future in medicine, I would like some advice on my profile and its competitiveness(or lack thereof lol). Also, what are some other med schools that I should consider, especially in Western Canada? As I've only really looked at McGill Toronto and UBC for my hopeful destinations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiHopes Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hi dkallday93 Firstly, only taking a look at your UBC undergrad: If you want to compare yourself to McGill or UT peers, use this table to convert your undergrad years into GPA: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/?tree=3,42,96,0 I couldn't find their 4.0 GPA scale, but it looks like you are standing slightly higher than an A-, which is low if you're hoping to get into the two most academically competitive schools in the country. I recommend that you really destroy the MCAT in order to be competitive in these schools. UBC says that in-province applicants need at least a 75% to be eligible to apply, which means you can apply. Next step is to get a really good MCAT mark (especially CARS if you want to apply in Calgary)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkallday93 Posted March 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hello HiHopes! Thanks for your reply. I did have that thought in my mind as well, that my grades aren't exactly top-notch. I was hoping a great score on the MCAT will be able to compensate a bit. In terms of ECS, do you think I'm looking all right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helicase Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hello fellow pre-meds, I am a 4th year student at UBC, and I (unfortunately) have no friends who are looking for future in medicine, figured I'd post here to get some advice on my chances at some med schools. My case is sort of a fuzzy one, so would like some advice on my profile. Academic: 2 years at 2 different colleges GPA: 3.2-3.3/4.0 (did 2 years at a college due to playing CCAA basketball) UBC - Major in Math, Minor in Chemistry GPA: 81% Avg. (Not sure how this translates to UofT or McGill per se) (Have gotten the best grades in my 4th year) MCAT planning on taking this summer before applying at the end of the year.(Having done pure math extensively, I feel I should score decently, at least in the CARS section) ECS: 2012-2014 2 Year college athlete 2014 National Champion Team Member in CCAA Jan. 2015 ~ Students' Committee President in Church / Volunteer for a mentoring program Oct. 2016 ~ Working in a Organic Chemistry Lab as a part of total synthesis project ----- I think that's the key summary of my profile. My reach school would be Toronto, but would still love to get into McGill/UBC. My profile being sort of unique(for the better or worse) and having close to no one who is interested in future in medicine, I would like some advice on my profile and its competitiveness(or lack thereof lol). Also, what are some other med schools that I should consider, especially in Western Canada? As I've only really looked at McGill Toronto and UBC for my hopeful destinations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you! UBC's IP interviewed GPA average is 87%, check out their aGPA formula, and what you would have given you drop your worst year. Given that the non-academic and academic components are weighted equally, you will need a strong NAQ. Keep working on your EC's perhaps look into some more roles that demonstrate service ethic. Take a look at the UBC thread to see the types of activities accepted/invited students do! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiHopes Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 I think of ECs as always a work in progress. I think you are in the right track but I would never stop doing things. There's never a point where you've got enough. The point of these is for you to showcase what you care about and what you advocate for. There's no formulaic answer when it comes to ECs. Maybe try getting more volunteer/advocacy experience directly related to community health or other areas of healthcare. Research is always important, of course, but I am sure you can see that Orgo is only so relevant. You need that connection with people (patients) and you need to show leadership in causes related to the field you are thinking of getting yourself into. This will showcase that you've dipped your feet in the water and you're not afraid to jump in. Remember that some other applicants will have proverbially already jumped in i.e. they will have a long set of health-related commitments and sometimes have worked for any number of years in healthcare. You will be competing with a lot of those people. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Done Posted March 18, 2017 Report Share Posted March 18, 2017 Kill your MCAT. Your best chance is UBC. Or McMasters if you are older and/ or a woman. Join toast masters for the verbal skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess85 Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 If you do well on the CARS section of your MCAT and CASPer, you WILL get an interview for McMaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helicase Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 If you do well on the CARS section of your MCAT and CASPer, you WILL get an interview for McMaster! idk about "WILL", they'd realistically need a very high CARS score, and the CASPer is super variable plus they're OOP as far as I can tell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
criston Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Kill your MCAT. Your best chance is UBC. Or McMasters if you are older and/ or a woman. Join toast masters for the verbal skills. Is it because mcmaster prefers older applicants or women, or is it because these groups do better on Casper and the interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiHopes Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 That's probably just a cheap comment trying to justify that older people or women only get in because of them being so and so, instead of how qualified they are. I would not take that comment to heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 I'd say to be honest, any Canadian school is a "reach", even if you crush the MCAT. Your 81 GPA is well below average, and your best shot for a Canadian medical school is very likely going to be UBC because they consider non-academics - but it will take some time, as you'll need to really beef up your non-academics. Unless there is more than you have listed, you're definitely below average in the NAQ department as well for the UBC applicant pool that gets interviewed. You have done some great things, so don't feel slighted, just that so have other people. Takes time.Of course, if you crushed CARS, and the CASPER, then perhaps you may get an interview at McMaster...but they only take a small amount of OOP in the first place.A year by year breakdown in terms of GPA(not %) would help, since most other schools utilize that scale.Don't forget that most Canadian schools outside of UBC, do NOT consider college grades for GPA calculations. So it will be your UBC grades that determine you're evaluation GPA. School dependent. I'd say try to finish your 4th year strong - and strongly consider doing a 5th year as well to get a full-load and a 4.0 under your belt. UBC is definitely in the realistic range, just may take a few years to get everything in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indefatigable Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 I also have a math background, and was able to end up with a good score on VR/CARS, but I'm not sure that the two were really related. I had also done some liberal arts style classes and prepared for the CARS section too. I think in the end what might have helped was being interested in the passages, and not really focusing on the score (but there are threads dedicated to CARS). Your Chem background will helps for the MCAT, though. The 4.0 scale can be much less forgiving - you should definitely do the calculation. Here's a link to a premedguide, it's more or less accurate (ECs is misleading - should be non-academics) giving details on target range, GPA calculations. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkallday93 Posted March 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2017 Thanks for all the replies guys! I do intend on taking another year to take courses of my interest, and hopefully bump up my gpa a bit. What do you guys suggest that I do to further improve my non-academic profile? Any suggestion would be good please! In terms of year by year breakdown: 1st year @ UBC (1A+ 3A 2A- 2B+ 1B 1C) 5 courses both semester ~3.52(?) I believe 2nd year (2A+ 1A 1A- 2B+ 1B 1C 1C-) 4 courses one semester 5 course in the other. 1 in the summer(did not include in the GPA but got an A+ in a math course) ~3.24 3rd year (currently finishing up 2nd semester) (2A+ 1A 2B+) + current courses(currently at 3A+ and 2A's assuming I finish the same way) 5 courses both semester ~3.88 I'm not sure how the percentage transfers to actual GPA depending on the school. I think this is how it'd break down year by year. :/ I guess things arent looking too great for me :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacMed2018 Posted March 25, 2017 Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 idk about "WILL", they'd realistically need a very high CARS score, and the CASPer is super variable plus they're OOP as far as I can tell? High CARS, High CASPer, pretty much = interview invite at mac as long as your GPA is somewhere over 3.1+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted March 25, 2017 Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 Is it because mcmaster prefers older applicants or women, or is it because these groups do better on Casper and the interview? This isn't true, McMaster is 55% female and has probably the highest number of 3rd year entrants into medical school in the country. Their admission system is purely based on numbers, GPA + CARS + Casper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted March 25, 2017 Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 High CARS, High CASPer, pretty much = interview invite at mac as long as your GPA is somewhere over 3.1+ Thats not really true, a low GPA can really kill your chances of an interview invite. The reality i think is that the vast majority of the class has a GPA over 3.8 and CARS 129+ with a reasonable CASPer. I don't think OP's GPA is competitive for an application to Mac. You can always say theres a chance but the chance is low. Considering Mac's acceptance rate sits around 3%, telling someone who barely meets GPA cutoffs to apply is almost a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkallday93 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 What do you suggest I do to boost my profile both academically and non-academically?? I've had a couple years of university where I did not exactly work hard, but trying to get my life back in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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