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EricLeman34

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Posts posted by EricLeman34

  4. Posted · Report reply

    7 minutes ago, medhopeful'17 said:

    Your situation and EC's are literally identical to mine (which is kind of weird). I have a 3.9+ gpa at nearly every Ontario school but my MCAT is only 507. I got waitlisted at NOSM last year and then didn't even get an interview this year and have no idea why. This year I applied to Ottawa with a 3.96 and didn't get an interview.  I felt the same about research but am in a gap year and have been working (unpaid :( ) at a hospital research institute trying to get my name on some publications. I'm anxiously waiting for Toronto because it is my last hope for this cycle. I'm thinking rewriting the MCAT again might be my best bet? or maybe doing a masters and trying again later? I'm a little lost and don't know if it reflects poorly with multiple MCAT attempts. 

    Definitely write the MCAT dude. Your GPA is great and your extracurriculars are heading in the right direction. Your MCAT is overall low and if you can get 128+ on CARS you will get a lot more interviews.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    15 hours ago, Meridian said:

    Eric - where are you in-province ?   

    Be aware that U of T (as example) requires you to complete your Masters prior to Med.  This means delaying your Med School app 2 years if take a 2 year research-based masters.   Also a 1 year course-based masters will have little impact on a U of T application as you will still be in the undergrad pool.   A Masters is a good thing if you are interested in the material.  It is not such a great way to just bid-time to apply to Medicine. 

    Your overall MCAT is good.  Your 125 CARS is holding you back from multiple schools.   Suggest consider a re-write.

     

    Hey, I am in province in Alberta and I go to school in Ontario. I am considering a re-write for my MCAT but am undecided yet. In the grand scheme of things I do not think the extra year is that bad of an idea, especially since I'm really interested in my potential research topic. What do you suggest I do?

  17. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, ExercMed said:

    U of A gives extra points onto your file score (similar to McMaster) once you are finished your graduate degree. U of C will count courses that you took during your MSc as a full year of undergrad (In addition to dropping your lowest year). Apart from that, you are treated like all other applicants. However, you would be able to speak to whatever experiences you had during your graduate school which would look good in your top 10s. Furthermore, there are a lot of opportunities to join graduate student run councils, TA ships, and mentoring opportunities to bolster ECs. I personally feel like I am offered something new to get involved with every week by either my supervisor or another graduate student. It ends up opening a lot of doors that wen't there in undergrad and that can set you apart from other applicants. 

    Thanks for the info. Sold on doing a Masters!

  18. Posted · Report reply

    6 minutes ago, ExercMed said:

    It definitely could help with other schools that you are already competitive at. I always suggest putting in the extra work and going for the research based MSc. Not to say anything bad about a course based program. However, there are things that you might not encounter in a course based program as opposed to a research based one. Being a functioning member of a research team, conflict resolution (there can be a lot in labs), project management, and problem solving, to name a few. Not to say that these are absent in other course based programs, but they are more prevalent in research. As such, you will have many more experiences to speak to when applications come around. Aside from fine tuning professional skills, depending on the research, you will also learn a variety of specialty skills and techniques that you may (or may not) use in the future. Then there are the publications you can get out of your research! You just have to know what you want out of the program.
     

    Well said. Thanks for all the advice. Do you know how U of A/U of C treat MSc's?

  19. Posted · Report reply

    18 hours ago, ExercMed said:

    Doing a 5th year with a 3.9+ GPA would put you in much better contention for Ottawa. What province are you in? Also, what would this MSc be in? If its not research based then it is unlikely to help out with the grad student route at UofT. 

    Yeah it would definitely help with Ottawa, however I was thinking an MSc will help excel me in other schools where I will already have a competitive GPA
    I am applying to two masters programs - one is research and one is course based
    And I am from Alberta

  20. Posted · Report reply

    17 minutes ago, Meridian said:

    You need to look at the way different schools do a weighted-GPA.   Queens(last 2 years), Western(best 2 years), Ottawa (last 3 years). Toronto (drops x courses).   Calculate what your wGPA is for each school and then match up your MCAT(CARS) score and see where you are competitive.

    At most schools, it is the undergrad GPA that matters and doing a Masters does not help your GPA.    A Masters can expand your ECs and add research experience, but it does not make up for a weak GPA. 

    In that case (give that I have a 4.0 this final semester) my credentials are:

    Western, Queens: 3.92
    Ottawa: 3.69
    Toronto: 3.87

    MCAT: 127CP, 125CARS, 130BIO, 131PSYCH

    Do you know how it works for other schools? I.e. U of A, UBC?

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Hello, please let me know what you think would increase my chances best:

    On the MCAT, I scored 513 (127,125CARS, 130, 131)

    My GPA is as follows
    - First year: 3.72
    - Second year: 3.22
    - Third year: 3.87
    - Fourth year (one semester complete): 3.93
    (Hoping for 4.0 in second semester)

    My current cGPA is 3.65, if I finish this semester with a 4.0 it will be 3.7.

    Should I take a fifth year or do a masters?

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