Only wrote CARS and wanna apply to Mac and U of C?

[VigoVirgo]

I didn't have much time to prep for the other sections (arts background, only have taken some bio, neuroscience, and basic chem) so I said screw it and only wrote CARS with only 2 weeks of practicing. Didn't apply this cycle for a couple personal reasons but applying next cycle. Degree is still in progress, currently in my final year, might be able to bump up my GPA a bit more but probably not by much. My stats as they are..

cGPA: 3.65

wGPA for U of C 3.83, could be higher once I'm done my last year (OOP for both U of C and Mac)

CARS: 130, contemplating a rewrite to try to aim for 131/132 but unsure would appreciate any general advice.

Has this been done (successfully) by anyone on here before? In general Mac admissions told me a bunch of arts backgrounds get in every year with very limited science exposure and do fine but obviously they probably need to work harder.

 

[Meridian]

Don't re-write with a 130

3.65 is quite low for MAC,  but it is all mathematical for an interview.  Ace the Casper and you may have a chance as long as you are in province.

 

 

[VigoVirgo]

Just now, Meridian said:

Don't re-write with a 130

3.65 is quite low for MAC,  but it is all mathematical for an interview.  Ace the Casper and you may have a chance as long as you are in province.

 

 

Right that was my line of thought. I took a biomed ethics class and read a bunch of ethics books. Assuming I do well on CASPer my hope was that I could land an interview. But I am OOP. If I bump my GPA up to 3.7 do you think that would help by much? If it's a case of GPA then I could probably just take like I don't know, 7 or 8 online courses over the summer and ace them all.

[MitralLunar]

 

20 minutes ago, VigoVirgo said:

Right that was my line of thought. I took a biomed ethics class and read a bunch of ethics books. Assuming I do well on CASPer my hope was that I could land an interview. But I am OOP. If I bump my GPA up to 3.7 do you think that would help by much? If it's a case of GPA then I could probably just take like I don't know, 7 or 8 online courses over the summer and ace them all.

Unfortunately, because Mac uses z-scores and the average GPA of matriculants this past cycle was 3.87 (plus the distribution is left-skewed), I doubt bumping your GPA to 3.7 makes any difference.

[VigoVirgo]

1 minute ago, MitralLunar said:

 

Unfortunately, because Mac uses z-scores and the average GPA of matriculants this past cycle was 3.87 (plus the distribution is left-skewed), I doubt bumping your GPA to 3.7 makes any difference.

Understood. But with a 130 CARS and good CASPer do you think it's worth a shot? And what do you think about my chances for Calgary? If EC's matter I have undergrad research, 4 years of long term volunteering in a healthcare setting, some hospital volunteering, member of a couple clubs in uni, pretty standard EC's. If I don't get in then I'll probably rewrite and actually study for all sections but I just want to get get into a 3 year program and land a psych residency lol.

[xiphoid]

Don't know about Calgary, but ECs don' matter for McMaster at the interview invitation stage. The formula they use to invite is:

32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average
32% MCAT Verbal Reasoning OR Critical Analysis and Reasoning Score
32% CASPer Score
4% Graduate degree bonus (1% Master's/4% PhD)

Also keep in mind that 90% of those invited to interview at McMaster must be Ontario residents.

[VigoVirgo]

Just now, xiphoid said:

Don't know about Calgary, but ECs don' matter for McMaster at the interview invitation stage. The formula they use to invite is:

32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average
32% MCAT Verbal Reasoning OR Critical Analysis and Reasoning Score
32% CASPer Score
4% Graduate degree bonus (1% Master's/4% PhD)

Also keep in mind that 90% of those invited to interview at McMaster must be Ontario residents.

 

Hmm, maybe I should do my masters in Ontario and get that IP status.

 

[xiphoid]

1 minute ago, VigoVirgo said:

 

Hmm, maybe I should do my masters in Ontario and get that IP status.

 

Unless you're planning on spending three years on your masters, you'd have to take some time off after your Masters to get the IP status at Mac.

[VigoVirgo]

Just now, xiphoid said:

Unless you're planning on spending three years on your masters, you'd have to take some time off after your Masters to get the IP status at Mac.

Heh maybe, it was mostly just a what if. In reality I honestly don't think I want to do a masters. Likely I'll just apply in Canada a few times and if I don't get in probably go to Ireland (EU citizen so it's ok) or maybe Australia but at that rate I doubt I'd come back to Canada. Being an IMG is a whole other ballgame.

[xiphoid]

2 minutes ago, VigoVirgo said:

Heh maybe, it was mostly just a what if. In reality I honestly don't think I want to do a masters. Likely I'll just apply in Canada a few times and if I don't get in probably go to Ireland (EU citizen so it's ok) or maybe Australia but at that rate I doubt I'd come back to Canada. Being an IMG is a whole other ballgame.

I'd only do the Ireland route if you're fine with staying to practice in the EU for a solid portion of your career. I have friends who went through the Ireland process as Canadians (including some after their PhD in Canada) and are having a nightmare trying to get back to Canada. Definitely helps that you're EU citizen since you'd at least be able to do all of your training there compared to the Canadians that need to find a residency back in North America.

[VigoVirgo]

Just now, xiphoid said:

I'd only do the Ireland route if you're fine with staying to practice in the EU for a solid portion of your career. I have friends who went through the Ireland process as Canadians (including some after their PhD in Canada) and are having a nightmare trying to get back to Canada. Definitely helps that you're EU citizen since you'd at least be able to do all of your training there compared to the Canadians that need to find a residency back in North America.

Yeah exactly. I don't mind staying in the EU at all. Ireland is really beautiful anyway. But if I went that route I'm walking into it with my eyes open. Would not do it if I didn't have EU citizenship. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to get into all that debt and not land a residency back in Canada. Tell your friends to write the USMLE maybe? I hear it's easier for IMG's in the US since there are waaaay more residency spots.

[xiphoid]

5 minutes ago, VigoVirgo said:

 I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to get into all that debt and not land a residency back in Canada. Tell your friends to write the USMLE maybe? I hear it's easier for IMG's in the US since there are waaaay more residency spots.

Vast majority of Canadians in the EU write the USMLE - there's just virtually no chance of getting a residency in North America if you're hoping for only Canada. But even with the number of spots in the US, it's still very hard and you used to be limited to only a few mostly primary care specialties (e.g. family, peds, psych) since the Canadian government wouldn't give you the letter you needed for your Visa application if you had matched to a specialty that was not on their approved list.

Also, most that go the Ireland route (and Australia) come from parents that are financially pretty well off. Most of those I know actually didn't even take out a line of credit for school.

[VigoVirgo]

1 minute ago, xiphoid said:

Vast majority of Canadians in the EU write the USMLE - there's just virtually no chance of getting a residency in North America if you're hoping for only Canada. But even with the number of spots in the US, it's still very hard and you used to be limited to only a few mostly primary care specialties (e.g. family, peds, psych) since the Canadian government wouldn't give you the letter you needed for your Visa application if you had matched to a specialty that was not on their approved list.

Also, most that go the Ireland route (and Australia) come from parents that are financially pretty well off. Most of those I know actually didn't even take out a line of credit for school.

Yeah my parents would support me (mostly). I have some of my own money saved from working part time throughout my undergrad but that would probably only be enough to cover living expenses for 2 or 3 years. It's a hell of an expensive commitment though. Ideally I can get in somewhere in Canada and not be a burden on my parents lol.