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Would love some advice please and thank you (Waitlisted)


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Hi. First of all congrats to those who were accepted. and yes I am jealous :) So my situation is as follows: I just finished my 4th and final year of university. My GPA is 3.91. MCAT is 513 - this is the avg mcat score for accepted applicants at U of A last year, BUT the real problem here was CARS which was 125. My ECs are mostly good and all are somewhat related to each other - i.e., they are clearly things that I am passionate about and not just a laundry list of random stuff. However, Out of the 12/16 spots for ECs on U of A application (I subtracted 4 for employment) 3/12 could be better - not many hours (25-50), not super related, but not terrible either (i.e., not like donating blood or something like that - I mean that's a great thing but not for a med app - u know what I mean....)

So I applied and interviewed at Calgary and U of A. I did not take on any jobs or commitments this summer as I didn't have the heart to screw over any employers just in case I got a yes from calgary and no from U of A (there's more to this story, please don't comment on this, it's too late anyway). 

So I was rejected from U of C (which I somewhat expected because that I did terrible at that interview and CARS (which Calgary cares about more than U of A does) was bad). I felt the U of A interview went alright. Up to this point I have not had much to do since my last final exam due to reasons outlined above. And I know this is not ideal, but yes, my summer plans were going to be somewhat different depending if I got in or not. And now, as of yesterday, I know I am waitlisted, and have to make some choices, which is especially difficult considering waitlisted applicant don't get application feedback until Sept if they're still on the waitlist.

Choice 1 - Re-write MCAT. The only use here would be to improve CARS - every other section was fine. However i) it would mean another summer of studying for that brutal exam (yes, I know this is a reality for many) ii) it would require money to pay for the exam and other related expenses iii) there is no guarantee I will do better the second time iv) the MCAT is likely not worth much on the U of A application grading scale (we know its 10ish% for U of C) BUT it was also my 125 CARS score that made me ineligible to apply to most schools outside Alberta. No, I don't really want to go to a school outside Alberta, because I have family, dogs, here, and I like U of A, but I don't know how I feel about only being left with 2ish school options once again if not accepted off the waitlist when I apply again for next cycle. 

Choice 2 - Find a new job + do extra curriculars I enjoy = more fun summer where I will make money and interact with people rather than being stuck studying all day. This would improve my EC part of the application which we know is worth more for U of C, and likely worth more at U of A too. BUT as we all know, EC is a largely subjective assessment (unlike MCAT), so there's no guarantee that improving my ECs will result in a better score from future application reviewers. 

You might say "Do both. Balance studying for MCAT with work or ECs". I did this last summer and it was extremely draining, and not in a "being busy feels good!" sort of way. Also, if I am going to commit to writing the MCAT again (especially considering I do not HAVE to do this), I will do ALL I can to MAKE SURE I am better prepared the second time, which would mean spending way more time studying for it than I did last summer, which would mean negligible time for ECs this time around.

I know this is a lot to read and who cares about my situation, I know. But I would really appreciate any of your thoughts or advice. This is largely a very supportive community and it's very helpful to hear from people who have some idea what this whole process is like. thank you for reading friends. I promise to pay it forward :)

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This process is highly subjective and long. Keep your head up. I don't think there is a right answer here as it's hard to know what the schools are looking for. I was on the U of C waitlist in 2017 and didn't even get an interview in 2018 and 2019. I was just accepted to U of A.

I wrote my MCAT a few times. I scored a 493 (that's the 25% percentile lol), an then in the low 500s. If you really think you are going to do better, then go for it. I think writing the MCAT also shows how bad you want this...that's just my opinion. 

I also think there is a lot of merit in good EC's. I have a low GPA and MCAT score and have had an interview three years in a row. Most of my activities were long term like coaching, volunteering with youth and sports!

I m not sure how much this helps, but I think no matter what you choose, it will be the right one for you.

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On 5/15/2019 at 9:05 AM, aquababe123 said:

This process is highly subjective and long. Keep your head up. I don't think there is a right answer here as it's hard to know what the schools are looking for. I was on the U of C waitlist in 2017 and didn't even get an interview in 2018 and 2019. I was just accepted to U of A.

I wrote my MCAT a few times. I scored a 493 (that's the 25% percentile lol), an then in the low 500s. If you really think you are going to do better, then go for it. I think writing the MCAT also shows how bad you want this...that's just my opinion. 

I also think there is a lot of merit in good EC's. I have a low GPA and MCAT score and have had an interview three years in a row. Most of my activities were long term like coaching, volunteering with youth and sports!

I m not sure how much this helps, but I think no matter what you choose, it will be the right one for you.

Congrats on your acceptance. I appreciate your advice!

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