MCAT Score - 518

[Mike83]

I got my MCAT results yesterday.

Bio - 131, CARS - 126, Physical - 131, Psych - 130.  

Canadian universities value CARS. Do I have a chance with that CARS score? 

I want to apply for next cycle.

Can I apply for all schools in Ontario? Really appreciate your input - Thanks.

[MedicineLCS]

To answer your question, no, but let's look at each school:

Western: You are almost assuredly below the CARS cutoff. 

McMaster: 126 is really pushing it. Very few people get in with that score, but this could partially be offset by a great GPA (tough for McMaster with no drops) and CASPer. That being said, McMaster gets a truckload of applications, so it's hard to compensate when there are so many people.with better CARS scores and they use Z scores. 

Queens: Cutoff based and people have been accepted with 126s before.

Toronto: You're fine. 

Ottawa and NOSM: N/A. You need a high GPA or northern/indigenous status. 

Ultimately, if you only want to apply in Ontario your GPA. CASPer, and ECs are the deciding factor. If they're not high, or of you want to open up more schools, you need to rewrite. 

[Mike83]

Thanks for your quick and detailed reply.

Completed second year.My GPA is almost 4. I don't have indigenous status.

You got me thinking about rewriting.

[MedicineLCS]

What's your OMSAS GPA? You still have a very important year left, but if "close" is an OMSAS GPA of 3.9+ you are in decent shape for 1/3rd of McMaster's application. Make sure your "close" 4.0 is in OMSAS numbers, I know my unadjusted OMSAS GPA is ~ 0.05 GPA points lower than my University's own calculation. 

As far as rewriting, you currently would be competitive primarily for:

UofT, Queens, Ottawa. 

You are OOP eligible (Assuming Ontario resident with no IPadvantages) at UBC, Manitoba, Dalhousie, McGill, and potentially Memorial (there are posts indicating they have cutoff values). 

IF you rewrite successfully (128 CARS or greater) you open up the Alberta schools, and Saskatchewan if you can keep a high percentile score with no subsections below 80%. You would also be a better candidate for McMaster. If Western's cutoff stays the same you're going to need a 129 to apply safely, but you could chance a 128. 

It's up to you to decide. A score drop would hurt you everywhere. A 96th percentile is still an objectively good score, but you need to decide if it's worth the cost (if you can practice enough to get to 128) to potentially open up some far-shot OOP schools/McMaster. Writing the MCAT is a big opportunity cost in terms of sunk time and money. Use the facts above (And your CARS scores in practice) to decide for yourself. 

[Mike83]

My OMSAS GPA so far is 3.985.

[Mike83]

My OMSAS GPA so far is 3.985.

[MedicineLCS]

Then you should be fine for the schools on the competitive list.