What might my chances be? (Great MCAT, mediocre everything else)

[Applicant95]

Hi premeds, med students, etc!

Sorry in advance for the length of this post! I know it's a lot to read for a stranger, and I would be extremely, extremely grateful for some honest feedback on what my chances might be this year.

I am unsure if I am a non-trad or trad applicant - probably somewhere in between! I'm hoping for an objective look into what my chances might be! To be honest, I'm a few years older than most people applying to med school, so I'm really stressing out as I don't really want to waste any more years before starting. Thanks in advance for any feedback, help, advice, or input that you can offer.

24/M, first-time applying. Ontario resident (GTA, so non-SWOMEN), non-Indigenous, non-Francophone, non-rural. Applied across Ontario (except NOSM), Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and McGill

Education: interdisciplinary Arts and Science degree from McMaster, MSc in Global Health from McMaster (one year course-based degree, so I don't qualify for the graduate degree GPA boosts unfortunately)

GPA: This is what really works against me. My GPA is 3.84 - for the record, I'm not trying to say that it terrible or anything; it's just that we all know how high Canadian stats have to be (especially in Ontario). What makes it way worse is that I am not eligible for wGPA calculations at Ottawa or UofT because my last two years were part time due to serious health issues. In my first and second years year, I had a GPA of 3.95. Then I had a psychotic break and a concussion, which meant that my third and fourth year GPAs were pretty shit by med school standards (3.6-3.7ish). I also had to take a reduced course load these two years. I wrote an academic explanation essay for UofT and Western, but Western only uses it to mitigate poor MCAT scores, not a poor GPA, so it doesn't help much. I'm not really sure if I can overcome my GPA in my last two years.

MCAT: 524 (130/131/131/132). This is definitely the strongest part of my application, especially my 132 CARS. However, unfortunately a lot of Canadian schools (like UofT) only use a cutoff system, so they wouldn't view a 514 and a 524 any differently. Hopefully it helps at other schools, though, but I'm not sure if it will outweigh my 3rd/4th year GPAs.

Research: 4 research assistant positions (two in chemistry, two in health policy, none in anything directly medical related like microbiology.). No real publications. I did list two publications, but they're in a non-peer reviewed paper (it was a student journal), so I doubt that will count for much.

Extra-curriculars: lots of budget solo travel/backpacking/hitchhiking, lots of intramural sports, competed in powerlifting, wrote a novel, acted in a play

Volunteering: honestly, not much. Tutored for a couple years in undergrad, and volunteered at a hospital and nursing home (both in high school). Debated including my animal rights (i.e. vegan) activism, but decided against it as it might have been too controversial

Work: worked as a tour guide, pharmacy assistant, and receptionist in uni. Worked in Greece for an NGO for a summer during grad school (working with refugee communities in the realm of sexual health). Have worked a dead-end admin job at a hospital (registering patients) for 4 years now.

In short, my MCAT is stellar, my ECs/volunteering/work is average, my research is slightly under par, and my GPA (which is arguably the most important thing) is well below what it needs to be. I'm hoping everything else can make up for that, but I really want to hear honest feedback!

Thank you SO much if you took the time to read this all! Good luck, everyone!!! I hope to meet some of you next September!

[DrOtter]

Your GPA is not bad by any means. By the looks of it, if you did well on CASPer, you stand a good chance at McMaster and with your MCAT, you're likely to be guaranteed an interview at USask. In Ontario though, you might still have a great chance at Western since they do seem to look at both MCAT and GPA competitively (I heard this from some people on here who contacted the admissions office, despite them not stating this publicly) so your MCAT might make up for your GPA as long as you're above the 3.7 cut-off for your best 2 years. The way Western judges your ECs does seem to come down to how well you can write about them in your abbreviated ABS essays. Other that, your CGPA and 2-yesr GPA pretty much knocks you off Queen's, Ottawa and UofT (although Queen's is still a blackbox so you never know how they actually rank your ECs). McGill might give you a chance too since your GPA is solid there and you have a great MCAT advantage. 

[Meridian]

You are not "old" by any means.  Phenomenal MCAT - wow.   You are still in the running at Ontario schools except for Ottawa.  Your ECs are fine and quite varied.  A lot comes down to how you wrote them up vs CanMeds categories.    

 

[Applicant95]

Thanks @DrOtter and @Meridian! Much appreciated