FAQ: What are my chances?

[OldManLogan]

On 6/22/2017 at 11:03 PM, aspiringstudent said:

Hi guys! I am in my second year and was wondering if I could have some feedback please?  

According to OMSAS (I have done 5 courses each semester too): 

1st year: 3.6 (I had a lot of serious family problems which affected me)

2nd year: 4.0

 

ECs (so far):

-Hospital volunteering (long term, did 1 hospital for 2 years now and another for a while now)

-Psychology volutneer research assistant (6 months)

-Clinical neurosciences laboratory research assistant (1+ year now)

-Social neuroscience laboratory assistant (1+ year now)

-Doctor shadowing (8+ months now)

-Volunteer research assistant with a UofT medical professor (6+ months now)

-Exec on a medical club at my school, and just general member of my school's powerlifting team and cultural club

-Chemistry and organic chemistry video instructor (i made videos with the professors for incoming students) (6 months)

-Deans list at university (2 years now)

 

Please any feedback would help! I do understand my GPA sucks because my first year was bad due to family issues which I hope I can do an academic explanations for :/ but it's improving!

 

Your GPA can definitely recover. I know people who had first year GPAs in the 3.4 and 3.5 range but had second, third and fourth year GPAs that were 3.9+ that got accepted. The fact that your 2nd year GPA is 4.0 shows that you identified how to study and score well. keep up the good work and your cGPA and weighted GPAs will be great. ECs look good to me as well. I wold suggest diversifying your ECs (ie. playing intramural sports, arts, etc...) Overall though, your stats look good to me.

[aspiringstudent]

On 6/26/2017 at 1:45 PM, OldManLogan said:

Your GPA can definitely recover. I know people who had first year GPAs in the 3.4 and 3.5 range but had second, third and fourth year GPAs that were 3.9+ that got accepted. The fact that your 2nd year GPA is 4.0 shows that you identified how to study and score well. keep up the good work and your cGPA and weighted GPAs will be great. ECs look good to me as well. I wold suggest diversifying your ECs (ie. playing intramural sports, arts, etc...) Overall though, your stats look good to me.

Thanks that's a relief :') 

[Mistable]

Hey all, I'm 1 year out of my undergrad and would appreciate feedback on where to apply. I'm IP for BC so will apply to UBC for sure and U of T. 

UBC avg: 86.4

OMSAS GPA: 3.70

U of T wGPA: 3.86 

MCAT: 508 (130/127/126/125)

Activities:
Clinical volunteering
- hospital patient visiting: 5 years (ongoing) ~ 700 hours
- patient visiting in a different hospital: 1 year ~ 100 hours

Non-clinical volunteering
- Academic mentoring: 2 year ~ 220 hours
- 2 other minor leadership things ~ 30 hours each

Employment
- by my university to teach 1st year phys as a tutor (and supervise 7 other tutors) - 2.5 years ~ 185 hours

Research
-> original clinical research project #1:
- 1st author published (IF 3)
- presented findings in 2 local conferences & an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)
-> original clinical research project #2
- 1st author published (IF 8)
- presented findings in 2 local conference & won 1st place in the category at an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)

Standalone shadowing:
- specialty with one of my supervisors ~30 hours
- Med internship abroad (urban hospital): lived with host family, shadowed doctors and saw some surgeries: 1 month
- Volunteering abroad (rural health center): went to people's homes and distributed chlorine water purification tablets, took bp, taught basic sanitation and health advice along with doctors to villagers etc.: 2 weeks

Scholarships:
- 2 studentships for research 
- dean of science scholarship 
- hospital volunteer scholarship

Comments: my cars holds me back from alberta, mcmaster, uwo; whereas gpa holds me back from ottawa... is an app to queens worth?

[palefire]

37 minutes ago, Mistable said:

Hey all, I'm 1 year out of my undergrad and would appreciate feedback on where to apply. I'm IP for BC so will apply to UBC for sure and U of T. 

UBC avg: 86.4

OMSAS GPA: 3.70

U of T cGPA: 3.86 

MCAT: 508 (130/127/126/125)

Activities:
Clinical volunteering
- hospital patient visiting: 5 years (ongoing) ~ 700 hours
- patient visiting in a different hospital: 1 year ~ 100 hours

Non-clinical volunteering
- Academic mentoring: 2 year ~ 220 hours
- 2 other minor leadership things ~ 30 hours each

Employment
- by my university to teach 1st year phys as a tutor (and supervise 7 other tutors) - 2.5 years ~ 185 hours

Research
-> original clinical research project #1:
- 1st author published (IF 3)
- presented findings in 2 local conferences & an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)
-> original clinical research project #2
- 1st author published (IF 8)
- presented findings in 2 local conference & won 1st place in the category at an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)

Standalone shadowing:
- specialty with one of my supervisors ~30 hours
- Med internship abroad (urban hospital): lived with host family, shadowed doctors and saw some surgeries: 1 month
- Volunteering abroad (rural health center): went to people's homes and distributed chlorine water purification tablets, took bp, taught basic sanitation and health advice along with doctors to villagers etc.: 2 weeks

Scholarships:
- 2 studentships for research 
- dean of science scholarship 
- hospital volunteer scholarship

Comments: my cars holds me back from alberta, mcmaster, uwo; whereas gpa holds me back from ottawa... is an app to queens worth?

 

Your ECs are strong, Queen's being a black box is definitely worth a shot. Your GPA as an OOP will hold you back at McGill, while your Mcat is too low for Manitoba or Sask. Your ECs might make you competitive for Calgary and Dal. 

[Mistable]

2 hours ago, palefire said:

 

Your ECs are strong, Queen's being a black box is definitely worth a shot. Your GPA as an OOP will hold you back at McGill, while your Mcat is too low for Manitoba or Sask. Your ECs might make you competitive for Calgary and Dal. 

I hadn't considered Calgary and Dal - will look into them. Thanks for the feedback!

[ThatCanadianGuy]

7 hours ago, Mistable said:

I hadn't considered Calgary and Dal - will look into them. Thanks for the feedback!

Calgary needs a 128 CARS for OOP. :/

[Mistable]

15 hours ago, ThatCanadianGuy said:

Calgary needs a 128 CARS for OOP. :/

Yeah, I just saw that - shame. 

[lulu95]

On 03/07/2017 at 2:57 AM, Mistable said:

I hadn't considered Calgary and Dal - will look into them. Thanks for the feedback!

What is you GPA breakdown by year? Dal asks for min 3.7 per year... 

[Chels1267]

On 2017-07-03 at 2:57 AM, Mistable said:

I hadn't considered Calgary and Dal - will look into them. Thanks for the feedback!

508 MCAT is on the low side for OOP at Dal.

[itsmemario]

On 7/2/2017 at 11:50 PM, Mistable said:

Hey all, I'm 1 year out of my undergrad and would appreciate feedback on where to apply. I'm IP for BC so will apply to UBC for sure and U of T. 

UBC avg: 86.4

OMSAS GPA: 3.70

U of T cGPA: 3.86 

MCAT: 508 (130/127/126/125)

Activities:
Clinical volunteering
- hospital patient visiting: 5 years (ongoing) ~ 700 hours
- patient visiting in a different hospital: 1 year ~ 100 hours

Non-clinical volunteering
- Academic mentoring: 2 year ~ 220 hours
- 2 other minor leadership things ~ 30 hours each

Employment
- by my university to teach 1st year phys as a tutor (and supervise 7 other tutors) - 2.5 years ~ 185 hours

Research
-> original clinical research project #1:
- 1st author published (IF 3)
- presented findings in 2 local conferences & an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)
-> original clinical research project #2
- 1st author published (IF 8)
- presented findings in 2 local conference & won 1st place in the category at an international conference (abstract published as 1st author)

Standalone shadowing:
- specialty with one of my supervisors ~30 hours
- Med internship abroad (urban hospital): lived with host family, shadowed doctors and saw some surgeries: 1 month
- Volunteering abroad (rural health center): went to people's homes and distributed chlorine water purification tablets, took bp, taught basic sanitation and health advice along with doctors to villagers etc.: 2 weeks

Scholarships:
- 2 studentships for research 
- dean of science scholarship 
- hospital volunteer scholarship

Comments: my cars holds me back from alberta, mcmaster, uwo; whereas gpa holds me back from ottawa... is an app to queens worth?

An app to queens is worth it. Calculate your wGPA for both Queens and UofT. I had a similar cGPA but much higher wGPAs and got into both queens and uoft. You also meet the UofT MCAT threshold and your ECs are quite strong (the first author pubs will help immensely for UofT). 

[Mistable]

7 hours ago, lulu95 said:

What is you GPA breakdown by year? Dal asks for min 3.7 per year... 

Yeah, I just saw that when I looked into the school. Unfortunately one of my years is below that so looks like I'll only be be applying to UBC, U of T and Queens. Appreciate the point

 

7 hours ago, Chels1267 said:

508 MCAT is on the low side for OOP at Dal.

Looks like I don't meet Dal's GPA requirements anyway, but appreciate the input.

 

6 hours ago, itsmemario said:

An app to queens is worth it. Calculate your wGPA for both Queens and UofT. I had a similar cGPA but much higher wGPAs and got into both queens and uoft. You also meet the UofT MCAT threshold and your ECs are quite strong (the first author pubs will help immensely for UofT). 

Ah, sorry I mixed up cGPA with wGPA! My cGPA is the one I've listed as "OMSAS GPA" (3.70) and my U of T wGPA is 3.86.

I think my 2 year queens gpa is lower than my overall everything combined as I don't have a positive trend in my gpa. So I would be applying to Queens with the 3.70 and U of T with a 3.86. Do you think these numbers are competitive despite a 3.95 average gpa of those accepted to U of T? 

[Hopelessmed]

Hi!

This is my first post on here. I am feeling really discouraged by stats as it feels like med school will only remain a dream for me. I finished my undergrad and starting masters in September. I am an Alberta resident. 

GPA (with worst year dropped):  3.5

I have yet to write my MCAT but I keep getting ~512 in practices (128 in CARS). 

I have at least a thousand volunteer hours. 

    -Club executive for 3 years for 2 different groups (been a member for 5 years) Probably around ~600 hours

   -Have 4500 work hours. (part-time retail since 2011)

  -Have 200 volunteer hours as a elementary school tutor

   -Hospital volunteer since 2014. Around ~400 hours

  -Actively involved in research since 2014 ~about 250 hours

 

I know I can apply at UAlberta and Calgary. But what other schools will take me with such horrible academic stats? I don't see medicine in my future at all. Its really depressing. 

[Olaf]

5 hours ago, Hopelessmed said:

Hi!

This is my first post on here. I am feeling really discouraged by stats as it feels like med school will only remain a dream for me. I finished my undergrad and starting masters in September. I am an Alberta resident. 

GPA (with worst year dropped):  3.5

I have yet to write my MCAT but I keep getting ~512 in practices (128 in CARS). 

I have at least a thousand volunteer hours. 

    -Club executive for 3 years for 2 different groups (been a member for 5 years) Probably around ~600 hours

   -Have 4500 work hours. (part-time retail since 2011)

  -Have 200 volunteer hours as a elementary school tutor

   -Hospital volunteer since 2014. Around ~400 hours

  -Actively involved in research since 2014 ~about 250 hours

 

I know I can apply at UAlberta and Calgary. But what other schools will take me with such horrible academic stats? I don't see medicine in my future at all. Its really depressing. 

Hard to say... every school calculates your GPA differently (ex. Western only looks at best 2 years, Ottawa U uses a weighted formula, etc.). Also hard to say without knowing your MCAT score! Calculate what your GPA would be for each school and get your MCAT scores back and you'll have a better idea of your chances. 

Don't lose hope though! Your ECs are pretty good. If you really want to get into med school, with hard work, patience, and willingness to go alternate routes if necessary (ex. maybe deciding to do a second undergrad), you will get in eventually  

[healthnut101]

Hey everyone, looking for a little feedback:

I am a resident of Nova Scotia:

GPA (Undergrad- Bachelor of Kinesiology)

Year 1- 3.7

Year 2- 3.75

Year 3- 3.84

Year 4- 3.93

GPA (Undergrad- Bachelor of Education)

Year 1-4.1/4.2 (One year program)

 

EC:

Camp counsellor of physical activity camp for 6 summers

Teaching assistant for exercise physiology and growth/motor development

Volunteered at health and development programs for children with special needs for three years

Swim coach for Special Olympics

Created a health and leadership program for adolescent females at a local elementary school

Coaching a variety of sports

On varsity cross country and soccer team at two universities

Worked as a kinesiologist at physiotherapy clinic

Completed teaching practicums in health and physical education as well as science

Have yet to write the MCAT and am wondering if I would have a shot if I score well? Let me know your thoughts or any other suggestions

 

[Pterygoid]

3 hours ago, healthnut101 said:

Hey everyone, looking for a little feedback:

I am a resident of Nova Scotia:

GPA (Undergrad- Bachelor of Kinesiology)

Year 1- 3.7

Year 2- 3.75

Year 3- 3.84

Year 4- 3.93

GPA (Undergrad- Bachelor of Education)

Year 1-4.1/4.2 (One year program)

 

EC:

Camp counsellor of physical activity camp for 6 summers

Teaching assistant for exercise physiology and growth/motor development

Volunteered at health and development programs for children with special needs for three years

Swim coach for Special Olympics

Created a health and leadership program for adolescent females at a local elementary school

Coaching a variety of sports

On varsity cross country and soccer team at two universities

Worked as a kinesiologist at physiotherapy clinic

Completed teaching practicums in health and physical education as well as science

Have yet to write the MCAT and am wondering if I would have a shot if I score well? Let me know your thoughts or any other suggestions

 

Looks strong, I'd advise to diversify a bit & go out of your comfort zone in terms of your ECs to make it even stronger.

[lnh]

Hey, I'm just looking for a bit of feed back since I got my MCAT score today ha!

I'm currently entering my fourth year and my MCAT score is mediocre at best, on my fault though I didn't make enough time to study for it, but I don't really have the option of writing it again before this cycle. 

GPA: 3.96ish based on which school's system you use

MCAT: 513 (130, 126, 129, 128)

In terms of ECS: 

Research x3 summers (Reseach grants) (I'm working on some papers, but I doubt they'll be out before the October 1st deadline)

Clinical Research and Hopsital volunteering 1.5 years

Sports - Running, ultimate frisbee, paddling, rock climbing, power lifting (all between 1-5 years)

Graphic design and other art related things x12years

Lots of clubs (executive, president etc) (coding clubs, non profits, undergraduate journals etc)
Tutoring - 5 years

Like I have other ECs too, but I'm not really concerned about my ECs or GPA, I'm concerned my MCAT score is a bit too weak, and if it's even worth the time to apply this round. I know I'd be able to do better if I rewrote, it was mainly a combination of doing way too much in my summer, and personal stuff that came up that kind of messed my score up a bit.  I know I'm out of the running for western, but I don't know how I'd fare with the other ontario schools (U of T, Ottawa, Mac, Queens) and McGill. 

[itsmemario]

2 hours ago, lnh said:

Hey, I'm just looking for a bit of feed back since I got my MCAT score today ha!

I'm currently entering my fourth year and my MCAT score is mediocre at best, on my fault though I didn't make enough time to study for it, but I don't really have the option of writing it again before this cycle. 

GPA: 3.96ish based on which school's system you use

MCAT: 513 (130, 126, 129, 128)

In terms of ECS: 

Research x3 summers (Reseach grants) (I'm working on some papers, but I doubt they'll be out before the October 1st deadline)

Clinical Research and Hopsital volunteering 1.5 years

Sports - Running, ultimate frisbee, paddling, rock climbing, power lifting (all between 1-5 years)

Graphic design and other art related things x12years

Lots of clubs (executive, president etc) (coding clubs, non profits, undergraduate journals etc)
Tutoring - 5 years

Like I have other ECs too, but I'm not really concerned about my ECs or GPA, I'm concerned my MCAT score is a bit too weak, and if it's even worth the time to apply this round. I know I'd be able to do better if I rewrote, it was mainly a combination of doing way too much in my summer, and personal stuff that came up that kind of messed my score up a bit.  I know I'm out of the running for western, but I don't know how I'd fare with the other ontario schools (U of T, Ottawa, Mac, Queens) and McGill. 

You should be fine for UofT since the MCAT is simply a 125+ cut-off and not assessed competitively. If you write a strong application and have good references, you should be able to secure an interview. Queens doesn't post their MCAT cut-offs but I got in this cycle with a 127 CARS (my psych score was also higher than yours but C/P was lower). Mac weighs CARS heavily and you may not be that competitive with a 126 (is 3.96 your cGPA as well?). I would suggest looking through the interview invite list to see if people with your stats got an interview (ECs don't matter for Mac). Ottawa does not require the MCAT so you should be fine. 

I would recommend you apply this cycle. If it doesn't work out, you can consider re-writing next year. 

[ahmadmz]

Hi guys! I am also looking for advice on my realistic chances! Interested in applying to Queens and UofC (IP). 

cGPA for UofC: 3.7 

Last 2 Years GPA for Queens: 3.7

Overall MCAT: 513 (90th percentile) - CARS: 126 (lower than expected!)

Above average ECs! Graduated in 2012 and then worked in the professional world for 3 years (business degree) - worked at Shell Canada Limited in Finance and Marketing roles. Completed MSc in UK. Did a post-bacc year to gain all science courses to prepare for the MCAT (science GPA 3.9). Lots of leadership experience, many many volunteer hours, lots of advocacy type of volunteer work as well, backpacked from New Zealand to Japan for 5 months. 

My main question is do I have realistic chances for UofC (IP) and/or Queens? Or do I need to write the MCAT again to get a higher overall and/or CARS score?

Thanks!

[itsmemario]

1 hour ago, ahmadmz said:

Hi guys! I am also looking for advice on my realistic chances! Interested in applying to Queens and UofC (IP). 

cGPA for UofC: 3.7 

Last 2 Years GPA for Queens: 3.7

Overall MCAT: 513 (90th percentile) - CARS: 126 (lower than expected!)

Above average ECs! Graduated in 2012 and then worked in the professional world for 3 years (business degree) - worked at Shell Canada Limited in Finance and Marketing roles. Completed MSc in UK. Did a post-bacc year to gain all science courses to prepare for the MCAT (science GPA 3.9). Lots of leadership experience, many many volunteer hours, lots of advocacy type of volunteer work as well, backpacked from New Zealand to Japan for 5 months. 

My main question is do I have realistic chances for UofC (IP) and/or Queens? Or do I need to write the MCAT again to get a higher overall and/or CARS score?

Thanks!

Queens is unlikely. They don't really reveal what the cut offs are and with excellent extracurriculars you may have a shot (so do apply!). However, 3.7 and 126 CARS is probably on the lower end. 

[ahmadmz]

2 hours ago, itsmemario said:

Queens is unlikely. They don't really reveal what the cut offs are and with excellent extracurriculars you may have a shot (so do apply!). However, 3.7 and 126 CARS is probably on the lower end. 

Thanks for your feedback! Does Queens value CARS a lot more from all the other mcat sections? 

[SoraAde]

9 minutes ago, ahmadmz said:

Thanks for your feedback! Does Queens value CARS a lot more from all the other mcat sections? 

Actually, it seems that they don't. There have been people who have been interviewed by 126. Nobody knows for sure but if you go through the invite/regrets thread their cutoff for each section seems to be 127/128+, with one allowed to be 126. They might have a section cut off, then a total score cutoff? Nobody really knows.

[ahmadmz]

2 hours ago, SoraAde said:

Actually, it seems that they don't. There have been people who have been interviewed by 126. Nobody knows for sure but if you go through the invite/regrets thread their cutoff for each section seems to be 127/128+, with one allowed to be 126. They might have a section cut off, then a total score cutoff? Nobody really knows.

Interesting. Well thanks for your input!

[itsmemario]

12 hours ago, ahmadmz said:

Thanks for your feedback! Does Queens value CARS a lot more from all the other mcat sections? 

They don't state if they weigh any section more than others. They just seem to have a cut-off and this is probably set based on the application pool for that year (no one really knows!). Queens is really a black box when it comes to their admission policies. I would just apply and hope for the best! 

[Miama]

deleted

[Malakhite]

Hello!

I am not really sure where I stand for applying to medical school.

I have a previous undergraduate degree that I did not do well in (3.0 GPA). This was before I realized that I loved the medical field. I am currently entering my last year of a B.Sc. in Medical Radiation Sciences, specializing in Radiological Technology (AKA x-rays, CT scans, mammography etc) at UofT.

My second-degree stats are as follows:

Semester 1 – 3.33

Semester 2 – 3.64

Semester 3 – P/F courses only

Semester 4 – 3.46

Semester 5 – 3.94

Semester 6 – 3.90

Semester 7 – Fall 2017 One course to complete, the rest if P/F clinical at the hospital

Semester 8 - Winter 2018 P/F clinical at the hospital

Overall cumulative of my second degree once finished (should be): ~ 3.6

I know that I would have to do amazing on my MCAT.

On a side note, and I have no idea if it is pertinent to this or not (I am okay with it if it is not). I was diagnosed with severe generalized anxiety disorder and OCD Feb. 2017. After immediately being medicated and working with one of the best psychiatrists in Toronto, my life completely changed. He figures that I have had the GAD my whole life and that my OCD started with the stress of Grade 12 and continued. Because both are anxiety disorders, they tend to feed off each other. I am in not in any way trying to find an excuse, they honestly negatively affected my sleep, eating habits and made it much harder for me to focus and concentrate etc. I truly thought that what I was experiencing was completely normal and that everyone experienced what I was (at least to some point). I know it is not much of a grade jump, but you can see that Semester 5 and 6’s GPA increased quite a bit. Unfortunately, I went through my first undergrad degree without being diagnosed. The upside of being diagnosed is that I am now doing great!

Clinical Hours Once Finished in 2018

1650 hours of direct patient contact taking x-rays, doing CT scans, mammography, fluoro in OR and pain clinic during my clinical placement.

ECs in the Last 2.5 Years

2.5 years of as a medical responder on UofT’s First Response Team.

2.5 years of archery (classes that I took and personal range time).

1.5 years of coaching archery and being a range officer at UofT (all volunteer work)

26 hours of volunteering and giving tours to prospective students/their families during open houses etc. for my current school as well as calling accepted students on the phone to answer their questions etc.

Any insight would be appreciated.

P.S. If I posted this in the wrong place, please let me know!

Thank you in advance.