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U Of T Pa Applicants 2017


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  • 5 weeks later...

Hi. My name is Shaheen and I applied to both the UFT and McMaster BScPA programs. I have also applied to 2nd Entry Nursing BScRN at Western, Queens', UFT and York.

 

I am currently a 3rd year Kinesiology student at York. My intentions are to get into medical school but I decided to take a clinical and a practical route instead of your usual BSc with barely any professional clinical experience.

 

My current cGPA is not even that high (3.2-3.3). I have my hours for U of T's PA and I am waiting for McMasters' supp application. I wanted to know the chances of me getting in and what route works best for me to get into medical school in Canada/USA.

 

1. PA (UFT/McMaster) --> Work --> Med

 

2. Nursing (UFT/Western/Queens/York) --> Work --> Med (if no acceptance, pursue NP then apply)

 

3. Complete BSc in Kinesiology at York --> Med (if no acceptance, then proceed to plan 4)

 

4. Complete BSc in Kinesiology at York --> BScPA in Buffalo/Detroit --> Work --> Med

 

 

 

So, which plan do you guys think works the best for me. Thank you very much for your responses.

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Personally, I think it would be sort of a waste of your time and the PA school's resources to become a PA with no intention of being one. If your goal is to get into medical school, it would be best to take the traditional route by finishing your BSc, maybe moving onto a masters if option #3 doesn't work out, where you can still gain clinical experience. It is definitely possible to have emense clinical experience while completing a BSc, it would just require extra accommodation and work not provided by the institution. It seems as though you're holding back on applying to med school right now because of your lower GPA (correct me if I'm wrong by assuming this) and if your plan is to boost your GPA through PA or RN, I don't think those strategies will work. If you really think you could pull up your GPA, you could take the risk of doing a masters and just working your butt off to get a competitive GPA, while still adding to your resume. However, I caution this route as well since getting into medical school is pretty much the least amount of hard work you'll have to do because once you're in, the difficulty sky-rockets: Basicially, if you can barely make it in, you're likely not to be successful or satisfied once you're studying medicine.

 

With regards to option #4, PA school in the states if you're Canadian is incredibly expensive and if you're hoping to go to medical school, I think you'll find yourself overwhelmed, money-wise. However if money is no issue for you, then above all consider the fact that PA school is not meant to be a stepping stone before medical school. There are people who are incredibly passionate and dedicated to the PA profession, especially in Ontario where they accept so few students. Using PA school to get into med school can take away opportunities from those who actually dream of being a PA.

 

Your plans on the whole seem all over the place and not clear of what your actual intentions are. I would suggest getting some first hand experiences about what of each of you career options is like (NP, PA, MD, RN etc.) and make your choice based on what best fits with your skills and desires in life and you may find that medicine is not the best option for you, as it's not for many. PA can actually be a great alternative for those who are passionate about medicine but maybe want a better work-life balance or don't want to spend 4 years of medical school (+residency) stressed out and not starting a family. Look into all the options closely, specifically at the path as opposed to just the outcome.

 

Regarding your question about GPA and PA: Although there is no set GPA required to be accepted to PA (other than the minmum), it was circulating on last years forums that the average accepted GPA for McMaster was high: around a 3.8 I believe? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong here). The average acceptance GPA for U of T tends to be a bit lower due to the lesser amount of young, academic student's who apply (because they lack the hours) and because there is a greater focus on the quality of clinical experience. I'd say with your GPA that you're likely to have a good shot at U of T if your clinical experience is fairly primary/direct and if your personal statements are good. That isn't to say you have no shot for McMaster, you'd just need to have excellent "others": experience, answers to the supplemental questions etc.

 

Hope I was able to help! PM me if you have any more questions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi relaxingbath,

 

Could you suggest resources (books, websites, other material) to prepare for U of T MMI .

 

Also, can you provide some details about the Longitudinal Clinical Experience component of the first year . Is it a kind of preceptorship, shadowing ? Are the clinical sites provided by the Program or students have to arrange those ?

It says that the students should spend half day per week on the clinical site, means they need to be in Toronto area, then how would that fit in the first year online spectrum ?? If you can give some details about this, that is much appreciated.

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Here are some resources 

https://anneccpa.wordpress.com/ 

http://michener.ca/admissions/applying/full-time-admission/multiple-mini-interviews-mmi/ and finally 

http://mdprogram.mcmaster.ca/md-program-admissions/how-we-select/multiple-mini-interview-(mmi) .

They give an overview of how the MMIs are carried out and what kind of "general" things they are looking for. 

 

The LCEs are arranged my the students themselves that being said there is a master list given out of where previous students have done LCEs with some feed back on what to expect (you can choose to use this list or find your own). They can vary from being shadowing where you don't have any hands on patient interactions to getting to carry out procedures and involved participation. 

 

LCEs are carried out in your home location though there is a great experience at the Toronto pathology department at Humber hospital - some years have arranged to stay an extra day after residential blocks to do this. The residential blocks are the only times where you have to be in Toronto the rest of first year is online in your home location. 

 

Hope this clarification has helped. Don't hesitate to ask any further questions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is not true, and actually a very silly statement.

As I stated in the beginning of that post, these were my personal views. Also, anecdotally I have known many students who spend many years at their highest capacity just to get a high enough GPA to be accepted to med school and find that they are burnt out and not prepared for the increase in workload. They had to try so hard for so many extra years after undergrad to be competitive and once they were in, couldn't get through how tough med school actually is. It isn't to say that's true for everyone, since I said the word "likely" it's just been my experience (seeing others). If you'd like to extrapolate on how and why that statement is silly, it would be much more useful for conversation, not just for me but for the person asking these questions who's trying to make a real decision. My point was not to sugar coat anything with the whole "you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to!" Attitude, but to give a useful, honest answer.

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That statement directly implies that McMaster/U of T accepts students who are "likely not to be successful". Or that Docs who "barely" got in aren't as satisfied or are less successful in the field. GPA alone is not a predictor of success (or satisfaction). 

 

McMaster knows this, and that is why GPA is only weighted at 32% in the selection formulae to be invited for an interview.

After being invited for an interview, it is weighted even less at 15% in determining offers of admission.

 

This weighted formulae is implemented to discourage your exact example of the many students you know who work toward (and may achieve) a high GPA and still not be a proper fit for medical school.

 

Hope this helps!

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  • 1 month later...

Hey guys! I just wanted to say (since no one has posted yet) that I got my interview invite today!! Good luck to everyone :)

 

 

Me too!! Good luck to everyone :)

 

Congrats to you both!  :D

 

Do you happen to know if all of the interview slots have been taken, and if not how many are left? I think they did a sign-up method last year. It would be helpful to know if all of the first round invites have been sent out and if people have accepted their invites.

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Wow, for my class, the class of 2017 60 interviewees for 30 spots, 2018 80 interviewees for 30 spots. I know they where hoping to increase the size of the class or they maybe just wanting more options to choose from for the MMIs.

 

Congrats to those that have interview its a big achievement in its self! To those that haven't there is still a chance if people decline the MMI invite and a spot will open up.

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