Seriously considering moving to the North for IP. OPINIONS PLZ

[OBoyMD]

Hello all,

 

As I have posted before, I have a solid 2yr GPA, shitty cGPA and an aggressively underwhelming MCAT at 508 even. I am an Ontario resident.

I am seriously considering getting a job at Yukon College, I have already contacted them, and moving to Whitehorse for a year or two to receive IP at the Alberta schools, Manitoba, UBC and eventually Saskatchewan. (I checked and enquired with the schools mentioned except Sask). 

In looking through the accepted threads on PM101 for some of the middle province schools, I think I would be very competitive even with my low MCAT (except Manitoba seems to have high MCATs). I have a bit of a diverse weird background as I was a hockey player for most of my teenage and young adult life moving around.. I had a hard time transitioning out of living in small towns in eastern Europe playing hockey to being a pre-med gunner in a large Ontario city.. not justifying my low GPA in the first two year just highlighting a parallel  between the volatility of my teenage life and the volatility in my pre med journey.

 

I know people have some pretty strong/sure feelings about making the move for IP... I am not really looking for "that's dumb you're playing the system", I am more looking for opinions as to whether its worth it or not and why.

I really appreciate any and all responses.

For reference:

- cGPA = 3.3 ish

- 2yr GPA = 3.92

[biochem4]

4 minutes ago, OBoyMD said:

Hello all,

 

As I have posted before, I have a solid 2yr GPA, shitty cGPA and an aggressively underwhelming MCAT at 508 even. I am an Ontario resident.

I am seriously considering getting a job at Yukon College, I have already contacted them, and moving to Whitehorse for a year or two to receive IP at the Alberta schools, Manitoba, UBC and eventually Saskatchewan. (I checked and enquired with the schools mentioned except Sask). 

In looking through the accepted threads on PM101 for some of the middle province schools, I think I would be very competitive even with my low MCAT (except Manitoba seems to have high MCATs). I have a bit of a diverse weird background as I was a hockey player for most of my teenage and young adult life moving around.. I had a hard time transitioning out of living in small towns in eastern Europe playing hockey to being a pre-med gunner in a large Ontario city.. not justifying my low GPA in the first two year just highlighting a parallel  between the volatility of my teenage life and the volatility in my pre med journey.

 

I know people have some pretty strong/sure feelings about making the move for IP... I am not really looking for "that's dumb you're playing the system", I am more looking for opinions as to whether its worth it or not and why.

I really appreciate any and all responses.

For reference:

- cGPA = 3.3 ish

- 2yr GPA = 3.92

Did you try applying to Ontario MD schools?

[OBoyMD]

8 minutes ago, biochem4 said:

Did you try applying to Ontario MD schools?

Only Queens once, no interview. Weighting doesn't help me for U of T, don't hit westerns MCAT cut-offs.

[PFT22135]

Considering how competitive Ontario is it's not the worst idea, but I'm unfamiliar with west coast admission requirements. You could also contemplate moving to NB for IP status for Dal, but that would give you a more narrow window than the north would by your description. 

[biochem4]

18 minutes ago, OBoyMD said:

Only Queens once, no interview. Weighting doesn't help me for U of T, don't hit westerns MCAT cut-offs.

You had the figure for 2-yr GPA. I was wondering you didn’t get an interview still?

[IMislove]

2 minutes ago, biochem4 said:

You had the figure for 2-yr GPA. I was wondering you didn’t get an interview still?

Because queens is a EC heavy school. Also black box and a very particular school. The MCAT I’m assuming is what’s holding them back though sadly, 508 seems like it would be too low. After making gpa cutoff they would need to make the MCAT cut off.

[OBoyMD]

19 minutes ago, biochem4 said:

You had the figure for 2-yr GPA. I was wondering you didn’t get an interview still?

Nope..

[OBoyMD]

16 minutes ago, OBoyMD said:

Nope..

 

31 minutes ago, IMislove said:

Because queens is a EC heavy school. Also black box and a very particular school. The MCAT I’m assuming is what’s holding them back though sadly, 508 seems like it would be too low. After making gpa cutoff they would need to make the MCAT cut off.

I just really am not sure what to do.

[IMislove]

Well up to you. Could do a second degree to increase gpa, or move. Would you be happy being so far for that amount of time from family and friends? Has residency requirements changed in the oast? Are your stats really that competitive as an IP? Do you think the job is ok and would it last two years? All things to think about.

[OBoyMD]

Fair, thank you very much.

[Bambi]

One of our members, forget her name at the moment, did exactly that - and got in. 

[OBoyMD]

18 minutes ago, Bambi said:

One of our members, forget her name at the moment, did exactly that - and got in. 

 I like to hear that

[LostLamb]

Kylamonkey did that, she was even mentioned in a macleans article if I recall....

you seem to know what small town living is like—and if you likely have a job, why not do it? It’s another adventure...just read the IP criteria for all the schools with a fine toothed comb.

Good luck from one previous Ontarian to Albertan who took the chance on moving 10 years ago.  I don’t regret the move at all. Most spontaneous decision of my life, but extremely fruitful (got into med school and met my spouse out here!).

[#YOLO]

its not worth it.

[helicase]

perhaps also consider rewriting the MCAT to open more doors?

[W0lfgang]

If you can endure 1 or even 2 years up there, and your stats would be competitive as an IP in those provinces, I'd say do it.

Do what it takes.

[Edict]

If med is really what you want then do it. It is an adventure, not many can say they lived in the Yukon for 2 years anyways. If you ask me, the system doesn't really care about you, we see this all the time when med schools change their admission requirements last minute, so i don't feel like you owe them anything. Besides, 2 years isn't a short time and they are still getting someone who has lived in the North. 

[sangria]

It sounds like you are already pumped to go and you already have a job lined up. Go for it!

The thing about your application is your MCAT. I get that being ON IP doesn't help things, but the MCAT closes doors on a lot of schools. Yes, go on that adventure and YOLO, but I think more importantly, prioritize on rewriting the MCAT and getting a good score.

[End Poverty]

In regards to the Albertan schools GPA calculations, they only drop 1 year, and they are quite EC heavy pre-interview ( both U of C, and now U of A).  What will your GPA be if they just dropped 1 year?  How do you think your EC compare to others? U of C and U of A really value long-term community work.  Do you 've long-term community work? What other ECs other than sports do you have?   You need quite a comprehensive list of ECs to score well in EC section at both U of C and U of A. In addition, if you are applying to U of A, you have to do CASPer, and write an essay about an adversity you overcame.  Post-interview, they really weigh interviews. If you can do well in the ECs and interview well at U of C and U of A, you definitely have a chance.

Your MCAT score is less than the average for accepted students at both U of A and  U of C, so you need to re-write for your score to be a competitive IP score.

Before you go to the North-- make sure your stats are actually competitive as an IP applicant?

I know 2 individuals from Ontario who were doing their MSc in AB and after 1 or 2 yr they were considered IP applicants, and in the end they ended up getting into Ontarian schools, and not the Albertan schools (both of them had high GPA/ MCAT though). So, I 'm not sure if it was really worth it for them to move to AB?  Each medical school looks for a different profile of applicants, make sure you know what each school is looking for before you move North.   The Albertan schools tend to be slightly more subjective than Ontarian schools, because they weigh ECs heavily. There are no certain academic thresholds, that will guarantee you an interview at  U of C or U of A. With every application cycle there is variability in terms of how your EC scores is assessed ( check Dr. Walker's blog about how ECs are assessed in Calgary), so you may get an interview 1 yr and not the subsequent year because of the way your ECs was assessed by the reviewers.  

TLDR: I think it is a good idea if you move North BUT also make sure you will be competitive as an IP applicant. It is not worth it to move, if you will not tweak your application to make it more competitive to the schools that you are applying to.

If you 've questions about AB schools, feel free to PM. I will try my best to help you.

[Egg_McMuffin]

If you think moving won't significantly impact your quality of life (what that means is entirely based on your preferences and priorities), do it. There may be some pretty unique ECs that you can pick up there to further boost your applications for the ON and non-ON schools in the mean time- think outside of the typical cookie cutter pre-med stuff, use your geographical location and what comes with it to your advantage in every way possible. If you think you can do better on the MCAT, rewrite it while you're there.

You can always move back if you find it really difficult to adjust living there. Nothing wrong with that. And no it won't be a year "wasted", because of the life experience accumulated and now you learned that it's something you've tried and didn't work out.

In sum I think IF you are ok with the lifestyle changes it's a no brainer to just go where the opportunities are to open up more possibilities for your future. It's not like Ontario will give you more points for staying in Ontario.

[OBoyMD]

21 hours ago, Dr. End Poverty said:

In regards to the Albertan schools GPA calculations, they only drop 1 year, and they are quite EC heavy pre-interview ( both U of C, and now U of A).  What will your GPA be if they just dropped 1 year?  How do you think your EC compare to others? U of C and U of A really value long-term community work.  Do you 've long-term community work? What other ECs other than sports do you have?   You need quite a comprehensive list of ECs to score well in EC section at both U of C and U of A. In addition, if you are applying to U of A, you have to do CASPer, and write an essay about an adversity you overcame.  Post-interview, they really weigh interviews. If you can do well in the ECs and interview well at U of C and U of A, you definitely have a chance.

Your MCAT score is less than the average for accepted students at both U of A and  U of C, so you need to re-write for your score to be a competitive IP score.

Before you go to the North-- make sure your stats are actually competitive as an IP applicant?

I know 2 individuals from Ontario who were doing their MSc in AB and after 1 or 2 yr they were considered IP applicants, and in the end they ended up getting into Ontarian schools, and not the Albertan schools (both of them had high GPA/ MCAT though). So, I 'm not sure if it was really worth it for them to move to AB?  Each medical school looks for a different profile of applicants, make sure you know what each school is looking for before you move North.   The Albertan schools tend to be slightly more subjective than Ontarian schools, because they weigh ECs heavily. There are no certain academic thresholds, that will guarantee you an interview at  U of C or U of A. With every application cycle there is variability in terms of how your EC scores is assessed ( check Dr. Walker's blog about how ECs are assessed in Calgary), so you may get an interview 1 yr and not the subsequent year because of the way your ECs was assessed by the reviewers.  

TLDR: I think it is a good idea if you move North BUT also make sure you will be competitive as an IP applicant. It is not worth it to move, if you will not tweak your application to make it more competitive to the schools that you are applying to.

If you 've questions about AB schools, feel free to PM. I will try my best to help you.

Thanks for the reply, very fair. I think my EC's are fairly comprehensive but again no way to really know.

PM'ed you.

[OBoyMD]

17 hours ago, Egg_McMuffin said:

If you think moving won't significantly impact your quality of life (what that means is entirely based on your preferences and priorities), do it. There may be some pretty unique ECs that you can pick up there to further boost your applications for the ON and non-ON schools in the mean time- think outside of the typical cookie cutter pre-med stuff, use your geographical location and what comes with it to your advantage in every way possible. If you think you can do better on the MCAT, rewrite it while you're there.

You can always move back if you find it really difficult to adjust living there. Nothing wrong with that. And no it won't be a year "wasted", because of the life experience accumulated and now you learned that it's something you've tried and didn't work out.

In sum I think IF you are ok with the lifestyle changes it's a no brainer to just go where the opportunities are to open up more possibilities for your future. It's not like Ontario will give you more points for staying in Ontario.

Makes sense... I actually get quite excited at the chance to live in such a unique place, coming from a big city in Ontario. Thanks for the reply.

[abouttimeijoined]

The easier option seems to be retake MCAT? Even if it means having to get a tutor?

[yeescience]

Hey! I am in a very similar situation as you and I am also considering moving from Ontario next year to somewhere up North or West to be more competitive for med school. Send me a message if you want to discuss!