What are my chances at getting into medical school?

[Jessica12091]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for your real and honest advice here. I am in my fourth year of a b.sc undergad at mcmaster and will be graduating in the spring. I did not apply to med this past cycle because I had no confidence in my application and thought that perhaps doing a masters would be a better alternative in the meantime. While I have been offered acceptance to these programs the thought of letting med go without every trying makes me sick. I want to go to medical school so badly but I am so afraid that it will never happen for me and scared to face that reality. Here are my stats please tell me your thoughts:

Year 1 3.3888 (took 9 courses)

Year 2 3.73 (took 10 courses)

Year 3 3.78 (took 11 courses but 1 is p/f so only 10 in gpa calculation) 

- fall gpa 3.6, winter gpa 3.96 (not counted at some schools)

Year 4 3.96 (took 10 courses) 

I calculate my cgpa to be 3.723. 

My best two years without winter 2020 would be year 2 and 4 = 3.845 (Western)

My most recent two years without winter 2020 would be = 3.84 (Queens)

- not that this matters now but had I not taken ochem as an elective in the fall of my third year my fall gpa would have been a 3.925 (3.925+3.96/2 = 3.945 best two year without winter 2020 - so this sucks) 

I would have to write an academic explanations essay to get uoft wgpa since I took only 9 courses in my first year but otherwise it would have been = 3.747 

I have done the calculations for a couple of other schools but I don't want to make this post messier than it is. If you think there is a school I could potentially have a chance at then I will definitely add that number in. 

I am willing to go to literally any school in Canada, will do US MD. If neither of those I have been thinking about DO, Carib, Ireland and Australia. What are your thoughts on that? 

I have also thought about taking courses after I graduate (i know western allows these to be counted as a special year)

If i got a hypothetic 4.0 in year 5 my cgpa would be 3.779 (not much dif. for mac)

but my best 2 year/ most recent 2 year gpa would be 3.96+4/2 = 3.98 which would be my Queens and Western score.

ECS: 

2 full years research under department chair and now completing senior thesis (possibly of publishing), intro psych ta, 2 mcmaster clubs, free volunteer tutoring, 300+ hours volunteer at cardiology clinic (taking bp, recording medical information etc), summer volunteer at sunnybrook veteran centre, volunteered for 2 months with a arthritis research assistant at mount sinai, has worked as a red cross swim instructor (1 year) and as an inclusion instructor (2 years) with special needs

Want to write MCAT again in early July to apply to some US schools, the first time I wrote I knew I didn't feel ready and hardly studied toward the end, I know I can do significantly better. 

(Keep in mind I have 2 gen chem with lab, 2 bio with lab, 1 physics with lab, 2 orgo with lab, 1 calc, 1 english, many psych) I know I am missing biochem, phys 2 and eng 2 for some schools in Canada/ US. 

I am so sorry this is so long I just need someone's advice. Should I give it a try what are my chances realistically? 

 

 

 

 

 

[naptime98]

I don’t think you can apply to western right now. Each of your best 2 years needs to be above 3.7, and with them discounting the W20 semester you only have one.

If you take one extra year, get >3.7, and get an MCAT score that meets total score and section cutoffs for Western and Queens that’s your best bet. Getting that MCAT score won’t be easy but right now it’s your only bet.

Even if you manage to get UofT to give you wGPA it’s too low to be competitive there. A 5th year with a 4.0, plus a 129+ on CARS (preferably higher) and a good CASPer could get you a McMaster interview but we’re talking top 5 percentile CARS score. If you want to be competitive at more than just Western and Queens you’ll need a second undergrad unfortunately.

I don’t know much about applying internationally so I’ll leave that for someone else to chime in on.

[Jessica12091]

52 minutes ago, naptime98 said:

I don’t think you can apply to western right now. Each of your best 2 years needs to be above 3.7, and with them discounting the W20 semester you only have one.

If you take one extra year, get >3.7, and get an MCAT score that meets total score and section cutoffs for Western and Queens that’s your best bet. Getting that MCAT score won’t be easy but right now it’s your only bet.

Even if you manage to get UofT to give you wGPA it’s too low to be competitive there. A 5th year with a 4.0, plus a 129+ on CARS (preferably higher) and a good CASPer could get you a McMaster interview but we’re talking top 5 percentile CARS score. If you want to be competitive at more than just Western and Queens you’ll need a second undergrad unfortunately.

I don’t know much about applying internationally so I’ll leave that for someone else to chime in on.

So sorry year 2 should be 3.73 not 3.37! Okay thank you for your advice I appreciate it!

[Psych]

On 2/23/2021 at 12:53 PM, naptime98 said:

I don’t think you can apply to western right now. Each of your best 2 years needs to be above 3.7, and with them discounting the W20 semester you only have one.

If you take one extra year, get >3.7, and get an MCAT score that meets total score and section cutoffs for Western and Queens that’s your best bet. Getting that MCAT score won’t be easy but right now it’s your only bet.

Even if you manage to get UofT to give you wGPA it’s too low to be competitive there. A 5th year with a 4.0, plus a 129+ on CARS (preferably higher) and a good CASPer could get you a McMaster interview but we’re talking top 5 percentile CARS score. If you want to be competitive at more than just Western and Queens you’ll need a second undergrad unfortunately.

I don’t know much about applying internationally so I’ll leave that for someone else to chime in on.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of these- especially Mac, the 129 cars and 95th percentile casper is way off for a 3.7 GPA. Someone did the stats on the Mac thread and with a 3.7 and 129 you only need about a 50th percentile casper, even less if GPA or cars is higher than either of those. So OP for sure has a shot at mac with a decent cars!

You also appear to be eligible to Western- years 2 and 4 are both over 3.7

Queen's and Western your GPA is competitive right now, although a fifth year certainly wouldn't hurt

Even u of T you could make it with an AEE- I've seen crazier things happen

Honestly, I think you have a shot at most/all Canadian schools, but if you're looking to improve your chances a fifth year is definitely the way to go (over a masters)

[naptime98]

25 minutes ago, Psych said:

I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of these- especially Mac, the 129 cars and 95th percentile casper is way off for a 3.7 GPA. Someone did the stats on the Mac thread and with a 3.7 and 129 you only need about a 50th percentile casper, even less if GPA or cars is higher than either of those. So OP for sure has a shot at mac with a decent cars!

You also appear to be eligible to Western- years 2 and 4 are both over 3.7

Queen's and Western your GPA is competitive right now, although a fifth year certainly wouldn't hurt

Even u of T you could make it with an AEE- I've seen crazier things happen

Honestly, I think you have a shot at most/all Canadian schools, but if you're looking to improve your chances a fifth year is definitely the way to go (over a masters)

Their original post had a typo where their year 2 GPA, and cGPA were both considerably lower than they are now. I definitely agree, and my comments above are no longer accurate with the new information. 

[Psych]

18 minutes ago, naptime98 said:

Their original post had a typo where their year 2 GPA, and cGPA were both considerably lower than they are now. I definitely agree, and my comments above are no longer accurate with the new information. 

Good to know!! Just wanted OP to know that their stats are probably decently competitive so they don't get too discouraged

[pre-med2000]

On 2/23/2021 at 12:53 PM, naptime98 said:

I don’t think you can apply to western right now. Each of your best 2 years needs to be above 3.7, and with them discounting the W20 semester you only have one.

If you take one extra year, get >3.7, and get an MCAT score that meets total score and section cutoffs for Western and Queens that’s your best bet. Getting that MCAT score won’t be easy but right now it’s your only bet.

Even if you manage to get UofT to give you wGPA it’s too low to be competitive there. A 5th year with a 4.0, plus a 129+ on CARS (preferably higher) and a good CASPer could get you a McMaster interview but we’re talking top 5 percentile CARS score. If you want to be competitive at more than just Western and Queens you’ll need a second undergrad unfortunately.

I don’t know much about applying internationally so I’ll leave that for someone else to chime in on.

Hi @naptime98, I have a related question. I will only have one year above 3.7 for my application to western. However, I've read they offer conditional acceptance with only one year above it. Should I still not apply?

I plan on doing a 4th year which along with my 3rd year will hopefully also be above 3.7. However, I am wondering if I should apply this summer to UWO? My GPAs are 1st year: 3.69, 2nd year: Dumpster fire, 3rd year: 3.85 approx. MCAT is 127/127/129/130. I figure for this application season UWO is my only possible choice due to GPA

[naptime98]

46 minutes ago, pre-med2000 said:

Hi @naptime98, I have a related question. I will only have one year above 3.7 for my application to western. However, I've read they offer conditional acceptance with only one year above it. Should I still not apply?

I plan on doing a 4th year which along with my 3rd year will hopefully also be above 3.7. However, I am wondering if I should apply this summer to UWO? My GPAs are 1st year: 3.69, 2nd year: Dumpster fire, 3rd year: 3.85 approx. MCAT is 127/127/129/130. I figure for this application season UWO is my only possible choice due to GPA

Hi there. Yes you should apply to Western, it seems like you meet MCAT cutoffs from the past  couple of years and they won’t hold the one year against you as long as you can get a 3.7+ in your next year. Also, if you do get a 3.85 and have the financial ability, I would apply to Queens as well. It seems their 2YGPA cutoff this year was in the low 3.7s so you could always give that a try.