Afraid of GPA not being good enough

[DocOC]

Hi there!

I've completed my undergrad degree after 6 long years and am hoping to be admitted to a Canadian medical school. My overall GPA is not good at all (3.53), however my last three years (not including summer courses) are a little bit better (3.64, 3.58, 4.0, respectively). My second last year really messed my GPA up due a confrontation I had with a professor giving me a B- in one of my courses which really brought that GPA year down. I have not written the MCAT year (am planning on doing so next summer)

My non-academic qualifications are listed as such:

- provincial special olympics track and field coach - 4 years and counting

- support volunteer for individuals with developmental disabilities - 1 year and counting

- volunteer as a mentor for a young boy in need of emotional guidance/support - 1 year and counting

- volunteer at a senior resident home - 1 year 

- research assistant for my institution working on various projects (no publications yet) - 1 year and counting

The amount of daily stress and anxiety due to uncertainty of whether or not it is worth it for me to apply is incredibly draining. At the beginning of my undergraduate studies I was unsure of what I wanted to do. There was a paradigm shift during my studies which led me to pursue a career as a medical doctor and now I can't imagine myself being anything else. 

My question to you all is to ask what your opinion on my chances are if I apply right now and what other solution/route I can take.

I appreciate your time reading this. 

[LeVoutee]

What is your home province? 

[DocOC]

Thank you for replying. I live in British Columbia 

[LeVoutee]

2 minutes ago, DocOC said:

Thank you for replying. I live in British Columbia 

I would start by calculating your GPA for the province where you have in province bias, and then for other schools. Every school weighs these differently. You have good EC's. 

[offmychestplease]

UBC calculates GPA in %. Find out what yours is (and I think they drop worst year or something there too).

For reference, the average accepted GPA for this 2022 cycle will likely be 91% this year (up from 90.0% in 2021 and 89.3% in 2020).

[DocOC]

Thank you both for replying. My apologies if I am not replying to each of you individually. I'm unable to find a 'reply' button for individual responses.

My overall percentage conversion with my worst year dropped is 82.6% which I'm afraid won't suffice. I am considering applying for a 2-year, 93 credit post-bacc program since UBC will consider the post-bacc GPA along with my undergraduate GPA. If all goes well, this should bump my grade up to about 85-88% which is still under the statistical mean of acceptance. 

 

[DocOC]

2 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

UBC calculates GPA in %. Find out what yours is (and I think they drop worst year or something there too).

For reference, the average accepted GPA for this 2022 cycle will likely be 91% this year (up from 90.0% in 2021 and 89.3% in 2020).

I just figured it out lol. My response for this is above. Thank you again. 

[offmychestplease]

1 hour ago, DocOC said:

Thank you both for replying. My apologies if I am not replying to each of you individually. I'm unable to find a 'reply' button for individual responses.

My overall percentage conversion with my worst year dropped is 82.6% which I'm afraid won't suffice. I am considering applying for a 2-year, 93 credit post-bacc program since UBC will consider the post-bacc GPA along with my undergraduate GPA. If all goes well, this should bump my grade up to about 85-88% which is still under the statistical mean of acceptance. 

 

no worries. I think that's a good idea as it will signficantly increase your chances.