Guest QuestionMan23213 Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Hello, I was wondering what kind of scores are needed on the mcat to be competitive in the US? I have about a 3.65 overall gpa (4.0 in past 2.5 years) and will be writing the mcat again this summer. Would getting a 27-28 on the mcat make me competitive for any decent schools? Obviously higher scores would be better and ideal, but Im just thinking what minimum marks I would need, and whether those modest scores would be sufficient anywhere? I also have tonnes of EC's, volunteer work experience abroad and in the community, some research etc. Btw, I live in Canada and am a B.Sc honours graduate from Ontario. Thanks anybody for your help and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jochi1543 Posted May 6, 2005 Report Share Posted May 6, 2005 I dunno, since your GPA is not too stellar, 9s or 9s mixed with 10s may not cut it for a good school. If you had like a 3.9, then 9s and 10s wouldn't make you look too bad - we all know that some people just don't do as well on standardized tests as others. However, if most of your better grades were in the last years of school, it will probably be ok. I really wouldn't worry about it now. Just prepare the best you can and then once you view your results, you can see whether you could do better and whether it's worth retaking. It's only a part of what you have to offer in your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rads Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 You will need to crush the MCAT given your GPA. I would suggest a minimum of 35 will be necessary (V10 at a MINIMUM, B12+, and P12+). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rads Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Actually, a 35 should be recommended for anyone considering going state-side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuestionMan23213 Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 35?? That score would be impossible for me to obtain. Are we talking about HMS here, or just your average med schools. I always thought a gpa of 3.6 and up in the US and a min score of say 30 was sufficient. If what you say is true, its wayyyyy harder to get into the US than in Canada. One of my cousins got into Temple with around a 3.6 and 31 i believe. I was reading threads below that say the average gpa is 3.5 in the US and bought the 2004 Barrons book as well that showed a lot of schools accepting ppl with high 20s, low 30s. I am willing to fork over the cash for private schools as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Your GPA is decent for lower-mid tier schools. Schools like Finch/CMS, Temple, GWU, etc. you should have a good chance at. Shoot for an MCAT of 30 with a well-balanced distribution and you should be fine for those schools. Kill the MCAT if you wanna get into a top tier school. But otherwise you should have a good shot at the lower-mid tier schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuestionMan23213 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Hey moo, Ya i think top-tier schools are out of the picture for me. Just out of curiosity however, do you happen to know how US schools calculate gpas? Im sure it varies from school to school but in general, do they do an overall gpa of all courses like Mcmaster, or do they only use full time years with 10 courses, or 8 etc. Just wondering because I had: -10 courses/yr in years 1-3, -9 courses in year 4, -and 5 courses in year 5 (I switched majors after 2nd year). The last 3 years of my education (3,4,5) were all A+'s. I basically am trying to assess whether writing the MCAT again for the 2nd time this summer will be of any use for me in the US. Again, my gpa of all courses is 3.65ish but I finished off pretty strongly. Depending on how they calculate gpa's, I will be able to make an informed decision. Secondly, do the schools see what previous mcat scores you attained if you wrote more than once? I wrote the mcat 2 years ago and got a pretty @#%$ mark in the mid 20s. I want to bring that up obviously this time, but will that attempt count against me? I really appreciate your help. If anybody else has any advice, feel free to let me know as I am trying to figure out what to do. If all else fails here in Canada, I am going to go to England for September. QM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Well all US schools take ALL courses taken into account. They don't care how many courses you took each semester, unless it's something ridiculous like 2 courses a year for ten years or something. A lot of schools will say they look more at the last few years and note improvements but there's no set formulas that I know of that schools use. As for the MCAT, they will see all scores, if you've chosen to release them. If not, they will see only that you've taken the MCAT but chose not to release the scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I'm almost positive that the AAMC will release scores from every sitting of the MCAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iownhonda Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Hey moo, how important is the prestige of the school you graduated from? Do universities in the states prefer applicants from more prestigious universities like UT more than less well known schools like Uvic? Would graduating from not-so-prestigious school impede my chances of getting interviews from these schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest docbil Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 UVic... don't diss UVic. They prepared great people. ... MEEEEEEEEE and UVicGUY. I would love to be at UVic rather than UofT right now. I don't understand why undergrads are ready to kill each other, themselves and their GPA by attending UofT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iownhonda Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Sorry if you felt that I was belittling Uvic. I am also a student at uvic, and as a matter of fact, I think Uvic is a great school. It's just that it is not very well known in America, you know wat I am sayin dawg. Anyway, I think Uvic is a great school as far as education is concerned. Peace out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 I don't think US schools really care one way or the other. I mean, we have people from schools in the US I've never heard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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