Chances? 4th year physiology, GPA 2.0, 3.9, 3.9

[el_matador]

Okay guys, here's the deal. I am going into my 4th year, pursuing a Psychology specialist at U of T. Now, I am wondering if I should apply to Med Schools. I have completed the pre-requisites for all the Universities I am interested in attending. My MCAT score is 30S, which is not great, I guess. I have been volunteering at a local hospital for 2 straight years, I have helped out at events for the Canadian Cancer society for 2 years as well, volunteered at a Mental Institution for 2 years, and have been training and competing in Jiu Jitsu for 3 years. During my undergrad, I have also been working 20 hours a week, so all of my time has been taken up by volunteering/EC and work. My GPA first year was a 2.0, I know, sad. I even failed a class, and was .5 credit short of full course load. However, I made a commitment and have been able to pull off a 3.93 in my second year, and a 3.88, in my 3rd year. Now my question is, what are my chances? I know some schools will only take my best two years (western, queens), but will I be completely shut down once they see the screw up I was in first year? I know U of T and Mac are out of the question because my cGPA isn't high enough... what about Ottawa? so what should I do? If I apply, what do you guys figure my chances are? Is my volunteering and EC's good enough?

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

[bustylegs]

Hi el_matador:

 

Your stats look very respectable.

 

What I would do is to focus more on the presentation of your stats, instead of worrying about whether your stats are competitive enough. That is to say, start working on your application and present yourself in a way that will distinguish yourself from all other applicants (which you know are going to be as steller as you).

 

Put lots of efforts into your McMaster quetions, U of T essay and Ottawa bio sketch. You'll be surprised at how packaging yourself a bit differently and creatively goes a long way!

 

Good luck!

[blinknoodle]

You only need one interview to get into medical school. Your stats/ECs suggest you will get at least one, so start working on your confidence. I am sure others would love to be in your scenario.

[el_matador]

Thanks guys for the motivating replies. I will certainly put a lot of time into my sketches and try to make the most out of it. I worked really hard the last two years, but I can't help but thinking that my disapointing first year will come back to kick me in the ass...

 

any other tips/comments are really appreciated.

[Grandmellon]

Hey Matador,

Your GPA in first year will only hinder you for those schools with the CGPA... It will be difficult applying to MAC with such a low GPA but it isn't impossible! As was said, focus on your school submissions and make sure they show the schools who you are and why you want to study medicine.

Good luck

GM

[unknown user 7]

I have a question though, not to bring down anyone's hopes, but I am in a similar situation where my first year (which I just completed) isn't the greatest. Although my first year GPA may be a bit higher than the poster, I calculated my WGPA assuming that I got 3.9+ every year from now, yet the result still seemed too low to be competitive, where I assume competitive to be 3.78+. How could this be, any hope?

[Satsuma]

Hello El Matador,

 

Your last 2 years are absolutely competitive and good for you for identifying whatever what standing in your way first year and moving forward to do so well.

 

One bad year will not prevent you from going to med school. It may limit your options (with the schools that look at all your undergrad) but the thing to remember is you do have options.

 

And just so you know, there are people in my class at Ottawa who have failed a course.

 

So...for Ottawa, they look at your last 3 years. So once you are done 4th year your 1st year marks won`t count anymore. The weighting is 3rd year X3, 2nd year X2, 1st year X1 (divided by 6). All that matters is you meet the cut-off to move on to the next step. If you can keep your 4th year strong then you should be in good shape. The cut-off for the anglo non-Ottawa in Ontario applicants I believe has been somewhere between 3.83-3.87 (not sure but it is posted on some threads somewhere). So your last 2 years put you in a good position to be competitive.

 

Good luck

 

Sats

[el_matador]

Once again thanks for the replies everyone.

 

Satsuma,

 

I was thinking about Ottawa. However, since I am applying during my 4th year, the will still look at my first year marks won't they?...So far my WGPA would only be around 3.61.. I am certain I can keep my GPA high during my fourth year, so maybe I should wait to complete my degree before applying to Ottawa?

 

I am guessing the same would go for Northern Ontario, right?

[Kuantum]

Okay guys, here's the deal. I am going into my 4th year, pursuing a Psychology specialist at U of T. Now, I am wondering if I should apply to Med Schools. I have completed the pre-requisites for all the Universities I am interested in attending. My MCAT score is 30S, which is not great, I guess. I have been volunteering at a local hospital for 2 straight years, I have helped out at events for the Canadian Cancer society for 2 years as well, volunteered at a Mental Institution for 2 years, and have been training and competing in Jiu Jitsu for 3 years. During my undergrad, I have also been working 20 hours a week, so all of my time has been taken up by volunteering/EC and work. My GPA first year was a 2.0, I know, sad. I even failed a class, and was .5 credit short of full course load. However, I made a commitment and have been able to pull off a 3.93 in my second year, and a 3.88, in my 3rd year. Now my question is, what are my chances? I know some schools will only take my best two years (western, queens), but will I be completely shut down once they see the screw up I was in first year? I know U of T and Mac are out of the question because my cGPA isn't high enough... what about Ottawa? so what should I do? If I apply, what do you guys figure my chances are? Is my volunteering and EC's good enough?

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

 

Not to be a downer, but Queen's is also out of the question because you need a minimum of 32P, and you have a 30S. I would recommend Mac (it will be hard, but not impossible), Western, and NOSM - your best chances lie at these schools. If you are a resident of another province, that's also a bonus. Good luck.

[scrubbed]

As a further note,

 

Unless the MCAT scores are all 10's in each section, the poster, based on last year's cutoffs, if the poster isn't a SWOMEN resident, would fall short here as well.

 

For those applicants from non-SWOMEN areas, the minimum MCAT and GPA scores required for being considered for interviews at UWO are:

 

BS - 10

PS - 10

VR - 10

BS, PS, VR combined total - 30

WS - Q

 

GPA: 3.70

[el_matador]

Thanks for the information guys, I did score 10 in every section, so I'm clear for Western. However, I did write it again this year, so hopefully I hit 32+. If I did, I will apply to Queens this year. So from what it looks like, Queens and UWO look like my best choices to apply this year. If I don't get in, I'll take the year off and work on my experience and apply to Ottawa, queens, western, and northern Ontario, using my last 3 years. Thanks for all the help!