el_matador009 Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 hello, new poster, but long time reader. I am finishing my 4th year at the University of Toronto, getting a B.Sc Honours (specializing in Psychology). My cGPA is only a 3.4 I had a terrible first year 2.52, okay second year (3.4), and a good third year (3.8). and hopefully i'll finish off this year with like a 3.8 again. My MCAT is a 39T. -I did not take full course load on the first two years, and had to take the science pre requisites during the summer. I am not sure if that's important for u.s. schools. - I am currently doing an undergrad thesis, which would be my only research experience -I have volunteered 8 hours a week for the last 3 years at the local hospital. My question is with my low GPA, do I stand a chance at any US schools? if so, which ones? I am really hoping that the US will take me, since i don't seem to be a competitive applicant up here. thanks for your time guys, el matador. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uofthopeful07 Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 hello, new poster, but long time reader. I am finishing my 4th year at the University of Toronto, getting a B.Sc Honours (specializing in Psychology).My cGPA is only a 3.4 I had a terrible first year 2.52, okay second year (3.4), and a good third year (3.8). and hopefully i'll finish off this year with like a 3.8 again. My MCAT is a 39T. -I did not take full course load on the first two years, and had to take the science pre requisites during the summer. I am not sure if that's important for u.s. schools. - I am currently doing an undergrad thesis, which would be my only research experience -I have volunteered 8 hours a week for the last 3 years at the local hospital. My question is with my low GPA, do I stand a chance at any US schools? if so, which ones? I am really hoping that the US will take me, since i don't seem to be a competitive applicant up here. thanks for your time guys, el matador. i think you absolutely stand a chance there 3.8+s there are QUITE impressive down there it seems, but here it is much the norm in terms of med school. and i don't need to tell you, your mcat is KICK ass.. furthermore, your gpa shows improvement EVERY year. which is also a big plus. you need to be able to explain what went wrong first year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_matador009 Posted February 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 thanks so much for the response. yeah, I really have no excuse for my first year, I just guess I partied too much and had no idea it would haunt me the way it is. I wish there was a time machine. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acemd Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 hello, new poster, but long time reader. I am finishing my 4th year at the University of Toronto, getting a B.Sc Honours (specializing in Psychology).My cGPA is only a 3.4 I had a terrible first year 2.52, okay second year (3.4), and a good third year (3.8). and hopefully i'll finish off this year with like a 3.8 again. My MCAT is a 39T. -I did not take full course load on the first two years, and had to take the science pre requisites during the summer. I am not sure if that's important for u.s. schools. - I am currently doing an undergrad thesis, which would be my only research experience -I have volunteered 8 hours a week for the last 3 years at the local hospital. My question is with my low GPA, do I stand a chance at any US schools? if so, which ones? I am really hoping that the US will take me, since i don't seem to be a competitive applicant up here. thanks for your time guys, el matador. if i were you i'd also apply to queens and western, they only look at best two years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_matador009 Posted February 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 if i were you i'd also apply to queens and western, they only look at best two years Oh I am going to for sure...but i wanna have other options and I heard that a good MCAT in the USA can taKE you far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarzi Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 It's good to go dude - I wouldn't say that you are a shoe-in or a superstar applicant - because US schools don't do any weird thing with your GPA. Whatever your GPA is as calculated by AMCAS, that's what they will consider as your GPA - so if you happen to apply to a school that uses a preliminary screening process that does not include a careful look at your record, they won't know that you had an upward trend and that you had two amazing years - they'll just see a 3.4 cgpa and that's the end of that. Just remember that while it is true that a 3.8 is on the high end - this is only true for STATE schools, where you wouldn't be eligible to apply if you are not a permanent resident or citizen. A 3.8 cGPA is considered norm at many of the private schools - the ones that you will be eligible to apply for. One good note however - is that hot diggity, you're MCAT is SUPER. And this my friend - carries a lot of weight in the USA. So there is a chance that despite your lower GPA - if they actually notice that your last two years were 3.8s, and they see your MCAT score, and you have great LORS - then I think your chances are pretty damn good. My advice would be to research into the different schools that accept Canadians, then go to SDN and do some searches on the screening habits of each school to see whether or not they focus a lot on upward trends, high mcat's, etc. no worries though: 39T, 3.8 in last two years, research, and volunteering = acceptance somewhere no doubt. some school's that seem to be doable - Wayne State, Albany, NYMC, MCW, SLU. Make sure you got your english credit though. Good luck man...Wayne State seems like the best one btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzy_h2o Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 just to let you know that there are many State schools that you can apply to as a Canadian ....I did and those are the only schools that have granted me interviews thus far...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 I'd say you have a chance in the US for two reasons: 1) your kick ass MCAT score - US schools LOVEEE MCAT! 2) although your cumulative is not SO high, the trend is what is important. the fact that you have a 3.4 cGPA with an increasing trend will definitely work in your favour. As someone already mentioned, you should look at Canadian schools that look at best two/last two years as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 hello, new poster, but long time reader. I am finishing my 4th year at the University of Toronto, getting a B.Sc Honours (specializing in Psychology).My cGPA is only a 3.4 I had a terrible first year 2.52, okay second year (3.4), and a good third year (3.8). and hopefully i'll finish off this year with like a 3.8 again. My MCAT is a 39T. -I did not take full course load on the first two years, and had to take the science pre requisites during the summer. I am not sure if that's important for u.s. schools. - I am currently doing an undergrad thesis, which would be my only research experience -I have volunteered 8 hours a week for the last 3 years at the local hospital. My question is with my low GPA, do I stand a chance at any US schools? if so, which ones? I am really hoping that the US will take me, since i don't seem to be a competitive applicant up here. thanks for your time guys, el matador. I bet money you will get accepted in the US with that insane MCAT score. do me a favour and apply really early - like JUNE 1st. I think for low gpa-high MCAT applicant (even though upward trend is impressive), its even more paramount. dont worry about your GPA, i think your mcat makes it up (and more so)...just apply early and broadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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