THX Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Hi guys, I'm just trying to get a feel for what is competitive in states, as a Canadian applying there. I'm assuming you need slightly higher than an American, simply because of a bit of bias in the process. My stats are: AMCAS GPA: 3.85 Science GPA: ~ 3.9 MCAT: 32R I think my stats are pretty good, especially my GPA (thank god I went to Western, it has such a great AMCAS conversion scale), but do these stats open me up to higher tier schools (as a Canadian)? Or am I limited to low to mid tier schools because of my less than 35 MCAT? Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 With those kind of stats, I'd stay in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 I'd like to stay in Canada, but I will be covering all my bases next year by applying to the states as well.. just in case. I'm just trying to figure out what tier I should be aiming for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon01 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Might as well aim for every school possible if you're just looking to increase your chances to receive an acceptance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 well harvard's entring class average this year was a 3.8 gpa with a 10.5-11.5 mcat, so you look quite competitive there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 well harvard's entring class average this year was a 3.8 gpa with a 10.5-11.5 mcat, so you look quite competitive there! yes but they value a 3.6 from MIT at a higher level than a 4.0 from a lower-tier school. Your GPA is good, MCAT is fine for middle/low tier schools. Long-shot at top-tier but if you have some good research experience it's worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 yes but they value a 3.6 from MIT at a higher level than a 4.0 from a lower-tier school. True, if you look at the list of colleges that top-tier med students come from, it's like 90% Ivy and MIT. Plus Ivies are about way more than numbers...tons of people with great #s get rejected from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennethToronto Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Hi guys, I'm just trying to get a feel for what is competitive in states, as a Canadian applying there. I'm assuming you need slightly higher than an American, simply because of a bit of bias in the process. My stats are: AMCAS GPA: 3.85 Science GPA: ~ 3.9 MCAT: 32R I think my stats are pretty good, especially my GPA (thank god I went to Western, it has such a great AMCAS conversion scale), but do these stats open me up to higher tier schools (as a Canadian)? Or am I limited to low to mid tier schools because of my less than 35 MCAT? Thanks guys! a) The posted conversion by sonyvaio is wrong! The "great" AMCAS conversion is more or less the same as OMSAS! Your stats are not the be all and end all of med admissions. Flop the interview and it won't matter how great that GPA or MCAT is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 a) The posted conversion by sonyvaio is wrong! The "great" AMCAS conversion is more or less the same as OMSAS! Your stats are not the be all and end all of med admissions. Flop the interview and it won't matter how great that GPA or MCAT is. Seriously, not to burst your bubble OP, but Ken is right. Those scales are not correct. (Not that I'd know, since AMCAS is being retarded about verifying me). If you are truly applying to the US to cover your bases, then apply broadly. Apply to the top tier schools, and the mid and low. With your numbers (assuming your GPA stat is wrong) I'd apply to 12-15 schools in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Oh? So an 80+ is not a 4.0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Oh? So an 80+ is not a 4.0? Seems too good to be true, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 It did.. oh well, my science GPA doesn't change much but my cumulative drops to 3.75 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 I have had several confirmations that it IS in fact correct? how come? and 80+ is NOT 4.0 at all schools and anything less than 80 and you get shafted anywayz so its not a dreamscale to start Furthermore I would like to add that it should be similar to OMSAS for most schools anywayz because much of the scale is similar in its conversion, UWO and Queen's seem to be the exception KennethToronto do you know the correct scale? I saw you propsed a queens scale with +s and -s, but we dont even have that on our transcript.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spriteguy Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I got my AMCAS verified. My GPA at UBC is about... 85, so thats an A. my AMCAS average was only 3.77. The scaling is a bit different than what was posted earlier. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennethToronto Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I have had several confirmations that it IS in fact correct? how come? and 80+ is NOT 4.0 at all schoolsand anything less than 80 and you get shafted anywayz so its not a dreamscale to start Furthermore I would like to add that it should be similar to OMSAS for most schools anywayz because much of the scale is similar in its conversion, UWO and Queen's seem to be the exception KennethToronto do you know the correct scale? I saw you propsed a queens scale with +s and -s, but we dont even have that on our transcript.. Queen's doesn't use +s and -s. In fact, if you were in science like I was, it just uses straight up percentages. But when AMCAS finishes with them, they become converted to a GPA on a 4.0 scale and also assigned a letter grade with +s and -s. Looking over my verified AMCAS app right now, I can tell you: On a half semester (0.5 credit) course where I scored 86%. AMCAS converted it to a A- grade. On a half semester (0.5 credit) course where I scored 87% or higher, AMCAS converted it to a A grade. Then looking at the chart I linked to in the stickied thread, a A corresponds to 4.0. A (A-) corresponds to a 3.7. There is of course, on the table, a pretty sweet scale where you get a A (4.0) if you have a percentage grade anywhere from 84-100% (I wouldn't mind that one as I have quite a few between 84%-86%). Regardless, to think a 80% at Queen's will mean a 4.0 as posted based on information from last year is impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I am in science too! I have a letter grade next to my percentage, don't you? that's so weird, a friend of mine confirmed that the only way her gpa could be the way it was is if 80+ was 4.0 because her gpa went up ~.3 ( ) This thing is just so frustrated cuz we have people confirming both what you are saying and both what sonyvaio is saying as true. I guess we should all find out the hard way, and probably revise that sticky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 well maybe they have course-specific scaling? ie easier courses may be scaled with a more tough gpa, whereas tougher courses may be scaled with a more generous gpa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennethToronto Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 well maybe they have course-specific scaling? ie easier courses may be scaled with a more tough gpa, whereas tougher courses may be scaled with a more generous gpa. I would be willing to bet a hundred billion dollars that is not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 After a phone call to AMCAS, my file was mysteriously verified the next day. One of my courses in which I was only assigned an 'A' with no percentage, was counted as a pass fail. WTF. By the way I was Queen's engineering and had the same scale as Ken. The AMCAS scale is brutal. I'm appealing the one class, but over the 51 courses I've taken it isn't going to be of much consequence. 3.87 OMSAS scale, 3.71 on the AMCAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted September 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 After a phone call to AMCAS, my file was mysteriously verified the next day. One of my courses in which I was only assigned an 'A' with no percentage, was counted as a pass fail. WTF. By the way I was Queen's engineering and had the same scale as Ken. The AMCAS scale is brutal. I'm appealing the one class, but over the 51 courses I've taken it isn't going to be of much consequence. 3.87 OMSAS scale, 3.71 on the AMCAS. Wow that's a steep drop. Ugh, I guess the AAMC has found another way of screwing with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I got my AMCAS verified. My GPA at UBC is about... 85, so thats an A. my AMCAS average was only 3.77. The scaling is a bit different than what was posted earlier. I hope this helps! an overall average such as 85% cannot be directly translated into a GPA. i.e. a 95% average does NOT automatically mean it's an "A+" Example: two students in the same class write two exams worth 50% each. student 1: exam1=80 (3.7) exam2=90 (4.0) average = 85 GPA = 3.85 student 2: exam1=85 (4.0) exam3=85 (4.0) average = 85 GPA = 4.0 see the difference? so saying that you have an 85 at UBC doesn't mean you have an "A" average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 how on earth did you drop so much A41? ken's scale is also pretty good, It helps me out a lot, not as much as sony's but it still does. and Ken, how come you don't have letter grades and only %? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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