Cale Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 Hi everybody... I have been around for a while but do not post too often I recently applied to Calgary as a mature student and IP and did not even come close to an interview. I am 32 and was an Emergency Medical Technican (before going back to school). I completed an honours degree in Neuroscience (GPA 3.61 - 3.88 last two) and I have recently completed a Masters in Public Health (GPA 3.8). I am currently on my internship with the United Nations in Nepal and have 6+ years of medical volunteer experience (including 2 years overseas). Problem: I have a depressing MCAT at 26M ( Kaplan writing samples) and I have one year of University 14 year ago that is dragging me down. Anybody in this boat and any suggestions? My career is starting to take me in a different direction and I am not sure how much longer I can keep applying? Thanks and good luck to those applying this year!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 I think you might have a number of options, but being willing to relocate might be necessary... I'm not really familiar with most schools in the country, so this is not complete advice, it's just an idea, as my particular med school (Ottawa U) comes to mind when you mention your situation... I don't know if you would meet the cutoffs & if you would be willing to move there, but it might be worth looking into? Ottawa doesn't not require/consider MCAT scores, so that might be good in your situation. Also, they have a way of considering your GPA that helps if you did better in your last yrs... (last yr counts 3 times, yr before that counts twice, & yr before that counts once... anything else, such as first yr, doesn't count at all). The thing with Ottawa though is that the GPA cutoffs are really high, especially for out of province applicants (something around 3.85 is what I hear?)... So I guess it depends on what you get if you use the equation above... You can look it up on other posts in the Ottawa thread or in the OMSAS application booklet, & don't hesitate to message me if you have questions. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cale Posted October 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2007 Thanks for the info Julie. I will look into it. I am willing to move anywhere (and I mean anywhere) just seems like most OPP cutoffs are not in my favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted October 7, 2007 Report Share Posted October 7, 2007 Hi Cale, Is a Master of Public Health course based? If so, Ottawa will count all your years from your grad degree as your last year of undergrad (so year 3 in the calculation). That is if it took you 2 or 3 years to complete your grad school, it will count as 1 year of undergrad...if the program is course-based. They will do this only if your undergrad wGPA doesn`t meet the cut-offs. So if your first 2 years is the thing holding you back, that could help get rid of them in the calculation. If your program was not course-based, then there is the academic grad stream where you may be invited to submit a package...I don`t know much about it...but there you would have the opportunity to demonstrate your productivity etc during grad school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted October 7, 2007 Report Share Posted October 7, 2007 Hi Cale, I am in a somewhat similar situation....I've PM'd you with some suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuantum Posted October 7, 2007 Report Share Posted October 7, 2007 Ubc....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted October 7, 2007 Report Share Posted October 7, 2007 I recently applied to Calgary as a mature student and IP and did not even come close to an interview. I am 32 and was an Emergency Medical Technican (before going back to school). I completed an honours degree in Neuroscience (GPA 3.61 - 3.88 last two) and I have recently completed a Masters in Public Health (GPA 3.8). I am currently on my internship with the United Nations in Nepal and have 6+ years of medical volunteer experience (including 2 years overseas). Problem: I have a depressing MCAT at 26M ( Kaplan writing samples) and I have one year of University 14 year ago that is dragging me down. Shoot. I just wrote a long reply, but had a little internet trouble before it was posted. I'll try again - but it is likely to be shorter this time.... The gist of my message was about re-writing the MCAT. If you re-write the exam, and get a mark of 30, your options open up. Rather than applying broadly and hoping to squeeze into a medical school, you will be applying confidently knowing you will get some interviews. Queen's and Western both offer guaranteed interviews with the right GPA and MCAT marks. Dalhousie considers non-academic factors when granting OOP interviews, provided you meet the GPA and MCAT cut-offs. Re-writing the MCAT can be a daunting task. I've been there. Like you, I'm a paramedic. After writing the MCAT three times, I resigned myself to not getting into med school. I had gotten marks in the mid-high 20s, but never the 30 that I needed. I am only eligible for schools that consider just 2-3 years of course-work, rather than all courses ever taken, since I had a dismal start to university back in 1995. Anyway, it was my manager who convinced me to re-write the exam. I became a supervisor about a year and a half ago, figuring that I should consider other options in the paramedic world. I am fortunate to have some great supporters at work, and I do enjoy my job. However, as my manager reminded me, while I am happy at work, there are numerous times when I'm not satisfied. He also pointed out that I can do more good fulfilling my dream as a small town family physician, than I can as a paramedic supervisor. I told my manager that the road to med school was too long, and that I had decided that it wasn't a path I was going to pursue. After all, I would need to re-write the MCAT again, plus do more university coursework. (While I have two years at 3.78, one of those years had 3.0 courses while the other one had 7.0 courses. As such, only Queen's and Dalhousie consider me to have completed two years of full time studies.) However, after our meeting, I could think of little else. Knowing in my heart that I want to be a physician, I once again looked into exactly what would be required. I decided to re-write the MCAT before looking at more university. After all, when I had written it before, I had been working full time plus going to school. This time, I decided to just work while doing the exam. I changed my study method as well, this time using the Examkracker 10-week study plan. I studies from March until May, and wrote the exam May 16. At times, I am still in disbelief of my mark - 32R. I continue to go back to the AAMC website to remind myself that I actually did it this time! I have returned to university as a non-degree student this year, taking a full time course load, in order to apply to Western. I applied to med school for September 2008. While just six months ago, I didn't think med school could be a reality for me, due to some poor choices I made at university 12 years ago, this year I may actually get in! I will have at least one guaranteed interview this year (Western), one possible interview (Queen's - provided the GPA cut-off remains at 3.78, as that is my exact cut-off) and one maybe interview (Dalhousie - they consider non-academic portions of the application to determine OOP interviews - but there may be as many as 500 applicants for those 50 OOP interviews). However, all it takes is one interview to get in. Thus, in less than a year, I could actually be a first year medical student! Considering re-writing the MCAT can be a daunting task, and a hard pill to swallow, especially when you have other career options. However, don't let one exam stop you from fulfilling your dream. We are fortunate in Canada that schools don't care how many times you write the exam. In addition, there are med schools that will forgive past poor marks. It sounds like you've done a fantastic job at improving your GPA. You can do the same with your MCAT mark! I wish you all the best in your journey! Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Elaine, that was a great post. As a person who is quite anxious about their mcat mark that comes out on wednessday, I feel relieved to know that there is room for strong will and determination to play a factor in the road to medical school. Best of luck to you and the OP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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