Canadian Applicants for US Schools 2009

[THX]

Sounds like a great idea.

 

SDN cares far too much about the rankings IMO - some schools seem really fun even though their ranking many not be all that exceptional.

 

I also second the idea of sharing travel tips/information - a lot of the schools are in locations that I have no idea how to get to (Hershey!).

[SpanishFly]

I can't remember if I already asked this somewhere, but for schools that don't screen, do we have to wait to receive the secondary request email? I've already received a few, but wanted to know if I could go ahead with the rest before actually being asked to?

Also, out of curiosity, have you guys already submitted all LORs and secondaries already? I've pre-written my secondaries but my referees are taking wayyyy too long to write so I'm starting to get anxious.

[Alastriss]

Just check on the status of the reference letter with them and they will take the hint. Your goal is to get everything in and be ready before mid august to get the full advantage of applying early.

[Alastriss]

Verified today

Too bad they completely F-ed up my Credit hours and thus my GPA calc. The fact that I have fallen again to my school's conversion problem has further messed up my gpa. Everyone should double check their gpas to make sure it all worked out.

[THX]

What happened? If you are pissed of with something they did, file an academic change request - they are pretty quick (3-5 days).

[Alastriss]

What happened? If you are pissed of with something they did, file an academic change request - they are pretty quick (3-5 days).

 

 

incorrect % grade - letter grad conversions for Queen's (this was very common last year)

 

Gross inconsistencies with credit hours (some courses with labs had 3.00 credits while others had 4.00 credits, Orgo Chem with lab was 6.0 but gen chem with lab was 8)

[flamesfan]

alastriss i am sorry to hear about the mix ups

 

can you suggest anything for fellow queens applicants? i entered the letter grade and 0.5 for half and 1.0 for full and ticked lab for course with lab.

 

you have me worried... also have you had any luck with your application

[freshprince416]

I went to Queen's as well; I called AMCAS and they said that it shouldn't be a problem with the credit hours being 3 or 6 if you ticked off "with a lab component."

[Tan008]

incorrect % grade - letter grad conversions for Queen's (this was very common last year)

 

Gross inconsistencies with credit hours (some courses with labs had 3.00 credits while others had 4.00 credits, Orgo Chem with lab was 6.0 but gen chem with lab was 8)

 

I have the exact same thing with Queen's. Some of my courses (like Physics) were given the 8.0 credit hours and others (like Orgo) only 6.0 credit hours. AMCAS told me not to worry as long as I specified that it had a lab component. I am really hoping it will be fine.

 

Last year was much worse when they actually entered wrong grades for several of my science courses so, this almost doesn't seem that bad.

[optimist786]

They don't go with the primary applications. If and once you receive a secondary applcation from a school, they will tell you where and when to send the LOR. The time the LOR is requested (with the secondary, after the secondary, right before the interview) varies from school to school.

 

confused, please help. If LORS don't go out with primaries, the "Letters of Evaluation" section of the application can just be left blank?

[n00b]

You only need to fill out the LOE section on the AMCAS primary if you are applying to schools that use AMCAS' LOE service. Check the list of schools.

[KennethToronto]

For the people at Queen's: how did AMCAS convert your letter grades?

[Alastriss]

For the people at Queen's: how did AMCAS convert your letter grades?

 

Hey Kenneth, That was my problem. They converted my grades using the scale on the website, which was 87-100 = 4.0, 80-86 = 3.7, 75-79 = 3.3

I sent a Change Request about it regarding Queen's ABC/F system and they changed my marks. The official scale is what Sonyvaio posted, but you have to make sure they don't f*** it up for you. A buddy of mine didn't even notice, and now he is stuck being reviewed with a 3.5-some as he is already complete at a lot of schools.

[n00b]

This forum seriously needs more people. I'm used to forums with users responding within a couple minutes.

[Monster]

lol. I agree!!

I'm always sad when someone hasn't responded to my post within the hour:p

[n00b]

You are probably really sad by now.

 

This is why I posted.

[Monster]

Ahaha!!

 

awww..thanks for the thought!!

 

Don't worry though...SDN has restored my faith in forums 'cause the other equally addicted people answer my posts super quick!!!!!

 

I am sad that us Canadians are not getting any love though:(..you know...interview-wise

[a41]

Don't worry yet. It is still very early. I think as long as you interview before January you are in good shape. There are also Canadians in my class who interviewed in March, and they are still here.

[Alastriss]

SDN is intimidating because there are a ton of poeple, and a lot of the schools that are sending out interviews like crazy are ones we can't apply to. I remember last year these forums were raging with interviews come end of august/sept

 

a41, how are you paying for Wayne if I may ask? I didn't apply there even though i wanted to because I had no idea how I would pay back those loans.

[p9chan]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've been reading over the forums today while I put together a list of US schools to apply to. I have a few questions. =)

 

A bit of background on myself, I'm a Canadian who will be going to the University of Waterloo for my fourth year of undergrad this fall. I applied last year for early-acceptance to three Ontario schools: Ottawa, Toronto, and McMaster. I received interviews at Toronto and McMaster, was waitlisted at Toronto, and ultimately did not gain a spot in their class. My plan was to apply to more Canadian schools this time around, but none in the US. However, a friend's father, who is an MD and associate professor at the medical school at Toronto, asked me what my backup plan was. I said something about applying to graduate school and then applying again after that. He basically said, if I truly want to become a doctor, that my backup plan should be to apply to as many schools as possible (Canada, US, even Caribbean) to make sure I get in somewhere, so as to not 'waste time' doing something I'm not 100% into.

 

It was after then, that I began considering US schools. Unfortunately, this only happened a few weeks ago, and I didn't plan to start working on applications until August (now), when I finished work for the summer. So, now I'm playing catch up to educate myself on the US application game.

 

Anyways, on to my questions:

 

i) From perusing the message boards, it appears that the time of application submission is quite crucial. While I was aware that most US schools operate on a rolling admissions system, the impression I get from the forums is that the time of application is much more significant than I had previously believed. So, I ask, is it worth it to apply on this cycle?

 

ii) I need to quickly put together a list of schools to apply to. I'm thinking that due to the costs of application, and taking into account that I'll also be applying to 5-7 Canadian schools, my list of US schools will number about 5-10. How many of these should be 'reach,' 'target,' and 'safety?' In my mind, all the Canadian schools feel like 'reaches,' so the US schools I apply to should all be 'targets' and 'safeties.'

 

iii) While some schools ask all applicants for a secondary/supplementary, others do inital screening before requesting these. Financially speaking, is it worth it to throw in a bunch of these schools? For example, many of the California schools operate like this, and I'd love to go there due to climate and family, but from what I gather they rarely accept Canadians. If they were to ask me for a secondary, does that mean I'm on better footing, or will 99% still be rejected, and essentially throwing money away? Basically, I'm asking if it's worth it to throw in some of the California schools.

 

iv) This is the question everyone asks, and I've been working on it, but I wouldn't mind suggestions for 5-8 schools that are Canadian-friendly, located near Ontario, and considered easier to get into. Some that I have in mind are SUNY Upstate, Wayne State, Albany, and... that's about it so far.

 

I guess that's all for now. Big thank you for any advice, and for all of your previous discussions that have already been a big help. =) If it helps, my 'stats' (I feel like a trading card) are:

 

3.95 GPA (BCMP and non- are essentially the same)

 

38N (13B,12V,13P)

 

EC's are a little on the short side, highlights would be two summers of research in a cancer-related molecular biology lab with 2 publications (not 1st-author) in the works (won't be out by application deadline), then a bunch of random stuff like sports and volunteering in ER at hospital. Oh, I also TA'd 4 labs during my third year, and some other stuff. For what it's worth, my LORs should be very decent since I actually know the professors I would be asking. Hmmm... reading this part over, I can see that I sound like a humongous nerd, especially since I tend to write less casually than most. It's just that a lot of what I do with my spare time (i.e. working out, playing pickup ball, part of committee for a Christian fellowship, um... playing Starcraft =S ) isn't stuff that I usually see people mention as EC's on here (i.e. any sort of clinical experience, shadowing, etc.).

 

Thanks again for any help! =D

[Alastriss]

with your stats, yes it is, but I wouldn't delay any longer.

From Case western's site (not verbatim)

- Taking the august MCAT would not hurt your application, but any later will hurt your chances.

 

You should get on that asap and get your LORs in order now

 

 

 

btw, for those who didn't get a cdn acceptance but did apply, are you saying you applied to medical school previously for the US apps?

[p9chan]

with your stats, yes it is, but I wouldn't delay any longer.

From Case western's site (not verbatim)

- Taking the august MCAT would not hurt your application, but any later will hurt your chances.

 

You should get on that asap and get your LORs in order now

 

Hey Alastriss, sorry, I can't tell, are you replying to my post?

 

If so, then yes, I will get on stuff asap.

 

btw, for those who didn't get a cdn acceptance but did apply, are you saying you applied to medical school previously for the US apps?

 

I didn't apply previously to the US. Only to Canadian schools before.

[schnauzr]

I think it's worth it to apply, especially with your stats.

But my opinion is that you shouldn't limit the number of schools you're applying to due to the cost of the application.

Unless you have solid financial support from family (in which case, you wouldn't need to worry about the application cost anyway), you're going to have to get in debt anyway, so if you're really intent on getting in this year, you should apply to as many schools as time and your effort allow.

Though, it may be strategically a better idea to focus all your time on fewer applications.

As for the Californian schools, all the University of California ones do not take in international students (although UCLA does seem to claim that it does, so I'm not too sure about this one), but Stanford does take in international students, so you might want to look into that. Stanford seems to really like research experience, which you do have, so I think it'll be a good shot for you.

I think University of Southern California also takes in some international students each year as stated on MSAR.

[Alastriss]

yeah u can't hold back at all when it comes to costs for apps

 

I have been shipping UPS for some secondaries to get them there the next day, and I have wasted 60 bucks sending LORs that didn't have my AAMC ID in it. It's not even my money, its my parents, and it does hurt. But this is MED SCHOOL. We haven't busted our nuts and chugged red bull like its water in a desert oasis to come this far and cop out on a few bucks. Its like running the marathon and then deciding that you're too tired to run through the tape.

 

Yeah I was referring to you, I p9chan regarding applying. Get on it asap. A lot of schools that are top are also rolling!

 

So for those of you who didn't get into a cdn school and never applied to the US like me, are you saying no to previous application?

[Art Vandelay]

So for those of you who didn't get into a cdn school and never applied to the US like me, are you saying no to previous application?

 

I said "Yes". Were you thinking that the schools might view previous applicants less favourably?