FAQ: What are my chances?

[MDCulture]

Hey guys, I wanted to know what my chances are for Canada med schools primarily Ontario

I am a new permanent resident and I finished my undergraduate outside Canada (in UK)

GPA (WES converted): 3.83

MCAT: Planning to sit Summer of 2021

ECs: one year work experience as an engineer, manager of engineering projects at university, multiple positions held in student societies, chair of student union council, volunteer at cancer charity, African agriculture research project, 1.5 years working as a A&E hospital volunteer (that was 4 years ago though) and more

I am currently doing my masters at UofT with the intention to apply in the 2021 cycle, does anyone have any idea what my chances are?

Thanks.

[LilDoc17]

Haha this chart is amazing. Love it.

[BlueKhaki8]

Hi guys,

I’m a student in third year and just wanted someone to read over my stats. I'm an Ontario resident. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated (especially harsh ones)! I divided my app into high school and university:

CURRENT cGPA: 3.88 Year 1: 3.87 Year 2: 3.9 (for whole year, 3.73 if excluding second sem + full year courses D:) Year 3: Predicted to be around 3.92-3.93

MCAT: TBD 

HIGHSCHOOL

Service

• For a personal project, I led a team of 6 people that helped raise funds and refurbish an impoverished pediatric cancer ward in the Philippines (200 hours)

• Head of my school’s branch of KYTHE, a non-profit organization that provides palliative care for pediatric cancer patients in the Philippines (200 hours)

Leadership

• My school’s Head of Student Learning, where I helped coordinate all charity activities between our students and external organization (200+ hours)

Volunteering

• I interned at my uncle’s clinic (w/out pay), where I shadowed minor operations (e.g. circumcisions) and helped with clinic logistics (100 hours)

UNIVERSITY

Service

• Member of Gilda’s Club - an organization that provides community support to individuals and families who are currently undergoing cancer (Ongoing, but not so much because of CoVID)

• Currently applying to be a member of Youth Assisting Youth, an organization where volunteers act as peer mentors to at risk youth (100 hours, ongoing)

Leadership

• Executive Team Head of Internal Affairs for a student organization for Filipino students that does regular cultural and academic activities (Ongoing, 100+ hours)

• Executive Team - Head of Internal Affairs for an organization focused on helping underrepresented minorities attain research positions (100+ hours)

Research

I should have 2 publications by the end of third year (affiliated with SickKids and TGH), all of them with me being a credited author. 

Employment

• Currently employed at TGH as a Research Assistant (100+ hours)

• Tutor first years for biology + chemistry (100+ hours)

Awards

• Dean’s List for 3 years straight

• Scholarship for Academic Excellence for 3 years straight

 

Hobbies + Misc

• Started a podcast aimed at providing a platform for minorities in their respective fields

• Scholarship for Academic Excellence for 3 years 

• As a hobby, I make my own ice cream flavors + run an IG to post these flavors

• Gym 3 hours a week 

• I lead a comic book reading club outside of school (50+ hours, ongoing)

 

I feel like the weakest part of my app would be my GPA - my predicted GPA for UofT would be like 3.95, but then for everything else it would be around 3.89-ish. Would a 3.89 still be considered competitive? 

 

Thanks so much for the input guys, it's greatly appreciated  

[Psych]

10 hours ago, BlueKhaki8 said:

Hi guys,

I’m a student in third year and just wanted someone to read over my stats. I'm an Ontario resident. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated (especially harsh ones)! I divided my app into high school and university:

CURRENT cGPA: 3.88 Year 1: 3.87 Year 2: 3.9 (for whole year, 3.73 if excluding second sem + full year courses D:) Year 3: Predicted to be around 3.92-3.93

MCAT: TBD 

HIGHSCHOOL

Service

• For a personal project, I led a team of 6 people that helped raise funds and refurbish an impoverished pediatric cancer ward in the Philippines (200 hours)

• Head of my school’s branch of KYTHE, a non-profit organization that provides palliative care for pediatric cancer patients in the Philippines (200 hours)

Leadership

• My school’s Head of Student Learning, where I helped coordinate all charity activities between our students and external organization (200+ hours)

Volunteering

• I interned at my uncle’s clinic (w/out pay), where I shadowed minor operations (e.g. circumcisions) and helped with clinic logistics (100 hours)

UNIVERSITY

Service

• Member of Gilda’s Club - an organization that provides community support to individuals and families who are currently undergoing cancer (Ongoing, but not so much because of CoVID)

• Currently applying to be a member of Youth Assisting Youth, an organization where volunteers act as peer mentors to at risk youth (100 hours, ongoing)

Leadership

• Executive Team Head of Internal Affairs for a student organization for Filipino students that does regular cultural and academic activities (Ongoing, 100+ hours)

• Executive Team - Head of Internal Affairs for an organization focused on helping underrepresented minorities attain research positions (100+ hours)

Research

I should have 2 publications by the end of third year (affiliated with SickKids and TGH), all of them with me being a credited author. 

Employment

• Currently employed at TGH as a Research Assistant (100+ hours)

• Tutor first years for biology + chemistry (100+ hours)

Awards

• Dean’s List for 3 years straight

• Scholarship for Academic Excellence for 3 years straight

 

Hobbies + Misc

• Started a podcast aimed at providing a platform for minorities in their respective fields

• Scholarship for Academic Excellence for 3 years 

• As a hobby, I make my own ice cream flavors + run an IG to post these flavors

• Gym 3 hours a week 

• I lead a comic book reading club outside of school (50+ hours, ongoing)

 

I feel like the weakest part of my app would be my GPA - my predicted GPA for UofT would be like 3.95, but then for everything else it would be around 3.89-ish. Would a 3.89 still be considered competitive? 

 

Thanks so much for the input guys, it's greatly appreciated  

3.89 is definitely competitive, especially since your ECs are good. Quite a few schools only use GPA as a cutoff and you definitely make all of them. Even for schools that use GPA competitively, 3.89 is still in the competitive range. As long as you meet the MCAT cutoffs for each school (aim for 128+ in each section, especially cars, although some 127s or 126s can be okay depending on the school) , you have a good shot

[BlueKhaki8]

2 hours ago, Psych said:

3.89 is definitely competitive, especially since your ECs are good. Quite a few schools only use GPA as a cutoff and you definitely make all of them. Even for schools that use GPA competitively, 3.89 is still in the competitive range. As long as you meet the MCAT cutoffs for each school (aim for 128+ in each section, especially cars, although some 127s or 126s can be okay depending on the school) , you have a good shot

Thank you so much for your input :) i definitely got freaked out by r/premedcanada, since everyone there seems to have 3.9+ GPA haha 

Can you recommend any ways that my app can be improved? Should I include more volunteering into my application? 
 

Thanks!

[Psych]

On 11/27/2020 at 1:10 PM, BlueKhaki8 said:

Thank you so much for your input i definitely got freaked out by r/premedcanada, since everyone there seems to have 3.9+ GPA haha 

Can you recommend any ways that my app can be improved? Should I include more volunteering into my application? 
 

Thanks!

Volunteering never hurts, but the main thing they care about with ECs is just that you show the CANmeds roles (you can google them if you don't know them), and have some (as many as possible) that are longer-term commitments. It's more important what you can say you learned from your ECs and how they shaped you as a person than what they are. Yours look like they're on the right track to me!

I would just focus on your MCAT and maintaining as high a GPA as you can, and keeping up with current ECs if you can

[Labrat_8]

Hello! I will be applying to med-schools for the first time in Fall 2021. Here are my stats: 

Y1 GPA: 3.82/88% (30 credits)

Y2 GPA: 3.55/83% (33 credits)

Y3 GPA: 3.88/89% (28 credits)

Y4 GPA: 3.96/91% (24 credits)

cGPA: 3.78/87%

AGPA (worst year excluded): 3.88/89%

MCAT: Will take in May 2021

ECs: Mostly research intensive (3 summers of research (2 were funded by major research awards), 2 pubs, 1 abstract), VP of a 3 student clubs, founder and president of a student club, undergraduate TA for some classes, tutoring

I graduated in 2019 and have been working in an allied healthcare setting since then. My work involves interacting with patients, a majority of them are immigrants of south-asian descent. 

I will be considered in-province for BC. 

So, here comes the eternal premed applicant question, what are my chances for an MD/PhD program? Does my abysmal year 2 gpa decrease my chances of an interview? Does my current job make up for my lack of volunteering experience in undergrad or do I need to volunteer more? 

[bearded frog]

UBC NAQ can be a black box. Obviously some element of volunteerism is valued, but its not like they have specific points assigned, so its difficult to say how much it will impact.

You seem well set up for the MD part, but if you really haven't done ANY volunteering and its impossible to know how much that hurts you. It's all kind of silly since it's fairly obvious that most medical students do volunteering because it's seen as required to get into medical school. Maybe start something now, doesn't have to be a ton of hours, even just something weekly, ie food bank, big brothers/sisters, shelters/outreach, etc. Doesn't have to be health care related since it seems you already have that covered. Long term commitments are appreciated more than variety in that regard. Again, I don't know how high-yield this would be or if it would really be worth your time if you're already overextended.

For the MD/PhD it will depend on how your research is perceived, the details of your research experience/publications, and the letters of recommendation you get from your supervisor(s). Your undergrad GPA will actually matter less for the PhD compared to the MD (its easier to get into a PhD program than medical school).

[Jessi]

 

my chances?
I have done bachelors in pharmacy (3.1GPA for 4 years) (AGPA is 77%) outside canada. Also i have done pharmacy technician course two years in Canada (3.8GPA).

how would i know if my GPA is enough before i go for MCAT. Honestly my AGPA is close to 77-78%

4 years of registered pharmacy technician experience (2 years long term pharmacy,1 year retail and 1 year hospital pharmacy)

 

• Preferring UBC
• MCAT:-TBD

[offmychestplease]

43 minutes ago, Jessi said:

 

 

my chances?
I have done bachelors in pharmacy (3.1GPA for 4 years) (AGPA is 77%) outside canada. Also i have done pharmacy technician course two years in Canada (3.8GPA).

how would i know if my GPA is enough before i go for MCAT. Honestly my AGPA is close to 77-78%

4 years of registered pharmacy technician experience (2 years long term pharmacy,1 year retail and 1 year hospital pharmacy)

 

• Preferring UBC
• MCAT:-TBD

your chances are close to 0. Do not do the MCAT, start another undergrad degree.

[Maxcorsa]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance to those who read & reply:

I'll be applying as a non-trad in Ontario in a few years with what I'd describe as a story of triumph & self-discovery (battling mental health issues throughout uni). I'm about to begin the last semester of my undergrad & will be starting a master's in translational medicine, wherein I'll gain patient contact hours and collect samples for my own research into pulmonary arterial hypertension. I plan on continuing to have relevant experiences between now and when I apply, but these are what I have to-date.

-GPA: Projected cGPA is 3.3, though this consists of an upward trend from many dropped courses in 1st year and a 2.9 in 2nd year to a 3rd + 4th year average of ~3.89 (assuming I can repeat my Fall 2020 performance). Not all terms have been a full, 5-course load. To my knowledge, I'll only be able to apply to Mac, Queen's, UBC, U of Alberta & U of T.

-MCAT: Writing Summer 2021!

-ECs/related experiences: 

--Uni--

• Exec on departmental student council (DSC), have led orientation events for younger students, midterm review sessions, prepared a DSC budget for events
• Varsity triathlon club, planning local races & training with the team
• TA'ing, hosted tutorials and provided guidance to students for 3 semesters (thus far, expecting another 4 during masters)
• "Chess & Health" club, mix of playing chess with/providing companionship to stroke/Alzheimer's patients pre-covid & playing chess with young children (6-8 yrs old) online during covid
• Tutoring, ~20 students in math & science since 2019 ranging from gr 10 - 1st year uni
• Educational tech assistant, started this year w/ classes going online. Working with professors across the university to prepare & deliver their courses online, have given workshops to TAs on using new tech tools. 
• Elementary school education assistant, the past couple of years, I've gone in after classes have finished in April to help out with lesson delivery a few days a week, keeping the kids (mostly) engaged and happy until they finish in June

 

--HS--

• "Mission trip" to Jamaica, I went to a Catholic high school & spent a March break teaching/spending time with kids in impoverished communities in Kingston, Jamaica. There was a good deal of bonding and getting to know the good & bad of their lives. Also helped build a home while there.
• Toronto street retreat, volunteered in a soup kitchen, passed out homemade sandwiches to the homeless and toured the Gay Village with a local community leader, learned about local LGBTQ+ hardships.
• Jazz/symphonic trumpet player, competed around the US and performed at local venues
• Track/cross country runner, won a provincial title in CC

-For hobbies, I'd mostly be writing about running, music and chess (all very old pastimes).

 

I recognize that with my GPA, even with the strong upward trend, it's a long shot. On any essay components, I'm going to be writing about battling depression and depersonalization while clawing back my grades from 1st year.

I'm doing the master's before applying as I'm interested in teachers college as a fallback & it helps with starting salary + I'll be able to publish & gain clinical experience. I'm doing both the B.Sc & M.Sc at Queen's, & so my thesis is that with my strong(?) 2-year GPA alongside a master's, ideally a 515+ MCAT and continuing to build on my ECs, I'll be a competitive applicant for a Queen's MD.

 

Thank you so much to anyone who's taken the time to read this & write a reply, I greatly appreciate it.

 

Cheers & good health, 

Max

 

 

[Jamal_Murray MD]

51 minutes ago, Maxcorsa said:

Hi everyone, thanks in advance to those who read & reply:

I'll be applying as a non-trad in Ontario in a few years with what I'd describe as a story of triumph & self-discovery (battling mental health issues throughout uni). I'm about to begin the last semester of my undergrad & will be starting a master's in translational medicine, wherein I'll gain patient contact hours and collect samples for my own research into pulmonary arterial hypertension. I plan on continuing to have relevant experiences between now and when I apply, but these are what I have to-date.

-GPA: Projected cGPA is 3.3, though this consists of an upward trend from many dropped courses in 1st year and a 2.9 in 2nd year to a 3rd + 4th year average of ~3.89 (assuming I can repeat my Fall 2020 performance). Not all terms have been a full, 5-course load. To my knowledge, I'll only be able to apply to Mac, Queen's, UBC, U of Alberta & U of T.

-MCAT: Writing Summer 2021!

-ECs/related experiences: 

--Uni--

• Exec on departmental student council (DSC), have led orientation events for younger students, midterm review sessions, prepared a DSC budget for events
• Varsity triathlon club, planning local races & training with the team
• TA'ing, hosted tutorials and provided guidance to students for 3 semesters (thus far, expecting another 4 during masters)
• "Chess & Health" club, mix of playing chess with/providing companionship to stroke/Alzheimer's patients pre-covid & playing chess with young children (6-8 yrs old) online during covid
• Tutoring, ~20 students in math & science since 2019 ranging from gr 10 - 1st year uni
• Educational tech assistant, started this year w/ classes going online. Working with professors across the university to prepare & deliver their courses online, have given workshops to TAs on using new tech tools. 
• Elementary school education assistant, the past couple of years, I've gone in after classes have finished in April to help out with lesson delivery a few days a week, keeping the kids (mostly) engaged and happy until they finish in June

 

--HS--

• "Mission trip" to Jamaica, I went to a Catholic high school & spent a March break teaching/spending time with kids in impoverished communities in Kingston, Jamaica. There was a good deal of bonding and getting to know the good & bad of their lives. Also helped build a home while there.
• Toronto street retreat, volunteered in a soup kitchen, passed out homemade sandwiches to the homeless and toured the Gay Village with a local community leader, learned about local LGBTQ+ hardships.
• Jazz/symphonic trumpet player, competed around the US and performed at local venues
• Track/cross country runner, won a provincial title in CC

-For hobbies, I'd mostly be writing about running, music and chess (all very old pastimes).

 

I recognize that with my GPA, even with the strong upward trend, it's a long shot. On any essay components, I'm going to be writing about battling depression and depersonalization while clawing back my grades from 1st year.

I'm doing the master's before applying as I'm interested in teachers college as a fallback & it helps with starting salary + I'll be able to publish & gain clinical experience. I'm doing both the B.Sc & M.Sc at Queen's, & so my thesis is that with my strong(?) 2-year GPA alongside a master's, ideally a 515+ MCAT and continuing to build on my ECs, I'll be a competitive applicant for a Queen's MD.

 

Thank you so much to anyone who's taken the time to read this & write a reply, I greatly appreciate it.

 

Cheers & good health, 

Max

 

 

Hi Max. I commend you for your resilience and perseverance in your journey to medical school. I just wanted to give you my take for the schools you mentioned. I figured the best advice to give is the one that isn't sugar-coated, so I apologize if this isn't what you may want to hear.

-Mac: unfortunately, with a cgpa of 3.3, you stand next to no chance without doing a second undergrad. Even then, pulling up a low cgpa is very tough and you'd probably need a 130+ CARS and near perfect casper to stand a chance.

-Queens: You definitely stand a chance there so long as you continue your recent school performance. EC's look solid to me so you would need to do well on the MCAT. Also bear in mind that queens is a blackbox in terms of their admissions so no one knows what they really look for.

-UBC: I assumed that based on your post you would be OOP for UBC, you would unfortunately not stand a chance as they have a high OOP cutoff (85% iirc). In addition, they are excluding winter 2020 from the gpa calculation which doesn't help you considering you had a 3.89 for that year. Also, just seeing the stats of people getting rejected this year from UBC, I would be inclined to say that this is a long shot.

-UofA: Again, I'm assuming you are OOP based on your post. They require at least 1 year of a full course load and that year can't be removed from the gpa calculation. If they do remove your worst year, then there may be some hope. However, the median GPA of the class of 2024 was 3.96 and the lowest was 3.55. It will be extremely tough but not impossible.

-UofT: Considering you don't have a full course load, you won't qualify for wgpa. Your cgpa is definitely too low and you won't stand a chance (the average gpa was 3.96 in recent years and people on this forum have speculated that they have an internal cutoff of 3.75-3.8). 

 

That being said, your best bet would be to enrol in a second undergrad and kill the next 2 years at a full course load (a master's won't do much in terms of GPA which is whats holding you down). The reality of your situation is that you currently have no chance at almost every school, and if you aren't able to kill a second undergrad, getting admitted in Canada will be extremely tough. Hope this helps you out! 

[Maxcorsa]

7 hours ago, Jamal_Murray MD said:

Hi Max. I commend you for your resilience and perseverance in your journey to medical school. I just wanted to give you my take for the schools you mentioned. I figured the best advice to give is the one that isn't sugar-coated, so I apologize if this isn't what you may want to hear.

-Mac: unfortunately, with a cgpa of 3.3, you stand next to no chance without doing a second undergrad. Even then, pulling up a low cgpa is very tough and you'd probably need a 130+ CARS and near perfect casper to stand a chance.

-Queens: You definitely stand a chance there so long as you continue your recent school performance. EC's look solid to me so you would need to do well on the MCAT. Also bear in mind that queens is a blackbox in terms of their admissions so no one knows what they really look for.

-UBC: I assumed that based on your post you would be OOP for UBC, you would unfortunately not stand a chance as they have a high OOP cutoff (85% iirc). In addition, they are excluding winter 2020 from the gpa calculation which doesn't help you considering you had a 3.89 for that year. Also, just seeing the stats of people getting rejected this year from UBC, I would be inclined to say that this is a long shot.

-UofA: Again, I'm assuming you are OOP based on your post. They require at least 1 year of a full course load and that year can't be removed from the gpa calculation. If they do remove your worst year, then there may be some hope. However, the median GPA of the class of 2024 was 3.96 and the lowest was 3.55. It will be extremely tough but not impossible.

-UofT: Considering you don't have a full course load, you won't qualify for wgpa. Your cgpa is definitely too low and you won't stand a chance (the average gpa was 3.96 in recent years and people on this forum have speculated that they have an internal cutoff of 3.75-3.8). 

 

That being said, your best bet would be to enrol in a second undergrad and kill the next 2 years at a full course load (a master's won't do much in terms of GPA which is whats holding you down). The reality of your situation is that you currently have no chance at almost every school, and if you aren't able to kill a second undergrad, getting admitted in Canada will be extremely tough. Hope this helps you out! 

Hi Jamal,

 

Thank you so much for looking through my post I recognize that it's probably a pipe dream, but depending on the MCAT outcome, I'll apply to Mac & Queen's. I think Queen's is my only real shot & I hope the clinical experience/grad degree alongside further building my ECs + a strong MCAT will land me an interview. I'll keep pushing!

[MD-phd]

Hello Everyone,

I am PhD student in the field of engineering and I want to study MD. follow is my resume and I intend to take MCAT by end of 2021. 

GPA undergraduate: 3.56/4.00 outside of CA

GPA master: 3.90/4.00 outside of CA

GPA PhD: 3.7/4.00 (in the field of biotechnology and engineering), York U

Publications: 12 ISI journals in the field of engineering and biotechnology

Scholarships and awards form universities in Canada and Germany

ISI journal reviewer and referee

Work experience as researcher in the field of engineering and science in universities outside of Canada (3 years).

Expected to have volunteer experiences (one year) in hospital and life labs by the end of 2023 (the year I am going to start my MD).

My goal is UofT and I want to know your idea for the chance of admission.

[TheFlyGuy]

6 hours ago, MD-phd said:

Hello Everyone,

I am PhD student in the field of engineering and I want to study MD. follow is my resume and I intend to take MCAT by end of 2021. 

GPA undergraduate: 3.56/4.00 outside of CA

GPA master: 3.90/4.00 outside of CA

GPA PhD: 3.7/4.00 (in the field of biotechnology and engineering), York U

Publications: 12 ISI journals in the field of engineering and biotechnology

Scholarships and awards form universities in Canada and Germany

ISI journal reviewer and referee

Work experience as researcher in the field of engineering and science in universities outside of Canada (3 years).

Expected to have volunteer experiences (one year) in hospital and life labs by the end of 2023 (the year I am going to start my MD).

My goal is UofT and I want to know your idea for the chance of admission.

I'll mostly focus on Ontario seeing as how you're interested in U of T (and most ON schools do not consider your home province, except Mac), but if you live in a different province definitely consider looking into & applying there as well as you'll have a much better shot if you have IP status at a non-Ontario school.

It's a bit hard for us to judge how likely you are to be accepted without a breakdown of your undergrad gpa (year by year, or with different weighting formulas like is used at U of T) but, unfortunately, as a general statement, a 3.56 will probably disqualify you from most schools in the province out of the gate. For some of them (Queens, Western) the trend of your gpa will matter a great deal (Queens uses your most recent 2 year gpa, and Western your best 2 years), so that could make you competitive for those schools if you had a couple of years that were much better than others (>3.8 roughly, but preferably higher). For Mac you do have an outside shot with a really really strong Casper and CARS score (>130) on the MCAT, but it will definitely be a long shot. U of T does offer a decent bonus for PhD students who have the degree in progress (even more if it's completed), so you would be eligible to apply there with your current gpa, but unless you're eligible for their weighting formula and it helps you substantially, you'll likely be a bit behind the 8-ball here as well. For reference, for graduate applicants, 3.7 and up is considered competitive, and most I know that actually got in were a bit higher than this.

So end of the day have a good look at how much the different gpa calculations around the province help you out and you'll have a much better idea of how viable your chances are (also assuming the mcat goes well, which is another big part of it). Unfortunately, grad school grades count for virtually nothing when it comes to the med admissions process, so really it's all on your undergrad gpa. 

[Labrat_8]

On 12/22/2020 at 9:56 AM, bearded frog said:

UBC NAQ can be a black box. Obviously some element of volunteerism is valued, but its not like they have specific points assigned, so its difficult to say how much it will impact.

You seem well set up for the MD part, but if you really haven't done ANY volunteering and its impossible to know how much that hurts you. It's all kind of silly since it's fairly obvious that most medical students do volunteering because it's seen as required to get into medical school. Maybe start something now, doesn't have to be a ton of hours, even just something weekly, ie food bank, big brothers/sisters, shelters/outreach, etc. Doesn't have to be health care related since it seems you already have that covered. Long term commitments are appreciated more than variety in that regard. Again, I don't know how high-yield this would be or if it would really be worth your time if you're already overextended.

For the MD/PhD it will depend on how your research is perceived, the details of your research experience/publications, and the letters of recommendation you get from your supervisor(s). Your undergrad GPA will actually matter less for the PhD compared to the MD (its easier to get into a PhD program than medical school).

Thank you for your suggestions. I really appreciate it. 

[MD-phd]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:43 AM, TheFlyGuy said:

I'll mostly focus on Ontario seeing as how you're interested in U of T (and most ON schools do not consider your home province, except Mac), but if you live in a different province definitely consider looking into & applying there as well as you'll have a much better shot if you have IP status at a non-Ontario school.

It's a bit hard for us to judge how likely you are to be accepted without a breakdown of your undergrad gpa (year by year, or with different weighting formulas like is used at U of T) but, unfortunately, as a general statement, a 3.56 will probably disqualify you from most schools in the province out of the gate. For some of them (Queens, Western) the trend of your gpa will matter a great deal (Queens uses your most recent 2 year gpa, and Western your best 2 years), so that could make you competitive for those schools if you had a couple of years that were much better than others (>3.8 roughly, but preferably higher). For Mac you do have an outside shot with a really really strong Casper and CARS score (>130) on the MCAT, but it will definitely be a long shot. U of T does offer a decent bonus for PhD students who have the degree in progress (even more if it's completed), so you would be eligible to apply there with your current gpa, but unless you're eligible for their weighting formula and it helps you substantially, you'll likely be a bit behind the 8-ball here as well. For reference, for graduate applicants, 3.7 and up is considered competitive, and most I know that actually got in were a bit higher than this.

So end of the day have a good look at how much the different gpa calculations around the province help you out and you'll have a much better idea of how viable your chances are (also assuming the mcat goes well, which is another big part of it). Unfortunately, grad school grades count for virtually nothing when it comes to the med admissions process, so really it's all on your undergrad gpa. 

Thank you for the helpful explanation regarding my application and resume. My GPA in undergraduate is:

first year: 3.9

Second year: 3.32

Third year: 3.5

forth year: 3.53  

and I have passed 143 credit during my undergraduate program. I don't know how the weight-GPA is calculated. However, I think I don't have good chance to be admitted for MD program in Ontario. If I have any chance for the admission to the Ontario's universities I appreciate it help me with that.

Regards and many thanks

 

[MD-phd]

2 hours ago, MD-phd said:

Thank you for the helpful explanation regarding my application and resume. My GPA in undergraduate is:

first year: 3.9

Second year: 3.32

Third year: 3.5

forth year: 3.53  

and I have passed 143 credit during my undergraduate program. I don't know how the weight-GPA is calculated exactly. but I calculated my wGPA according to the methods mentioned in UofT website and it was 3.66 (cumulative GPA). However, I think I don't have good chance to be admitted for MD program in Ontario. If I have any chance for the admission to the Ontario's universities I appreciate it help me with that.

Regards and many thanks

 

 

[Maxcorsa]

Hey gang, following up on my original post a little further up the page:

 

Since Queen's only takes your best two years (for me, these would be the 2019-2020 & 2020-2021 academic years) + the fact they're not counting winter 2020 in GPA calcs, assuming I close out this term as I'm hoping to, I'll be applying with a 3.93 GPA. @Jamal_Murray MD replied above saying that my ECs were good (& I plan on building them more before applying in 1-2 years); if I were to score say a 515+ on the MCAT, would you say I have a strong chance of getting an interview? As before, I very much appreciate everyone's time and advice  

 

Cheers!

[ILikeMed]

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[premedengineer]

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[Butterfly_]

 

57 minutes ago, premedengineer said:

Hi everyone, I was hoping if I could get a quick chance-me and if you could let me know if you see any holes in my application. I hope to pursue medicine in an intervention-based field and, after many, many years, use my technical engineering background to create my own medical device start-up and fill in the needs of my specialty. I have a year left in my program so I added some predictions. 

Program: BME w/ coop in Ontario. Each coop is 4 months full-time

 

I think you have diverse life experiences , unique CV, and great stats. If you got an internship at Mckinsey, you're probably a charismatic fella--you'll likely do well on the interviews. Great chances if you ace the MCAT and Casper. 

Best to apply broadly across Canada because luck is a big factor in med school admissions. 

Good luck :)!

[ILikeMed]

Hi guys, I'm wondering how I would fare if I applied next year with my school list below (I am a Canadian Citizen)

• State/Country of Residence: Canada (Ontario)

• Ties to other States/Regions: N/A

• Year in School: 3

• Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Life sciences major

• Graduate Degrees (if applicable): N/A

• Cumulative GPA: 3.93 (upward trend)

• Science GPA: 3.91

• MCAT Score(s): 516 (129/129/129/129)

• Research Experience: 70 hours.

• Publications/Abstracts/Posters (include how you were credited e.g. First author, second author, etc.): 1 second author publication

• Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): 150 volunteer hours

• Physician Shadowing: 50 hours

• Non-Clinical Volunteering: 200 hours

• Other Extracurricular Activities: NGO founder and president that gives aid to countries in case of natural disasters (The mayor of one of the cities we aided complimented on the NGO)

• Other Employment History: Lifeguard (4 Years counting, though haven't worked much the past couple years)

• Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): Y (But did medicine at an international school)

• Specialty of Interest (if applicable): None

• Interest in Primary Care (Y/N): Depends (Y if it's my only choice)

• Interest in Rural Health (Y/N): Depends (Y if it's my only choice)

• Medical School List:

• All Canadian schools

• Michigan State

• Wayne State

• Central Michigan

• Virginia Commonwealth

• WASHU St Louis

• Maryland

• Georgetown

• Wisconsin

• NYMC

• SUNY Upstate

• Tulane

• Kentucky

• Case Western

• Dartmouth

• Saint Louis

[Noah]

Hi everyone, 

I would like some guidance on what I should do from here and onwards. I'm a resident in Ontario. Here are my stats: 

UG GPA:

Year 1: 3.32 (10 courses, 5 credits) 

Year 2: 3.64 (10 courses, 5 credits)

Year 3: 3.80 (8 courses, 4.5 credits) 

Year 4: 3.65 (9 courses, 4.5 credits) 

OMSAS GPA: 3.60

OP gpa for UBC: 84.6% (wGPA including grades from masters)

Queens: 3.73 from most two recent years 

Took some classes during my thesis based masters and achieved a 3.94 gpa for 3 classes equivalent to 5 credits (semesters load). I understand that this doesn't count for much.

I know that I disqualify from Western due to my best two years not being full course load and will not be considered for a wGPA at U of T. 

MCAT: 510 (127, 127, 129, 127)

Publication: I have primary paper that is being reviewed in a decent journal with a 7+ impact factor. 

Research: poster presentations at both national and international level

ECs: Long-term care volunteer for 4 years, distress line volunteer for 1 year, volunteer at an eating disorders ward for 2 years, student council 1 year, fundraising and other intramural sports 4+ years. 

Employment: Teaching assistant, tutor, lab technician 

Awards: Won a 15K scholarship in grad school

What do you guys recommend I do to improve my chances? I have applied twice now and I have not received an interview invite both years. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

[MedicineLCS]

You're being rejected by automatic cutoffs. E.g. UBC's 85% OOP. Your GPA is below screening cutoffs at Ottawa, most likely below UofT's cutoffs, and while it's a bit fuzzier in the grad stream Queen's cutoffs seem to be around a 3.8 (moving up and down year to year). Your 3.6/127 is going to require top 20th percentile CASPer results for Mac which is not easy. 

Practically speaking if you want to improve your odds you need to churn out more high GPA years to open up Western, Queens, improve your cGPA for Mac, and maybe Ottawa with enough time. Your ECs do not matter to these schools until you beat the stats filter.