FAQ: What are my chances?

[thehumanmacbook]

1) GPA - not weighted, but it's not bad.

2) MCAT - unknown, need to hit at least 10/11/10 R to be safe

3) ECs - a bit average

4) Research - glad to see you have it

5) LORs - unknown, pick some strong people.

 

Try your best to do something unique/innovative as an EC IF you have the time. Do well on the MCAT (as you know) and try applying. You should get an interview somewhere if your MCAT score is up to par.

[uoftpremed]

Hey everyone,

 

I just finished my second year at U of T St George, majoring in Health and Disease, minoring in French and Spanish. My first two years have really been poor in terms of gpa, I put way to much emphasis on EC's:

 

1st year: 2.58

2nd year: 3.62

 

I haven't written the MCAT yet, but took a prep course for it already in the summer of first year. I will write it in the summer of third year. (This summer I am doing summer school and a course abroad + volunteering...)

 

If I can manage to get 3.8 or higher in 3rd and 4th year:

 

Do I apply to Queens while in my fifth year, BUT apply to Western while in fourth year? Im confused about the timing.

 

Also at what other schools, if any, would I have a chance?

[shikimate]

You should apply to UWO after your 3rd year (assuming you meet the cutoffs) --> You can get conditionally accepted in your 4th year (Like I did)

 

Apply to others after your 4th year: Queens, Dal, Alb, Calg, Sask (for OOP I assume your 2 years will be very good). Maybe Ottawa as well if wGPA is >3.85.

[thehumanmacbook]

Following the flowchart;

 

1) GPA not so hot right now...need to >3.8 last two years for Western and Queens and Dal. cGPA be careful for Mac, wGPA for U of T you'll have to calculate yourself.

2) MCAT - unknown

3) ECs...if you say they're good, then sure

4) Research - unknown

5) LORs - try to get the best that you can

 

Apply to Western, Queens, Dal during your fourth if you meet the >3.8 requirement. Try to score high on MCAT, keep ECs up/try to do some sort of research, you can also try for Mac as it's more on CASPer than anything. But right now your GPA is lowering your chances at a lot of schools.

[toastman]

You should apply to UWO in your 3rd year (assuming you meet the cutoffs) --> You can get conditionally accepted in your 4th year (Like I did)

 

Apply to others after your 4th year: Queens, Dal, Alb, Calg, Sask (for OOP I assume your 2 years will be very good). Maybe Ottawa as well if wGPA is >3.85.

 

Hey you can apply to UWO after 3 years? I had no clue. Could you elaborate more on this conditional acceptance? Thanks.

[thehumanmacbook]

Yes AFTER 3 years, i.e. during your fourth or fifth...I think that's what shikimate meant

[vanillabear]

Yes AFTER 3 years, i.e. during your fourth or fifth...I think that's what shikimate meant

 

I think he meant during your third year. You can get a conditional acceptance for after you complete your degree, I believe. So you get accepted (potentially) at the end of third year, complete your fourth year of undergrad then enter medical school.

[Hockey_whiz]

.10char...

[shikimate]

Yes AFTER 3 years, i.e. during your fourth or fifth...I think that's what shikimate meant

 

Okay, so here is what I meant (and what happened to me)

 

I applied in the summer after I completed my 3rd year (5 credits). My 1st and 2nd year did not qualify for their cutoff.

 

However, my 3rd year qualified for their cutoff. But note they require 2 full years that qualify their cutoff.

 

Nontheless, I applied (with MCAT above cutoffs). I was interviewed during March of my 4th year. I finished my 4th year in April. I was offered admission to UWO in May. The offer can be confirmed ONLY if my 4th year marks are above the cutoff. My 4th year marks have been recently released, and they are above cutoffs, so my acceptance is confirmed.

 

I hope this clears things up a bit. I have edited my previous post to clarify this. I apologize for any confusion.

[simpy]

Alberta IP student. Have not taken courses in Ochem or physics.

 

I'm going to self-teach and study hard for my MCAT this summer.. with that being said, what would my chances be @ UofC (sadly i dont have the pre reqs or meet the 30credit requirement to apply at UofA) if i got an MCAT score of 30, 33, 35, 37+?? (did not include WS as I have no clue where i'm at/capable of, but I am strong at writing scholarly papers)

 

You have a chance at Calgary no matter what you do. Probably what it is going to come down to the most is how your word your ECs. I would imagine you get the following scores:

 

Academics: 35/50

ECs: 15/25

LOR: ?/10

MCAT: ?/15

 

You want a score of 71 or higher. The MCAT is therefore important and you will probably want 33+. The key really is wording those ECs - if you do a great job wording it you can probably get 19 or 20 out of 25, if you do a poor job it'll be 13 or 14.

 

Anyway you can see you're going to be fairly borderline. Just do your best on the MCAT and spend a ton of time on your application and you should have a shot.

[Albertan10]

You have a chance at Calgary no matter what you do. Probably what it is going to come down to the most is how your word your ECs. I would imagine you get the following scores:

 

Academics: 35/50

ECs: 15/25

LOR: ?/10

MCAT: ?/15

 

You want a score of 71 or higher. The MCAT is therefore important and you will probably want 33+. The key really is wording those ECs - if you do a great job wording it you can probably get 19 or 20 out of 25, if you do a poor job it'll be 13 or 14.

 

Anyway you can see you're going to be fairly borderline. Just do your best on the MCAT and spend a ton of time on your application and you should have a shot.

 

hey,

 

i would like to know, how did you calculate those scores? is 71 the cutoff?

 

maybe you could help me calculate my score from the post i made on the previous page, please?

[Hockey_whiz]

You have a chance at Calgary no matter what you do. Probably what it is going to come down to the most is how your word your ECs. I would imagine you get the following scores:

 

Academics: 35/50

ECs: 15/25

LOR: ?/10

MCAT: ?/15

 

You want a score of 71 or higher. The MCAT is therefore important and you will probably want 33+. The key really is wording those ECs - if you do a great job wording it you can probably get 19 or 20 out of 25, if you do a poor job it'll be 13 or 14.

 

Anyway you can see you're going to be fairly borderline. Just do your best on the MCAT and spend a ton of time on your application and you should have a shot.

 

Thanks for the breakdown! Just curious, are you at UofC? I calculated some scenarios and I AM definitely borderline, 35+15+8+11 = 69.. so i guess the most immediate changes i can make is doing well on the MCAT. probably a 12-13? and the wording portion of my EC to make it in the high teens range.

 

edit: Looks like you got accepted into Queens (after a long journey! ), Congrats !

[jusl]

Curious, what kind of ECs would warrant a strong score, ie 20 or higher /25? Hockey_whiz seems to have a fair amount of activities under his belt. I understand that there are no 'preferred' ECs that schools look for. Rather, they want to see whether you are a balanced student. What kinds of ECs would be considered amazing? Or is it strictly wording your ECs properly that will give you a higher score?

 

Thanks.

[thehumanmacbook]

hmmmmm tough question. I think some things that are relatively notable (think olympian) is "top" and "unique", though that isn't to say that you need to be an Olympian. Something like that would definitely get adcom attention though. Will it save a low GPA and MCAT? Probably not.

[jusl]

What I am trying to ask is, how did you end up giving him 15/25 on ECs? Was it strictly his wording that bogged it down, or his actual experiences? If he may get 15/25 for that, I fear what I will score :S

[thehumanmacbook]

ummmmmmm I didn't give the advice, maybe the person who did can answer that.

 

Wording for the EC portion does help though, but be careful of over-exaggerating something...adcom aren't stupid people....rather I like to think of them as the watchful eye of Big Brother in 1984.

[jusl]

Sorry, I was directing my question to simpy. So I guess be honest with what ECs you have, and at the most, glaze it a bit?

[thehumanmacbook]

Yes...I think for the best ones you are already the most honest. For the others, it's not bad to note what you've learnt from it or something like that.

[carmelmacchiato]

Hi guys. I just wanted to get your opinion on what my chances are looking like. Just for the record, I just graduated this year

 

Grades

1st year - 3.59

2nd year - 3.78

3rd year - 3.98

4th year - 3.92

 

MCAT

-Wrote last year for the first time but did poorly. I definitely didn't study properly and wasn't ready! I'm rewriting this year.

 

Research

-Worked as a summer student + did an individual project at a wet laboratory.

My PI put my name on 5 publications (they're not in high impact journals though) -> Not sure if this would hurt my application since I'm not primary author. I've heard med schools might look down on it as application padding. Opinions?

-Presented a poster at an international conference, gave presentations at several local conferences

-Worked as a summer student + did my thesis project in qualitative research with a high profile PI

 

Extracurriculars

-I have enough to fill the 48 spots - some short, some long-term. Diverse experiences mostly to do with children since I'm interested in pediatrics.

-Long-term international volunteering experience (not a two week trip to play doctor)

 

References

-One very strong reference, two okay references.

 

I'm looking to pursue a Masters before applying since I'm interested in research as well.

 

Thanks!

[happyfeet]

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[LS88]

So here's the thing- no one can tell you what your chances are if you have a relatively good GPA/average, some extra-curriculars, and if you interview relatively well. There are people who get in with averages of <80%, and there are people who don't get in with averages that are 90%+. No one can tell you what your chances are because it depends on what the other applicants are. There are tons of people who don't get in despite having extra-curriculars, good scores, good grades, and things that they're "supposed" to have. But here's the thing- all those things that you think you're supposed to have? Schools know about them. By doing those things, you don't set yourself apart. You don't provide compelling reasons for having done them. People recite the same speeches all the time about why they volunteered here or there, why they did research. There is no formula. There's no "way" that will assure you entry. And there is no one who can tell you ultimately what your chances are. Either you know already that you're a good candidate, or you know that you aren't and you're either trying to get someone to make you feel better or you're fishing for compliments (or trolling, but I will assume that people are mostly above that).

 

Schools look for people who are genuine, who pursued their interests, who are passionate about pursuing medicine and who don't come across as being self-interested, self-entitled, or who thinks that they're the bomb. So you have 5 publications? So what. Lots of people get in with absolutely none. You have a 4.0 GPA? So what. Lots of people get in with 3.8's, or sometimes even an odd 3.6. Certainly, some things make you more likely to get in. But the fact of the matter is, when you get into that interview, your interviewer has veto power over you. My suggestion is that instead of trying to find out what your chances are, you figure out what you enjoy doing, what you really feel passionate about, what you really want to do with your life. If it's medicine, that's great, but there are lots of people in med school and who want to go to med school who are doing it for the absolute wrong reasons. Some get in anyway, many don't. So if it's something you really want to do, stop trying to figure out whether you're going to get in and what your chances are. Instead, go and do some stuff that really makes you tick. And then if you still want to do medicine, it won't matter what someone else thinks. What will matter is that you really want to do it, and that's what's going to come across in things like your interviews and your applications. Being genuine and having a resume that reflects your individuality, your passions, your interests rather than those of an automaton who really wants to do medicine is what's going to make you interesting. And it's what's going to make you a good candidate- that you are going to do things you like and that you can really talk about instead of checking things off on a list. Most importantly, it shows that you're not in this rat race and that you're not like thousands of other students who are all volunteering, studying, traveling abroad, researching/working in labs, padding their resumes in every way possible, etc.- it shows that you've really thought about yourself as a person and that you've thought about why you want to do medicine. And again, maybe it will lead you to pursue medicine as a career, maybe it won't. But I can promise you that your life will be better if you don't do medicine because you figure out that it's not for you. Because if you don't like it, you're going to be stuck in a job where many physicians work over 70 hours/week, go through a ridiculously hard training process, do crazy 28 hour shifts, etc. only to come out and hate it all. And no amount of money or prestige or anything is going to compensate for that. Most importantly, it means that those people will end up hurting patients, not caring for patients, and being bad doctors.

 

So before asking what your chances are, I would entreat you to think about why you're even asking that question. Does it matter what others think? Or does the only thing that matter is what you feel, what you want to do? And have you even given it all enough thought?

[thehumanmacbook]

^ good post, I think our advice is just a very rough estimate for chances for interview given the trends we see on the forum/and flowchart. There are anomalies, and we don't know everything about the process, but we try to give advice to the best we can.

[LS88]

That's cool, just so long as you know that the exceptions aren't as rare as you think. I'd say that at least 30% of my class are "exceptions" of this kind. However, many more will have done things that are just really random but that they really loved. I've yet to meet a person who has just done all the stuff that you're "supposed" to do, but I've met a whole lot more who didn't and were absolutely fine. Just something to keep in mind. When they tell you there's no formula, they really mean it. There are things that can help, but ultimately no one combination of things will guarantee you entry. Yes, you need to meet minimums, but it really depends on your application and your interview. You can check off all the boxes, but if your interviewer feels like you're fake or don't have the right reasons for going into medicine, you're done. Which is why it's so much more important to figure things out about you and to speak from the heart (and believe me, they can tell if you're not or if you're just putting on an act- remember, these people are all smart and have gotten into medical school).

[NnN]

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[OIC]

Hey guys...just wondering.. is 3.83 cGPA competitive? or just average? Thanks!

 

yep, it is. I have a 3.83cGPA and got admitted to UofT, Queens, Mac and put on the UWO waitlist on my first app cycle. (MSc student)