FAQ: What are my chances?

[shikimate]

I think Ottawa has a GPA cutoff of around 3.88, so thats not an option (Correct me if I'm wrong).

 

The OP posted cGPA of 3.92, so I don't see why Ottawa is out.

[bilirubin3]

The OP posted cGPA of 3.92, so I don't see why Ottawa is out.

 

Oh haha I was looking at the wrong stats

[MD2019_A]

Hi guys

 

Ive done this before, but i wanted fresh input from you people. here are my stats:

 

(OMSAS)

1st year GPA: 3.0

2nd: 3.64

3rd: 3.47

 

With those numbers, I know UT, Ottawa, Western, are out for this cycle. I'm aiming for Mac this year even though its a long shot cuz of the GPA (majority of the app is the casper so thats why im even applying this year. hopefully queens as well? (incredibly long shot)

 

in the 4th year, if i get a 3.9+, I can aim for Western (Conditional acceptance) and perhaps by a less of a long shot at Queens with a last two gpa of 3.68~. Ill also go for mac again and UT probably too.

 

ill do a 5th year and again aim for a 3.9+. ill have a two year of a 3.9 for western and queens (decent shot even though cGPA is crap), ill go for UT, Ottawa, and mac also.

 

as for out of province, i can aim for UofC and UofA because I can get the residency status for those provinces (my dad and mom live there and we're planning to move there permanently soon)

 

sooo.. how does that sound? is that realistic? btw, i havent received my mcat scores yet. my ECs are decent im not going to list em here unless someone asks me to

 

thanks

[spuddy999]

Hi guys

 

Ive done this before, but i wanted fresh input from you people. here are my stats:

 

(OMSAS)

1st year GPA: 3.0

2nd: 3.64

3rd: 3.47

 

With those numbers, I know UT, Ottawa, Western, are out for this cycle. I'm aiming for Mac this year even though its a long shot cuz of the GPA (majority of the app is the casper so thats why im even applying this year. hopefully queens as well? (incredibly long shot)

 

in the 4th year, if i get a 3.9+, I can aim for Western (Conditional acceptance) and perhaps by a less of a long shot at Queens with a last two gpa of 3.68~. Ill also go for mac again and UT probably too.

 

ill do a 5th year and again aim for a 3.9+. ill have a two year of a 3.9 for western and queens (decent shot even though cGPA is crap), ill go for UT, Ottawa, and mac also.

 

as for out of province, i can aim for UofC and UofA because I can get the residency status for those provinces (my dad and mom live there and we're planning to move there permanently soon)

 

sooo.. how does that sound? is that realistic? btw, i havent received my mcat scores yet. my ECs are decent im not going to list em here unless someone asks me to

 

thanks

 

Post brief summary of EC's.

 

3.68 will almost certainly not suffice for Queen's last two years. If you can get 3.9 in both 4th and 5th year, you will have a shot from a GPA point of view at Queen's and Western, but it is less certain because you do not know your MCAT. Toronto will be a long shot, McMaster is in the cards if you rock casper and Verbal reasoning, but even then I would not bank on it.

 

Even after your 5th year your total GPA will only be around 3.6 OMSAS which is still far below for Alberta and below for Calgary, though if you can rock the VR you will have a shot (After 5th year) at Calgary. It may be necessary to do a second degree. Good luck, your best bets are to apply to the schools that look at the last/best two years (Saskatchewan, Dalhousie, Queens, Western), that way you can start somewhat fresh.

[MD2019_A]

Post brief summary of EC's.

 

3.68 will almost certainly not suffice for Queen's last two years. If you can get 3.9 in both 4th and 5th year, you will have a shot from a GPA point of view at Queen's and Western, but it is less certain because you do not know your MCAT. Toronto will be a long shot, McMaster is in the cards if you rock casper and Verbal reasoning, but even then I would not bank on it.

 

Even after your 5th year your total GPA will only be around 3.6 OMSAS which is still far below for Alberta and below for Calgary, though if you can rock the VR you will have a shot (After 5th year) at Calgary. It may be necessary to do a second degree. Good luck, your best bets are to apply to the schools that look at the last/best two years (Saskatchewan, Dalhousie, Queens, Western), that way you can start somewhat fresh.

 

True my cGPA is only a 3.6, but my wGPA for alberta after dropping the lowest year is a 3.79; is that a decent chance? it'd be the same for calgary.

 

yeah i realize my best shots are at those schools. i will consider UT more if i do a masters after my 5th year.

 

for my ECs, here's what i have:

PT assistant

health records assistant

special needs kids assistant

chairperson for youth advisory committee

freelance photographer (covered conferences)

surgeon shadowing in the OR

independent volunteer opportunities marketing project leader

attended youth conferences

volunteered at random events

research exp of two years in labs

hospital volunteer

club volunteering on campus

number of presentations on youth volunteering/motivation/first year transition

club exec on campus

medical first responder on campus

 

the time commitment are anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years

[Asta]

If you are IP in AB, I could see you having a good chance at U of A or U of C, but as an OOP I wouldn't be too hopeful.

[MD2019_A]

Another question: should i come for a 5th year, or forget that and just do a second undergrad (how long will that take? 2 or 3 years?)

[shikimate]

Another question: should i come for a 5th year, or forget that and just do a second undergrad (how long will that take? 2 or 3 years?)

 

It would be worth doing a 5th year if your MCAT meets the cutoff for UWO and Queens, especially VR for UWO which looks like 11 is the minimum.

 

UofT looks very unlikely, although if you can gain IP for Alberta that would be huge bonus for those 2 schools.

[MD2019_A]

what about Ottawa? i'd have a 3.89~ wGPA according to their calculations. also, since you asked, how are my ecs?

[spuddy999]

EC's look great, above average, though you can never be too sure with the subjectivity of the marking. Applying after this year would be a good shot for U of C, but you need to have IP status and a good VR. I'd say go for McMaster this year. If you don't get in, next year you will have a greater variety of schools to apply to. Good luck! Keep up with the upward trend and you're bound to get an interview somewhere.

[MD2019_A]

Would it be suspicious if this year I applied as an OOP and next year as an IP for Alberta? I don't have the status this year but next year I probably will

[Robin Hood]

Would it be suspicious if this year I applied as an OOP and next year as an IP for Alberta? I don't have the status this year but next year I probably will

 

I don't see why it will be.

[mm88]

I don't see why it will be.

 

 

Exactly! People do it all the time, don't make it as OOP and get IP status somewhere to better their chances. I believe that's regular practice.

[sgwonsukee]

Hi! I finished undergraduate at University of Toronto last year (2010) and did extra year of non-degree to match GPA requirements for Western Ontario University.

 

My cGPA is 3.65(OMSAS) and

3.40

3.49

3.67

3.80

3.86

 

And, I wrote MCAT three times and just received my last MCAT score which is

PS - 11

VR - 9

WS - R

BS - 10

Total - 30R

 

I know... I didn't score VR higher than 10 or 11 (to meet requirement for Queens and Western).

These are the schools I targeted realistically with my GPA...

 

I have ECs like following:

intramural basketball, soccer for two years, hospital volunteering for two years, 3 summer researches, lab assistant, 2 peer mentoring, 1 physician shadowing, 1 summer leadership experience, 1 science teacher experience during summer and high school band experience.

 

Since University of Calgary switched from best two years to wGPA (which kills my GPA since I don't have amazing percentile GPA) and I missed deadline for Dalhousie as my MCAT score released recently.

 

I don't think it is best idea to apply Queens anyways since they seem to have very strict cutoff for VR score (10).

 

Should I just hold back and write MCAT again to try next year?

 

I need advices...

 

Thank you.

[shikimate]

You could try Queens if you don't mind spending the money. You never know, things could change (like last year). UT is very very unlikely, but Mac may be possible. I suppose you are not from SWOMEN or rural Ontario?

[xyience]

Hey all,

 

Quick question about the rigidity of the cutoffs at Western and Queen's. I wrote my MCAT in august and got my scores back as follows: PS 15, VS 9, BS 14, Writing R, for an overall 38R. Obviously I'm pretty thrilled with my overall mark but I'm worried my 9 in verbal will result in my app getting tossed at Queen's and UWO.

 

I'm hoping that my strong overall MCAT mark and good GPA (cGPA 3.83, 2yrGPA 3.95) will help convince them that I'm at least worth interviewing.

 

Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance.

[shikimate]

Yeah it's rather unlikely VR will be 10 for UWO this year, let along 9 (of course for SWOMEN it has been 8). Queens is unlikely too.

 

I would suggest all the schools CaptainCrunch mentioned and add Dalhousie in there as well.

[Alchemist11]

Hi guys, just wondering what my chances are.

 

I am in third year applying to Queens, Ottawa, Mac, and U of T.

 

MCAT: 39Q

14 PS, 11 VR, 14 BS

 

GPA:

First year: 3.95

Second year: 3.98

 

EC's:

 

Not the best, some random volunteering, hospital volunteering, research volunteering, doctor shadowing, part time employment for some years, some awards, scholarships, and so forth. Recreational sports. Perhaps an exec member of a club or two this year.

 

How do I look? Thanks for any advice.

[thehumanmacbook]

Should be good for Ottawa and Queens...Mac is variable, and U of T depends very heavily on your Personal statement.

[shikimate]

Hi guys, just wondering what my chances are.

 

I am in third year applying to Queens, Ottawa, Mac, and U of T.

 

MCAT: 39Q

14 PS, 11 VR, 14 BS

 

GPA:

First year: 3.95

Second year: 3.98

 

EC's:

 

Not the best, some random volunteering, hospital volunteering, research volunteering, doctor shadowing, part time employment for some years, some awards, scholarships, and so forth. Recreational sports. Perhaps an exec member of a club or two this year.

 

How do I look? Thanks for any advice.

 

I don't want to say very likely, but these numbers are pretty impressive. My opinion is that all 4 schools have a reasonable chance of granting you an interview and it's reasonably probable that you'll get at least 1 offer if you have 3-4 interviews.

[spuddy999]

At 4.20, you would be average for U of M. With a 10 average MCAT, you would be a bit on the low side. It's definitely worth it to apply, your EC's look decent.

All in all I'd say it's worth it to apply, as you have a decent shot of getting an interview.

[Mactavish11]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some insight on what my chances are of getting into med school. I hear a lot of med schools just look at your last two years/best two years, which is huge for me. Here are my grades (Please correct me if I calculated my 12 point GPA into 4 point GPA wrong):

 

Year 1 – 2.83 (B+, B, B, B, B, B, B, B-, C+, C) – Yes, I had a terrible first year.

Year 2 – 3.68 (A+, A, A, A, A-, A-, A-, A-, B+,

Year 3 – 3.87 (A+, A+, A+, A, A, A, A, A-, A-, A-)

Year 4 – 3.93 (A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A, A-, A-)

 

My cGPA would be 3.58, which is not quite there. Obviously my best two/last two GPA would be better. I was a Criminology student, not sure if that hurts my chances. I know that some schools only allow students with a background in the sciences.

 

I was guilty of not involving myself in extra-curricular activities, is there anything I can do in my time out of school that might improve that problem? I am thinking of volunteering at my local animal shelter, but are there any better ideas?

I really appreciate the help, thank you everyone!

[a.wasserman]

Hey guys, thought you might be able to help me decipher what I should do/where i stand a chance. I'm an Alberta resident, and did my undergrad at York, with cGPA of 3.93ish, best 2 years 3.97. I don't know the conversions to percentages for the U of S so any help with that would be appreciated.

 

Just got my newest MCAT scores - 32R (12/9/11), ECs are good, did NSERC summer research, volunteered in lab for 2 years, hospital volunteer, did karate for 10 years with a lot of national/international medals, volunteer health coach for underprivileged communities, led strength training classes with underprivileged youth, coached karate for like 6 years... dunno other random stuff.

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! and i'm also applying to US schools, if anyone has any insight as to which ones I would have a good shot at as an international student and with my friggin 9VR, I would appreciate that as well.

[shikimate]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some insight on what my chances are of getting into med school. I hear a lot of med schools just look at your last two years/best two years, which is huge for me. Here are my grades (Please correct me if I calculated my 12 point GPA into 4 point GPA wrong):

 

Year 1 – 2.83 (B+, B, B, B, B, B, B, B-, C+, C) – Yes, I had a terrible first year.

Year 2 – 3.68 (A+, A, A, A, A-, A-, A-, A-, B+,

Year 3 – 3.87 (A+, A+, A+, A, A, A, A, A-, A-, A-)

Year 4 – 3.93 (A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A+, A, A-, A-)

 

My cGPA would be 3.58, which is not quite there. Obviously my best two/last two GPA would be better. I was a Criminology student, not sure if that hurts my chances. I know that some schools only allow students with a background in the sciences.

 

I was guilty of not involving myself in extra-curricular activities, is there anything I can do in my time out of school that might improve that problem? I am thinking of volunteering at my local animal shelter, but are there any better ideas?

I really appreciate the help, thank you everyone!

 

To accurately estimate your chances, there are 2 pertinent questions:

 

1) Where do you live? Do you have any IP status?

2) What's your MCAT score?

[Mactavish11]

To accurately estimate your chances, there are 2 pertinent questions:

 

1) Where do you live? Do you have any IP status?

2) What's your MCAT score?

 

1) Just outside of Toronto, but would be willing to attend med school outside of Ontario as well. Sorry what do you mean by "IP", I assume not given that I have no idea what it is, haha.

2) I have not written the MCAT yet. My apologies, should have worded the question better. What I should have asked is: are my grades good enough for med school? and suggesstions to improve my extra-curriculars/ volunteer work?