FAQ: What are my chances?

[Savac]

Lol, that was for last cycle. Read the updated admissions manual...

 

Exactly. The criteria has changed this year.

[late_newbie]

So got my MCAT scores today

 

GPA is as follows

1st year gpa: 3.3

2nd year gpa: 3.93

3rd year gpa: 3.83 *less than full course-load (5FCEs) as considered by UofT, so I won't be able to get help from dropping 1FCE/yr*

4th year gpa: 3.81

cGPA: 3.71 OMSAS, four-year

 

MCAT: VR - 11, PS - 14, BS - 12.

 

ECs - posted earlier -weak.

 

what do you guys think about chances at mac, queens, western, uoft?

 

I know ottawa's out, and don't have any rural/northern thing so NOSM is out.

[mmmcoffee]

Anyone willing to help through pm?

 

Recalculated my GPA and am in a tough and somewhat depressing spot.

[thestar10]

So got my MCAT scores today

 

GPA is as follows

1st year gpa: 3.3

2nd year gpa: 3.93

3rd year gpa: 3.83 *less than full course-load (5FCEs) as considered by UofT, so I won't be able to get help from dropping 1FCE/yr*

4th year gpa: 3.81

cGPA: 3.71 OMSAS, four-year

 

MCAT: VR - 11, PS - 14, BS - 12.

 

ECs - posted earlier -weak.

 

what do you guys think about chances at mac, queens, western, uoft?

 

I know ottawa's out, and don't have any rural/northern thing so NOSM is out.

 

Mac: Definitely worth applying and a good shot at an interview. Casper will be deciding factor.

Queens will calculate your GPA as 3.87 and your MCAT is good so a good shot there too.

Western should offer you an interview

U of T: low because of no weighting but still worth applying

[healthcarehopeful]

1st year: 3.49GPA

2nd year: 3.42

3rd year: 3.5

4th year: 3.7

 

Total GPA = 3.53, sGPA = 3.6

 

MCAT= 8/10/8Q (terrible, I know)

 

I have really good research, volunteer, work, and extracurricular experience. If I rewrite the MCAT, do I have a chance? Is it worth rewriting? NOSM is out because I am not rural or northern.

 

I took a full course load every semester.

[JW082]

I would say that it would be tough to get an interview/admission at most schools in Canada, unless you have residency for certain schools. Are you from Ontario?

 

You mentioned that you took full course load every year (5 full semester courses/year). Uoft has a weighting formula where they drop i think one full semester course per year. You should visit the uoft website and recalculate your GPA this way, however they have a 9/9/9 cutoff (used as a red flag).

 

Have you considered a 5th year? If you choose to do this and acquire another year with 3.7 you could have a chance at Western or queens. Also there have been people admitted to McMaster with GPAs close to yours.

 

To apply to the above schools you would have to rewrite your MCAT (western: 11VR cutoff, McMaster: would need >11VR). Was that score you got on your first try? Or have you made several attempts?

[Jaybird]

Total GPA = 3.53, sGPA = 3.6

 

MCAT= 8/10/8Q (terrible, I know)

 

The thing that pisses me off is, people in the States are getting into schools with worse stats than that.

[NeuroPreMed]

The thing that pisses me off is, people in the States are getting into schools with worse stats than that.

 

That doesn't piss me off, that shows me that I'm proud that our level of health care is just that high.

[healthcarehopeful]

@JW082:

 

Yes, I am from Ontario. That was my first (and only) MCAT attempt. I'm just scared that I will rewrite it and score below 30. Thanks for the tip on UofT; I will recalculate my GPA with that. As for a 5th year, I wasn't sure if I'd just be wasting time and money by doing that or if I should just do a Masters instead.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Toronto TOTAL GPA: 3.73

[thestar10]

@JW082:

 

Yes, I am from Ontario. That was my first (and only) MCAT attempt. I'm just scared that I will rewrite it and score below 30. Thanks for the tip on UofT; I will recalculate my GPA with that. As for a 5th year, I wasn't sure if I'd just be wasting time and money by doing that or if I should just do a Masters instead.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Toronto TOTAL GPA: 3.73

 

You definitely need to rewrite as a 26 will not get you into canada anywhere. I'm assuming the 10 is in Verbal which is actually really good for you as the hardest score to improve is VR. BS and PS you just need to hit the books more/do pratice tests to improve. A fifth year with a good GPA will be far more beneficial than a masters. Queens will only look at your last 2 years so if you can do really well in your 5th you have a shot same deal with western. But you need to rewrite your MCAT to have a shot at any of the other schools

[Exocytosis]

The thing that pisses me off is, people in the States are getting into schools with worse stats than that.

 

That's when happens when you have ~2 applicants for every med school spot, versus ~5 here (at least in Ontario).

 

It's not like US medical schools decided to make it's admissions process looser, it's just the way the numbers work. The top 50% looks a lot different than the top 20%.

 

Back on topic, I believe U of T isn't willing forgive an 8 in BS (I assume the 10 is VR?)

 

A 5th year (or second undergrad) would probably be more useful than a Masters, especially if you wrote the MCAT.

[healthcarehopeful]

The 10 is actually in bio

[Jaybird]

That doesn't piss me off, that shows me that I'm proud that our level of health care is just that high.

 

How much does GPA and MCAT really figure as a predictor of performance, though? I know that the MCAT is pretty well correlated with USMLE Step 1 scores, but I've never seen any numbers about any other stuff.

[rraguloj]

Hey guys, so I just finished applying to a whole bunch of American schools, however I would much rather attend in Canada but I can't help feel pessimistic about my chances;

 

My stats are

Undergrad GPA :3.49 in biochem

Graduate GPA (Masters of biomedical science completed) 3.7

MCAT: 39 Q

 

Relatively fair to weak ECs, research in graduate studies, no publications but very rigorous

 

I applied last year to Ontario schools and was denied, I am wondering where in Canada I should apply, perhaps schools that favor MCAT but I can't seem to pinpoint any

 

btw @Jaybird I also applied to NYU and Mayo this year, did you receive rejection after they request for letters, do you mind sharing your stats

[chef1]

Manitoba really favors the MCAT. As well there is a formula where you can drop your lowest classes in undergrad, based on the number of credit hours you took (GPA is on a 4.5 scale, so keep in mind you'll have to convert your GPA).

 

Formula used for getting an interview: (27.3%AGPA + 72.7%MCAT) X (rural co-efficient if >0) X (academic co-efficient if >0)

 

Formula used for admission: (15%AGPA + 40%MCAT + 45%MMI) X (rural co-efficient if >0) X (academic co-efficient if >0)

 

Check out the Manitoba Application Bulletin for this admission cycle for more information.

 

 

Hey guys, so I just finished applying to a whole bunch of American schools, however I would much rather attend in Canada but I can't help feel pessimistic about my chances;

 

My stats are

Undergrad GPA :3.49 in biochem

Graduate GPA (Masters of biomedical science completed) 3.7

MCAT: 39 Q

 

Relatively fair to weak ECs, research in graduate studies, no publications but very rigorous

 

I applied last year to Ontario schools and was denied, I am wondering where in Canada I should apply, perhaps schools that favor MCAT but I can't seem to pinpoint any

 

btw @Jaybird I also applied to NYU and Mayo this year, did you receive rejection after they request for letters, do you mind sharing your stats

[rraguloj]

Manitoba really favors the MCAT. As well there is a formula where you can drop your lowest classes in undergrad, based on the number of credit hours you took (GPA is on a 4.5 scale, so keep in mind you'll have to convert your GPA).

 

Formula used for getting an interview: (27.3%AGPA + 72.7%MCAT) X (rural co-efficient if >0) X (academic co-efficient if >0)

 

Formula used for admission: (15%AGPA + 40%MCAT + 45%MMI) X (rural co-efficient if >0) X (academic co-efficient if >0)

 

Check out the Manitoba Application Bulletin for this admission cycle for more information.

 

Hey thanks for pointing me there, looking over their evaluation criteria has been kind of inspiring , also McGill seems to consider MCAT and gpa 50/50 so probably will apply there too

[Jaybird]

btw @Jaybird I also applied to NYU and Mayo this year, did you receive rejection after they request for letters, do you mind sharing your stats

 

Rejected from Mayo pre-letters.

 

BCMP =~ 3.8

MCAT = 42

[JW082]

@Healthcarehopeful:

 

Since that was your first mark, I believe you can attain a higher MCAT score with further practice and preparation. The only reason I was asking is that some people plateau at certain marks after like 3-5 tries. For most schools you need to have higher marks in each section (a good combo would be B10/VR11/PS10) so I would not be too concerned with just scoring above a 30 total.

 

With your GPA, I would definitely do a 5th year IMO. By doing this you could open up Western and Queens.

 

As for your toronto weighted GPA, that is still on the low end since many after weighting have 3.85+.

 

I think your best action as of now would be to do a 5th year (assuming you have the financial backing) and rewrite the MCAT. Then take another look though your stats (calculating weighted GPAs, etc.) and nonacademics to further assess your chances.

[snipez]

Hey guys, I got my MCAT results back today. Here are my stats.

 

GPA: 1st = 3.60, 2nd = 3.65, 3rd = 3.97

MCAT: 11 PS / 9 VR / 11 BS (31)

EC's: Competitive hockey (during years 1 and 2 at school, quit 3rd year to study more), play in a band, NSERC scholar this past summer, maybe 175 hours of volunteering spread out over 5-6 places. Also helped organize a fundraiser.

LOR's: Pretty average, I could get my professor from the NSERC (no pub), my vocal teacher, hockey coach, old high school principle or teachers... Not really sure on this one. Is there a balance between how well they know you and how "distinguished" their position is?

 

I'm a little bummed with a 9 VR, especially since I'm from Edmonton... It makes U of C tough to swing. I just feel like it's a pretty darn average application, ya know? Lemme know what you guys think I should work on. I'd love to get into Dalhousie but I think that the Alberta schools are a fair bit more realistic.

[Pirenzepine]

Hi guys, I would like to get some opinions on which schools I should apply.

 

GPA: 3.81, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0.

OMSAS GPA: ~3.93

Percent average: 90%

MCAT: 1st time 31R, 2nd time 35 with 9VR, 12PS, 14BS

Research: 3 summers of full time research in different fields (paid), 4th year thesis & defense, currently working full time as research assistant to previous PI, but no publications.

ECs: ~180 hours clinical volunteering, 2 years volunteer tutoring in university, random club activities/leadership, a "big" graduation award in my school, random academic scholarships and awards (~$12000 total)

References: one from an MD PI (strong), one from community service (strong), and one from a teaching professor (average)

 

So I know that Western and Queens are out due to my 9 VR. I did my secondary school in Vancouver and university at UTSG so I'm thinking of applying to UofT, Mac, UOttawa, UBC.. Would this sound reasonable? Should I add a few more schools to my list?

 

Thanks.

[GenocideGeneral]

Hey guys, I got my MCAT results back today. Here are my stats.

 

GPA: 1st = 3.60, 2nd = 3.65, 3rd = 3.97

MCAT: 11 PS / 9 VR / 11 BS (31)

EC's: Competitive hockey (during years 1 and 2 at school, quit 3rd year to study more), play in a band, NSERC scholar this past summer, maybe 175 hours of volunteering spread out over 5-6 places. Also helped organize a fundraiser.

LOR's: Pretty average, I could get my professor from the NSERC (no pub), my vocal teacher, hockey coach, old high school principle or teachers... Not really sure on this one. Is there a balance between how well they know you and how "distinguished" their position is?

 

I'm a little bummed with a 9 VR, especially since I'm from Edmonton... It makes U of C tough to swing. I just feel like it's a pretty darn average application, ya know? Lemme know what you guys think I should work on. I'd love to get into Dalhousie but I think that the Alberta schools are a fair bit more realistic.

 

You should apply to:

 

Mcmaster (not a good chance tbh but worth applying regardless)

UofT (depends on GPA after 3 lowest full year courses are removed)

dalhousie (not a great chance since your OOP and your stats aren't amazing)

Calgary (decent chance to get an interview at least)

Alberta (same as calgary)

[thestar10]

Hi guys, I would like to get some opinions on which schools I should apply.

 

GPA: 3.81, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0.

OMSAS GPA: ~3.93

Percent average: 90%

MCAT: 1st time 31R, 2nd time 35 with 9VR, 12PS, 14BS

Research: 3 summers of full time research in different fields (paid), 4th year thesis & defense, currently working full time as research assistant to previous PI, but no publications.

ECs: ~180 hours clinical volunteering, 2 years volunteer tutoring in university, random club activities/leadership, a "big" graduation award in my school, random academic scholarships and awards (~$12000 total)

References: one from an MD PI (strong), one from community service (strong), and one from a teaching professor (average)

 

So I know that Western and Queens are out due to my 9 VR. I did my secondary school in Vancouver and university at UTSG so I'm thinking of applying to UofT, Mac, UOttawa, UBC.. Would this sound reasonable? Should I add a few more schools to my list?

 

Thanks.

I would also apply to

Alberta - needs english

MUN - needs english

USask - I think based on last years cut offs you would get an interview

Dal - - you will have a 4.0 there

Mcgill - they like upward trends and you dont need to submit mcat/letters

[Pirenzepine]

I would also apply to

Alberta - needs english

MUN - needs english

USask - I think based on last years cut offs you would get an interview

Dal - - you will have a 4.0 there

Mcgill - they like upward trends and you dont need to submit mcat/letters

 

Thanks for your reply! But I'm a bit concerned about my OOP status for those school, and schools like McGill are probably out of the question..

[Hockeynut]

You should apply to:

 

Mcmaster (not a good chance tbh but worth applying regardless)

UofT (depends on GPA after 3 lowest full year courses are removed)

dalhousie (not a great chance since your OOP and your stats aren't amazing)

Calgary (decent chance to get an interview at least)

Alberta (same as calgary)

 

Can;t apply to Calgary as an OOP with a VR of 9, need atleast an 11.

[thestar10]

Can;t apply to Calgary as an OOP with a VR of 9, need atleast an 11.

He's an IP applicant for Calgary