FAQ: What are my chances?

[xi88]

Hi All,

 

I am new in this "premed101.com" forum.

I saw above mapping structure I like it...

 

Good. Now stop being a troll.

[o.syed]

thx alot for the heads up btw i didn't get the part about "h.s." were you talking about organizing and my second option would be engineering so its a win win decision

[MGC]

3rd Year, University of New Brunswick, B.Sc. Biology Honours by Thesis

 

OMSAS cGPA = 3.88

MCAT = yet to write. July 2010.

 

EC: Won a medal at the Canada Games (rowing), trying to get invited to the Canadian U23 National Team selection camp, one summer NSERC with no publications, some retail work, orientation committee, fundraising experience...

 

going back to high school - yearbook and student council, various other sports, more volunteering and fundraising... Europe trip...

 

NO health care-related volunteering whatsoever.

 

EDIT: N.B. resident. Would like to apply to Dal, Queens, Toronto, Western, and perhaps Mac during the Class of 2015 application cycle. I would have liked to attend UBC but do not have the First-year chem pre-requisites because I used IB credit that they do not accept.

[iwh333]

probably need a bit higher GPA if you want to have a shot at a OOP spot for UBC.

[Leon]

From their (UBC) site:

 

 

Can I use my International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) courses toward my prerequisites?

 

Yes, you may use AP and higher-level IB credits in Biology, Chemistry, and English as long as minimum grade requirements are met.

 

Please note: AP and IB transcripts must be sent directly to the Admissions Office.

[onamountain]

From their (UBC) site:

 

IIRC, the issue with MGC's IB chem credits is that they were missing a lab component.

[Leon]

IIRC, the issue with MGC's IB chem credits is that they were missing a lab component.

 

Oh I see. Hmm. I've got GCE Advanced Level transfer credit (somewhat different from IB). But we did have a lab component for Chem and Physics. I should check with them, I guess.

[MGC]

The issue with my chem credits is that I only got a "5" on my IB Chem exam. That is good enough for undergraduate credit, but not for med school pre-req credit.

 

(i had coincidentally re-taken the chem lecture in university anyways, hence the only thing i am missing is the lab)

[MedDream]

Hey All,

 

I'm new here and this is my first post so sorry if this is already a question in another place. I'm in my first year and really messed up my first semester. My GPA was abysmal- 3.22. I'm doubting I can pull it up above a 3.30 for this year... any hope for me in the future? I know first year is a jump for a lot of people and I was just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.

[AndreaM]

Hey All,

 

I'm new here and this is my first post so sorry if this is already a question in another place. I'm in my first year and really messed up my first semester. My GPA was abysmal- 3.22. I'm doubting I can pull it up above a 3.30 for this year... any hope for me in the future? I know first year is a jump for a lot of people and I was just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.

 

There are many options for someone with a poor first year. UofT has a weighting formula that applies if you take full-time course work every year. Western, Queens, Dal, USask and UofC all look at either best two or last two years of study. Ottawa has a weighting system that looks at last three years. UManitoba has weighting that drops your worst courses. You have probably lost any hope of Mac, UBC and NOSM, but there's still a lot of other options.

[NewfieMike]

Hey All,

 

I'm new here and this is my first post so sorry if this is already a question in another place. I'm in my first year and really messed up my first semester. My GPA was abysmal- 3.22. I'm doubting I can pull it up above a 3.30 for this year... any hope for me in the future? I know first year is a jump for a lot of people and I was just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.

 

yeah 3.3 in first year is not too bad, actually.

[future_doc]

I agree with NewfieMike. For sure, all is not lost, you have the last two/best two years med schools and U/T has the weighted GPA is you always take a full course load.

 

BTW, your other post may better be placed here.

[gb35]

Here's my situation:

I took 5 years to complete my undergrad. Spent 1 year in business then 4 years doing a BSc at a different schools. Year 1 and Year 2 were not full course loads (dropped some courses when I realized I hated business, transferred 2 towards my BSc), and my GPA was pretty awful (might've been 3.0 in business, 3.5something first year of BSc).

 

Things slowly improved (3.61 year 2 of BSc, 3,85 the next year, and probably 3.96-3.98 this year).

 

I wrote the MCAT last summer, but I can't say it was my best effort, I was more jsut figuring out what I wanted to do. I got a 31R. 12 BS, 10 PS, 9 VR.

 

My ECs are very solid, in my opinion, but I won't elaborate here, unless someone would like me to.

 

Here are my options as I see it:

-grad school to improve my standing, rewrite the MCAT during my masters.

-take this year off (I'm graduating), rewrite the MCAT this summer, work, and apply this cycle.

 

Which do you think is a better option? I do enjoy research, but would like to start medicine ASAP. Do I need to be looking to include Carribean/US/other schools in the mix at this point, or should I give it another shot in Canada (pending my MCAT grades from this summer)?

 

I realize this is very open-ended, and I apologize for posting most of this in a US med school thread earlier. This seems like a better place for it.

[gb35]

I should also clarify:

 

when I say spent 1 year in business and then 4 doing a BSc at different schools, I mean that the business/BSc were at two different institutions, not that I spent 4 years of my BSc bouncing around...

[Hercegovka]

Here's my situation:

I took 5 years to complete my undergrad. Spent 1 year in business then 4 years doing a BSc at a different schools. Year 1 and Year 2 were not full course loads (dropped some courses when I realized I hated business, transferred 2 towards my BSc), and my GPA was pretty awful (might've been 3.0 in business, 3.5something first year of BSc).

 

Things slowly improved (3.61 year 2 of BSc, 3,85 the next year, and probably 3.96-3.98 this year).

 

I wrote the MCAT last summer, but I can't say it was my best effort, I was more jsut figuring out what I wanted to do. I got a 31R. 12 BS, 10 PS, 9 VR.

 

My ECs are very solid, in my opinion, but I won't elaborate here, unless someone would like me to.

 

Here are my options as I see it:

-grad school to improve my standing, rewrite the MCAT during my masters.

-take this year off (I'm graduating), rewrite the MCAT this summer, work, and apply this cycle.

 

Which do you think is a better option? I do enjoy research, but would like to start medicine ASAP. Do I need to be looking to include Carribean/US/other schools in the mix at this point, or should I give it another shot in Canada (pending my MCAT grades from this summer)?

 

I realize this is very open-ended, and I apologize for posting most of this in a US med school thread earlier. This seems like a better place for it.

 

Where are you from? You may have good chances at some schools more than others (with your current MCAT score)

[gb35]

Ontario, but I might be able to make a pretty decent claim for Maritime residency (which would be my personal preference).

[Hercegovka]

hmm... I would try... I'm more worried about your gpa than your mcat... my MCAT is worse than yours and I got 4 Ontario interviews, but my gpa was good, so maybe apply this cycle and do a masters, and if you don't get in, you can study for the mcat in the meantime and try to improve that, but I would work on improving your application by getting a Masters... sorry for the run-on sentence

[gb35]

Thanks for the prompt replies. My only worry with starting a Masters now is that most MD programs require you to complete it before you can start med. So if I start one this year, I couldn't apply in this cycle.

 

The way I see it, I can re-write the MCAT, and try this cycle. If I fail, I do a masters. So I either get in this year, or wait 3 years.

 

Or I just start the masters now, and don't apply this cycle, and hopefully get in in 2 years.

 

I guess a 3rd option is to do a 5th year of undegrad (actually it would be kind of a 6th given my situation) to boost my GPA, but I just don't like the idea of taking a full course-load, and paying a full year's tuition, which would basically be pointless and filled with bird-courses. Wouldn't that seem pretty transparent, and be frowned upon, from an admissions office point of view?

[Hercegovka]

Ahh I see, I forgot about the fact that you have to wait with a Master's... hmm tough call, I'd ask a few more people...

[arekieh]

Thanks for the prompt replies. My only worry with starting a Masters now is that most MD programs require you to complete it before you can start med. So if I start one this year, I couldn't apply in this cycle.

 

The way I see it, I can re-write the MCAT, and try this cycle. If I fail, I do a masters. So I either get in this year, or wait 3 years.

 

Or I just start the masters now, and don't apply this cycle, and hopefully get in in 2 years.

 

I guess a 3rd option is to do a 5th year of undegrad (actually it would be kind of a 6th given my situation) to boost my GPA, but I just don't like the idea of taking a full course-load, and paying a full year's tuition, which would basically be pointless and filled with bird-courses. Wouldn't that seem pretty transparent, and be frowned upon, from an admissions office point of view?

i dont think they care that much

 

(from what ive heard atleast). Its all about the #'s

[gb35]

The way I see it (and maybe I'm wrong, somebody correct me please):

-a fifth year of undergrad, even with say a 3.92, wouldn't help me much. My GPA is so low because of my 1st year in business, and then the 1st year of my BSc, so even a stellar 5th year would just get me to maybe 3.7 overall (not great).

 

-since my last two years are so strong, I've essentially restricted myself to Ottawa (wGPA would be 3.85-3.87 depending on how this year wraps up), and Queen's, Western, and Dal, since they only look at the last two years (or the best two, in Western's case).

 

-If I improve my VR score, Western and Queen's are viable options, and if I become a maritime resident (say, after grad school, or taking a year off to work, or by convincing them with some personal reasons I won't get into here) then Dal could be a viable option too. I'm assuming that even though I meet cutoffs for Dal, I wouldn't really be that competitive as an OOP.

 

Any major flaws in my logic here? This, to me, seems to point to trying to up VR this summer, and applying to the aforementionned schools in the fall. Seems a shame to re-write an otherwise decent MCAT...

[Hercegovka]

Yeah I see... well if you think you can improve the VR then do it... I got an 8 in VR and didn't rewrite because I was afraid I'd do worse (I reallyyyyyy hate VR) but I'm SWOMEN so it was okay for the schools I was applying to... but if you need to improve it to get better odds, then go for it

[faithful]

My situation is really driving me insane and I would really appreciate some advice

 

I'm currently going into my 3rd year of university and my CGPA is 3.5

I've completed 6 of my prereqs and still have 4 left

My degree will most likely take me 5 years to complete so I still have time

I do a number of the typically EC's (hospital ER, sit as an executive of a couple clubs, volunteer in the community) and I plan on doing a Co-op job in research in my 4th year. Something I do that is different is that I'm currently doing IBA certification in Belly Dancing (leading to a professional certification in Belly Dance).

 

I need to know what my chances are of getting into medical school are. Medical school is my dream and I honestly don't have a backup plan because I can't see myself being happy doing anything else.

 

Thanks in advance

[kawalac]

My situation is really driving me insane and I would really appreciate some advice

 

I'm currently going into my 3rd year of university and my CGPA is 3.5

I've completed 6 of my prereqs and still have 4 left

My degree will most likely take me 5 years to complete so I still have time

I do a number of the typically EC's (hospital ER, sit as an executive of a couple clubs, volunteer in the community) and I plan on doing a Co-op job in research in my 4th year. Something I do that is different is that I'm currently doing IBA certification in Belly Dancing (leading to a professional certification in Belly Dance).

 

I need to know what my chances are of getting into medical school are. Medical school is my dream and I honestly don't have a backup plan because I can't see myself being happy doing anything else.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Well, it's going to be really tough with a 3.5 GPA. You would definitely have to step it up 4th year, and I would suggest doing a 5th year as well so you would at least have two solid years.

 

I guess you're on the right track for EC's, although I'm not in any position to comment on other people's EC's as my own are lacking. So I'll let someone else comment on that.

 

You say you don't have a backup plan, but you should probably get one. The amount of jobs that one could possibly do are endless, and it's hard to believe you couldn't find ONE that you would enjoy doing. I see you like belly dancing, so why not become a belly dancing instructor?

[rant]

I need to know what my chances are of getting into medical school are. Medical school is my dream and I honestly don't have a backup plan because I can't see myself being happy doing anything else.

 

I hate reading these posts, but I know I'll be writing my own in a year or two.

 

To be honest, I don't see anything glaringly wrong with your stats. Your GPA isn't outstanding, but that only shows a tithe of who you are as an applicant. Your ECs are good, I think, and I think it's advantageous that you've taken the personal development route with the belly dancing. It might be seen a little risque, but also serves to make you stand out.

 

I hate saying that a 3.5 GPA isn't stellar (because it's still very admirable and I know it's encompassed a lot of work), but when you pile yourself in with the rest of the people on here that have 3.9+, you need to make sure your ECs and written application really make you stand out.

 

If I could offer any advice to you, it would be this: please don't stress about your chances. It's not going to change the outcome, other than potentially affect your stress-level and confidence throughout the rest of your undergrad. Pursue medicine with your heart and soul, and don't hold yourself up to the image of others. Certainly, let them guide you, but don't attempt to assign your self-worth in relation to their statistics. A current medical student at McMaster told me a couple months ago that the best thing he ever did was "ignore the pre-med forums". He focused on his goals and development, and got accepted into medicine directly from graduating from his nursing degree.

 

Which is not to bash this place, of course! I'd be lost without it. But I have to remind myself that I bring myself into my medical application, not the other brainiacs on here!

 

And as a side note? (I realize that suggesting this may go against my above sentiments to not listen to people on here, and I am sorry about that!) You said that you can't see yourself doing anything other than medicine. I would highly suggest that you attempt to reformulate that thought. It stands to pure, unadulterated reason that you might not get into medicine. You need to have a back-up plan. Some of the qualities that make a good physician are the ability to prioritize, plan for any eventuality, and make the most of every opportunity. This includes not being able to attain preconcieved goals. I believe this is something you need to address, as I am quite certain it will come up at least once during your adcom interviews.