Top 3 Choices?

[siobhansiobhan]

because his gpa is 3.4/3.5 , but it can be completely made for by an SMP. He is also a resident so there isn't really an issue with tuition.

 

Yeah

 

Can't wait til Canada gets some SMPs. In the states, remember, 3.5 is normal average for acceptances. SMPs are actually made for the 3.0-wherever range (sometimes lower!, but of course some are more competitive than others to get into) but they also help a cdn get an advantage by having some u.s. experience... an international has to work a little harder at having a hook. i think sometimes us canadians have the super crazy gpas and mcats that they crave. i didn't have that, my hook was non-trad stuff - so smp helped get me u.s. acceptance, which i ultimately didn't use because of the funding. would have gone for it anyways, except finally got interviewed and an acceptance in canada.

 

check out the cinci programme, it is friendly to canadians, if you're interested in smps and they make sense for you...

[Gavanshir]

mcgill has name rec. in states too. consider cost of second bacc versus carribbean (more expensive than u.s. privates, and with residency, you'd at least get some bursaries from them, but not in caribbean)... one of my big mistakes was planning on a yearly basis. it eventually took me five years, and that likely could have been more like three if planned for. it easily turns into five, because when you can see more and more success each year, hard to give up and turn down the ultimate success. it is something worth a few more $$ of investment - the analysis says that you'll be able to pay it off afterwards.

 

Well, now I can say that I've looked a fair amount into the SMP programs. To me it's still a toss up compared to a second bac at McGill. As I calculated today, my total cost for staying in Montreal to study at McGill on a yearly basis is $15,000/year. The average SMP programs cost around $25,000 for tuition alone, if you add cost of living and moving to a new state then I image the total cost per year would be around 35-40K. Plus it seems most SMP programs would entail a "glide-year" after completion so I think the cost of that extra year has to be taken into consideration as well.

 

Can you give more background about yourself? So you are Canadian, you did Cincinnati's program for a year and applied to US + Canada? What took 5 years? How was your GPA & MCAT prior to starting the SMP?

 

 

As for me, I graduate this January and I'm going through a very tough time right now trying to decide between my 4 choices:

 

1) Stay the winter semester at Concordia to take extra undergrad courses to bring up my GPA and apply again next summer (will have to figure out when to retake MCAT).

 

2) Graduate in January and work during the winter semester while studying for the MCAT to take it again in April and apply again.

 

3) Start a second bac. at McGill next year (cant figure out if I should do a second BS or a BA)

 

4) Start medschools in the Caribbean next year and just do it.

 

5) And now, do an SMP program next year?

 

[In_Valid]

Is it just me or does this forum only have 4 constant posters? Begaster, Alastriss, THX, and In_Valid.

 

It's like every time I go to the US forum of premed101, it's these 4 people. LOL.

 

sorry to disappoint you.

 

Probably because we are the only people on premed101 applying to the US this year.

[Alastriss]

SiobhanSiobhan,

 

Is there a point for enrolling in these programs if your GPA does not need to be boosted? Can you use it just to prove that you would be successful in meds?

 

Also, I heard that they are 1 year programs, what is this talk about having a glide year the year after you finish?

 

Finally, Considering that you take a lot of med classes, is there any way you can get those classes credited?

[siobhansiobhan]

Well, now I can say that I've looked a fair amount into the SMP programs. To me it's still a toss up compared to a second bac at McGill. As I calculated today, my total cost for staying in Montreal to study at McGill on a yearly basis is $15,000/year. The average SMP programs cost around $25,000 for tuition alone, if you add cost of living and moving to a new state then I image the total cost per year would be around 35-40K. Plus it seems most SMP programs would entail a "glide-year" after completion so I think the cost of that extra year has to be taken into consideration as well.

 

Can you give more background about yourself? So you are Canadian, you did Cincinnati's program for a year and applied to US + Canada? What took 5 years? How was your GPA & MCAT prior to starting the SMP?

 

 

****Hey Gavanshir,

 

five years from no sciences whatsoever, to taking prerequisites, to taking mcat, to doing smp, to finally getting some acceptances - but i was applying albeit unrealistically at first to mcmaster only, and then to others that required mcat, and then to the u.s. plus canada, etc. etc. gpa was average for the u.s., mcat was 94th percentile, 34S but with a 9 in one section (phys) last year before smp, got some fancy interviews, including one at yale where i was waitlisted. my interviews were terrible - anxious to the point of light-headedness and double vision at first, got progressively better, i.e. passable by the end. that was one of my major drawbacks for the process. **********

 

As for me, I graduate this January and I'm going through a very tough time right now trying to decide between my 4 choices:

 

********that makes sense

 

1) Stay the winter semester at Concordia to take extra undergrad courses to bring up my GPA and apply again next summer (will have to figure out when to retake MCAT).

 

**********if applying in the states, make sure it's an mcat that you can submit amcas in july

 

2) Graduate in January and work during the winter semester while studying for the MCAT to take it again in April and apply again.

 

***********what's wrong with that one?

 

3) Start a second bac. at McGill next year (cant figure out if I should do a second BS or a BA)

 

*********do you need a whole new degree or just a couple years full-time towards a degree? there's a girl 'trustwomen' on sdn who did just that, and went to mcgill a couple years ago, to med. redeemed a bad ugpa that way.

 

4) Start medschools in the Caribbean next year and just do it.

************really, really, do not do this. look into the matching rates. albeit, you do have residency in the states, so you can likely match there, but caribbean is restrictive for your future prospects potentially. and it is more expensive than all the other options.

 

5) And now, do an SMP program next year?

advantage to smp is that the u.s. programmes are very familiar with these programmes. so your ap will stand out that way. it is a gamble, of course, but for instance if you get into evms, that's 96% of the smp class matriculating the next year, no glide year.

 

 

*******************makes sense. the best thing, i found, was this time of year, admissions directors are willing to give feedback, if you call and explain that you're interested in their school, and these various options... basically they might help you explore the pros and cons of each path. this is a good time, since they're in one of the quieter times. msar has all the admissions director's names and telephone numbers (for u.s. and canada) also, a friend of mine trained in business, and he helped me with these numbering and ranking charts that helps you make the decision for you. sometimes those decision-making tools are helpful.

[siobhansiobhan]

SiobhanSiobhan,

 

Is there a point for enrolling in these programs if your GPA does not need to be boosted? Can you use it just to prove that you would be successful in meds?

 

Also, I heard that they are 1 year programs, what is this talk about having a glide year the year after you finish?

 

Finally, Considering that you take a lot of med classes, is there any way you can get those classes credited?

 

 

i believe that the programmes work best for boosting gpas. in my case i had an average american gpa, but the way i did my coursework, it helped to show that i could handle a rigourous/full science curriculum. so i used it to prove i could be successful in meds.

 

the glide year happens because some schools want to see the marks you have first. the best is if your profile is such that you'd be getting an interview, but then the update letters help them give you an acceptance rather than waitlist or rejection. i think. of course, i'm talking subjectively about all of this... depending on programme, you can get stuff credited. for instance, the g-town programme, if you get into the g-town programme afterwards, you don't redo those first year classes, but you are required to take something else. so people often take spanish (helps in healthcare) or other things instead. cinci makes people repeat the first year if accepted, but that may be changing. tulan acp, you are the anatomy t.a.s for the first year class if you matriculate there... so depends on where. i def. feel more prepared to start meds right now, given that truly i hadn't really had a rigourous science curriculum before, and truly i was a little nervous at being untested. now that i'm tested, i trust my mettle more.

 

if above average gpa for u.s., i'm not sure if smp is wonderful, except for showing interest in going to school in states. it is pricey. i think it would help to get advice from various programmes. the linkages are the best part too.

 

the one i went to in ohio encourages people to look into changing state residency - that is a helpful prcess too. there were a lot of californians in the programme - california has the same issue as ontario, and the californians were all changing their state residency according to the regulations, to ohio.

 

also, when grades are o.k., i've seen other people make the decision to strengthen the non-academic. in fact, that was the feedback i got from yale after waitlisting - that what some people make the mistake in doing is continuing to strengthen the part that is already strong. it is best to get help (admissions directors etc) in identifying the weakest areas, and improving those... sdn has an advice forum where you can present your 'package' and people on admissions committees will give you feedback... that's helpful.

 

hope this helps a bit. i realize i've been talking up smps, but yet they are definitely more known in the u.s.... and there are potentially better ways to improve an ap for the cdn context, depending on the starting point.

[Gavanshir]

Thanks for your advice Siobhan. SMP has definitely become an option now and the Cincinnati program actuall looks like one of the most impressive and reasonable ones out of the bunch.

 

I remember Trustwomen, I think I'll try to contact her to ask her opinion too! (i think she had 3 undergrad degrees). And yes the Bac at McGill would only take 2 years to complete.

[Alastriss]

If i were to have a weakness, it would be job shadowing. The only job shadowing experience I got was in a hospital abroad for 10 days. Canadian doctors aren't really open to job shadowing. I can't even volunteer at hospitals for more than 3 hours/week. People on SDN just go nuts with that stuff.

[flamesfan]

good evening:

 

i am an infrequent poster but i have learned a lot from the resident posters and i must say thank you!

 

my top 3:

 

1. Uchicago

2. Dartmouth

3. Sinai

 

honourable mention: columbia, case and emory

 

secondaries are the bane of my existence does anyone feel like it is just a round of BS tailored to the specific question asked? I have so many left and I think ill prb end up being complete around the first week of september - mid september latest

[schnauzr]

Yeah I don't think many Canadian applicants would have the shadowing experience, though some do by one way or another.

When I first read about shadowing on SDN, I took their advice and actually called all the clinics in the yellow page book and left a message to every clerk who picked up their phone, saying that I wanted to shadow.

They were so confused about this concept of "shadowing."

Boy, I felt a like a failure because it seemed like everyone else was doing it.

 

Hey, you have Chicago on your list too.

I hated their secondary though.

They say they're looking for students that fit their mission statement,

but their mission statement includes every desirable traits, like academic motivation, leadership, innovation, altruisim....

Oh well... I wonder why Chicago interview invites still haven't gone around yet.

[In_Valid]

Yeah I don't think many Canadian applicants would have the shadowing experience, though some do by one way or another.

When I first read about shadowing on SDN, I took their advice and actually called all the clinics in the yellow page book and left a message to every clerk who picked up their phone, saying that I wanted to shadow.

They were so confused about this concept of "shadowing."

Boy, I felt a like a failure because it seemed like everyone else was doing it.

 

Hey, you have Chicago on your list too.

I hated their secondary though.

They say they're looking for students that fit their mission statement,

but their mission statement includes every desirable traits, like academic motivation, leadership, innovation, altruisim....

Oh well... I wonder why Chicago interview invites still haven't gone around yet.

 

I think Chicago's mission statement was something about interdisciplinary research and research leadership or something.

[In_Valid]

good evening:

 

i am an infrequent poster but i have learned a lot from the resident posters and i must say thank you!

 

my top 3:

 

1. Uchicago

2. Dartmouth

3. Sinai

 

honourable mention: columbia, case and emory

 

secondaries are the bane of my existence does anyone feel like it is just a round of BS tailored to the specific question asked? I have so many left and I think ill prb end up being complete around the first week of september - mid september latest

 

How many schools did you apply to? The sooner the better. I find after writing about 6 or 7 secondaries, you can start cutting and pasting. They all ask fairly similar questions.

[n00b]

So who's complete at schools?

[In_Valid]

So who's complete at schools?

 

I'm pretty much complete at 9 out of 12 schools.

[n00b]

We can submit LORs before we submit our secondary right?

[Guest begaster]

Complete at 6/23. Nearly 7.

 

Soon, I'll start copying and pasting, thankfully.

[n00b]

You were complete at schools by 6/23? like with all LORs, secondary app, etc?

 

Damn, that's fast.

[Guest begaster]

No.

 

Complete at six out of 23 schools I've applied to. Just putting the finishing touches to #7!

[Alastriss]

Not to derail this thread, but who else would want barack to have their babies (besides jack bauer)?

[THX]

Not to derail this thread, but who else would want barack to have their babies (besides jack bauer)?

Way to hijack this thread! lol.

 

Until Barrack actually discloses his plans for 'change', I'm going to assume he's just like every other politician, ie. Believe in whatever sells.

[a41]

Hey, it's change we can believe in.

[n00b]

how times have changed

[Guest viscous]

it seems that at the moment my top 3 choices are

 

a) Yale

Case Western

c) SUNY Upstate

[THX]

A school that impressed me, though I won't be attending was VCU. It's facilities were amazing.

[Typical Premed]

I was really impressed by Northwestern. The location is incredible right in the middle of downtown Chicago. The facilities were very nice, the curriculum seemed great and the faculty and students all seemed very friendly and supportive. Anyone else interview there, and if so, what were your impressions of the school?