Guest mk08 Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 First time I've done it and got 12 BS, 10 PS, 9 V and Q in WS. My GPA is >3.7. Should I rewrite for Canadian and American Schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29486 Personally, I would rewrite. I would want to ensure 10 10 10 in everything. It's entirely up to you, do you think you can do better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mk08 Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Oh wow how did I miss that thread lol thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mk08 Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 Meh, I think I'm gonna call it and try my luck with this score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 I would think hard about it. All your scores are good... verbal, yes it's not double digits - but do you want to risk rewriting and dropping? I think you have a really good score and you are competitive in the US and almost every Canadian school with that score. The only schools that MAY give you a hard time are Queen's and UWO... and there's no guarantee that they will. The Queen's verbal cutoff has been 9 before. Along with American schools... you are highly competitive with that score. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mk08 Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would think hard about it. All your scores are good... verbal, yes it's not double digits - but do you want to risk rewriting and dropping? I think you have a really good score and you are competitive in the US and almost every Canadian school with that score. The only schools that MAY give you a hard time are Queen's and UWO... and there's no guarantee that they will. The Queen's verbal cutoff has been 9 before. Along with American schools... you are highly competitive with that score. Hope this helps! It certainly does thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 I agree with The_Law's assessment. If your GPA is 3.7+, the 31Q is quite competitve in some US schools (where their average MCAT is hovering around 29-30, with an average GPA of 3.50ish...).. I had a friend who wrote the MCAT 3 times in 3 consecutive years.. VR was his weakest, and he got 5 the first time.. 9 the second time.. and an 8 the last time... He's giving it one last try next year.. and if it still doesn't work out, he's giving up on med... So the moral of the story is... don't get too greedy with the VR section... You can potentially lose much more if you get lower on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayne67 Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think that I'll provide a contrasting view. I think that if your GPA was around a 3.80, I would recommend not writing. That way, you would still have a shot at the schools that place a higher emphasis on grades (i.e. UofT, Mac, Ottawa, UBC, etc.). But if your GPA is below 3.80, I would recommend rewriting as hard as it may be to do so. Your MCAT is pretty decent, but it could still mean not getting interviews at MCAT-heavy schools (Queens, Western, Alberta, Manitoba, etc.). As for US med schools, you are just at the borderline because Canadians need higher stats than the posted averages to gain acceptances. Often, by playing it safe you can definitely limit yourself. I kind of did the same thing when I didn't rewrite immediately after getting an MCAT score that was also kind of ambiguous. And now, after finally rewriting the MCAT and getting a score that I am happy with, I wish that I would have done this so much sooner. I wasted so much time time and money applying to schools where either my GPA was just a bit too low or my MCAT was just a bit too low. As an applicant, you want to maximize your shot at getting an acceptance somewhere. And I strongly believe that one can always obtain a higher score on a rewrite with a better study technique and the right materials. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think that I'll provide a contrasting view. I think that if your GPA was around a 3.80, I would recommend not writing. That way, you would still have a shot at the schools that place a higher emphasis on grades (i.e. UofT, Mac, Ottawa, UBC, etc.). But if your GPA is below 3.80, I would recommend rewriting as hard as it may be to do so. Your MCAT is pretty decent, but it could still mean not getting interviews at MCAT-heavy schools (Queens, Western, Alberta, Manitoba, etc.). As for US med schools, you are just at the borderline because Canadians need higher stats than the posted averages to gain acceptances. Often, by playing it safe you can definitely limit yourself. I kind of did the same thing when I didn't rewrite immediately after getting an MCAT score that was also kind of ambiguous. And now, after finally rewriting the MCAT and getting a score that I am happy with, I wish that I would have done this so much sooner. I wasted so much time time and money applying to schools where either my GPA was just a bit too low or my MCAT was just a bit too low. As an applicant, you want to maximize your shot at getting an acceptance somewhere. And I strongly believe that one can always obtain a higher score on a rewrite with a better study technique and the right materials. Just my two cents. You do want to maximize your chances, but many, many, many people have gotten into US medical schools with 30+ scores. A 30+ score definitely makes you competitive in the US - the average MCAT score of a writer is a 26. If the OP applies very early and seriously handles the application, they will have a very good chance of acceptance I think. Also, you are limiting your chances at some Canadian schools. However, how confident is the OP that verbal will go up while keeping all of their schools at the same level? There are pros and cons to each side of the argument. If the OP is confident they can rewrite and boost their score in each section, it will be best for Canadian admissions. If they are not sure they can pull this off, then they still have a competitive score for the US and many Canadian schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceresearcher Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 31Q is quite a decent score. I'm a first year in U of C med, and our MCAT average for successful applicants was 32Q. As long as you apply in your home province and finish a degree you will have a good chance of getting in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAS Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 unless you're in south-eastern ontario... *grumble* we just get the good ole screw-jy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 unless you're in south-eastern ontario... *grumble* we just get the good ole screw-jy Lol... tell me about it.... From a rural town in Niagara, at least 15-20 minutes away from any doctors. We do have one dentist now.... and our first traffic light lol... Mac does have spots now in St. Catherines but no geographic preference for them.... However, I've tried to be competitive without any preference and will hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAS Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Lol... tell me about it.... From a rural town in Niagara, at least 15-20 minutes away from any doctors. We do have one dentist now.... and our first traffic light lol... Mac does have spots now in St. Catherines but no geographic preference for them.... However, I've tried to be competitive without any preference and will hope for the best. yeah... I tried, but not in undergrad i'm giving it a go as a grad student now, but I think my ugrad marks will keep me from anything... whereas if I were in Alberta, Quebec, BC, Sask, Manitoba or the Maritimes, I would be fine also, as for underserved designations, has anyone looked at http://www.kingstonmedicine.org? it seems that, technically, Kingston ON should be designated an underserved area considering it's lack of doctors and high patient:doctor ratio, at least according to a few of the studies on that site. Not that this does me any good, but it just proves my point that these region-biases are ridiculous because they don't necessarily take into account what that region really needs. Rather, it tries to recruit doctors from only those regions in the hopes that they'll stay afterwards. I think it's just ridiculous that they do this... and that, furthermore, there are schools that don't. Either all of them should do this, or none of them, because it's not a fair sampling of the application pool. In short, I think Queen's should be region-biased... so I can get bonuses I think my head is starting to break from all of these apps (US apps process is designed to break you, right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mk08 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 unless you're in south-eastern ontario... *grumble In fact I am but that just means I make the MCAT cutoff right? How much slack do I get from Western otherwise? Sigh I wish I had a rich uncle with an eight digit donation plaque on their wall that would probably make things go a lot smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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