Anyone confirmed to go to Wayne State?

[The Journey Man]

Hey guys,

 

I finally got the word I won't be getting into any Canadian schools this year . Nonetheless, Im glad I was accepted at Wayne State back in October.

 

I know quite a few of use Canadians got in, I was just wondering if any other fellow Canadians are confirmed to attend Wayne this August.

 

As for me, I'll probably try to live in Windsor (looking at some places right now). Where is everyone else living? Has anyone contacted the Canadian group at Wayne?

 

Cheers

[a41]

Hell yeah Wayne is awesome!

 

Someone please buy my dissection kit, dissection guide and dirty Netter's! You'll be the coolest person in your lab group!

 

I don't know much about Windsor (though I think it's a good idea to live there). But if you're looking around Detroit, Cathedral Towers is a good location (about halfway between Scott Hall and the gym) if you don't mind a small apartment.

[NiV]

Congratulations on getting into Wayne. You are silver lining for some of us who r planning to apply for Wayne this year.

Can u give me any rough estimate on the kind of Canadian GPA and MCAT score that re required to apply for Wayne?

Good Luck

[smile]

WSU is sooooo expensive.

[The Journey Man]

Congratulations on getting into Wayne. You are silver lining for some of us who r planning to apply for Wayne this year.

Can u give me any rough estimate on the kind of Canadian GPA and MCAT score that re required to apply for Wayne?

Good Luck

 

My GPA was 3.83 and MCAT of 10, 10, 10 P.

 

Mind you, that my MCAT was probably on the low side for most people who are accepted to Wayne State. You should likely shoot for 32+ if you want to be on the safe side.

 

What helped me (I think) was that I took a long time with the secondary essays and try to do a very good job on my AMCAS essay.

 

Oh yea, APPLY EARLY. Send in your transcripts like 3 weeks before AMCAS opens and submit the day it opens. Finish and send in LOR and secondary essays as soon as you receive them.

 

I was complete at most schools by mid-late August, however, maybe if I was complete 3-4 weeks earlier, I maybe would've gotten more interviews (I received 2).

[The Journey Man]

WSU is sooooo expensive.

 

I agree its expensive ($56, 000 USD) however, I'm trying to take this as a positive.

 

Because I'm going to an American school, I'm forcing myself to become more financially educated. Instead of saying "I can't afford it", I'm beginning to ask "How can I afford it". I sat down with my parents and have come up with some interesting financial ideas of generating passive income that I'll be hopefully pursuing while in medical school.

 

I probably wouldn't even have thought twice about money if I went to a Canadian school. In the long run, being more financially educated will probably help me out more. So yes, in the short term it may seem extremely expensive, however I think can turn this into a positive for yourself in the long run.

[premed11]

My GPA was 3.83 and MCAT of 10, 10, 10 P.

 

Mind you, that my MCAT was probably on the low side for most people who are accepted to Wayne State. You should likely shoot for 32+ if you want to be on the safe side.

 

What helped me (I think) was that I took a long time with the secondary essays and try to do a very good job on my AMCAS essay.

 

Oh yea, APPLY EARLY. Send in your transcripts like 3 weeks before AMCAS opens and submit the day it opens. Finish and send in LOR and secondary essays as soon as you receive them.

 

I was complete at most schools by mid-late August, however, maybe if I was complete 3-4 weeks earlier, I maybe would've gotten more interviews (I received 2).

 

Thx for the tips Journey man . I'm looking to apply to US schools this year too and getting into WSU would be awesome (even with the high tuition). My GPA is a bit higher but my MCAT is lower (2nd time writing it). So I'll be writing again and hopefully score 30+

[NiV]

Thnx for sharing ur stats now atleast I have something to compare my stats to. Did u include summer courses in calculating GPA. I am not sure whether American Medical Schools look at summer marks.

BTW I m surprised that with scores like that u didnt get into Canadian Med Schools. Maybe they dont deserve u

[The Journey Man]

Thnx for sharing ur stats now atleast I have something to compare my stats to. Did u include summer courses in calculating GPA. I am not sure whether American Medical Schools look at summer marks.

BTW I m surprised that with scores like that u didnt get into Canadian Med Schools. Maybe they dont deserve u

 

American schools use the AMCAS GPA calculation (check the sticky), so yes, they include ALL your marks. There is no weighting system, so all marks from all years count the same, although I hear that committees do look at trends, ie if your marks are consistent or improve from 1st to 4th year.

 

Its pretty frustrating applying to Canadian schools, I assure you of that. I missed many cutoffs by just one point. At Queens and Western I believe I was off because of the writing section (I think a Q was needed and I got a P, big whoop right?).

 

At Ottawa, I was off by a few decimal places in terms of GPA. Mac god knows how they evaluate and U of T I'm not sure what happened there either.

 

I know there are many other qualified applicants on this board who get no love from Ontario even though their applications are much better than mine. Its just something people from Ontario, specifically from the GTA have to live with.

[nerv12]

Congrats....but I must say that tuition is pretty high. I mean 56k USD WOW..

[a41]

Congrats....but I must say that tuition is pretty high. I mean 56k USD WOW..

 

It's on par with MSU...v:ov

 

Just a couple years ago Wayne was cheaper than MSU and U of M, but they increased their tuition to match.

 

I think doctors make a lot of money too? Confirm/deny? It's still a better financial decision than not going to med school at all, unless you've got a good job already.

 

Edit: holy crap, MSU's tuition is actually $67k

[xylem29]

It's on par with MSU...v:ov

 

Just a couple years ago Wayne was cheaper than MSU and U of M, but they increased their tuition to match.

 

I think doctors make a lot of money too? Confirm/deny? It's still a better financial decision than not going to med school at all, unless you've got a good job already.

 

Edit: holy crap, MSU's tuition is actually $67k

 

A quick scan through a detailed report of salaries across different jobs in ON indicates that you'd make enough as an MD (hospital) to pay back the debt - with smart personal finance.

[a41]

alex, that's so ghetto lol. trying to pawn off your dirty books haha

 

No point in buying a new one only to get it dirty anyways...

[Dayne67]

I'll probably be attending Wayne as well. I've sent in the $50 deposit.

 

I've only just started to look at housing options. I am going to probably be living within walking distance of the campus in Detroit. I'm wondering though if I'll need a car just to get groceries and run other weekly hereins?

 

a41, how is the student life and camaraderie at Wayne? I know that it's a commuter based school and that most students don't attend lectures....

[Halcyon]

For those of you attending Wayne State, housing prices in both Windsor and Detroit are quite cheap. I realize with the 56,000 tuition/ year buying may not be an option, but something to consider if your situation allows it.

 

Best wishes! And, congrats!

[a41]

^^^^ Haha buy the $1 houses! There is a student at our school who bought one of those really cheap rundown houses and renovated it with his dad. The before and after photos are hilarious.

 

I'll probably be attending Wayne as well. I've sent in the $50 deposit.

 

I've only just started to look at housing options. I am going to probably be living within walking distance of the campus in Detroit. I'm wondering though if I'll need a car just to get groceries and run other weekly hereins?

 

a41, how is the student life and camaraderie at Wayne? I know that it's a commuter based school and that most students don't attend lectures....

 

Don't forget to subtract $50 when you go to pay tuition...they had my $50 sitting in my account doing nothing for months before they finally cut me the cheque.

 

You'll probably need a car to get groceries, or at least know someone who has one. There are groceries within walking distance...but if you want good quality produce etc., you'll need to drive for a bit. Plus you can easily drive back to Toronto for a weekend (if you are from there)! Get a NEXUS card, it's totally worth it.

 

A lot of students don't attend lectures, but student life is great. There are a lot of clubs and organizations, sports teams, etc. that you can easily find a group of people to hang out with outside of class. Everyone is really eager to help everyone out, and a lot of people share study notes etc. and send out reminders to the entire class. Obviously I can't make an accurate comparison, but I wouldn't say it is different from any other medical school.

[bona_verba]

your gpa is REALLY good.

 

if i had that gpa i'd be applying to harvard haha

 

i have a better mcat than yours

but i'm still on the waitlist for both wayne and saint louis

which was the other school you intw'ed at?

[The Journey Man]

your gpa is REALLY good.

 

if i had that gpa i'd be applying to harvard haha

 

i have a better mcat than yours

but i'm still on the waitlist for both wayne and saint louis

which was the other school you intw'ed at?

 

I'm not sure if you were referring to me, but I received interviews at Wayne, Albert Einstein, George Washington, St. Louis and Tufts.

 

I declined interviews at George W, St. Louis and Tufts after I got my Wayne acceptance b/c of me wanting to stay close to family + g/f.

 

What dates were you complete with your applications? That makes a huge difference. If you want to apply next cycle, make sure you're complete at all schools by July.

 

Funny thing is, I did apply to Harvard, Yale etc.. b/c common advice is to apply broadly. I think its good to apply broadly, but I shouldve saved my money and not applied to these powerhouse schools.

[Zuckman]

Wayne is way too expensive. The only way to get by would be to invest well during med school. Otherwise, I'd pick almost any other American school (except Michigan State). George Washington is expensive (45K USD per year), but still not nearly as expensive as these two.

[The Journey Man]

Wayne is way too expensive. The only way to get by would be to invest well during med school. Otherwise, I'd pick almost any other American school (except Michigan State). George Washington is expensive (45K USD per year), but still not nearly as expensive as these two.

 

Well take into consideration living expenses as well if you go to GW. If you go to Wayne, do you have family close by that you can come back and take groceries from? You can do this if you live in Windsor and commute.

 

Also at Wayne, after your labs are done, you don't have to be on campus much. So you can possibly be home more often. You should take this into consideration as well.

 

If you go to GW, you might want to add in flights back home for a couple times a year etc.. you get the drift. It can get real expensive once you take other factors into account and make the difference between going to Wayne and any other school slim.

 

Don't let tuition be a reason to not apply. In the long run, with some intelligence and effort, you WILL be ok. Look at my post on my financial plan to see if its possible for you.

[Dayne67]

I went to my GW interview. They say that their cost of attendence for each year is about $71,000. But just looking it all over, I think that they've under-rated the amount will be spent on renting. Just talking to students there, it's like $1400/month for a tiny bit studio for anything close to Foggy Bottom. If you live further away, you have to pay an extra $200/month for a Metro transit pass. And flying to DC can be quite expensive.

 

On the other hand, WSU has a massive tuition, but cheap housing, food, and very little transportation costs (i.e. airfare). So, the costs between going to GW and WSU are not that different IMO. They're either equal in cost or there's probably only a $3-4k yearly difference.

 

And I say this despite the fact that I actually liked GW a lot. I actually liked it more than WSU. And I've always really liked DC. But I wouldn't choose it just because of it's only marginally (IMO) "cheaper".

[aRnonymous]

How exactly are you guys planning to pay for Wayne? I got accepted there and several other US medical schools but I simply cannot get loans. The most that Canadian banks are willing to give me is $150k CDN over four years

[The Journey Man]

How exactly are you guys planning to pay for Wayne? I got accepted there and several other US medical schools but I simply cannot get loans. The most that Canadian banks are willing to give me is $150k CDN over four years

 

Have you tried securing multiple lines of credit from different banks? You will likely need a co-signer but at TD Bank, they processed my application without a co-signer - I'm still waiting to see if they will approve.

 

If you do go this route, I advise NOT to go on the same day and apply for credit. Wait to get approved for 1 LOC, then apply for another. Just in case you rejected at one bank, it does not look good on your credit history if you had multiple inquiries on your credit in a short amount of time.

 

You can also get some US loans if you have a willing American co-signer: These will likely have high interest rates.

 

You may not need more than 2 LOC. Its predicted that the US dollar will drop substantially in 2009. I'm not sure how much (I hope a lot ). Lets hope this occurs before August.

[abcwxyz]

Have you tried securing multiple lines of credit from different banks? You will likely need a co-signer but at TD Bank, they processed my application without a co-signer - I'm still waiting to see if they will approve.

 

If you do go this route, I advise NOT to go on the same day and apply for credit. Wait to get approved for 1 LOC, then apply for another. Just in case you rejected at one bank, it does not look good on your credit history if you had multiple inquiries on your credit in a short amount of time.

 

You can also get some US loans if you have a willing American co-signer: These will likely have high interest rates.

 

You may not need more than 2 LOC. Its predicted that the US dollar will drop substantially in 2009. I'm not sure how much (I hope a lot ). Lets hope this occurs before August.

 

I wouldn't put any stock in betting on currencies, particularly if financing one's medical education hinges upon it. They are volatile.

[gibson303]

For those prospective WSU applicants next year, this is my stats:

 

cGPA: 3.375 (3.0 -> 2.6 -> 4.0 -> 3.9)

If cGPA includes Grad GPA as well, then it becomes: 3.5 (grad GPA -> 4.0)

 

MCAT: 12-11-11-S (34S)

 

I submitted my secondaries in late September, interviewed at the end of October, and was accepted in the middle of December.

 

As for paying for WSU tuition...yes it is incredibly large, but there are plenty of CDNs who go to Wayne State now, maybe they can share how they paid for it. I'm hoping CDN school works out for me, but ultimately it is nice to know that I have a seat at an American school, and to know so early!

 

American schools are a far better option than Carribbean, Australian or European schools, if your ultimate goal is to practice in Canada (compete in the same pool as Canadian grads, so long as you are a Canadian yourself) or the States.