Any hope?

[Newbadoob]

Hi everyone,

 

Several personal factors prevented me from attaining a decent GPA. I'm around 2.5ish CGPA 3.5 best two years, 40 MCAT. Im very new to researching about schools so I thought to post here in order to gain a sense of direction.

 

I have medical documentation regarding the obstacles during undergrad so I was wondering if there is any hope of a semi-decent school?

[Prothrombin]

Well if you actually scored a 40 on the MCAT, you have a ridiculously good score, except what was your essay score? You're going to have a problem with your GPA though as 3.5 isn't good enough for pretty much any med school on Canada. However because of your good MCAT score I could definitely see you getting interviews if you had a GPA of around 3.7.

[Waltz]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you need a 3.0 cGPA to apply?

 

OP, how many years do you have left? I would take an extra year with courses that you're confident in to try to get your best 2 years/possibly last 2 years up.

[xi88]

Hi everyone,

 

Several personal factors prevented me from attaining a decent GPA. I'm around 2.5ish CGPA 3.5 best two years, 40 MCAT. Im very new to researching about schools so I thought to post here in order to gain a sense of direction.

 

I have medical documentation regarding the obstacles during undergrad so I was wondering if there is any hope of a semi-decent school?

 

What province are you from? Have you already graduated? Were/are you a full-time student, and have you taken a full course load the whole way?

 

I agree with ryansn that 3.5 is still quite low for all canadian schools, and your documentation of personal obstacles during your undergrad can't really cancel out a 2.5. Also, only a few schools take your best 2 years. Most others will either look at your complete cGPA, or your most recent 2 to 3 years.

 

IMO, if you are serious about med school in Canada, do a second undergrad. Med admissions is very cookie-cutter. You need the specific requirements to get through the application process.

[Newbadoob]

Well if you actually scored a 40 on the MCAT, you have a ridiculously good score, except what was your essay score? You're going to have a problem with your GPA though as 3.5 isn't good enough for pretty much any med school on Canada. However because of your good MCAT score I could definitely see you getting interviews if you had a GPA of around 3.7.

 

So even if I know more about the sciences based on their standardized test of who knows what about hte sciences, it won't matter because my GPA is low? :S

 

Alright, what about American schools?

[Newbadoob]

What province are you from? Have you already graduated? Were/are you a full-time student, and have you taken a full course load the whole way?

 

I agree with ryansn that 3.5 is still quite low for all canadian schools, and your documentation of personal obstacles during your undergrad can't really cancel out a 2.5. Also, only a few schools take your best 2 years. Most others will either look at your complete cGPA, or your most recent 2 to 3 years.

 

IMO, if you are serious about med school in Canada, do a second undergrad. Med admissions is very cookie-cutter. You need the specific requirements to get through the application process.

 

You're saying the chain went..

 

Sick -> Low Grades -> Better health -> Higher grades + good MCAT.

 

And the school's will still either not comprehend and/or not care?

[future_doc]

You are obviously brilliant with that MCAT score, this is not an accident. There is definitely hope. I would consider speaking with a top consultant, thereis one in TO and worth a couple of hundred bucks to get on track. Keep to your dream, make a plan that will work!

[ploughboy]

You're saying the chain went..

 

Sick -> Low Grades -> Better health -> Higher grades + good MCAT.

 

And the school's will still either not comprehend and/or not care?

 

There is a section in the OMSAS application (don't know about other provinces) where you can detail extenuating circumstances. Can't hurt to try that.

 

Failing that, if you can pull off a 40 on the MCAT you can get 2 or 3 years with a high GPA and apply to various schools (research them!). Yes, it's extra time. In the context of a 40+ year career, is it all that important?

[Newbadoob]

There is a section in the OMSAS application (don't know about other provinces) where you can detail extenuating circumstances. Can't hurt to try that.

 

Failing that, if you can pull off a 40 on the MCAT you can get 2 or 3 years with a high GPA and apply to various schools (research them!). Yes, it's extra time. In the context of a 40+ year career, is it all that important?

 

 

I got 99th on the LSAT and it would seem that it is a much more logical process for who gets into a good lawschool. The explanation above works for them. There is no iron clad "nope, sorry even though we can figure out you won't accidentally amputate a leg".

 

I think I am going to speak to a counseller and try to boost my GPA.

[Madz25]

Hi everyone,

 

Several personal factors prevented me from attaining a decent GPA. I'm around 2.5ish CGPA 3.5 best two years, 40 MCAT. Im very new to researching about schools so I thought to post here in order to gain a sense of direction.

 

I have medical documentation regarding the obstacles during undergrad so I was wondering if there is any hope of a semi-decent school?

 

Give the US a try. They LOOOOOOVE the MCAT. They'll be drooling over your score. Explain your low cGPA and you may have a shot.

[ploughboy]

Give the US a try. They LOOOOOOVE the MCAT. They'll be drooling over your score. Explain your low cGPA and you may have a shot.

 

GWU FTW 10ch...

[Waltz]

Can someone clarify this, please? I looked at an OMSAS document and for some of the schools you need a minimum 3.0 cGPA to be considered.

[Madz25]

Can someone clarify this, please? I looked at an OMSAS document and for some of the schools you need a minimum 3.0 cGPA to be considered.

 

I think that's only for mac. Your chances are slim with a 3.0. Even though they will consider you, doesn't mean you have a good shot at getting in.

[Prothrombin]

Yeah man, just like with Law Schools and the LSAT, they love high MCAT scores. You stand a very good chance of getting into quite a few med schools in the US.

[Waltz]

I think that's only for mac. Your chances are slim with a 3.0. Even though they will consider you, doesn't mean you have a good shot at getting in.

 

Yup, but does that mean without a 3.0 at least you won't be considered at all in the other schools with a weighting formula. So if your wGPA is high but cGPA is less than 3.0, you wouldn't be considered, right?

[WaveSense]

you can try calgary too, they have some wierd formula for OOP people and with that MCAT score you will probably meet the initial cutoffs. I think they have a section you can write about your bad gpa too. It'll depend on who reads your application and what your ECs are but it might be worth a shot

[Newbadoob]

Yeah man, just like with Law Schools and the LSAT, they love high MCAT scores. You stand a very good chance of getting into quite a few med schools in the US.

 

 

Not to sound elitest but is there a distinction between GOOD med school and just med school the way there is in law?

 

I hear that it's more about the post-medschool exams than the medical school you graduated from but I can't help but go further to say that the school you went to should play a role in how well you do on the Steps exams.

[Rayven]

Not to sound elitest but is there a distinction between GOOD med school and just med school the way there is in law?

 

I hear that it's more about the post-medschool exams than the medical school you graduated from but I can't help but go further to say that the school you went to should play a role in how well you do on the Steps exams.

In Canada there's not too much of a difference between med schools since it's all more or less run by and subsidized by the government. However, there tends to be a push towards certain specialties. Toronto prefers med students to go into research and pursue their PhD for example. There's lots of tables and charts by caRMs i think that shows how many med students from each school match into what specialties. Give that a looky looky.

[future_doc]

Not to sound elitest but is there a distinction between GOOD med school and just med school the way there is in law?

 

I agree with Rayven. You presume that such a distinction does exist for law schools. Perhaps you are right t here, but the test of a really good lawyer is to give him/her a legal problem out of their comfort zone, knowledge and expertise, and then watch them handle the problem well to resolution. A good lawyer will have no difficulty dealing with a legal probem that is theoretically beyond him/her....and this is not so much the result of trsaining in law school, it more depends upon the flexibility, adaptablity, and ability of the prson to zoom in on important information and to know what information is missing, find it and then solve the problem.

 

I am unsuire if this fits in medicine, I have the feeling that we need much more knowledge before we can presume to try to solve a medical problem from scratch and without experience.

[Madz25]

Yup, but does that mean without a 3.0 at least you won't be considered at all in the other schools with a weighting formula. So if your wGPA is high but cGPA is less than 3.0, you wouldn't be considered, right?

 

No b/c each school has a different formula.

 

Some look at best 2 yrs or last 2 yrs - they dont care what your cGPA is as long as your best 2 years or last 2 yrs meet their cutoffs which are usually around 3.7.

 

Other schools have certain weighting formulas and as long as your weighted GPA meets their cutoff your cGPA doesn't matter.

 

Mac only uses cGPA - they have no weighting formula. That's why your cGPA must be above 3.0 to be considered there.

[A-Stark]

In Canada there's not too much of a difference between med schools since it's all more or less run by and subsidized by the government. However, there tends to be a push towards certain specialties. Toronto prefers med students to go into research and pursue their PhD for example. There's lots of tables and charts by caRMs i think that shows how many med students from each school match into what specialties. Give that a looky looky.

 

That sort of preference at UofT is relevant more to residency programs. As near as I can tell, for undergrad med education they're happiest with a great essay and a high GPA.

[Rayven]

That sort of preference at UofT is relevant more to residency programs. As near as I can tell, for undergrad med education they're happiest with a great essay and a high GPA.

I think it happens earlier than that with the weighting that UofT gives to med school applicants with research and publications backgrounds.

[a41]

Not to sound elitest but is there a distinction between GOOD med school and just med school the way there is in law?

 

There definitely is not this distinction in the US. Your Step Scores play a large factor in gaining a good residency. That isn't to say you're not better off going to a 'good school' - just that it's still possible to go somewhere good for residency if you are a 'good' candidate. For the most part, an MD is an MD (maybe not Carib lol) and it's more about your skills as a doctor.

 

Law School is a whole different story. I remember seeing a graph of the starting salaries for the class of 2007. It was a bimodal distribution, one around 30k/yr and another around 130k or so. You do not need to worry about this in medicine.

 

In law, your salary will heavily depend on whether you graduate from a T4 or T14 school or not. In medicine, opthalmologists will make a lot of money matter where they went to school.

[Newbadoob]

I agree with Rayven. You presume that such a distinction does exist for law schools. Perhaps you are right t here, but the test of a really good lawyer is to give him/her a legal problem out of their comfort zone, knowledge and expertise, and then watch them handle the problem well to resolution. A good lawyer will have no difficulty dealing with a legal probem that is theoretically beyond him/her....and this is not so much the result of trsaining in law school, it more depends upon the flexibility, adaptablity, and ability of the prson to zoom in on important information and to know what information is missing, find it and then solve the problem.

 

I am unsuire if this fits in medicine, I have the feeling that we need much more knowledge before we can presume to try to solve a medical problem from scratch and without experience.

 

 

No my friend, for Law it's very clear. Top 14 schools in the US will have nearly all their graduates making decent to amazing money. Top 50 school students will have to be in the top 10% of their class to hav ea shot at a good firm. Top 100? Probably 5%. Tiers 2, 3, forgeta bout it if you don't want to work 100x harder than a T-14 student and still make less money. I know about Lawschool, it's this Medical stuff that I haven't researched enough yet.

[Rayven]

You're right about the Law school name holding a lot of weight. It looks like someone was just talking out of their... ask them later.

 

Med school name in Canada hasn't nearly the same weight. Even in the States, where you go for your medical undergrad doesn't amount to too much except for possible connections through staff and alumni. But like a41 stated, where you get into residency matters much more (which is in the States is determined by your Step scores).

 

But be warned though, if you know about the DO vs MD debate that DO students have a bit of a harder time placing into the "good" residencies that are available to MDs. And yeah... Carib schools... whole other debate.