The BIG (BAD) NEWS is in...

[solace]

OK i just got my mcat score and it is reallllllllllly bad, I got a 19N (ps5,bs8,vr6,wsN).

 

And I have my omsas cGPA as 3.16.

 

I know most people do not post thier stats when they are this bad, but I have done it b/c I am in need of desperate advice, and need to make decisions now since deadlines for even foreign schools are approaching.

 

SO now that my mcat is in and my gpa is known (and also my Ecs/volunteering are decent, 3 years research, volunteering any many ECs):

 

WHat are my chances of getting in:

 

1-big four in caribbean

2-irish/austrailian schools.

 

Should I even bother applying to any US schools thru amcas...even the most low tier ones?. If you think i should bother with any, please name them.

 

I need to be in med school in sept 2010 and I do not want to sit idle just applying in the next year (as we have ruled out the possibility of a"special year" increasing my gpa greatly)

 

HELP...Thanks ((((

[musicaldna]

OK i just got my mcat score and it is reallllllllllly bad, I got a 19N (ps5,bs8,vr6,wsN).

 

And I have my omsas cGPA as 3.16.

 

I know most people do not post thier stats when they are this bad, but I have done it b/c I am in need of desperate advice, and need to make decisions now since deadlines for even foreign schools are approaching.

 

SO now that my mcat is in and my gpa is known (and also my Ecs/volunteering are decent, 3 years research, volunteering any many ECs):

 

WHat are my chances of getting in:

 

1-big four in caribbean

2-irish/austrailian schools.

 

Should I even bother applying to any US schools thru amcas...even the most low tier ones?. If you think i should bother with any, please name them.

 

I need to be in med school in sept 2010 and I do not want to sit idle just applying in the next year (as we have ruled out the possibility of a"special year" increasing my gpa greatly)

 

HELP...Thanks ((((

 

US is definitely out of the window. I am not really sure about Carribbean schools. My friends have gotten into SEBA without even writing MCAT and having GPAs around 3.0 so you do have a shot there.

[justletmein]

Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you can handle med school if you cant manage higher than a 19N?

 

There is a saying that it is harder to get out of med school than to get in.

 

FYI, a large portion of the carib school classes end up flunking out within the first year.

 

You need to ask yourself how committed you are to med school. Do you have the abilities? If you think you do, then study your arse off and write the MCAT again.

 

Bottom line: Worry about improving your app, not which schools you can get into. Because in all honesty, any school that accepts you with a 3.16/19 is only looking for $$$$$

[foregoneconclusion]

Even with an amazing MCAT, no Canadian school and few American schools can forgive your GPA. Your situation is tough but you have to ask yourself, are your undergrad marks a true reflection of yourself or were you caught with bad luck?

 

I have a friend who had a 2.96 in undergrad, got a 28 or so on the MCAT and benefited from the clean slate he got in the Caribbean. Yes, there are hoops to jump through once you're in school and once you're done but you're able to wipe away the stuff that happened in your undergrad and prove yourself from a new perspective.

 

That said, if you feel like it would be tough to improve your marks, you will be eaten alive in the Caribbean. They accept a lot to take money and benefit when people drop out. Be sure you're ready to prove you're worth this.

 

Look into UMHS, a new school on St. Kitt's started by the man who started Ross (which used to be the biggest and best school in the Caribbean until he sold it). The fact that they're new means you're likely to get in and though it's a gamble, might mean you could benefit from getting in on the ground floor.

[Slashsev01]

id redue the mcat and apply to the us..u never know...

[sfinch]

Time for some harsh reality.

Noone would want their doctor to be someone with poor university marks and a very poor MCAT (WAY BELOW AVERAGE). Even the lovey dovey people here would not, if their health was on the line. Medicine is complicated and challenging. It IS ACADEMIC. Few people fail out of medical school because they go in with high marks and high MCATS and are very capable. You have not shown that. Anyone can get ECs and get their name on research if they do scut work - it doesn't mean you'll be a good doctor. Just because your parents are forcing you to do medicine (I'm guessing you are asian like myself or maybe indian), doesn't mean you have to. For the sake of future patients, avoid doing medicine. With your stats, you would not get into north american pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, any phd program at a decent university, and on and on and on...

[sf1nch]

Time for some harsh reality.

Noone would want their doctor to be someone with poor university marks and a very poor MCAT (WAY BELOW AVERAGE). Even the lovey dovey people here would not, if their health was on the line. Medicine is complicated and challenging. It IS ACADEMIC. Few people fail out of medical school because they go in with high marks and high MCATS and are very capable. You have not shown that. Anyone can get ECs and get their name on research if they do scut work - it doesn't mean you'll be a good doctor. Just because your parents are forcing you to do medicine (I'm guessing you are asian like myself or maybe indian), doesn't mean you have to. For the sake of future patients, avoid doing medicine. With your stats, you would not get into north american pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, any phd program at a decent university, and on and on and on...

 

silly sfinch, trolling is for kids. http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35508

[sfinch]

Sure, tell him/her her marks are fantastic. Tell him/her that her third yr marks show a positive trend. Tell him/her that they have a good chance of getting into a north american medical school, when the stats as posted would not even let her get into a decent graduate program.

 

You know, it's people like you that build up false hope in people that are way worse than people like me. Sure, I'm harsh, but I've also told the truth, and the classmates that know me well acknowledge that. I grew up in small town BC watching my dad get bullied for his background, and getting teased myself. I've also learned that judging all whites on that basis is wrong, and I've come to see that in my class. I've admitted that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell people that they will make great doctors when the evidence is clearly not there.

 

This person has a poor MCAT, poor marks, and doesn't even know the reason why Meharry and Morehouse have low MCATS (no concept of URM, and US history). Why does this person want to do medicine? For the money and prestige no doubt. Because if this person knew their limitiations, they would try to 'help people' in another way - perhaps nursing or social work.

 

Anyways, that is my two cents. Solace, learn your limitations. There are 10s of thousands of people better qualified to be doctors than you in Ontario alone.

[sf1nch]

Sure, tell him/her her marks are fantastic. Tell him/her that her third yr marks show a positive trend. Tell him/her that they have a good chance of getting into a north american medical school, when the stats as posted would not even let her get into a decent graduate program.

 

You know, it's people like you that build up false hope in people that are way worse than people like me. Sure, I'm harsh, but I've also told the truth, and the classmates that know me well acknowledge that. I grew up in small town BC watching my dad get bullied for his background, and getting teased myself. I've also learned that judging all whites on that basis is wrong, and I've come to see that in my class. I've admitted that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell people that they will make great doctors when the evidence is clearly not there.

 

This person has a poor MCAT, poor marks, and doesn't even know the reason why Meharry and Morehouse have low MCATS (no concept of URM, and US history). Why does this person want to do medicine? For the money and prestige no doubt. Because if this person knew their limitiations, they would try to 'help people' in another way - perhaps nursing or social work.

 

Anyways, that is my two cents. Solace, learn your limitations. There are 10s of thousands of people better qualified to be doctors than you in Ontario alone.

 

There are many causes of a poor gpa/mcat. You need to separate intelligence and ability to be a competent doctor from ability to bubble in a sheet and memorize often-irrelevant facts. If someone knows that this is for them, you, from your pedestal, have no right to say what they can/can't be.

 

If they go to the Caribbean and are able to succeed, then what? Are they still not good enough to be a physician?

 

You also have been quoted as saying a 3.95 is 'decent' and a 3.87 is 'not good enough'. This is why you're a cancerous presence on this forum and that I felt it was time to step in and join this forum.

[leviathan]

Whether finch is a troll or not, he is right. If the OP wants to be a doctor, s/he should do some really heavy soul-searching and figure out why their undergrad marks were so low, and why the MCAT score was so dismal. People love to convince themselves of a million reasons for their crappy performance and how they will do better once they start in medicine, and then they blow a huge sum of money at a foreign med school when they fail out. You don't have to be a genius to succeed at medical school, but you do have to work extremely hard. Usually this is something that you cannot just pick up and start doing if you were slacking off all throughout your undergrad, and it is even harder if medicine is not something you are passionate about and willing to sit down and drown yourself in for hours and hours every day.

 

If OP really does have a valid reason for their poor performance in undergrad and on the MCAT, then I would say go for it and apply to Australia, Ireland, the Caribbean, etc. I would definitely rewrite the MCAT and kill the test to prove that you will be able to do the same on the USMLE steps 1 2 and 3. Those standardized exams make the MCAT look like a quiz in an elementary school science class.

[sf1nch]

Whether finch is a troll or not, he is right. If the OP wants to be a doctor, s/he should do some really heavy soul-searching and figure out why their undergrad marks were so low, and why the MCAT score was so dismal. People love to convince themselves of a million reasons for their crappy performance and how they will do better once they start in medicine, and then they blow a huge sum of money at a foreign med school when they fail out. You don't have to be a genius to succeed at medical school, but you do have to work extremely hard. Usually this is something that you cannot just pick up and start doing if you were slacking off all throughout your undergrad, and it is even harder if medicine is not something you are passionate about and willing to sit down and drown yourself in for hours and hours every day.

 

What I'm saying is that based on the small picture we have here, making grandiose statements like "you are not fit to be a doctor" is ridiculous. Did the OP take a prep course for the MCAT? Did they have health issues or other extenuating circumstances?

 

sfinch and some other members of this forum are so quick to lay down the law when they clearly got through the admissions process by fooling a few interviewers into thinking they had a decent personality.

[sfinch]

I don't think solace would make a good doctor - at least with all the great candidates that are available out there who also will not get in this year.

 

I never said 3.87 was not good enough. In fact, I told ahmed that he has a chance for interviews at all 4 schools. I rather attacked him for his attitude. I also told him that as a 3rd year, his marks are not super stellar for med school admissions. And that is a fact. He is not a shoo-in for medical school at all. His GPA and verbal put him in the running for McMaster, but not as a top candidate. His GPA for a 3rd yr is low end for UofT, and his GPA will not help post interview at Queen's, and minimally at Ottawa. And if he even remotely talks like how he writes, especially with a poor understanding of the admissions process and no understaning of percentiles, the interviews and MMIs likely will not go well.

 

The 3.95 being decent was a off the hand remark because I was focusing about his MCAT. The two do not mesh, and in my mind is indicative of a bird program. A 6 in verbal probably will sink that person everywhere in English Canada except NOSM or Ottawa.

[Slashsev01]

wow...great discussion..

 

dont listen to anyone...

if u wanna be a doc...u will have to work for it (it is not based on smarts..but hard work!)

 

find out your weak areas and improve...do more courses.do another undergrad..redue ur mcats..take classes..etc..

 

if u have the will there is a way..dont listen to the crap here...

 

i have read of posts from 40 yr old still committed to med...that should be motivation enough

 

ps...stop posting everywhere!

[xi88]

Wow this post is everywhere..only post once. You will be flamed.

[xi88]

ok, first off

 

Sf1nch and Sfinch - confused the crap out of me!!

 

Secondly, saying that someone won't make a good physician based on info shared on an internet forum is something so god damn ridiculous that I am wondering how you can still make that claim after going through just a few PCCM sessions. So much info that is provided is lacking and you are not in a position to make that call. Not gettinge in due to the stellar candidates this year is not the same as "not making a good doctor", and not being competitive for med school is not the same as "not making a good doctor".

 

OP, if you want to discuss this, I would be more than willing to discuss this in private so PM me.

 

Why did you post this here? This is totally the wrong forum.

[sfinch]

Alastriss, I know you're a nice guy. But I was stating my opinion.

 

Medical school is challenging (especially with boring Pathology and inflammation lectures like today ;-)). This applicant had her/his GPA drop below 3.0 in her third year, after already having 2 full years to get her act together. But to top it off, her/his MCAT was 19 - even AAMAC data shows her chances of passing the USMLEs is low...and just passing is not what we are looking at.

 

I'm not sure where you were going with the PCCM sessions (patient centered clinical methods for non uwo people), but there is nothing there that has taught be that a poor academic would be a good doctor - just that people skills and listening are important for any doctor. A good doctor has to have both skills...good communication alone will not cut it - in fact can be more dangerous.

 

The OP might be able to get into an overseas medical school with a bribe or something (it works in China and India), but not into any decent school here, the US, or the Caribean either (SGU for example), until they clean up their act. That is the harsh truth. And considering how many good candidates there are out there that did not get in (and can't afford to go overseas and essentially bypass the system), I would never want this person working as an MD in our system. People that go overseas override the Canadian system of equal access and opportunity to good jobs...paying extra money and buying a degree is almost offensive to me.