personal stats on those who got in?

[Guest pazas]

just wondering what type of gpas and mcat scores you had to get in as well as volunteer work? i have done two years of university, with an extremely poor gpa (2.7) but a 38 on the april mcat. i know i can pull off a 4.0 third year because of the courses i'm taking...any hope for me??

 

thanks.

[Guest ezrock]

hi. You will need two fulltime years above the minimum gpa to meet the gpa cutoff. They will interview you if you have at least one year above it, but not otherwise. This past year, the minimum gpa was 3.70 but I have no idea what to expect for this upcoming round of applications. I can tell you what I had (I was accepted).

 

Marks: Average gpa of 3.75 for first three years. Fourth year was a little higher.

 

MCAT: 36Q (11verbal, 12physical, 13biological, Qwritten)

 

EC's: lots of intramurals, hobbies include stained glass, painting, travel (10+ countries), karate for 6 years.

Volunteer: camp counsellor for 8 weeks over a few years, mentoring a grade 3 kid, helped build a school/medical facility in the dominican republic, best buddies (like big brothers but with mentally handicapped youth), among others.

Work: hematology lab doing bloodwork and managing/setting up 4 databases (mostly self-directed learning), was a deaf-blind intervenor for an 18 year old deaf and blind guy where I prepared his foods and showered him daily before driving him to school...I also choose which medicines to give him in emergencies like seizures and such...was an Ontario Ranger (good group-work based job) for a summer...there are others but I can't remember off the top of my head.

 

So, if you have good EC's and volunteer etc, and with that MCAT i'm sure you'd have a good chance. I would think you will need to do really well third year, then apply AFTER third year (ie. in Oct of fourth year) so you can have the two years above the minimum GPA requirement. Hope this helps give you an idea. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Take care,

 

-Ian T.

[Guest svp2k5]

Check the admissions website. They post the cut offs for interviews. I think this year it was 3.70 GPA and a 10,10,9 (BS, VR, PS) MCAT.

 

After that point, the interview is worth 50%, the GPA 50%, and the MCAT 50%.

 

(note extracurricular activities are not directly evaluated at UWO).

 

For me, I got in with a 33 MCAT and a 3.89 GPA. I didn't really have many extracurriculars and/or volunteer experience.

[Guest Steve U of T]

Yeah, the only way extracurricular activities are evaluated is if they happen to come up as a topic during your interview. I don't know how helpful it'll be for people to post their stats. You'll find that everyone who was accepted had a GPA above 3.7 in each of two years, MCAT scores above the cut-offs, and hopefully some other activities to show that they can interact with people and haven't cloistered themselves their entire lives to study. I had a 3.89 average of my best 2 years, 39R MCAT, and a few extracurricular activities and volunteer experiences, although nothing that really stands out as unique.

 

Ian, what style of Karate did you study, and do you still train? I've been doing Shotokan for a long time, and sadly there are no Shotokan Karate clubs in London.

[Guest ezrock]

hi steve. I stopped taking karate when I was about 17. I really don't remember the exact style I was taking other than that it started with an S.

 

If you do find any karate studio in london that seems satisfactory, let me know and I may be interested in joining you if you go.

 

Take care,

 

-Ian

[Guest Steve U of T]

If it starts with an S, it's either Shotokan (what I do) or Shitoryu, although I think Shotokan is much more common. A friend of mine who I used to train with went to UWO for undergrad a few years ago, and said he couldn't find any satisfactory clubs (then again, he was a 2nd degree black belt who had competed at the national and international level, so his standards are quite high). I'm looking to earn my 2nd degree black belt by the time I graduate med school, so training in another style might not be the best idea. I'll probably end up training on my own around the athletic center. I'd be willing to informally teach anybody who wanted to learn (I have experience teaching all levels up to black belt), although I wouldn't be comfortable awarding belts or anything like that. I think some med students run a martial arts club, and I'll definitely look into that.

 

I apologize if I've taken this thread a bit off-topic, although the original poster was interested in the extracurricular activities of people accepted at Western, so this isn't really that far off-topic.

[Guest pazas]

Thanks a lot, Ian and to the others who replied. The reason I asked was just to see if there is any point in me applying in Ontario or just out of country where it is easier. I have a lot of pressure coming from the family. This is not to say I don't want to be a doctor...it's ALL I've ever wanted to do but having all of them wanting nothing else is kind of nerve-wracking...and with that presssure I don't know how I managed to slack off for two years of university. Like I was stressed but I couldn't do anything because I was so stressed which I guess led me to not doing anything. And now I'm super stressing out cuz of it. I don't know why I let myself do it. I know I can pull of a high average if I put in the time, which I definately will. In my fourth year, I'll have to apply everywhere...ontario, states, carribean because they don't want me to 'waste years'. So wherever I get in, be it overseas, I'll have to go there. So Western seemed like a good hope because they only look at the best years, and I just wanted to see what all you had to say because you're actually in. Thanks again for your replies.

 

Oh and don't worry about the off-topicness. I actually have a lot of extra curriculars but I guess that really doesn't matter for Western.

[Guest DuncanChick]

pazas...

 

have you ever told your family to back off? (of course, in a more polite and non-confrontational way, lol) Perhaps they don't know what they are doing, or how their behavoir is adversely affecting you...

[Guest pazas]

lol good advice duncanchick but they won't understand no matter how polite and non-confronting i am. they'd say things like 'this is all for your benefit, not ours', 'if you want to live your own life, then you're free to leave', 'we're not going to support you for the rest of your life', etc. you get the idea. i sometimes wish i could just go at my own pace and not feel so rushed about everything and so stressed. like going into third year, all my friends are 21 and i'm still 19 but they don't see that either. do you really think it is adversely affecting me? i actually never thought of it that way...i thought everyone who wants to go to med school is stressed.

[Guest svp2k5]

Pazas,

With an MCAT score that you got, you should be able to get into medical school, as long as you bring up the grades. If you do well in third and fourth year, that would be great. If not there is always the possibility of taking an extra year, or doing a graduate degree. Don't let you family stress you out like that!

 

Its not really "wasting years", when you are so young anyway. Check the average age of medical students entering first year. I think it goes up every year. You won't be the first one to take an extra year / graduate degree etc.

 

Not all med student are completely stressed when deciding on med school. I did an undergrad in engineering, not really knowing what to do, then a graduate degree in engineering. I didn't really decide on medicine untill last summer, and thats when i took the MCATs, and applied. I don't think I really told my parents I was applying until I had almost finished that application.

 

It;s probably best for you if you put some perspective on things. You are 19, going to finish your four year degree when you are 21, and even if it takes 2 years to get into med school, you will only be 24 (which i think is pretty much the average age now... depending on the school)

[Guest ezrock]

hi pazas. hopefully you can learn to deal with the stress a little better for your own sake. I'm generally a pretty laid back guy, but I have had times of stress and I know it's not too fun :x

 

I think it'd be a good thing to politely mention to your family that what they're doing is not going to help you in the long run. Tell them you should be doing it for yourself and not for them and ask them not to put so much pressure on you (while making sure they still know you DO want to get in still).

 

As for the marks, I like how you have the confidence in yourself. That will help you get a long way. Just keep plugging at it and do the best you can. If you have to go overseas and you can afford it and don't have any qualms about doing so, then I would recommend Ireland. They take people with low 70's for their averages and the application process is pretty easy. Two of their four schools don't even do any form of interview at all.

 

I applied to two of them and got in, but ultimately turned it down to hold out for western and queens (which was a good decision in the end because I got in at western as i previously mentioned). If you are interested in checking out the site it is www.atlanticbridge.com/med/index.htm and I can answer any questions you may have. Just PM me through ezboard. take care,

 

-Ian

[Guest Meg]

Hi Pazas,

 

With you MCAT score, you should also consider applying to the University of Manitoba. At the U of M, the MCAT accounts for 50%, while your gpa is only worth 10% (the remaining 40% is from your reference letters, interview and an essay). Also, you can throw out some of your worst marks (up to a maximum of 5 full courses) which would probably also help out your gpa. The only thing is that you need to have a full year worth of english and biochemistry.

 

Good luck!

[Guest studentz]

There's hope at a lot of schools, if you do really well e.g. 3.7+ in your last 2 years, you may just have to apply after your fourth year so the schools will have your marks. While Manitoba is certainly an option with that MCAT score, you will have to bring your grades up significantly to get an interview as it is pretty competitive for OOP students. Obviously the 50/40/10 scoring system is post-interview. Don't give up, but work really hard on improving your grades in the next two years and make sure you get in a full course in biochem and English.

[Guest pazas]

Thanks so much to everyone...you guys are awesome!!

 

I didn't even consider applying out of Ontario in Canada because I thought it would be harder to get in but Manitoba seems like a decent chance for me - Thanks Meg. Dropping my worst and doing well the next two years will make my gpa good enough to apply. I was looking at the stats and there's more ppl applying from out of province for the ten spots than from Manitoba for the 100 or so.

 

So what if I do apply in fourth year, don't get in, and apply after fourth year?? Can I still use this year's april MCAT?

 

If I go to grad school, do I have to do a thesis in my undergrad in my fourth year? Are all science grad schools research based? I'm not that interested in research but will do it if will give me a better chance at med school. Do you have to finish grad school first before you can apply to med school again? Is grad school a definite length of time or can you finish it in one year? Sorry about all my questions. I never considered grad school before this. What about teacher's college after fourth year instead of grad school? How does that sound?

 

Ian - I pmed you about Ireland.

 

Thanks again to everyone. Your input really helped!! I have a bit of hope again!!!

[Guest pazas]

by the way,

 

have you guys heard the rumour that it is easier for a canadian to get into an american med school? apparently so because we have to pay more so they make more money off us so they take people with 70s. is this true, and if so what good schools should i apply to?

 

i feel really bad asking all these questions because you guys are helping me out so much but i'm really not benefiting you in any way. thanks again.

[Guest ezrock]

hey pazas. I dont know if teachers' college is a good choice if you do want to go into medschool. They may see it as you changing your decisions about school. Grad school is the option many people take if they don't get in right after undergrad. I believe there is considerable variation between different gradschools. you can find some that are class-based rather than research based. maybe you could try some sort of research based summer job. many people realize they love it once they give it an honest try (myself included) even though they expect to hate it.

 

Your mcat marks are valid for 5 years i think though don't quote me on that.

 

Okay I'm off to check your PM about Ireland. take care,

 

-Ian

[Guest svp2k5]

Pazas,

 

I am currently just finishing up my graduate degree (in engineering). Basically it depends on the medical school whether you have to finish it or not. At Queens, I don't think they need you to complete the degree. While at Western you have to submit your thesis before classes start. At Toronto I think they require you to have completed the degree in June. So I guess it really depends on the school.

 

My graduate degree has taken approximately 15 months to complete. SO it is do-able to start the degree in May after you graduate, and complete by the next august.