Should I apply to the states?

[davechetrit]

Sorry, I'm sure this question has been asked countless times before, but I no longer have the courage to look through these message boards.

I am currently going into my third and last year of Physiology at McGill, so I am getting ready for applications. Ideally, my goal would be to remain at McGill, but given the competitive nature of the application process, I know this is not very easy. I would very much like to stay in Canada (i.e.: Ontario) if I do not get accepted, but the french schools in Quebec are not an option for me (not that I am not capable, but simply that I do not want to).

At the end of my second year (still waiting for 2-3 marks) I should have between a 3.55-3.60 cGPA with only slightly lower numbers for the science courses (this past year absolutely killed me). I know that next year will be much easier, and I will easily be able to boost these numbers up, but these will be after applications ... I also got a 33Q in my MCATs, with 11 in every category.

Given this information, should I apply to any American universities? Since AMCA applications open next week, I don't want to ignore this only to find out that I was not accepted to any Canadian med schools. How many should I apply to? I feel that 20 is way too much, like some people have said. If I apply to 9-10 in Canada, how many American colleges should I consider?

 

On an unrelated note, I became interested by UVM (vermont) after looking at their website, but it seems that they no longer accept Canadian applicants as of this year . Any other schools you can suggest applying to? Can I apply to Harvard and Duke, or would that be a waste of my money? [sorry for the ridiculously long thread, happens when I'm stressed]

[Borborygmi]

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19065

 

There is plenty of information in the American Schools section of the discussion board to get all of the info you need.

 

The number of schools you apply to is obviously your choice. Just logically, larger number of applications = greater possibility of acceptance (to a certain extent).

 

Overall, I would say your gpa is on the low end, and your MCAT isn't quite high enough to make up for it at the US schools. Still a chance, but it'd definitely depend on the rest of your application and probably a reapplication after your next year's grades.

 

My short two cents.

[tk31]

In Ontario the average GPA of students accepted at most schools is about 3.8. Last year McMaster was 3.83, Toronto 3.89 and Ottawa I believe was 3.87.

 

Your MCAT will meet all the cutoffs and won't red flag you at any school. However a lower GPA means that you will have to have extremely good extracurriculars and even then it may not be enough.

 

If I were in your position I probably would not apply to American schools, at least not yet. You won't qualify for much of the financial aid from the school nor from the American government. As well, you will be ineligible for the provincial portion of Canadian governmental aid (I know this is true for Ontario, unsure of other provinces).

 

Have you considered doing a fifth year or potentially graduate work? Graduate degrees at some schools gives you a numerical advantage (i.e. +4 marks out of your 100), or it puts you in a different applicant pool (i.e. at U of T). By doing graduate work, this will take some of the focus off of your undergraduate marks as well.

 

-Tyler

[charmer08]

 

If I were in your position I probably would not apply to American schools, at least not yet. You won't qualify for much of the financial aid from the school nor from the American government. As well, you will be ineligible for the provincial portion of Canadian governmental aid (I know this is true for Ontario, unsure of other provinces).

 

 

can't she just get a student line of credit?

 

uhm going to grad school and applying to medschool is seriously a waste of time... i would say apply to american medschools, just to see what happens cuz your chances at canadian medschools are definately really low

 

does anyone know the average gpa of international students @ american medschools? i dont get why they dont post the stats

[Cyradis]

can't she just get a student line of credit?

 

uhm going to grad school and applying to medschool is seriously a waste of time... i would say apply to american medschools, just to see what happens cuz your chances at canadian medschools are definately really low

 

does anyone know the average gpa of international students @ american medschools? i dont get why they dont post the stats

 

Yes she could get a line of credit - but even with (relatively) low interest rates on medical student lines of credit - by the end of 4 years with compounding it adds up to A LOT.

 

I think you should apply to the States if finances isn't a problem for you - i.e. if your parents can at least help pay a portion of your tuition. With your GPA/MCAT though - you're probably looking more at low and mid tier schools if you have really good extracurrics.

 

Apply to 15-20 schools in the US I'd say.... From talking to applicants when doing my interviews in the US it seems most American applicants apply for 10-15, so as an international I'd say do 15-20.

[Flame219]

can't she just get a student line of credit?

 

uhm going to grad school and applying to medschool is seriously a waste of time... i would say apply to american medschools, just to see what happens cuz your chances at canadian medschools are definately really low

 

does anyone know the average gpa of international students @ american medschools? i dont get why they dont post the stats

 

They do actually. For Canada at least. The average GPA for Canadians who matriculated @ American Schools for the past cycle is 3.78, and average total MCAT score is 33.5.

 

All of which can be found here: http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table21-mcatgpastatemat09.pdf

[keith_015]

Solid find Flame. Its somewhat hard to believe that there were only 72 "Cdns" who went south last year. No wonder the banks are clueless when helping you out for foreign funding. Of those 72, probably a handful are at Wayne, and probably a fair chunk were on this board

[sky_blue2000]

Solid find Flame. Its somewhat hard to believe that there were only 72 "Cdns" who went south last year. No wonder the banks are clueless when helping you out for foreign funding. Of those 72, probably a handful are at Wayne, and probably a fair chunk were on this board

 

 

Same! It's kind of discerning to think only 72 Canadians were accepted! Geez, so 33 really is the goal I'm glad Wayne is so welcoming to Canadians )

[keith_015]

Same! It's kind of discerning to think only 72 Canadians were accepted! Geez, so 33 really is the goal I'm glad Wayne is so welcoming to Canadians )

 

Careful in interpretation. It said 72 matriculated. It doesn't mention how many were accepted and declined.

[sky_blue2000]

Careful in interpretation. It said 72 matriculated. It doesn't mention how many were accepted and declined.

 

Good point.

 

Sweet! I choose to believe that many declined I still have a shot...hopefully.

[mystery_chick]

Good point.

 

Sweet! I choose to believe that many declined I still have a shot...hopefully.

 

From personal experience, I do think that's true

[tryhard]

Careful in interpretation. It said 72 matriculated. It doesn't mention how many were accepted and declined.

 

I wonder how many applied in total. 72 seems kinda low.

[charmer08]

It pissed me off how us citizens need a much lower gpa to get into their schools... why can't it be the same for canadian citizens?

 

It seems that many students with the higher gpa rejected their offers since they must have got an admission offer from a canadian medschool.

[keith_015]

I wonder how many applied in total. 72 seems kinda low.

 

If you check out http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table3-fact2009sl-web.pdf , you will see that 1,249 FOREIGN people applied last year (so including us Cdns and peeps like Bannie). Although 72 seems kinda low, its likely that well over 100 probably got offers and some decided to stay in Canada. Its hard to estimate how many Cdns actually applied vs. the world, nonetheless, acceptance rate for applicants is likely well above 10% for Cdns.

 

Edit: to Charmer, if you look at the stats, when you have 18.4k matriculants vs. 42.3k applicants, lowered stats may be afforded.

[ConcernedP]

"I posted this in the list of schools thread as well, I apologize for that. There used to be a " what are my chances thread", may be it is not sticky any more"

 

 

Hi All:

 

I just finished my third year at U of Alberta. I am thinking of applying to US medical schools. My stats so far

GPA: 3.68 (first year), 3.88 (second year), 3.87 (third year)

overall 3.81, overall science GPA 3.82

 

MCAT: 10 10 10 R

 

Hospital Volunteering: began in high school during summers, continued at the same place at higher level during UG (regular but significant stops during exams)

Coaching: Played the same sport as I coached for the last three years (community based program)

 

Community volunteering: two fundraising events (significant involvement), 1 small involvement, 1 semester part time volunteer kitchen helper in local church

 

Research: 1 summer after first year (supervisor plus uni funded), second summer now in progress (awarded scholarship) plus volunteer (unpaid) clinical research with a doc this summer

 

Scholarships: Usual alberta high school honors scholarship, university excellance, university honors (x2), university ug excellence (x1), summer research award (university) and from alberta funding agency

 

Hope this gives a clear picture of where I stand?

 

Questions:

1. Considering my MCAT is low, am I at competitive at US schools (mid or low tiers obviously)??

 

2. In the list posted under this thread, which (about 5-7) schools should I be considering to focus on in my application?

 

Thanks for your help

[ConcernedP]

bump

 

Please provide your opinion

[keith_015]

Looks good as you have hospital volunteering, a good GPA, balanced activities and research. But your MCAT will likely force you to apply to lower-mid tier.

[KTWD]

Looks good as you have hospital volunteering, a good GPA, balanced activities and research. But your MCAT will likely force you to apply to lower-mid tier.

 

What kind of score do you need to apply to a school like NYU, Columbia, Mt Sinai, Georgetown etc... when are you competitive for the mid-higher tier schools?

[keith_015]

35+ from what I've been seeing.