Potential American schools

[summery]

Hey everyone, I know the "chances" threads are really hated, but i'm so lost right now...

 

I am entering my final year of undergrad at u of t, and as it stands, my GPA is at 3.76 (3.94, 3.65 , 3.67) and MCAT is 35S (14,11,10,S).

 

With these scores, I have no hope of getting into a Canadian school, so have started considering American schools as an option. If I do apply, it will probably be the 2011-2012 cycle, after hopefully rocking 4th year (my horrible GPA for 2nd and 3rd are due to ONE course each respectively, sigh). I am also planning to retake the MCAT this summer, aiming for ~40.

 

Assuming if things go according to plan (~3.9 GPA in 4th, and ~40 MCAT), which American schools would I have a shot at? Including reaches and safeties.

 

Also, if I do apply after 4th, that leaves a gap year between when I graduate and when I matriculate (hopefully). In that case, is it better for me to do a 5th year to further improve my GPA (in case I don't get in anywhere) or would it be better if i take a year off and do something meaningful (e.g. continuing my research, do some travelling, etc.)

 

Thanks in advance everyone!

[JC5]

Assuming if things go according to plan (~3.9 GPA in 4th, and ~40 MCAT), which American schools would I have a shot at? Including reaches and safeties.

 

 

All of them.

 

Which is why it's easier said than done.

[mystery_chick]

I'm confused... why don't you stand a chance to get into UofT?

 

As for US schools, if you are re-writing your MCAT, you might be putting yourself at a disadvantage actually. If you're willing to go for not all top-tiered schools, your 35S should be ok. Write a good essay and hope you've been involved enough.

[summery]

why would rewriting the MCAT put me at a disadvantage? It'll only be my second time, is this looked unfavourably upon?

 

And I have a bad shot at u of T because I'm not eligible for the weighting formula (unless they buy my explanation), with their average entering GPA of 3.89 last year, what I have is very low.

 

I'm mostly rewriting my MCAT to boost the VR score, so I could meet the requirements of certain Canadian schools such as UWO (11).

 

I know the 3.9 4th year GPA, and 40 MCAT is easier said than done, but one has to dream big right? Even if I don't reach those goals, I think a 3.85 and a 38 is quite doable for me.

 

would it be ridiculously naive of me to try to apply to some ivy league schools? also i applied during high school to Cornell and got in, but turned it down due to financial reasons, if I apply to their medical school, would they hold the turning them down thing against me?

[ChicoMaki]

no. i applied and got into columbia undergrad, but couldn't make the finances work. I still applied and got into (and again turned them down) their medical school this year with a 3.93 (amcas + UT weighted. 3.85 w/o formula)+ 34P

 

you will need at least 2pt improvement on your mcat.

 

35S. so at one school, you don't have a shot? I didn't apply to UWO/queen's because of mcat, doesn't mean you don't have a shot. I interviewed and got into mac and UT.

[mystery_chick]

why would rewriting the MCAT put me at a disadvantage? It'll only be my second time, is this looked unfavourably upon?

 

And I have a bad shot at u of T because I'm not eligible for the weighting formula (unless they buy my explanation), with their average entering GPA of 3.89 last year, what I have is very low.

 

I'm mostly rewriting my MCAT to boost the VR score, so I could meet the requirements of certain Canadian schools such as UWO (11).

 

I know the 3.9 4th year GPA, and 40 MCAT is easier said than done, but one has to dream big right? Even if I don't reach those goals, I think a 3.85 and a 38 is quite doable for me.

 

would it be ridiculously naive of me to try to apply to some ivy league schools? also i applied during high school to Cornell and got in, but turned it down due to financial reasons, if I apply to their medical school, would they hold the turning them down thing against me?

 

I'm assuming you're applying this cycle? If not, then never mind, feel free to re-write. If you're applying this cycle though, it's just putting you at a disadvantage because your application will be complete pretty late. Let's say you write end of June (the earliest?), your score will be released end of July, and unless you already submitted your application, it won't be complete until late August.... which is relatively speaking, pretty late.

 

The thing is average entering GPA, is that it's an average. Meaning there are people with higher GPA and people with lower. Granted, I don't know much about the rest of your application so I can't really say whether if you have strong enough EC/experience to make up for your GPA. And MCAT requirements change from year to year, it's always hard to tell. (too bad you're not SWOMEN)

 

Whether if you should apply to Ivies is really up to you. How strong are your ECs? How good of an essay writer are you? The US adcoms are much more holistic so if you have the great EC to add to your app, Ivies may not be entirely out of your reach. That's the other thing with this whole "holistic" thing. In Canada, it's pretty predictable who will get in and who won't... in the US, it's less so. Cornell will definitely not use the fact that you turned down their UG before. Why would they even care? All the top Ivy schools want is to attract the best and brightest to their own school.

[summery]

thanks ChicoMaki and mystery chick for your input!

 

ChicoMaki: congratulations on ur acceptances! You have a very competitive GPA and a good MCAT, but for me my GPA is a large drawback. I did poorly in two courses, if U of T is willing to drop those, i'd have a 3.85 OMSAS GPA, but they would never even let me know if they buy my explanation. Nevertheless, i'd probably still apply broadly to Canadian schools this year. It doesn't hurt to try.

 

mystery chick: yeah, if I do apply to the states, it'd be the next cycle, probably should've made that clear in my original post. i am aware of how important it is to send in the apps early, but thanks for the advice! As for my ECs, they are stellar, but not extraordinary. My name will be on an upcoming publication in a high impact journal (not first author though), don't know if that'll help. If I don't get in this year, then I'll consider applying to the states, even then i'd probably just apply to a few top tier schools just for the hell of it, but making sure I apply to some that I'm more likely to get into.

 

I made this thread hoping to get some names of the american schools I could potentially get into, as I'm not very familiar with the caliber of different schools down south, I hope someone could provide some information.

[mystery_chick]

thanks ChicoMaki and mystery chick for your input!

 

ChicoMaki: congratulations on ur acceptances! You have a very competitive GPA and a good MCAT, but for me my GPA is a large drawback. I did poorly in two courses, if U of T is willing to drop those, i'd have a 3.85 OMSAS GPA, but they would never even let me know if they buy my explanation. Nevertheless, i'd probably still apply broadly to Canadian schools this year. It doesn't hurt to try.

 

mystery chick: yeah, if I do apply to the states, it'd be the next cycle, probably should've made that clear in my original post. i am aware of how important it is to send in the apps early, but thanks for the advice! As for my ECs, they are stellar, but not extraordinary. My name will be on an upcoming publication in a high impact journal (not first author though), don't know if that'll help. If I don't get in this year, then I'll consider applying to the states, even then i'd probably just apply to a few top tier schools just for the hell of it, but making sure I apply to some that I'm more likely to get into.

 

I made this thread hoping to get some names of the american schools I could potentially get into, as I'm not very familiar with the caliber of different schools down south, I hope someone could provide some information.

 

The Ivies are always high caliber (Note: don't even bother with Brown) but they are not necessarily the "top" ones. Non-ivies that are amazing and take international students: Hopkins, Stanford, Washington U in St. Louis, Mayo, Pittsburgh, Baylor, Mt. Sinai, Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, and of course Vanderbilt. These are just some I can name off the top of my head... probably missing a lot.

[summery]

thank you for the infor mystery_chick!

 

Some of those schools don't offer fin. aid to international students though, so that's always a consideration. But the whole application process is such a crapshoot, I probably shouldn't apply to all top tiers, haha might end up getting a ton of rejections, and all that app money!

[TheFonz]

In all honestly, I would NOT re-write the MCAT if I were you. Your score is amazing, and there's a good possibility that you might not do as well the second time around (just simple statistics). As you can read on many threads here and SDN, further MCAT attempts are frowned upon, unless there is significant improvement. Tbh, I'd be a bit perplexed at an applicant who re-wrote with a balanced 35S. I'd work on improving your GPA, but as things stand, I think you could do very well when you apply (provided you apply broadly and you've got good ECs, letters of reference and personal statement).

 

I applied with a 3.92 GPA, 3.94 BCPM GPA and 34S MCAT and was interviewed and accepted at a bunch of great US schools.