Question regarding American Schools

[hopemed]

Hey guys,

 

I just had a few questions regarding American schools and preferences.

I think my question will be mostly for DO degree as my GPA is quite low at the moment; still need to do 4th year and I will try to pull it up as much as I can.

 

Do American schools take last / best 2 years of GPA? If so, which ones? I have a general sense of which schools are Canadian-friendly so I will be applying to those ones. I still haven't written my MCAT and will be doing so soon.

 

Also, do American schools give bonuses for being a grad student/ having a M.Sc? I'm finishing up my 16-month co-op term and gonig into 4th year in Sept. But I still haven't written my MCAT yet so there will be a year gap before I can apply for med.

 

Any other general advices will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

[Mashmetoo]

Hey guys,

 

I just had a few questions regarding American schools and preferences.

I think my question will be mostly for DO degree as my GPA is quite low at the moment; still need to do 4th year and I will try to pull it up as much as I can.

 

Do American schools take last / best 2 years of GPA? If so, which ones? I have a general sense of which schools are Canadian-friendly so I will be applying to those ones. I still haven't written my MCAT and will be doing so soon.

 

Also, do American schools give bonuses for being a grad student/ having a M.Sc? I'm finishing up my 16-month co-op term and gonig into 4th year in Sept. But I still haven't written my MCAT yet so there will be a year gap before I can apply for med.

 

Any other general advices will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

 

Here's my take from personal experience and observation. I have not come across a US MD or DO school that takes only the best 2 years, or last 2 years of GPA. For US schools, it's ALL your undergraduate career. As for graduate/M. Sc. students, any benefit you may derive from doing this extra degree will come in the interview stage of the process. Your undergraduate GPA (the MOST important aspect) will not change, nor will you have extra 0.0x added to your undergraduate cGPA for doing a masters/PhD like in McMaster med school). If you are skilled at interviewing, you should be able to milk the masters/PhD degree as much as posisble, and promote yourself that way during the actual interview process. This is especially true since most of your interviewers will have some kind of PhD and are in research/teaching positions at the med school you apply to.

 

If undergrad cGPA is your Achilles' heel, DO schools looove non-traditionals (i.e. older applicants with masters/PhD, there's a gray haird fellow with a PhD in bacteriophages in my class). They take your whole application into account, and will more often than ANY other school, not let a few bad years of undergrad hurt your chances.

[hopemed]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

Once I sort everything out and calculate my GPA/ get my MCAT done etc, I will summarize and ask again if Masters is truly the way to go for me. Thanks again:)