What are my chances? 3.51, illness lowered grades, good ec's

[Guest red like blood]

Hi everyone..

I know there has been threads like this before.. but I could use your advice

 

I'd like your opinion on what my chances are in canada and the US for meds

my gpa was rather low in the beginning of my uni career due to personal problems (depression, eating disorder, SI(self injury), my mom had a stroke, so I was trying to care for her as well as deal with everything else). Anyway, I know these are just excuses.. but I know I am capable of getting a 4.0 since in the 2nd semester of 3year when I I received help for my problems (seeing a psych and really trying to get better) I pulled off a 4.0

Anyway my cumulative gpa is 3.51 and I am entering 4th yr and I think I can get a 4.0 .. I know some schools look at ur last 2 yrs but my 3rd year was only liek a 3.6 b/c the 1st semester wasn't so great but 2nd semester I had a 4.0

 

apart from that... I have A LOT of extracurriculars and also one publication (4th author) as wells as research for 3 yrs and many leadership positions .. I am writing the MCAT this summer and I am feeling strong about it.

So I'd like to know REALISTICALLY what you guys think my chances are here and in the states ( I know that would depend a lot on my MCAT)...pls just be honest.. I want the harsh truth

also if you have any input on whether I should take a 5th yr or do a 1 yr masters or something else.. that would be great too

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read/answer!

this board is v. helpful

[Guest Dockrh]

Your experiences have benefited you in sculpting you into a better person. What do you study??? I would take the MCAT, then look at your scores. The following site, http://www.mdapplicant.com will give you an insite into the 'stats' people have gotten to be successful. I would take one more year to start your masters than apply. This will hopefully raise your cumulative GPA. ANyways, stay strong and good luck in the future!!

 

dockrh

[Guest scrubbed]

Hello,

 

I sent you a PM.

[Guest Jochi1543]

Hey,

No particular advice (everybody else is covering it pretty well), but I've also suffered from an eating disorder and just finished treatment for depression about 2 months ago. The ED didn't affect my grades much, but depression did - well, not so much grades, I still got good grades, but I couldn't take what the med schools consider to be a full courseload. I couldn't stop working due to financial problems, so my only choice was to take one course less than normal both semesters of my senior year - I was really exhausted all the time, so I couldn't keep working at my normal pace. Now that year won't qualify for most school's cut-offs, even though I had a good reason to withdraw from courses, and my remaining grades were good, so it's kind of a pity. So, I know how you feel! A lot of people have to deal with problems like that, and while some med schools are understanding, others not so much. Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want to.

[Guest red like blood]

hey thanks for the quick responses guys!

Jochi... thanks for sharing your story. It is great that you were able to keep your grades up while dealing with depression and an ED.. and yeah some med schools may not be sympathetic.. which is probably why I wouldn't mention it personally.

Everyone has some kind of problem... I tried hard to maintain my gpa and ended up with a 3.5ish. Yes, I know I can do better and get a 4.0 (since I did last semester) but why should a med school take me over someone who had better marks than I did...just because I had some issues in my life. It is no excuse, and I am not trying to use it as one. I simply just want to figure out the best way to resolve my situation and move forward to try to gain acceptance to med school.. therein lies the problem.. I'm contemplating whether I should do a 5th yr (which would bring me up to a 3.7 I believe) or a 1-2 yr masters, or maybe just focus on US schools..thanks for the input once again

oh and scrubbed I PMed you back! thanks

[Guest Jochi1543]

I myself am applying to Canadian schools this year (my cumulative is also about 3.5....I didn't have really bad years, but my first 2 years were kind of average as far as med is concerned - 3.2-3.4). If I don't get in here, next year I'll apply to US schools. I did my undergrad and HS in the US, so I'm confident that I'd get in there. I'd rather go to a Canadian school due to $$$, but if all else fails, I wouldn't mind coming back to the States.

[Guest red like blood]

oh ic..I guess we are in a similar situation.. are u in 3rd or 4th yr?

Your chances at US seem good as well.. do you have citizenship there ?

[Guest Jochi1543]

I just got my bachelor's in May, so I kind of have a year off (or more....depending on whether I get in 8o ). I was in the US on a visa, I'm originally from Russia.

[Guest arjuna83]

Hey,

 

You've got good stats, but keep in mind that there are MANY great applicants applying to medical school, and many of these great applicants are rejected every year due to lack of spaces. Therefore, the onus is on you to present yourself in the most advantageous way possible. Unfortunately, a great portion of medical school admissions boils down to your GPA and MCATs. Do extremely well on the MCAT, this will show the adcoms that you are indeed a competent student and can perform well when you put your mind into it.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

I don't think your GPA itself with disqualify you, especially if you do really well in your last year. I have a 3.56 and had 3 offers this year. Do as well as you can in the future, do a strong MCAT, and maximize all your other life experiences on your application to show how suited you are to Medicine. Emphasize your upward trend in grades as well, to show you are improving. Having lower grades makes it a bit more difficult, and you have to pay more attention to other parts of your application, but (except at certain cut-off schools) it doesn't totally disqualify you.

[Guest red like blood]

thanks guys!

Lurkergonepublic... Would you mind Pming me or posting here which schools you got offers from? Do you mean interview offers or acceptance? I'd appreciate it

thanks for the advice

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

Offers - I had 4 interviews. Offers were from UofA, UofC and UofM. But I am an Alberta resident (if you're from Ontario a lower GPA is going to be tougher to overcome. I got 4 pre-interview rejections from Ontario schools). UofM still puts a lot of weight on the MCAT, which I did very well on, probably why it was my only OOP offer. As I understand it (from heresay at least), many American schools put a lot of weight on the MCAT too, so it's worth looking down there if you can pull out a good score. Good luck.

[Guest Jochi1543]

Wow, that's encouraging to hear, Lurker! But then again, you also made two babies, that's a nice addition to your application....would you recommend that I get impregnated to increase my chances of getting in?:hat :lol "And in my free time, I make humans..."

[Guest spdoctor]

It seems to me that you have two years about the 3.7 cutoff.....maybe Western? Queens also looks at your last two years ..maybe you can work those schemes to your advantage?

 

If most schools dont look at your cgpa...why would it matter that he has a 3.51 cgpa?

[Guest Jochi1543]

Well, a lot of schools only consider your 2 best/last years when inviting you for an interview. However, once the interview's done, they often start looking at the entire academic record for the purpose of making the final decision. So if your cGPA is 3.50 and your last 2 years are 3.8, when competing with someone who's last 2 years are also 3.8, but their cumulative is 3.8 as well, you won't get the spot, all other factors held equal. So yeah, at most places your bad year(s) is still likely to have some effect on you. While it would be nice if med schools just looked at your best year and your best MCAT section and ignored everything else, it's wishful thinking.:rolleyes

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

would you recommend that I get impregnated to increase my chances of getting in? "And in my free time, I make humans..."

 

Hmm, never thought of it that way. I wonder if they'd look at a male or female differently for announcing that as a hobby... Maybe it's better to say that you make "future tax-payers" in your spare time - after all who's paying the doctor's bill?

:lol

[Guest pazas]

Is this really true? I thought Queen's for example doesn't even look at your MCAT/GPA when making final offers. I was counting on the best/last two years criteria because my first two years were extremely bad, but my last year has been 4.0 and I hope to get the same next year.

 

 

"Well, a lot of schools only consider your 2 best/last years when inviting you for an interview. However, once the interview's done, they often start looking at the entire academic record for the purpose of making the final decision. So if your cGPA is 3.50 and your last 2 years are 3.8, when competing with someone who's last 2 years are also 3.8, but their cumulative is 3.8 as well, you won't get the spot, all other factors held equal. So yeah, at most places your bad year(s) is still likely to have some effect on you. While it would be nice if med schools just looked at your best year and your best MCAT section and ignored everything else, it's wishful thinking. "

[Guest spdoctor]

hmm ...thats what i thought too pazas....i thought most schools only look at your gpa/ mcat to asses if you get an interview or not .(i.e the top 400 gpa/ mcat get an interview)...i thought after you get an interview then selection is heavily based on how you do on the interview?? Can anyone confirm/ reject this?

[Guest Jochi1543]

Sorry, I'm not looking at Queens or anything, but either U of A or U of C (maybe both? I corresponded with either one or both of them about this) look at your entire GPA even though their pre-interview focus is on just 2 years. I didn't say "all schools," so it's quite possible that Queens or someone else doesn't care about that.