School selection for strong upward trend

[SCL]

3.5cGPA

 

But wait, there's more! 1st year was 2.8, 2nd was 3.71, 3rd was 4.0

 

38S 14B/12P/12V, wrote last summer

 

Shadowing, volunteering in hospital and at wildlife centre, research every summer and one academic year with one summer scholarship but no pubs, club involvement

 

Dunno how much weight US schools put on that kind of upward trend. If I had it in writing that they would only be considering my last 2 years, I'd be comfortable applying to all the reach schools that take Canadians because my GPA would be around median (I will be applying to the 2-recent-year Canadian schools as well, of course). Unfortunately, I don't have it in writing, and so I'm wondering if anyone could give me a general idea of where I should be applying. Ideas so far:

 

Oakland University

University of Virginia

Michigan State

University of South Carolina

VCU

Jefferson

Case Western Reserve

SUNY Upstate

NYU School of Medicine

AECOM

Washington University

Wayne State

University of Maryland

Rosalind Franklin

Georgetown

George Washington

Emory

Indiana University

University of Connecticut

 

Let me know how many reaches to sprinkle in (and which), if I'm missing any mid/low-tiers, or anything else you can think of.

[Comeon]

You probably have a very good shot of getting in to a Canadian school. You are pretty much guaranteed an interview at Western. Your list looks quite nice. I think you should replace some of the low-tiers with higher-tier schools though. I would replace Oakland and Maryland.

[tothestars]

I am in the same situation. Do you think a great MCAT outweighs a mediocre GPA for American Schools?

 

Also do American universities look at the university you are coming from? Such as more preference for a reputable school over other schools?

[Comeon]

I think a great MCAT can help a lot as long as your GPA is decent (3.6+). I think some American schools are interested in the prestige of your university but it would likely be hard for American adcoms to judge the prestige of Canadian schools. Most of the preference is probably for Ivy leaguers and such. If you are really aiming for medical school and want to get in on your first try, you might as well apply to both Canada and the US instead of potentially wasting a year because of waitlists and rejections like I did. Your GPA is not going to change very much unless you still have 2 years ahead of you. BTW, an MCAT on September 2nd is very late. If you could write earlier in the season, it would help immensely.

 

I am in the same situation. Do you think a great MCAT outweighs a mediocre GPA for American Schools?

 

Also do American universities look at the university you are coming from? Such as more preference for a reputable school over other schools?