thedoc Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 I am just curious on how many people have applied with a GPA of <3.0 and if many have been accepted with these marks? Also, do med schools take into account much of applicants skills/ abilities outside of book skills such as hand skills, tool skills, etc? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 My GPA was probably just borderline 3.0 (OMSAS calculated it to be 2.98, not sure what Calgary did), and I was accepted to the UofC. But I also have a master's and a PhD (although that wasn't finished when I applied) and a lot of activities. And I had a 35N on the MCAT. Med schools do take things into account other than GPA (although how much weight it gets depends on the school - I think at UofC your activities are worth 25%). There's a section where you list all of your activities, volunteer work, work experience, etc. and write an explanation for each one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCUCUC Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 I'll jump in on this as well. I was very discouraged when I started thinking about med school ~ 4 years ago while in engineering as I had a low GPA, however I was accepted this year witha cGPA of roughly 2.98 as well and a 35R MCAT. I am 90% of the way through an MSc and have many somewhat unique exracurriculars. But don't despair, it can be done! Edit: Forgot to mention, accepted into UofC Med 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoc Posted June 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Awesome. The thing I was looking at was if they considered people with less than 3 because the admission FAQ on the website says that the minimum GPA requirement was 3.3 for AB applicants. Can I ask how many times you applied? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Pixie* Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 If I am not mistaken, it is your best 2-years GPA that has to be >=3.3 just to get a FILE REVIEW. Once you get that, they look at your overall GPA and "grade" it out of 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Yeah, it's just your best 2 years that have to be over the cut-off. And they'll count one year of grad school when they calculate your best 2 years. I only applied once and I got in. I'm still kind of shocked about that, but I'll take it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoc Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Do you guys think I should I apply this year or wait till next year? Currently I have a BSc. with my best 2 years making up a 3.115. I have some fairly unique EC's and good work experience I think. I am planning on writing the MCAT this Aug. I am also enrolled in a second degree to start in fall. The min GPA cutoff is 3.2, so I don't know if I should try for it, or will it just be a waste of money to apply with no chance of a file review to begin with? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatechem Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Unfortunately, I don't think you would meet even the minimum pre-req to apply with a best 2 yr GPA of < 3.2. You could always try calling the admissions office, but IMHO, it would be a very very long shot. Do you guys think I should I apply this year or wait till next year? Currently I have a BSc. with my best 2 years making up a 3.115. I have some fairly unique EC's and good work experience I think. I am planning on writing the MCAT this Aug. I am also enrolled in a second degree to start in fall. The min GPA cutoff is 3.2, so I don't know if I should try for it, or will it just be a waste of money to apply with no chance of a file review to begin with? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asta Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 My thoughts on the low GPA situation... I don't know if there is much hope unless you have an upward trend in your grades. For myself, my cGPA is pretty bad, but my grades show a really strong upward trend and my best two years are very good. That strong GPA for the best two is needed to show that you can handle med school. Maybe you need to evaluate why your grades are the way they are and correct the issue? So I would call admissions, but I think the minimum 3.2 or 3.3/best two years for a full file review is firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoc Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 My grades do show an upward trend. I had the typical first year mess up and then i progressively got better. Does anyone know how the u of c works for doin a second degree? Will they take the best 2 years from both degress. Ex. If say year 3 of 1st degree and year 1 of 2nd degree are my best overall, will they take those two? Or do the 2 best years have to come from the same degree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asta Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Best two is from either or both degrees, it does not matter. Just be aware that best two is what gets you to file review, then file review looks at your whole academic history (with different and mysterious weighting given to various components). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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