3.63 cGPA, 11 VR - Competitive?

[cclawfjj]

Hi everyone,

 

I am waiting to hear back from few med schools (regrets from mcmaster pre-interview this yr), and I've been running thru my plan B already in case I don't get in.

 

If I were to apply to McMaster next year, would my 3.63 cGPA/11VR be competitive enough to land an interview? I guess it boils down to my performance on CASPER, but I'd still like to gauge what proportion of interviewees have a stat in the ballpark of my stat?

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Hi everyone,

 

I am waiting to hear back from few med schools (regrets from mcmaster pre-interview this yr), and I've been running thru my plan B already in case I don't get in.

 

If I were to apply to McMaster next year, would my 3.63 cGPA/11VR be competitive enough to land an interview? I guess it boils down to my performance on CASPER, but I'd still like to gauge what proportion of interviewees have a stat in the ballpark of my stat?

 

I heard that next year CASPer will have less weight in the process, so you'll be a little more behind with that GPA. That being said, there are definitely people in my class with GPAs and verbal scores similar to yours. Prepare well for casper. Always worth a shot. Good luck

[stryke22]

Yes, GPA is now worth a little more in the pre-interview score at Mac for next year:

 

From their website:

2012/13 Formulae

 

Formula 1 - 32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average, 32% MCAT Verbal Reasoning Score, 32% CASPer Score, up to 4% Graduate degree (1% Master's degree/4% PhD).

 

I too am disappointed with this!

[IamIDP]

Yes, GPA is now worth a little more in the pre-interview score at Mac for next year:

 

From their website:

2012/13 Formulae

 

Formula 1 - 32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average, 32% MCAT Verbal Reasoning Score, 32% CASPer Score, up to 4% Graduate degree (1% Master's degree/4% PhD).

 

I too am disappointed with this!

 

I think GPA should have been weighted more from the start. The people who work harder deserve to get a seat than the ones who get below 3.4 GPA (no offence but it's true).

[stryke22]

I think GPA should have been weighted more from the start. The people who work harder deserve to get a seat than the ones who get below 3.4 GPA (no offence but it's true).

 

For sure, below a 3.4 you will have an extremely difficult time getting in anywhere, even with a masters or PhD!! I believe the only people who get into Mac with the lower GPAs (3.5 and lower) are the grad students (probably due to the 1% and 4% rewards!). However, not all folks with 4.0s deserve to get in either

[IamIDP]

For sure, below a 3.4 you will have an extremely difficult time getting in anywhere, even with a masters or PhD!! I believe the only people who get into Mac with the lower GPAs (3.5 and lower) are the grad students (probably due to the 1% and 4% rewards!). However, not all folks with 4.0s deserve to get in either

 

I doubt it. You can ace the Casper + MCAT and do really well on the interview to get in according to last years formula. Mac needs to raise its GPA standards, no offense but someone below a 3.5 means the bottom 10% of the applicant pool. Also, if you notice, since 2009 after Mac started allowing lower GPA candidates to enter, and increase of candidates with high GPAS were left stranded left no where to go (look at the rejected lists)...

[grindsmygears]

Hi everyone,

 

I am waiting to hear back from few med schools (regrets from mcmaster pre-interview this yr), and I've been running thru my plan B already in case I don't get in.

 

If I were to apply to McMaster next year, would my 3.63 cGPA/11VR be competitive enough to land an interview? I guess it boils down to my performance on CASPER, but I'd still like to gauge what proportion of interviewees have a stat in the ballpark of my stat?

 

I'd say you're good. I have a 3.62, and vr10, and I just got in. I took mmi prep courses and a mock Casper.. Every penny was worth it.

[vanillabear]

I'd say you're good. I have a 3.62, and vr10, and I just got in. I took mmi prep courses and a mock Casper.. Every penny was worth it.

 

Also in with a 3.62 and 10VR... but I was just myself during the CASPer and MMI. Didn't prepare at all for CASPer and did a bit of looking over how to structure my answers for the MMI.

[Guest JHYC]

I'd say you're good. I have a 3.62, and vr10, and I just got in. I took mmi prep courses and a mock Casper.. Every penny was worth it.

 

Hey, just out of interest, where do you guys get mock practice for Casper??? Congrat on getting in~!!!

[nikki dale]

Hey, just out of interest, where do you guys get mock practice for Casper??? Congrat on getting in~!!!

 

I didn't do any mock practice, and I don't think there are any prominent mock Caspers that you can trust.

 

Mainly just read through basic books on ethics (Doing Right) to get your brain thinking about scenarios, and practice structuring answers.

[Der Kaiser]

Yes, GPA is now worth a little more in the pre-interview score at Mac for next year:

 

From their website:

2012/13 Formulae

 

Formula 1 - 32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average, 32% MCAT Verbal Reasoning Score, 32% CASPer Score, up to 4% Graduate degree (1% Master's degree/4% PhD).

 

I too am disappointed with this!

 

Damnit! That really affects my chances. I just brought my cGPA up from 3.57 to 3.63, but bringing it up anymore becomes increasingly difficult given I have so many credits.

[Der Kaiser]

I doubt it. You can ace the Casper + MCAT and do really well on the interview to get in according to last years formula. Mac needs to raise its GPA standards, no offense but someone below a 3.5 means the bottom 10% of the applicant pool. Also, if you notice, since 2009 after Mac started allowing lower GPA candidates to enter, and increase of candidates with high GPAS were left stranded left no where to go (look at the rejected lists)...

 

So you're saying that people with high GPAs should get in somewhere? They deserve a spot because of their academics? If you can make an argument for why high GPAs make better doctors, then I will agree with you, but so far a higher GPA just means one is more likely to finish med school. I'm willing to bet that after a certain cut off there are diminishing returns in this regard as well.

[ParkourParkour]

+1

 

Also, contextualize all the examples from your life you'd provide as evidence for your answer on Casper. My "practice" involved reflecting on experiences I've had (didn't necessarily have to be academic or extracurricular) that would make me a decent physician. Also, set up your personal Google News page to aggregate for Canadian health care issues that come up in the news cycle.

 

I didn't do any mock practice, and I don't think there are any prominent mock Caspers that you can trust.

 

Mainly just read through basic books on ethics (Doing Right) to get your brain thinking about scenarios, and practice structuring answers.

[neoteny]

Hi everyone,

 

I am waiting to hear back from few med schools (regrets from mcmaster pre-interview this yr), and I've been running thru my plan B already in case I don't get in.

 

If I were to apply to McMaster next year, would my 3.63 cGPA/11VR be competitive enough to land an interview? I guess it boils down to my performance on CASPER, but I'd still like to gauge what proportion of interviewees have a stat in the ballpark of my stat?

 

I got into Mac - Hamilton Campus with a 3.68 and an 11 VR....completely doable.

[kap]

with a cGPA of 3.66 I've interviewed at Mac, UofT and Queen's.

Each school is looking for something different, so if you write your essay properly for uoft, your sketch properly for queens and articulate yourself well via casper/mmi for mac you have a decent shot! just my opinion based on my interview experiences with each school.

[Robin Hood]

If I was a med school, I would have based interview invites only on academic record. I would have weighted the academic record more than the MMI (like 60% vs 40%). Who do you prefer to treat you, the physician who is smarter, or the one who is more compassionate.

PS: I'm not saying having a low GPA means you're dump, you could have had extenuing circumpstances, but GPA is the more objective way to determine your academic potential, and usually, people with bad GPAs are slackers and underachievers, and these people has no place in med school.

[Applemanv3]

If I was a med school, I would have based interview invites only on academic record. I would have weighted the academic record more than the MMI (like 60% vs 40%). Who do you prefer to treat you, the physician who is smarter, or the one who is more compassionate.

PS: I'm not saying having a low GPA means you're dump, you could have had extenuing circumpstances, but GPA is the more objective way to determine your academic potential, and usually, people with bad GPAs are slackers and underachievers, and these people has no place in med school.

Those who won't make very good doctors are ones who are too quick to judge people based on simply numbers on a page. Relax, those who get in have worked dang hard at it. A thousand more deserve to get in, but to undercut people's efforts in a demeaning way is definitely not very "doctorly".

 

I see this thread has a potential to turn nasty, so this is my last post here. Thanks and all the best to everyone.

[Robin Hood]

Those who won't make very good doctors are ones who are too quick to judge people based on simply numbers on a page. Relax, those who get in have worked dang hard at it. A thousand more deserve to get in, but to undercut people's efforts in a demeaning way is definitely not very "doctorly".

 

I see this thread has a potential to turn nasty, so this is my last post here. Thanks and all the best to everyone.

 

It's not for nothing that GPA is king for med schools.

[grindsmygears]

If I was a med school, I would have based interview invites only on academic record. I would have weighted the academic record more than the MMI (like 60% vs 40%). Who do you prefer to treat you, the physician who is smarter, or the one who is more compassionate.

PS: I'm not saying having a low GPA means you're dump, you could have had extenuing circumpstances, but GPA is the more objective way to determine your academic potential, and usually, people with bad GPAs are slackers and underachievers, and these people has no place in med school.

 

But you aren't a med school. Yes, I sense this thread is turning nasty. LEt's just say. I have a 3.63 GPA, but I also did it in Physics with a minor in applied math. No bio. No orgo. No chem. And I busted my butt.

 

I think being smart is one of the most important attributes a doctor should have, but I also know that compassionate doctors are sued far less, despite their shortcomings. I know my patients during my MSc respected me because of my position, but I sense they liked me too, and thus asked more questions and followed through on my advice a bit more than, say, someone who says GPA is the only factor that should be considered in med school. Not a very becoming statement for someone who will be working with vulnerable people. Unless you are considering pathology.

 

Ideally, all doctors should be compassionate, but not all smart people are compassionate.

 

I admit, I don't think I'm going to post on this topic in the future either. It's just so wrong in the first place, that it isn't worth commenting on.

[grindsmygears]

GPA is king, but on this forum, people make it seem like it's the only thing required or necessary for admission.

 

I agree. That's why these forums can become a bit poisonous at times. IF I had listened to some people, I would not have applied.

 

But I got accepted.

[Robin Hood]

But you aren't a med school. Yes, I sense this thread is turning nasty. LEt's just say. I have a 3.63 GPA, but I also did it in Physics with a minor in applied math. No bio. No orgo. No chem. And I busted my butt.

 

I think being smart is one of the most important attributes a doctor should have, but I also know that compassionate doctors are sued far less, despite their shortcomings. I know my patients during my MSc respected me because of my position, but I sense they liked me too, and thus asked more questions and followed through on my advice a bit more than, say, someone who says GPA is the only factor that should be considered in med school. Not a very becoming statement for someone who will be working with vulnerable people. Unless you are considering pathology.

 

Ideally, all doctors should be compassionate, but not all smart people are compassionate.

 

I admit, I don't think I'm going to post on this topic in the future either. It's just so wrong in the first place, that it isn't worth commenting on.

 

Where did I say only GPA should be used. I said GPA should be waited 60% of the post interview score, MMI should be weighted 40%. Montreal has something close (50/50) and all French schools weight GPA 50% of the post interview score, and interview invites are based solely on GPA. (effectively, it's the MMI that makes you or breaks you for final decisions at UdeM)

[vanillabear]

Where did I say only GPA should be used. I said GPA should be waited 60% of the post interview score, MMI should be weighted 40%. Montreal has something close (50/50) and all French schools weight GPA 50% of the post interview score, and interview invites are based solely on GPA. (effectively, it's the MMI that makes you or breaks you for final decisions at UdeM)

 

Well... GPA this last cycle was 25% and VR was also 25%. I'm sure both GPA and VR can be considered as academic components and both combined are weighted 50% of your pre-interview score.

 

Post-interview, it's been established that individuals already are smart. So why not try and select the smart AND compassionate instead of just the smart ones?