I'm Scared.

[Jarven]

That I won't get into medical school. I have an average GPA (for medical school). But I have such weak ECs and work experience and medical-related experience. I seem to be stuck in this looop of me being unable to find any opportunities that will help me when it comes to medical school. Plus, I don't have the most amazing writing skills (generally got low 70s on my high school essays), unless I'm writing a lab report or something. What if the essay I write is total garbage. What if my application is total garbage and my life is just a waste.

[frozenarbitor]

I am aware that 90+ is 4.0 on an OMSAS scale. My OMSAS gpa is 3.86 :'(

 

but my UofT gpa is higher

 

3.86 is not low. Relax, smile, and enjoy your life as it is for now.

 

Your GPA is quite high actually. If you realize your EC is weak, then work on it. Same with your writing.

[PhoenixFlare500]

Weak ECs aren't too hard to rectify. Find some volunteer opportunities or keep up the ones you're already in, pick up some hobbies. Work or medical experience isn't necessary, just a bonus. If you're having trouble finding opportunities try talking to your friends or looking for activities in your school e.g. posters and stuff, pick up sports (exercise is always good). Your GPA looks good, just gotta build up the rest of your application.

 

For the writing skills, I never did well in high school English, but did take courses that required you to write papers e.g. English in university (which will also be hard to get 90s in depending on your prof), research papers in science courses. That basically gave me a lot of practice and I ended up getting an R on the MCAT essays. For personal essays, I've looked at some old ones that I wrote and just thought "Why did I ever write this crap?", but the point is I now know it's crap. You can always improve.

 

One last note, getting rejected from med school doesn't make your life a waste (especially if it's only once). Just do your best at whatever you do, don't give up at the first sign of trouble, and you'll find some way to make some kind of mark on your world.

[zainy1993]

Volunteer at a local hospital, just make sure you apply early. Its pretty easy getting volunteer experience actually.

The grades is the tough part, and you have that nailed .

[RaVen777]

Well. You may not get in first try. Or you might not get in on the second try.

 

You may get in on the 3rd.

 

or you may never get in.

 

 

3.86 OMSAS is fairly good! I think there is a good chance you will get an interview somewhere this year. Med school admissions are a crapshoot. Stay positive.

[ellorie]

I got 6 interviews with a GPA there or slightly lower depending on the calculation. A lot depends on the ECs and the MCAT as well. If you know that your ECs are weak, focus on beefing those up rather than obsessing about your GPA, which is competitive and also not something that is all that fluid at this point.

 

There aren't that many actual essays anymore, but those that there are - get lots of people to look it over, edit, put in the time. It doesn't necessarily correlate with high school marks - they're not looking for the same stuff.

[captcapt]

That I won't get into medical school. I have an average GPA (for medical school). But I have such weak ECs and work experience and medical-related experience. I seem to be stuck in this looop of me being unable to find any opportunities that will help me when it comes to medical school. Plus, I don't have the most amazing writing skills (generally got low 70s on my high school essays), unless I'm writing a lab report or something. What if the essay I write is total garbage. What if my application is total garbage and my life is just a waste.

the good news is that you have a solid GPA, everything else can be bolstered easily by comparison. long term care facilities are constantly looking for volunteers, just ask around, the worst thing they will tell you is no. Email professors and ask to volunteer (this is how i got all my laboratory jobs which led to publications) , if you are good they will most likely take you on as a research assistant or work study student afterwards because they don't want to bother hiring and training someone new. Play sports (just sign up for a rec league), volunteer to coach, tutor...do anything you like to show that you have varied interest and a diverse background.

[Dr.Henderson]

I'd say volunteer wherever you can see yourself being interested in what you're doing. Don't just do "pre-med" types of volunteer activities for the sake of doing them, it really doesn't matter where you volunteer so make it something that's worthwhile to you- that way you'll enjoy it, get involved on a more meaningful level, and get a better reference from it .

[apache]

I wonder if doctors lives are meaningful because they're simply doctors, or because they do amazing things as doctors... from your logic it would be the prior... in which case getting the diploma and md is enough... but lots of doctors are no different than bankers or whatever position... the banker probably could help peoples health by providing long term housing etc., sorry, but id re-evaluate my measures of self worth, being a doctor doesn't mean anything, it's how you live, go down to social services... i just saw a card asking for volunteers to teach refugees how to read... lol, you're only volunteering and even doing something... that, imo makes your life meaningful... people are grateful to learn how to read, ya know...

 

I seem to be stuck in this looop of me being unable to find any opportunities that will help me when it comes to medical school. What if the essay I write is total garbage. What if my application is total garbage and my life is just a waste.

[cracklebrite]

Hey, I know exactly how you feel. I've had those exact same thoughts so many times. As everyone else has said, if you really want to go to med school, and you're worried about ECs, then you can work on making that aspect of your application better .

However you not getting into med does not make your life a waste in any way! Every person has their way of making their mark in the world and doing meaningful work, being a doctor is just one way that people are able to do that. Yes it is a good profession but it's not the only good profession out there. If it's what you really want, work hard to get it. But please don't think your life is a waste if you're not a doctor .

[Tacrolimus]

N/A

[xkittens]

Prepare for some serious mockery sir

[apache]

does the post i put on what's everyone thinking count, i think anyone who ever had a false sense of importance over trivial events will feel mocked... hopefully theyll listen to their inner voice after, junior highs over... you know

 

p.s. i got up after 6 hours yesterday... pretty impressive, maybe i have a mutation or something, lol, either that or yeah, i'm competant too competant... and irresponsible, because my irresponsible actions arent followed by disaster, but more competance, meaning my actions, what most people think will cause them problems in life (you need some gimmick during 1930's recessions when you want immigrants out, blame cocaine, say it's bad, and that the blacks are the cause, the only ones to notice will be the sociologist majors... and they're ivory tower types, not like some slimy lawyerly type... who cares, would notice, the two are mutually exclusive... until you find statistical anomalies... oh shoot, i love anomalies, i really want some djarums...meeting someone on campus and wanna be told how dumb i am for smoking, only to shut up the potheads (stupid undergrads are such stoners you can smell the **** a mile away) them up with facts... i've found people don't liek facts... it eally prevents them from eliminating cognitive dissonance, especially when it's like torrential rain... wonder if the hammer approach would be good in politics... sort of contra laytons nuanced facetious displays of irony, with lighthearted populist appeal, but ****, harper sells himself as a facts guy, and imagine a antithetical set of ideas espoused by someone whose like, no thats wrong, check this, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong... of course the charm is missing, but you can always do that post interview... it's like if guilles duceppe had 50 more iq points and enjoyed reading... plus pulled the layton charm after the debate... that's a good combo

 

Prepare for some serious mockery sir

[Jarven]

You all inspire me. I just have moments of self doubt that I need to just put out there sometimes.

But Thanks

[Birdy]

You all inspire me. I just have moments of self doubt that I need to just put out there sometimes.

But Thanks

 

FWIW, about 1/4 of applicants get in somewhere in Canada each application cycle. There are 10,000-11,000 individual applicants, submitting around 3 applications each, for one of ~2800 seats.

 

But, you aren't really going up against 10,000 other people. The pool is smaller. For instance, you aren't (likely) seeking one of the 740 spots at Laval/Sherbrooke/UdeM. About 2000 people are.

 

I'd say a lowball estimate is around 1000 international applicants per year, competing for a very, very small number of positions at the schools that will take them. I'll count them out of the pool.

 

So, you're looking at about 7000-8000 other people who want one of the remaining ~2100 spots.

 

Still seems pretty tough, right?

 

Well, consider that several schools have low minimum GPAs. McMaster, for instance, requires only a 3.0. Dal requires a 3.3 for Maritimers. Toronto's is around 3.6 I think. U of O doesn't require the MCAT so a lot of people are under the impression it is easy to get into because of that, and same goes for NOSM. On this site, we have a LOT more information about the process than most applicants do. I've met people who think meeting the minimums guarantees them an interview (well, it does at Dal for us Maritimers, lol.) I'd say there are easily a thousand people, if not even more, who fall into that, who don't know how competitive it really is.

 

Reality is that if you have a high GPA and fair ECs, you do stand a pretty good chance of getting in somewhere within a few cycles. There aren't 10,000 people with 4.0/38S/Amazing ECs applying. A fair number of them, sure, but I'd wager to say they make up a small minority of applicants.

 

So, don't be scared. GPA is king as so many say, and if you've got that, the rest of your app can be improved.

[Tacrolimus]

FWIW, about 1/4 of applicants get in somewhere in Canada each application cycle. There are 10,000-11,000 individual applicants, submitting around 3 applications each, for one of ~2800 seats.

 

But, you aren't really going up against 10,000 other people. The pool is smaller. For instance, you aren't (likely) seeking one of the 740 spots at Laval/Sherbrooke/UdeM. About 2000 people are.

 

I'd say a lowball estimate is around 1000 international applicants per year, competing for a very, very small number of positions at the schools that will take them. I'll count them out of the pool.

 

So, you're looking at about 7000-8000 other people who want one of the remaining ~2100 spots.

 

Still seems pretty tough, right?

 

Well, consider that several schools have low minimum GPAs. McMaster, for instance, requires only a 3.0. Dal requires a 3.3 for Maritimers. Toronto's is around 3.6 I think. U of O doesn't require the MCAT so a lot of people are under the impression it is easy to get into because of that, and same goes for NOSM. On this site, we have a LOT more information about the process than most applicants do. I've met people who think meeting the minimums guarantees them an interview (well, it does at Dal for us Maritimers, lol.) I'd say there are easily a thousand people, if not even more, who fall into that, who don't know how competitive it really is.

 

Reality is that if you have a high GPA and fair ECs, you do stand a pretty good chance of getting in somewhere within a few cycles. There aren't 10,000 people with 4.0/38S/Amazing ECs applying. A fair number of them, sure, but I'd wager to say they make up a small minority of applicants.

 

So, don't be scared. GPA is king as so many say, and if you've got that, the rest of your app can be improved.

 

That's an awesome post! Thank you!

[Birdy]

That's an awesome post! Thank you!

 

Take that all with a grain of salt, though hehe. A lot of it is based on assumptions of mine, though I do think the assumptions are fair. For instance, Mac has the lowest stated minimum GPA in Ontario, and the highest number of applicants by well over a thousand. (4700-ish vs 2-3000 at the other Ontario schools, the next highest being Ottawa with ~3300.) That tells me that a lot of people who don't meet cutoffs for other schools apply there, but I could be wrong.

 

And hey, I'm a premed too, and may well have my arse handed to me during my first application cycle in a couple years. This is just what I tell myself to keep me from getting discouraged.

[Dr.Henderson]

Take that all with a grain of salt, though hehe. A lot of it is based on assumptions of mine, though I do think the assumptions are fair. For instance, Mac has the lowest stated minimum GPA in Ontario, and the highest number of applicants by well over a thousand. (4700-ish vs 2-3000 at the other Ontario schools, the next highest being Ottawa with ~3300.) That tells me that a lot of people who don't meet cutoffs for other schools apply there, but I could be wrong.

 

And hey, I'm a premed too, and may well have my arse handed to me during my first application cycle in a couple years. This is just what I tell myself to keep me from getting discouraged.

 

You also need a good VR score (often the most difficult portion of the MCAT for many people), and a very solid performance on CASPER (an online MMI Mac uses) which is worth upwards of 40% of the pre-interverview score. Of course that plays into people's favour if they have relatively low GPAs but can excel in other areas. But your logic is exactly right, more people have a shot at those schools and thus more apply.

 

Your post overall is quite accurate . People need to bear in mind that the average applicant takes almost 2-3 attempts before getting in. If your GPA is in the 3.6+ range, there's likely a school out there for you if you're willing to put the work in and have the intangibles that are required for interview. If your GPA isn't quite up to snuff there's awesome advice in the non-trad section.

 

Once you get beyond a certain baseline for GPA/MCAT/ECs it all comes down to how badly you want it and how hard you're willing to work. If you want a relevant source of inspiration have a read through the non-trad success stories sticky in the non-trad sub-forum. I read through that thing many times during my journey .

[Birdy]

You also need a good VR score (often the most difficult portion of the MCAT for many people), and a very solid performance on CASPER (an online MMI Mac uses) which is worth upwards of 40% of the pre-interverview score. Of course that plays into people's favour if they have relatively low GPAs but can excel in other areas. But your logic is exactly right, more people have a shot at those schools and thus more apply.

 

Your post overall is quite accurate . People need to bear in mind that the average applicant takes almost 2-3 attempts before getting in. If your GPA is in the 3.6+ range, there's likely a school out there for you if you're willing to put the work in and have the intangibles that are required for interview. If your GPA isn't quite up to snuff there's awesome advice in the non-trad section.

 

Once you get beyond a certain baseline for GPA/MCAT/ECs it all comes down to how badly you want it and how hard you're willing to work. If you want a relevant source of inspiration have a read through the non-trad success stories sticky in the non-trad sub-forum. I read through that thing many times during my journey .

 

To be fair, Mac's minimum stated VR score is 6, so I think that plays into why they get so many applications as well. I doubt many people even know that less than 11 isn't considered competitive there. We know that, sure, but that's because this site is chock full of applicants who exchange information.

 

I've read through that thread a few times already haha. Hopefully in May 2015, I'll be posting my own story. GPA is still such a large variable for me, but I've done everything I can to prepare. Read all my books and some supplemental guides, done hundreds of practice problems, downloaded old tests from various schools for bio and chem (my school doesnt make them available) just to get an idea of what I'm facing, and even started working on my Spanish vocab for my elective. Plan is to prepare in advance every summer so that I'm coming in with a head start.