Dr. Brule Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hi guys - I'm a Canadian thinking of applying to American schools. I did very poorly on some of my pre-reqs (D+ in Organic 1, B- in Oraganic 2, F in Calc 2 (redid and got a B+). These courses were taken prior to 2006 as a part time student before entering my undergrad program in Biochemistry. In more advanced courses I did very well (A+ in 3 subsequent advanced organic courses). All other stats aside (I'm finishing up a PhD), will schools take into consideration the fact that I took those intro courses a long time ago and that I did much better on higher level ones? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infamyofinternal Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Should be okay, US schools look at your overall application. Get a mid 30's MCAT and schools will love that you have been productive with a PhD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted January 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hm my MCAT is 9v/12ps/12bio (so 33). Should I retake? I was planning on it to up my verbal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infamyofinternal Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 How long ago did you take it? I would retake it, if you think you have a serious shot at Canadian schools. Are they an option with your cGPA, if so, then getting a higher verbal would be good. Otherwise if you're solely looking at the US, that 33 will be fine, higher can only help, but don't bother if you'll only jump to 34. Your research experience and clinical experience will be the determining factors, look at the research intensive schools. What are your cGPA and sGPAs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted January 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hey - Let me copy/paste what I've written in other forums. I applied to Canadian schools this year, and I'm still waiting to hear back, but if nothing works out this year, my plan is to retake the MCAT and apply to US schools along with a broader number of Canadian schools. My stats: -Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering (focus on drug delivery, GPA: 4.0 [no one cares about this ], probably 7-10 papers published before applying, presented at approximately a trillion conferences). I will likely post-doc at MIT/Harvard next year in the same field I'm getting my Ph.D. in. -B.Sc. in Biochemistry (three years, which is just how it works out in Quebec. The rest is taken at a junior college called CEGEP that AMCAS doesn't look at). This is the part I'm concerned about the most in terms of GPA. Before entering into the Biochemistry program at my university, It took a bunch of part time courses outside of the program, where I succeeded in failing Calc 2, and did generally pretty crappy. After entering the Biochemistry program I did really well (GPA 3.75, Dean's List, lots of research, etc.) The problem is that American schools will look at every undergraduate grade, including the one I failed. That's fair, and I take responsibility for that course, but it brings my overall GPA down to around just shy of 3.5 on the AMCAS scale. Will this be a problem even though I put a lot of distance between the bad grades (pre 2006) and the good ones (2006-2009)? **cGPA will be just short of 3.5 and sGPA should fall just behind that since AMCAS counts the Calc 2 as a science course** -MCAT: 9v/12ps/12bio -- I took it July 2013 -I have a ton of extra curriculars (organized 5 pretty big biomed/chem eng conferences, student government for 2 years, involved in environmental community outreach, three summers working within a special needs community, and a bunch more). -I have yet to work in a clinical setting, but I certainly intend on doing this very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 I think you're fine, especially given how old those grades are. At a 3.5 I don't expect you to encounter any trouble with computer rejections, beyond which anyone that's looking at your application will see how you managed to bring your marks up considerably. Apply to schools that are research heavy and I think you should do quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 You are solid, research and apply to all the mid-tier and ivies, you will for sure get some love. Your ECs look good, and your research speaks for itself. Make sure you have some medical related clinical work(patient experience), and you shouldn't have a worry. No point rewriting the MCAT, I think the rest of your application will do you well. Edit: Saw the thing about Canada, yah, if you want to get into Canada, rewrite and get the verbal up. But hope that it doesn't drop your sciences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted January 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Thanks for the words of encouragement! Is a 9 in verbal frowned upon in the US? I'm not really fixed on any ivy or mid tier universities in particular. Rosalind Franklin has always been a place I've been interested in attending because of their strong tie between medicine and research. Do lower tiers focus only on undergrad type stuff, or will they also view my research (and PhD) favourably? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Fine for low tiers too, apply broadly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Thanks for the words of encouragement! Is a 9 in verbal frowned upon in the US? I'm not really fixed on any ivy or mid tier universities in particular. Rosalind Franklin has always been a place I've been interested in attending because of their strong tie between medicine and research. Do lower tiers focus only on undergrad type stuff, or will they also view my research (and PhD) favourably? Thanks again! Generally when people are talking about tiers they are referring to the US news research rankings. Logically, the lower you go, the less the school is known for research, and presumably the less valuable your PhD becomes (caution: just speculating). If that's a valid assumption, you're in a bit of a tough spot when it comes to figuring out exactly where you have the best chance because of this diminishing returns situation you have here. Pick out schools across multiple tiers that are research oriented (like rfu) and apply broadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Most of the schools that take Canadians are all at least mid-tier anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etude Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 The advisors told me not to re-take those prerequisites. I think you are on the right track and have a good chance in some schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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