Low GPA, high Mcat. what are my chances and what school should I apply?

[qwe340]

Just finished 4 years of undergrad from an Ontario university.

 

 

My CGPA is around 3.56 (3.58 if we count summer).

My BCPM gpa is 3.68.

 

The yearly break down is really strange

first year 3.70

summer 4.0

second 3.56

third 3.80

fourth 3.13 (terrible year)

 

I generally have a trend of getting mostly As (about 3/4 of my courses are 4.0) and then when I do deviate from A, I fall hard because those are usually courses that are really hard and I obsessively challenge the courses that I am not good at in the past (I supposed it kinda helped with the MCAT)

 

My MCAT is 37. (wrote it last year)

break down is 11PS, 12 VR and 14 BS.

 

 

 

I don't have any shadowing experience and I don't know how to get any but I have volunteered at a hospital for years and I would say I have been there for around 500-800 hours (i do get to interact with patients, get them to do assessments and help them around. occasionally translating for doctors).

 

 

I have also volunteered at a Inner city middle school for 2 school years.

Have some club/student government involvement.

Volunteered at psychology labs for 2 semesters.

 

 

 

I am potentially publishing a paper this summer (with the prof that I got the worst marks in, yep, my obsession does pay off a little bit)

I am probably gonna get that prof to write one of my references to put a different light on my failures.

 

 

So, any suggestions on schools I should apply to and what type of preparation I need?

 

 

Thank you so much

[abelign]

Is that your cGPA while using the AMCAS conversion chart? I.e., are you counting your A's as 4.0's? If so, then I guess we can conclude that your cGPA is 3.58. You have a killer MCAT score with an excellent spread, especially that VR score. So although I have to admit your GPA is on the lower side, your MCAT definitely keeps you in the running. I'd say right off the bat you have a shot at McMaster. I know this is an "Applying to American Schools" thread, but you should not rule out McMaster seeing as GPA is 32% of your pre-interview criteria and that VR 12 is going to compensate for your GPA since that's also worth 32% of your pre-interview criteria. If you do well on CASPer, then I'm sure you'll get an interview. Besides, I've seen a lot of people get into McMaster with a high VR score and a low GPA.

 

For American schools, your GPA is holding you back but again that MCAT score might help offset your cGPA. I've heard that American schools put more weight on the MCAT, but I have no concrete evidence for that. My advice would be to grab a copy of the MSAR and find schools that have a lower avg GPA. There are schools out there (e.g., Rosalind Franklin) that accept a relatively higher number of Canadians and have lower avg GPAs that would keep you in the running. Combined with that MCAT score, I'd say you have a solid chance at the low/mid-tier schools.