Worth it to apply?

[AmberSpyGlass]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks so much in advance for taking a read through this post. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

Due to some personal reasons, I've started to seriously consider applying to US medical schools, particularly those that are located in the state of California.

 

I'm a Canadian citizen. My stats are as follows:

 

34 MCAT, 12/11/11.

Overall GPA ~3.94

I'd say I have average to above average ECs. Everything is probably pretty run of the mill except, one research pub in a integrated medicine journal and I've dedicated ~5000hrs to a medical volunteer activity that's super patient-contact intensive.

 

Is it worth it to apply if I hand in my application ~early august??

 

An add-on to the above question - any schools that do not operate on a rolling admissions basis??

 

Thanks again!

[Sit]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation to you academically (GPA & MCAT) and I'm applying to a few US schools. This is my first cycle applying to the states and so far I've received a few secondary applications.

 

I'd say go for it. Even the top-tier med ivy league schools down in the states have GPA averages of ~3.9 and MCAT ~35, so you have a good shot.

[TheBoss]

There are US schools particularly in the northeast and midwest that are good choices for canadians, given a competitive application. There's a list in another thread, but some that I can think of are wayne state (especially), NYU, vanderbilt, harvard, yale, hopkins, WashU, SLU, nymc and cwru.

 

Unfortunately, california schools are not at all canadian friendly. Some that I can think that accept canadian applications, but rarely if ever interview canadians are the UCs (UCSF, UCLA, etc) and stanford.

[AmberSpyGlass]

Thanks for your replies TheBoss and Emotocon!

Based on what you guys have said, I think I will be giving it a shot.

 

I was really hoping that someone might know of Canadians who've applied during August and whether they received interviews from the States though.

 

Anyone?

[TheBoss]

Thanks for your replies TheBoss and Emotocon!

Based on what you guys have said, I think I will be giving it a shot.

 

I was really hoping that someone might know of Canadians who've applied during August and whether they received interviews from the States though.

 

Anyone?

 

I knew a few personally, and my post was based largely on their experiences and their stories I've heard

 

They were very competitive applicants. Interviews among them included Hopkins, Yale, WashU, and others, but none of them got any interviews in california despite applying there, which is why I say california seems to be a long shot for canadians.

[advair250]

California is tough for OOS.

[AmberSpyGlass]

I knew a few personally, and my post was based largely on their experiences and their stories I've heard

 

They were very competitive applicants. Interviews among them included Hopkins, Yale, WashU, and others, but none of them got any interviews in california despite applying there, which is why I say california seems to be a long shot for canadians.

 

Aww thanks so much Boss I really appreciate your insights! My family recently relocated to southern california, and it was a rather unexpected move to be honest, so now I'm scrambling a little bit.

 

It makes me feel a bit better that some people have gotten interviews despite applying relatively late.

 

I know of one person who matriculated to Standford, and consistent with your posts (and everyone else's) they were a very strong applicant.

 

Thanks again everyone for your time in answering my questions!

[TheBoss]

No problem!

 

To be more specific though, if I recall correctly their applications weren't complete until late in the summer, though I don't know when they first submitted their primaries. A caveat may be that it might not be much harder to get an interview having applied late, but it may be harder to get admission (i.e. if you apply late, by the time you interview, there are few seats left that you are interviewing for).

 

I forgot to answer, but yes some schools do not use rolling admissions, among them are Yale, Harvard, and I think NYU. They send out interview invites on a rolling basis, but do not make admissions decisions until all interviews are completed. Theoretically this would mean you are not at a disadvantage if you apply late.