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Does anyone know the likelyhood of getting into an australian medical school with a 24 mcat and 2.8ish gpa?

Very unlikely.

 

Even then, you aren't doing yourself a favour by attending and institution that would accept you with those stats.

 

Do a second degree and prove to yourself you have what it takes to survive medical school, where the costs are much higher.

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I recommend not going into medicine period. Your MCAT is low and your GPA is also low it is not as if only one is low. If you actually tried hard on your MCAT and got a 24 then I recommend you not study medicine. You would need a dramatic improvement on your MCAT score as well as a 2nd undergrad to have a shot, and dramatic MCAT improvements are rare unless you took the test without studying. 

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Hmm, I recently got my new score back, a 27. and my cgpa with my final marks is about a 3 now.

 

Is this still too low? I read on other forums (although they were older posts) that the 8/8/8 2.7 cutoff could get you an interview or even an offer from some schools.

Cut off yes, but no way an interview unless you won a nobel prize.

 

There are schools out there that will accept you and your money right now, but all you will get is a piece of paper that said you spent 300k for 4 years of "education" and be jobless without a residency.

 

24 and 27 are non-competitive, unless coupled with a 4.0 or an amazing life story. 

 

 

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Thanks for the help so far!

 

I've read about the of the major difficulties internationals have finding residencies (not being allowed in australia and the low percentages in north america for IMGs). But would gaining citizenship in australia (during school) allow you to place there?

You won't gain citizenship, that is a misconception. Australia has very little slots for non citizens, so good luck.

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oh, i didnt mean gain citizenship by attending the school, but i think i get the point; unless I could get citizenship (which is very difficult and unlikely) finding residency spots anywhere -canada, us, or australia-  would be nearly impossible, thus making the education dubious, expensive and time wasting.

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oh, i didnt mean gain citizenship by attending the school, but i think i get the point; unless I could get citizenship (which is very difficult and unlikely) finding residency spots anywhere -canada, us, or australia-  would be nearly impossible, thus making the education dubious, expensive and time wasting.

Yes, that was the point. Your only option is to do a 2nd degree(complete in 2-3 years), and make sure to get high grades. Then with a strong MCAT you have a fighting chance.

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I agree with what I think is the general consensus in this thread - do a second degree, and potentially restudy and retake the MCAT.  ...additional education never hurt anyone.

Having said that, you could try to contact the people at OzTREKK and see if they have any stats/numbers on what the competitive average is, minimum scores etc that Aussie Universities are accepting from Canadian students.  (The advertised cut offs of 8/8/8 and 2.7 are meaningless if the competitive average, or range, is much higher.)

 

Best of luck

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  • 2 weeks later...

I actually know that people are accepted the Australia with grades around yours 3.0 GPA 27-28 MCAT, I think you should apply if you really want to. Australia does offer admissions to a lot of candidates. 

 

That doesn't mean you will do well as you might know Australia is pretty competitive for its own students so you will be "sneaking in" if you will. 

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I actually know that people are accepted the Australia with grades around yours 3.0 GPA 27-28 MCAT, I think you should apply if you really want to. Australia does offer admissions to a lot of candidates. 

 

That doesn't mean you will do well as you might know Australia is pretty competitive for its own students so you will be "sneaking in" if you will. 

Not at any of the good schools.

 

Buyer beware, do your own research on which schools have the best match rates and clinical curriculum. Even then, know its slim chances.

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Not at any of the good schools.

 

Buyer beware, do your own research on which schools have the best match rates and clinical curriculum. Even then, know its slim chances.

 

Even schools like Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland. Yeah, i'm shocked myself but look at studentdoctor.net. People got in with low GPAs and low MCATs. 

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I don't think that's the case at all advair250.  Your comment implies that Canadians studying abroad (i.e. in Oz) aren't getting jobs (internships or residency spots) after they graduate.  Yes? No?

 

I'm sorry to say this but what Advair250 has been saying is true.

 

Canada and US are much much better options for Canadians.

Australia could be considered as alternative option if you are planning to or already have PR or citizen there, otherwise you will get stuck when coming back here to practice.

I know this from my friends experience.

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I don't think that's the case at all advair250.  Your comment implies that Canadians studying abroad (i.e. in Oz) aren't getting jobs (internships or residency spots) after they graduate.  Yes? No?

Yes of course that is what he is saying!!!

 

 

Don't expect a residency going to Australia or the Carribean, unless you get very lucky. The people going in with very low stats, aren't suddenly going to become the top of the class.

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I have received a PM about whether I ended up applying or not, so I've decided to make the information public.

 

I applied late in the Australian cycle (applications begin Jan-March I believe and end in July, with some having rolling admission or late applications). I applied in about July to:

 

Wollogong, Queensland, Griffith, Flinders, Deakin, Monash, and Melbourne

 

I was rejected from Wollogong, Flinders and Deakin for too low gpa/mcat.

I was rejected from Queensland for being too late in the application cycle

I was rejected from Melbourne for not having the equivalent science prerequisites (I believe only certain Canadian schools have these, including Calgary and Toronto)

 

I was accepted from Monash and Griffith, both which have interview heavy entrance scoring (60% and 50%) respectively. Monash uses GPA as a 'hurdle' only. 

 

I would DEFINITELY consider the above advice first before considering going to Australia. My friend is graduating from Queensland and is getting an internship, but I do not know if she is an exception; https://www.amsa.org.au/advocacy/internship-crisis/.

 

IMO Canada>US>US(Osteopathic, DO)>Australia, UK, Ireland Etc>Carribean

 

If you still want to apply to Australia

 

- Find out if there is any possibility to get permanent residency

- OzTrekk I believe is the best agency, although they don't offer all the schools

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I have received a PM about whether I ended up applying or not, so I've decided to make the information public.

 

I applied late in the Australian cycle (applications begin Jan-March I believe and end in July, with some having rolling admission or late applications). I applied in about July to:

 

Wollogong, Queensland, Griffith, Flinders, Deakin, Monash, and Melbourne

 

I was rejected from Wollogong, Flinders and Deakin for too low gpa/mcat.

I was rejected from Queensland for being too late in the application cycle

I was rejected from Melbourne for not having the equivalent science prerequisites (I believe only certain Canadian schools have these, including Calgary and Toronto)

 

I was accepted from Monash and Griffith, both which have interview heavy entrance scoring (60% and 50%) respectively. Monash uses GPA as a 'hurdle' only. 

 

I would DEFINITELY consider the above advice first before considering going to Australia. My friend is graduating from Queensland and is getting an internship, but I do not know if she is an exception; https://www.amsa.org.au/advocacy/internship-crisis/.

 

IMO Canada>US>US(Osteopathic, DO)>Australia, UK, Ireland Etc>Carribean

 

If you still want to apply to Australia

 

- Find out if there is any possibility to get permanent residency

- OzTrekk I believe is the best agency, although they don't offer all the schools

Just to correct your comparisions, UK is by var better than the other IMG schools. 

 

If you are able to get into a UK school, which is in similar difficulty to Canada/US, you are more or less guaranteed a residency slot in the UK. They don't discriminate based on citizenship, just that you went to a UK school. Thus if you get a FM residency in the UK, you can then come back to Canada fairly easily as a trained practitioner. 

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Ah, thanks!

 

I do have a friend who went to the UK and he is working now as a surgeon there. I was wondering how he got around the residency problem; it appears they don't have one. Also, I believe he was able to secure an interview for general surgery in Saskatchewan, but ultimately chose not to pursue it.  

 

Anyway, I would then seriously consider ubc2012's advice of going to UK for school and residency, and coming back as a trained doctor. 

 

So, Canada>US>US(Osteopathic, DO)>UK> Australia, Ireland Etc>Carribean. I don't have much information on the UK, but I believe you'll have to take their equivalent of the MCAT (UKCAT?), but I may be mistaken. Australian schools I know accept MCAT scores. 

 

I'd also like to add

 

-pagingdr.net forums is dedicated to Australian medical schools and has a subsection for internationals. forums.studentdoctor.net/ also has great discussion threads regarding Australian medical schools. 

- Getting a PR or Citizenship BEFORE enrolling in an Australian school will classify your application as a 'domestic' meaning you will compete in the pool of other Australians. 

Competition among domestic students is very competitive. 

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Just to correct your comparisions, UK is by var better than the other IMG schools. 

 

If you are able to get into a UK school, which is in similar difficulty to Canada/US, you are more or less guaranteed a residency slot in the UK. They don't discriminate based on citizenship, just that you went to a UK school. Thus if you get a FM residency in the UK, you can then come back to Canada fairly easily as a trained practitioner. 

 

Hey i was just curious about this. I'm  a little confused about the UK system..

When they say "residency" do they mean the "foundation years"? 

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If you want to get into a UK medical school you'll have to write the UKCAT, BMAT for the 5 year/6 year programs but for the graduate 4 year programs you'll need the UKCAT, GAMSAT, BMAT and some schools will accept the MCAT (note you only need one test for each school no school will make you write both tests, but some schools want the UKCAT others want BMAT, but the UKCAT is the most predominate). Its not very standardized so its best to check with each individual school. 

 

The UKCAT is nothing compared to the MCAT, its a brief test that probably requires 1 month preparation tops, preparation is mainly for speed since the test is designed so that you will have to think fast. 

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The UKCAT is nothing compared to the MCAT, its a brief test that probably requires 1 month preparation tops, preparation is mainly for speed since the test is designed so that you will have to think fast. 

As opposed to the MCAT lol? 1 month is also more than enough for the MCAT despite what prep courses and premeds would have people believe.

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As opposed to the MCAT lol? 1 month is also more than enough for the MCAT despite what prep courses and premeds would have people believe.

 

Its definitely not as bad as the MCAT though. I would spend 3 months on the MCAT. So thats the ratio I guess 1:3. The MCAT still tests some knowledge whereas the UKCAT doesn't test knowledge it tests accuracy, reading comp and your ability to recognize shapes and patterns. 

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Just to correct your comparisions, UK is by var better than the other IMG schools. 

 

If you are able to get into a UK school, which is in similar difficulty to Canada/US, you are more or less guaranteed a residency slot in the UK. They don't discriminate based on citizenship, just that you went to a UK school. Thus if you get a FM residency in the UK, you can then come back to Canada fairly easily as a trained practitioner. 

 

Does this include schools in Scotland and Ireland?

 

I figure Scotland is still part of the UK, so it should apply, correct? Ireland may have different policies.

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