Guest treehuggingbiologist Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 How much easier is it to get into the US as opposed to getting into in Canada? I don't have the stats to get into medical school in Canada (ended up with an overall high B+ average) so I'm looking at going south of the border. Any thoughts on whether this is a bad/good idea and what drawbacks are? I'm not that worried about going into debt - thats going to happen regardless so I'm just looking at other options rather than ruling out medicine altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 hey tree, i suggest you get a copy of the 'medical school admission requirements' (MSAR) and see where your stats are competitive and what school suits you. i found it easier to get accepted in the US. the trick is, as im sure you've read on this board already, is to apply early! the earlier you apply, the better chance you have. US schools dont have cutoffs. they look at the entire application. so something like a lower mark in one section of the mcat isn't going to hold you back. the drawback that i see of going to the US is residency. it'll be tougher to get residency in canada - although with these changes that are being put in place who knows? also in the US, getting residency on the 'good visa' will be tough. moo knows more about these things than me! hope i helped somewhat! madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 How early is early? I have my MCAT score and all that now, I am starting to write my PS... when should I be trying to submit by... mcat is only a 29 (8V 11P 10B), thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jochi1543 Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 As early as possible....in the US, I believe the applications become available in May, and the earlier you apply, the more seats are left, and hence, the higher your chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 You should've submitted your primary application in June! It's not too late. Try and get everything done ASAP - definitely before the end of the month. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Yeh seems everyone did apply... well I hope its not too late yet.... This P.S. is taking me a while to write tho.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Yeah, it's the most time-consuming part. Some secondaries are a pain too. Keep at it though! Good luck Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Madz, are you in an American school now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 No, I was accepted in the US, but I declined to attend a Canadian School Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MCat Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 I havent submitted my AMCAS yet, but Im rewriting the MCAt this august. Is it still necessary for me to send it in asap or will it not even be looked at until my mcat scores come in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmarks3452 Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 ^ i had the same question... i already got my amcas in but i don't want to bother with the secondaries until my mcat's out of the way.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 MCat - Your AMCAS application can take up to 6 weeks to be verified before it is sent to the schools you selected. I suggest you send it ASAP and save yourself the 6 weeks of waiting post-MCAT (some schools only send secondaries once they've received your AMCAS app). jmarks - it's up to you. I'd get things like reference letters taken care of. Sometimes the referees take long, sometimes the letters dont get there etc. etc. A lot of my secondaries were held up because of reference letters - save yourself the time and get it out of the way. Your file wont be considered complete until they receive ur MCAT scores so I suggest try and get everything in before MCAT scores come out because then, it'll just be a matter of releasing your scores and you're good to go! Hope this helps. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 In terms of reference letters, do we send them or do we ask the referee to send them to AMCAS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 You don't send reference letters to AMCAS. Your referee must send the letter to the school directly OR to any courier-type service you may be using. Your referees may have to send out MANY letters depending on how many schools you apply to. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 What the diffierence if I just ask for one and send it out myself? They won't know anyways.... (I can put my referee's return address on the envelope)... because I seriously doubt one or 2 of my referees will have the time to send a bunch of letters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Your referee is supposed to send it. Anyway, if you want to send it yourself then get as many copies as you need from your referee, unless you're only applying to one school. I made it easier for my referees by providing them with address labels for every school. That way, they knew how many copies to make and didn't have to worry about the addresses. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 You have to get the referee to send it as they nearly always have to sign over the flap. Don't attempt to send letters that are supposed to be confidential yourself as they won't count. Most US schools will allow letters to be sent from www.referencenow.com/ This service manages references in a confidential manner. Your referees mail them in or upload a PDF and you then select from your folder which letters you want to send to particular schools. You do not have access to the letters if you mark them as confidential and it saves your referees a ton of work. It also saves you postage costs since they're mailed from within the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 And work on those applications VERY QUICKLY. Schools need time to process the primary application before sending out secondaries, which can be VERY involved (Duke anyone?:rolleyes ). You will then need to devote time to the secondaries. Many school in the US have rolling admissions and issue acceptances in the fall. Even among schools that don't, interviews will be issued as applications are received. Few, if any, US schools sit on applications until late winter/spring before starting interviews as they do here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 I think only the top-tier schools like Harvard and Yale don't have rolling admissions. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 So quick question, will I see the seconderies in my AMCAS app once they get recived (if, rather). yeh I am trying, but everyone is saying how important PS is and I am on my 4th rewrite!! arrg plus i am taking a summer course for english which I need for a lot of schools.. Will it be ok if I apply by Aug 1st? I know its a bit late.. but I think I made that my due date... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Schools will either mail you secondaries or provide you with links/pdf files via e-mail to access secondaries online. Once the AMCAS application has been submitted and verified and sent to all the schools - there is little reason to visit that site again (unless you want to add more schools to your list). I submitted my AMCAS app during the first week of August last year. It took 3 weeks for it to be verified. I really felt afterwards that I had submitted it too late (although at the time I thought it was early). I got a few interviews but not nearly as many as I could've gotten had I applied earlier. Hope this helps. Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paulchemguy Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I read something about Early Decision Program (EDP) and its deadline being in Aug1st. So does that mean if I miss that deadline, then my application will be considered in the 2nd batch with all the other "Regular Admissions Program" applications? Or is it STILL a continuous rolling application-review process? Thanks so much, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madz25 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 There are some regulations with EDP that I'm not too familiar with. I think with EDP, you can only apply to one school..or something like that. As in, I don't think you're allowed to apply to 5 schools under EDP. Your application is not automatically considered under EDP if you submit it early. You have to select EDP in your AMCAS app. I suggest that you get your application in early under the 'regular' category (even if it is before Aug 1st). Madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alexshim Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 As a Canadian EDP puts you at a disadventage becuase of your status as a non-resident (unless you have a greencard then go ahead) and because you are not allowed to apply to any other schools at that time. Apply to EDP only if you have high MCAT/GPA and you are pretty sure you will get in the school, otherwise don't do it. I spoke to many schools and they said as a Canadian I should not do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hp18 Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 US schools need 3 years of premed or 4 years? Do u know schools accepting after 2 years of premed. I don't care even if they are ranked low. I am in UT..GPA around 3.75...appearing for MCAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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