positivetension Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I admittedly have not looked into the option of American schools very seriously yet, but am considering it if I'm unsuccessful in Ontario this year (which is unfortunately likely). I didn't take a traditional life science undergrad, and thus don't have most of the prereqs that it seems a lot of American schools have (I do have first year physics, general chemistry, calculus, but not organic chemistry or any life science except psychology). I do have a decent cGPA and a decent, balanced MCAT which would make it pretty likely I would get in somewhere in the US, other than the prerequisite problem. Are there any schools in the US that don't care about specific prereqs (or at least, have a limited number)? It seems like it's mostly standardized and the prereqs are much more extensive than most Ontario schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two0nine Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I've never encountered an american med school that doesn't have the standard pre reqs. They're usually always the same 2 bio, 2 gen chem, 2 orgo, 2 physics, sometimes one writing and one math Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thsc Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I admittedly have not looked into the option of American schools very seriously yet, but am considering it if I'm unsuccessful in Ontario this year (which is unfortunately likely). I didn't take a traditional life science undergrad, and thus don't have most of the prereqs that it seems a lot of American schools have (I do have first year physics, general chemistry, calculus, but not organic chemistry or any life science except psychology). I do have a decent cGPA and a decent, balanced MCAT which would make it pretty likely I would get in somewhere in the US, other than the prerequisite problem. Are there any schools in the US that don't care about specific prereqs (or at least, have a limited number)? It seems like it's mostly standardized and the prereqs are much more extensive than most Ontario schools. It's too late to apply at this point. Unless you have 40+ MCAT and 3.9+ GPA, its wayy too late in the cycle to apply to the US. Additionally, I don't think any school US would take you without biology. This is probably the single most important pre-requisite. The same applies to Ontario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two0nine Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Schools wont consider your application if you're missing any pre-req. Doesn't matter if its bio or english. Positivetension, it sounds like you're primarily interested in Ontario/Canadian schools. Just play out this cycle in Canada and see how it goes. Dont apply to the States this cycle because as it was mentioned earlier, you wont have a chance. If you are interested in American schools, you'll have to wait for the next cycle. However, keep in mind that you have to take two semester of bio and two semester of orgo. Theres no way around that. You can take the pre-reqs during the cycle year that youre applying. They dont have to be completed by the time youre applying. They just have to be completed before you enroll into med school. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
positivetension Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 It's too late to apply at this point. Unless you have 40+ MCAT and 3.9+ GPA, its wayy too late in the cycle to apply to the US. Additionally, I don't think any school US would take you without biology. This is probably the single most important pre-requisite. The same applies to Ontario. I don't intend to apply this year, I meant next year. I've already applied to Ontario schools this year (and would prefer Ontario), just not super optimistic about my odds so will apply more broadly next year. And yes, I know that most US schools are pretty strict about the bio, but I was wondering if there were any exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selstaar Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 Schools wont consider your application if you're missing any pre-req. Doesn't matter if its bio or english. Positivetension, it sounds like you're primarily interested in Ontario/Canadian schools. Just play out this cycle in Canada and see how it goes. Dont apply to the States this cycle because as it was mentioned earlier, you wont have a chance. If you are interested in American schools, you'll have to wait for the next cycle. However, keep in mind that you have to take two semester of bio and two semester of orgo. Theres no way around that. You can take the pre-reqs during the cycle year that youre applying. They dont have to be completed by the time youre applying. They just have to be completed before you enroll into med school. Good luck! Just wanted to correct some mis-information within this post for anyone reading after the fact. Schools WILL consider your application even if you're missing prerequisite courses. I've received invites to interview this cycle at schools where I've essentially been missing ALL of their prerequisites. As long as you show on AMCAS that you've got some intention of completing them (e.g., entering the courses as ones to be taken in the future on your primary app), you should be fine. They do have to be done by the time school starts though. Alternatively, you could check out schools without prereqs or those where they are just "recommended" (e.g., NYU, Jefferson). The MSAR is great for helping to do this! It seems like a crappy investment initially, but for the time and money it saves you by helping you pick out your schools most efficiently using recent info, I'd say it's definitely worth it. two0nine is right though. You shouldn't have applied this cycle. Nothing sucks more than having to write an essay or answer an interview question that goes to the ring of "So, you didn't get in last time, why do you think that is and what have you learned/done differently?". Best of luck in Canada! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 You are right about not having to have them done before applicstion, but rather matriculation. It is unlikely to be invited for interview at most schools with a significant amount missing - unless you have a stellar mcat to show that you are competent in the basic sciences anyways and will perform well when you do take rhe courses during the cycle. Good on you for interviewing without all the prereqs as you stated, must have had a high mcat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selstaar Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 You are right about not having to have them done before applicstion, but rather matriculation. It is unlikely to be invited for interview at most schools with a significant amount missing - unless you have a stellar mcat to show that you are competent in the basic sciences anyways and will perform well when you do take rhe courses during the cycle. Good on you for interviewing without all the prereqs as you stated, must have had a high mcat? My MCAT isn't that high actually - 10/10/11 (PS/VR/BS). I definitely agree with you on that front though regardless of whether or not you've got missing prereqs - I can't recall the number of times I was told by med students, interviewers and deans on the interview trail that "if you've got here, then the adcom believes that you can/are capable of doing the essential work of medicine/meet our high standards while trying to save the world and have a life". It was really cool to hear that sort of sentiment reflected, particularly because most of the discussions I have with younger premeds now revolve around "how can I game the system to take bird courses without medical/graduate schools looking down on me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
positivetension Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Reviving this thread because I was (unfortunately) unsuccessful with Ontario schools this year. Selstaar, your example is encouraging, do you mind if I ask what your GPA was and where you applied? And what other aspects of your application might have stood out? My MCAT is better than yours, but my GPA is my weakness and probably lower than yours. And I would prefer not to purchase the MSAR if I can get around it, is my only other option to look at the school websites individually, or has someone compiled a list of pre-reqs at each school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
武田信玄 Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 UVA doesn't have any prereq last time I checked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Msar is a worthy investment if you want to put forth a serious application tailored to your profile. It costs nothing compared to the application cost and attendance cost. Pay the fee or regret missing schools you'd be competitive at or putting schools your not in the range or match missions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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