healthnut Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Does anyone have feedback for me whether they think I have a chance at US medical schools? Considering abroad options right now but would prefer to go to the US because easier residency matching and closer to home. My stats: Master's degree MCAT (written twice with same overall score)-28 (9/9/10) AMCAS gpa: ~3.65 cGPA Pre-req gpa: Lower, probably 3.4 EC's: varsity sports, tons of volunteering and clubs and work experience Research: MSc, 2 publications, lots of abstracts (17) and presentations, more in progress I took some extra courses after my masters to boost my gpa, where my gpa was a 4.0 would those be considered "post-bac" courses in the states, if they were towards a 2nd degree? Thanks for any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 What is your year by year breakdown? Is there a rising trend? I would apply broadly to all low and mid tier USMD schools - but the MCAT is pretty low, as is your GPA; so i wouldn't hold my breath unless someone saw something in your research or ECs that they liked - just some honest thoughts. I would focus on the 11 or so USDO schools that are Canadian friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 I would be shocked if you were accepted to a USMD with your stats. Def go DO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s5260205 Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Wouldn't hurt to apply if you are willing to pay the application fees for AMCAS and MD secondaries. Though admissions might give you an interview if your ECs are stellar, your chances at USMD are honestly quite low with current stats. It's best to focus solely on DO if you aren't willing to spend extra years remediating your GPAs and retaking MCAT for Canadian or USMD schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 your only shot is DO or IMG DO>IMG without a 30 break or 3.6 no ones going to look at a Canadian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healthnut Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Okay thanks for the advice everyone. In terms of my GPA, I did an extra year of courses towards a second degree, does that count as an extra year on the AMCAS scale or are second degrees considered post-bacc in the american system? Including the extra year considered as a 'post-bacc' my AMCAS cGPA is 3.7. In terms of DO, what are the statistics of DO graduates passing licensing exams in Canada and the US? I understand the advantage of doing DO>IMG especially if you want to match in the US and due to the difficulty of IMG spots in Canada and the US, however, I wonder whether the education is better at particular international schools (Ireland is where I have applied) and whether that would prepare me better for my boards rather than the DO schools. Any thoughts would be great Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 If you're referring to the master's degree then graduate grades are not counted in the AMCAS system. If you did an additional undergraduate year then you just average it with the rest of your undergrad grades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Okay thanks for the advice everyone. In terms of my GPA, I did an extra year of courses towards a second degree, does that count as an extra year on the AMCAS scale or are second degrees considered post-bacc in the american system? Including the extra year considered as a 'post-bacc' my AMCAS cGPA is 3.7. In terms of DO, what are the statistics of DO graduates passing licensing exams in Canada and the US? I understand the advantage of doing DO>IMG especially if you want to match in the US and due to the difficulty of IMG spots in Canada and the US, however, I wonder whether the education is better at particular international schools (Ireland is where I have applied) and whether that would prepare me better for my boards rather than the DO schools. Any thoughts would be great Thanks! Those statistics are easily available online at the NRMP website. USDO grads up until now have traditionally had their own set of residencies to fall back on as well. With the merger all residencies will come under the wing of the ACGME. A US based school will indefinitely prepare you better for US based exams. At the end it is up to you as an individual to study for the exams anyways. But the main point is that USMD and USDO grads have significantly higher match rates - and with the merger going underway, will undoubtedly be even more favoured than they are now. It is an ever steep uphill battle outside. This is no way a slight against the quality of many foreign schools - they are fine schools, it is the politics of preference that is at play. It would be foolish to not pick an US based school over any foreign school, based purely on that fact. You are setting yourself up for a disadvantage from the get go by going abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Okay thanks for the advice everyone. In terms of my GPA, I did an extra year of courses towards a second degree, does that count as an extra year on the AMCAS scale or are second degrees considered post-bacc in the american system? Including the extra year considered as a 'post-bacc' my AMCAS cGPA is 3.7. In terms of DO, what are the statistics of DO graduates passing licensing exams in Canada and the US? I understand the advantage of doing DO>IMG especially if you want to match in the US and due to the difficulty of IMG spots in Canada and the US, however, I wonder whether the education is better at particular international schools (Ireland is where I have applied) and whether that would prepare me better for my boards rather than the DO schools. Any thoughts would be great Thanks! Your masters are added to total cGPA based on hrs..so the MSC classes have very few hrs n less chance to effect over all One of the BIG predictors of matching/requirments in a US residency is US clinical exposure you go Ireland..you get 0 of this. Its 5 years of 60K gamble to Canada-- i have seen alote of my friends match with ireland in Canada...but when you start you add another 5 years (adding to the fact that med schools increases and res stay stagnant-- i doubt this trend will hold). Most US res will not look at you without US clinical exposure/US ref letters...you get lumped with the 10K of indian grads, when you go ireland/EU Education is what you make of it, 50% of medical school is a waste of time, it is a very inefficent model that hasnt changed since its first inception- but people continue it. If you take a step back and look at med i think you will see how much of an inefficent waste of time most of it is. Going caribbean, you also have a 0 chance of getting the H1b and 0 chance of getting cali res. With DO you also get OPT sponsorship, so this gives you time to work out papers. As someone told me...no matter where you go...if your determined you will eventually be a doctor. Some pathways will require more determination than others. Goodluck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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