Need advice...options??

[Guest MDbadly]

hello all,

First time poster here needing desparate advice. You could say I'm obssessed with med school, however I think I have ruined my chances. Let me tell you about my stats. First degree, noncompetitive GPA. Second degree, WGPA 3.82. Gotten interviews for Ottawa twice a few years back, could you believe not because of my WGPA of 3.82, since both times I was below the cutoff of 3.83 something but because Ottawa considered my city as underserviced at the time. Blew 1st interview and BAD waitlisted. Thought I got in the 2nd time because it went so well but apparently got BAD waitlisted again. During my second interview, I also got interviews for physiotherapy and chiropractic schools as backups. Got into everything I applied for, except Ottawa. Decided to go with physiotherapy and during my year in physio, also applied to Ottawa but was again .0001 whatever below the cutoff. I ended up withdrawing from physiotherapy because while I was in that highly competitive to get in and an excellent programme it was, I COULD NOT forget about meds. Because of that one year in physiotherapy with a low B-I was no longer competitive for Ottawa, and so I heard the cutoff has gone down to 3.80 last year, the only year I couldn't apply.

....Help! I need some advice or some options since I'm afraid to make more mistakes. I feel trapped. I was thinking of going back to my backup plans (physio or chiro) again next year and hopefully admit to myself that I'm not smart enough for meds and go on with my life because I'm not getting any younger too. I had friends who started out with me and had gone into other careers but why couldn't I forget and go on? I could have the option of writing the MCAT but honestly I'm scared of the MCAT. Had written it once and did so poorly on all sections except the Writing Component. Although i wasn't fully prepared, there was no excuse. I probably didn't understand the material. Also writing the MCAT now, I have forgotten everything. I don't know what to do??? All I know is that medicine would suite me and I love working with patients as when I was at clinical placements during my physio programme. However, I kept thinking and feeling that I wanted so much to be their doctor and not their therapist. I don't know what to do??? Are there any other options for me now??? Should I try to forget and move on???

 

Depressed,

MDbadly.

[Guest peachy]

My personal opinion - if you want medicine badly enough, you can make it happen. Anybody can make it happen. It is simply a matter of playing the game right, and being willing to give up a fair amount of time and money in the process.

 

(Aside: why didn't you apply to Mac, given that they don't need MCAT's either?)

 

Getting yourself a reasonable chance of getting into medical school means:

 

1. Writing the MCATs. Sure, you might get in to Mac or Ottawa, but you don't want to bet your future on it. Especially with weak stats. The odds against getting into these schools with weak stats are tremendously stacked against you. They both have seriously weird admissions processes.

 

(Pleeease don't jump on me Mac/Ottawa people! I don't think their policies are BAD, just that they are unpredictable enough that it would be unreasonable for most people to plan their futures around getting into one of these two schools, particularly with weak stats. Their policies may very well select for excellent groups, but that doesn't help the individual applicant too much.)

 

Can you afford to spent the summer preparing for the MCAT? Doing well is very simply a matter of preparation - if you work fulltime for the summer preparing for it diligently and effectively, you WILL do well!! Just believe in yourself and don't get scared off!!!! It's a stupid test, and just one more hurdle to pass through on the way to medical school.

 

2. Getting excellent extracurriculars. This is really, really not hard if you set your mind to it - it's just a matter of going ahead and DOING it.

 

3. Writing great application essays. Again, really not that hard if you put in the time and effort. Use commercial help services if you need to. Spend lots of time. Get people to edit it. Find current medical students to help you out. Etc.

 

4. Applying to lots and lots of schools. Don't restrict yourself to Ontario, apply to every medical school in Canada that you think you have a reasonable chance of getting into. Apply to a bunch in the US as well. Every school looks for something different, and if you're a reasonable candidate then SOMEWHERE will let you in. But you might not be able to be choosy if your GPA is low.

 

5. Preparing properly for interviews. Hire someone to help you if you need it. Visit the career centre at your school and do lots and lots of mock interviews. Read books on interviewing. Talk to your mirror. Practice hundreds of questions. Read books on ethics. Brush up on current events. Some people are naturally good interviewers, but the rest of us can LEARN to do it right with lots of help and practice.

 

Anyways, I pretty much didn't do any of these things. This is my first time applying, I'm very competitive stats-wise, and I love research and would be totally content to do a quick master's degree first. But if I don't get in this year? I'll spend next summer making myself into the perfect applicant and applying to thirty schools.

 

I feel confident that I can guarantee myself an acceptance somewhere if I work at it hard enough - and I think that pretty much anybody can. It's a huge pain - trust me, I don't want to spend a whole summer working on applications any more than you do. I also don't want to spend thousands more dollars on this admissions process any more than you do. But if we're talking about my entire future, I'm willing to make that investment, painful as it may be. And if it's seriously the thing that you want most in the world, you will be too.

 

Medical school admissions is a GAME. (Not a fun one, but still...) If you're capable enough to become a doctor, you're capable enough to play the game right and win.

[Guest kellyl20]

med school elsewhere eg Carribean, Australia, Ireland, etc.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I'm not sure applying abroad is necessary. Unfortunately, I think if you really want medicine you're probably going to have to write that darn test. 3.80 is quite a good GPA. . . get decent MCAT scores and you're a lock for interviews at Queen's and Western.

 

My advice is to write the MCAT this summer and apply everywhere next fall.

[Guest not rex morgan]

Well, I hate to say it, but even if you are afraid of the MCAT, you're just going to have to let that go and write it. If you can afford it, there are prep courses for it. What Peachy said is true, it's all about preparation. If you wrote it half-a$$ed before, that is a pretty good excuse for doing poorly. Many a brilliant mind has written this thing unprepared and failed miserably. You just need to put in the work. It really is an exam that is poorly representitive of your intellect and abilities but unfortunately, it's a necessary evil. 3.8 is still not a bad GPA. You WILL have to face the "why did you drop out of physio question." What you have said already sounds like a good reason to me, but just know that in future interviews, they will be asking. They just want to ensure your committment to medicine. Good luck. I know deciding what to do is more agonising that doing whatever it is you decided to do. Sounds to me that if you don't give medicine a fighting chance, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. There's no recipe, but doing well on the MCAT (and you can!), and beefing up the extracurriculars with things you truly find interesting will really help your chances. Good luck to you.

[Guest Sil]

I agree with all said before. I was in a somewhat similar situation I did 3 years of my degree, did not go all that well except for my last year in it. So I registered in nursing (thinking always of meds). It was pretty terrible because I could not see myself as a nurse but managed to get good grades (3 years of that it was pretty depressing). Everytime I did not want to study I would think of the end line. So I believe strongly that if you want it, you can make it happen.

 

Although I think that Ottawa has an excellent program, perhaps I am somewhat biased Consider other schools unless you are willing to do at least 3 years more (to erase the B- of physio for the WGPA). I took the MCAT after 6 years of having completed my prereqs, I scored not that great but enough just to barely make the Western cut offs (I wish I had taken a prep course). So, if you study I am sure you can do well. The good thing about taking a prep course is that it can help you keep on time with studying and also serves as a review of things that you may have forgotten.

 

Good luck!

[Guest kellyl20]

should have a back up plan always

[Guest MDbadly]

What a great forum! Thanks all for the responses so far. Hope you guys could help me out with further questions.

 

If I were to rewrite the MCAT and lets assume that I met the minimum cutoff, what schools could I applied to considering my stats? Western? Others?

 

1st degree- GPA not worth mentioning

2nd degree GPA ranging from 3.79 in yr 1 to 3.85 in yr 3

and that 1 year of low B- in physio (that messed every-

thing up)

 

What were your strategies for tackling the MCAT? It has been quite a while since I took my prereqs and probably forgotten all.

 

Someone had told me that the MCAT was just a test either you get it or you don't no matter how hard you study and know your sciences. How true is this?... since there's some with great deal of science background could do so poorly and others with totally less in nonscience score extremely well.

 

What kind of reasoning/thinking goes into answering these passages?

 

Should I be ready to write the April if I start studying now so that I will have 2 cracks at it or should I do the August?

 

...Thanks in advanced for helping me. Please reply to these questions or any other advice/options that would be helpful for me to get back on track. Greatly appreciated!

[Guest not rex morgan]

You might benefit from reading some archived threads in the MCAT forum. As for tackling the MCAT, there will be alot of opinions out there. I personally believe it's a test of who can speed-read, but I am a slow reader and that was what stood in my way of really high marks. It really does help to practice, and yes, you do have to study for it. Whomever told you that it doesn't matter what you do to prepare may have been speaking quite loosely. You do need to prepare. You will be the best judge of when you should write it. You know how much time you have to prepare. I wrote it during the summer after my second year, and worked a little more than part time. I did take a Kaplan course, which helped me stay on track, and helped me to realize that unless I dumbed down my writing style (no intros!) I would fail. The practice exams really did wonders for me. I studied pretty much every day. I can't remember what cutoffs are for the different schools, but you can find that out from the schools. UBC, for example has always just used the MCAT as a flag. Their minimum is quite easy to obtain. Some schools out east want higher marks. As someone who didn't have highly competitive grades, I would really recommend being realistic about what schools you apply to. If you are not a resident of the province and they want at least a 3.95 average from an OOP applicant, you're wasting a hundred bucks. If you have a decent shot, definitely apply. I think U of T is pretty marks-heavy, but people from U of T would probably be better judges. I think UBC pays more attention to grades than they would initially admit. Mac is a great school, with a very cryptic admissions process. Definitely worth the application as they don't have the MCAT, and who knows how much attention they pay to grades.

[Guest Sil]

I think you have good chances at both Western and Queens (if you make the MCAT cut offs). The good thing about both schools is that making the cut offs almost guarantees you an interview. If I recall properly both schools only look at your 2 best years. You should look into Saskatchewan, I believe they have a look at your 2 best years (or is it 2 most recent years?), in any case, worth looking into.

 

As for the MCAT I would recommend taking a prep course starting out in January and taking the exam in April. I seem to recall (but don't quote me) that a lot of people taking the MCAT in April are still in school and therefore would not have had time to study for it as much (making it easier to attain higher grades since your scores are really just compared to the others taking the exam).

 

My roommate took the Princeton review. I don't know much about the Kaplan course but I know that Princeton lets you re-take their course if you are not satisfied with your score. That way you could take the MCAT in April and then again in August if you were unsatisfied with your score. That gives you time to still have your scores before you apply for 2004 admission.

 

I think that you can improve very much by taking the course. My roommate went from V10 PS6 BS6 to V12 PS9 BS9, and she only really studied hard the 3 weeks preceding the exam, I was living with her so I know

[Guest UOMeds05]

Hey there,

 

Like other schools, the criteria for Ottawa also changes every year... so i can only comment on what I believe to be true.

 

I will assume since you did state otherwise, your permanent residence is also in the Toronto area... if you are not from a designated "underserviced" area, your first two years do not meet the current cut-offs for Ottawa. However, with an outstanding third and fourth year you may be able to change this, since each year is weighted differently... ie: fourth year 4x as much as 1st year... they only look at the overall average and not each year individually. If you really kick butt you still have a chance. the important thing to remember is that aside from marks, Ottawa really puts emphasis on the "well-rounded" student so it is important to keep other involvements up.

 

With all that said, don't knock down only applying to 2 schools... all you need is one interview! And statistically, you are better off having an interview at any of the schools other than Ottawa since proportionately, they interview more students for the number of positions.

 

Best of luck to you... don't forget that grad work is not the end of the world. It puts you in a different category which makes your application that much more competetive (a large portion of my class has a Master's Degree and even a PhD!!). Despite what is thought, med-schools (at least Ottawa) do accept students that have only completed one year of their Master's work.

 

Good luck!