lowest GPA into med school

[Guest dogeatdog12]

Hi

 

 

what's the lowest GPA one has to have to be accepted in to any canadian medical school. I know for example that U of T 3.8 is the bare minimum. Does anyone with a 3.6 have a chance? thanks

[Guest Tanya24]

Hi dogeatdog12,

 

U of T requires 3.6 before your application will be assessed further. This is straight from the horses' email.

Queens requires about 3.57 overall or in your last 2 full-time years.

UWO requires about 3.60-3.61 in your last and best year.

Mac requires 3.00 overall.

Ottawa is more complicated. It could be as low as 3.55-3.60 if you're francophone, Ottawa resident, or live in an underserviced city. For the rest of Ontario it is about 3.75-3.80. For OOP it is more like 3.85+.

 

Most schools post this info on their websites if you want to check into it further. As you can see, your 3.6 is solid and I think you probably have a definite chance. Good luck.

[Guest aneliz]

Western's GPA cut-off does vary with the applicant pool....it will be determined for this year in January and posted on the Western web-site late in January or early Feb. It usually is somewhere between 3.55 and 3.65. Last year's cut-off (meds 2006) was 3.65. The cut-off the year before was 3.60 (meds 2005). So, 100% of these classes have a GPA of 3.60 or 3.65 and better. Western does not calculate a GPA average for the entering class (at least they won't release it if they do) so we have no idea how many people are just at the cut-off vs far above it.

 

Western looks at your GPA in your best year and your last year in which you completed 5 full courses between Sept and April. They do not look at your GPA in any of your other years. So, to get an interview, you need to have one full-time undergraduate year completed between Sept and April with a GPA above the cut-off. (Of course you also need to make the MCAT cut-offs!) To be eligible for admission you must also have the cut-off GPA in your last year (the year that you are doing RIGHT NOW if you are still taking undergrad courses OR the FINAL year of your degree if you have finished it.) The GPA in any of your other years, (because you need to have completed at least 3....) is not considered in the admission decision.

 

These have been the rules at UWO for many years and while I have not heard this year's edition, I assume that it will be similar.

[Guest fedro2000]

what would some with a lower gpa such as a 3.3 or something like that do since the stander of admitance is alot higher

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Three options -

 

1) If you're from Dal and your MCAT is good enough, a 3.3 is good enough for an interview (or at least was two years ago.) A 3.29 is not good enough, btw.

 

2) Build up a great resume and apply to McMaster - they take a number of students in the 3.0 - 3.3 range every year who have exceptional "life experiences" that would make them a great candidate to study medicine at Mac.

 

3) Do a second undergrad degree.

[Guest idreamofmeds]

Aneliz...you mentioned that Westerns can range. I know that this year the cutoff is 3.70. Do you think that it could be higher than that next year. I am applying this year (for 2004 admission) and I am worried that it could go up to 3.75 (following the .05 increase per year pattern) I realize that it is determined by the applicant pool, but do you see that happening

[Guest mying]

Anything is possible. However, keep in mind that 3.70 is the highest it's been in four years (maybe even longer) and it in fact went down from 3.65 to 3.60 between the class of 2004 and the class of 2005, and I know for a fact it has been as low as 3.50, and may even have been lower.

 

It aaaaalll depends on how many people apply and what their top year GPA is like and what their MCAT's are like. It really could end up being just about anything. There are too many factors.

 

For example, why was the admissions GPA the lowest during the surge of the dot-com (and coincidentally, genotech) era? Is it because some of the brilliant university graduates were going on to research and corporations instead of applying to med school, thus changing the range of GPAs?

 

I guess bottom line I'd say it's more likely it will stay the same or go down, just based on where it's been hovering the past decade... but anything is possible.

[Guest aneliz]

Sorry, I have no insight into this. We have zero (and I mean absolutely ZERO) insight into what the GPA cut will be next year. The cut-offs are determined based on the quality of the applicant pool and are set so that roughly 400-420 people will meet them and be interviewed. If their were 400 people that applied that had a 4.0 GPA,well, the cut could theoretically be 4.0. (Unlikely though given that there is the MCAT component as well) Similarly, if there was something else (like the dot.coms) that was a more attractive career to those that might have otherwise applied to med school, then the GPA cut could theoretically go down.

 

I don't think that you could count the 0.05 increase from 2005 to 2006 to 2007 as a real trend...it has more happened by chance....There are always a variety of things that can be done when setting cut-offs....we can alter the GPA cut, the MCAT cuts or a combination of both....and there are many different scenarios that are discussed before a decision is finally made.

 

In my own opinion, I don't think that cuts are likely to decrease all that much...as mying pointed out, the dot.com and tech sector seems to be on a downward slide...while medicine is an always secure, needed and respected career path....Given the recent publicity about doctor shortages, increased med school seats, etc., I would expect that the interest in med school and the number of applicants is not likely to decrease anytime soon. Especially given that the number of overall university students is increasing as well...

Given that, I think that the standards will probably remain the same or may even go higher...but of course that is all a mystery to us at this point and there is no way to know for sure. Don't stress about it, there is nothing you can do other then your best. Maintain as high a GPA as possible, but don't neglect other aspects of your life (like extra-currics and volunteering) that will make you a better applicant to do it.

 

Good luck!