GPA

[Guest minnieMD]

Gees, I'm in a demanding program at UOFT and I'm really aiming to do well...

Those of you who've gotten in the Med school, can you tell me what your GPA's were? I'm really aiming for a 3.80 which I've heard is the competitive level to achieve- but correct me if i'm wrong. (i'm a little depressed because i don't have a 3.8 and i'm going into 3rd year but applying to med this year...)

 

What do you guys think? Should i be discouraged?

 

Thanks

[Guest aneliz]

As long as you make the cut-offs you have a shot...there are plenty of people in my class that just got the cuts....and there are those that have 4.0's...overall, I think that anything over about 3.6ish should be decently competitive along with a good set of MCAT's and extracurrics.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Mens Rea]

What is your actual GPA and what program is it in?

 

I know of somebody who was accepted to UofT med school, with a 3.72 (I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging in your case, but I thought I would throw it out there )

[Guest Lakers4life]

I think there was a discussion about this in the UofT forum. The average is b/w 3.84-3.87 for the past couple of years. Thus, you can get in with less than 3.80, but you will need other strong credenitals. They don't really care what program you are in [ie - even comp. eng. doesn't care any added weight], but if you are doing something mroe difficult then you can talk about it during your sketch, etc.

[Guest UTMed07]

This thread suggests there is some adjustment based on program (see post by juan -- 12/29/02 6:59 am) -- this however is a somewhat in dispute (read the thread).

 

Also, keep in mind that the U of T has a particular way of calculating the GPA. A 3.50 (OMSAS) GPA might very well be 3.85 by U of T's calculation.

[Guest minnieMD]

Mens Rea, in your opinion is a 3.72 GPA average or better or a low GPA? I'm asking because my GPA is actually kind of close to this number! But don't let that affect your answer...I want to hear the truth!

 

Thanks

[Guest minnieMD]

I just calculated my GPA on the OMSAS scale and I have a 3.69 GPA...lower than my UofT GPA. SHOULD I EVEN BOTHER APPLYING TO MED SCHOOL this october? I'm going into 3rd year...

 

This is sad.

[Guest Jerika81]

I don't think any of the Ontario schools actually use your OMSAS GPA, so I wouldn't worry. At Queen's they will use your OMSAS GPA or your most recent two years GPA (whichever is higher) and since there cut-offs were about 3.58 this year then you would probably make them. At Western you must have two years above their cut-offs, which was 3.7 this year, so if you have a 3.69 then one of your years must be better than 3.7, and you can use your current year as a second year to be above this cut-off. At U of T they will drop some of your worst marks, so your GPA would be higher than 3.69, and at Ottawa they weight your GPA so that your first year isn't worth as much, and later years are worth more. Not sure what they do at Mac...

But a 3.69 OMSAS GPA is definitly not bad. Mine was lower that that and I got interviews, and at least one acceptance.

[Guest Biochem10]

MinnieMD, 3.69?? Don't sound so upset, if you only knew others who wish they had a GPA like that. First of all that is your OMSAS GPA, right?? Did you take full-time years?? If you did then you can remove your worst 3 full-year courses and re-calculate your GPA for U of T. My OMSAS GPA was 3.65 and I was accepted at U of T, once I took away my bad courses it ended up being around 3.75 (which is still not a 3.8). My main advice would be not to focus on your GPA, apply to med school and give 100% of your effort to emphasizing your extracurriculars in your essay, make sure you have good references and have a little bit of confidence (but not arrogance). Good luck.

[Guest newbee]

Hey Biochem10, that's a pretty solid GPA, but I was wondering if you had any other activities that in your opinion may have been the "deal maker" so to speak. Did you have published research? NSERC? unique extra cirricular activities?

 

Thanks and have fun next year

[Guest dfenst]

There's nothing you can do about grades you've already gotten. Continue to take courses that you like and try your best in them. I had your exact GPA in undergrad (3.69). So much also depends on your MCAT and other credentials. Have you taken the MCAT?

 

If, after applying, you do not get in, you could always reapply with a year of, or a completed, masters degree. I think I ezboxed you my credentials that got me into McGill this year, so maybe I've instilled some hope in you yet that not everyone that gets into medical school has a 40mcat/4.0gpa (or even close!).

 

Cheers,

Dan

[Guest tantastic]

Would you mind ezboxing your credentials to me also. I'm really depressed I have a 3.68 OMSAS scale, and I'm starting to feel like a giant loser. Especially after following the folks on this board and seeing practically everyone get into med school Am I the only loser out there?

[Guest minnieMD]

Thanks for all your supportive inputs. It makes this board incredibly welcoming and encouraging. I'm actually doing my MCATs this Aug. Dfenst, what is e-boxing? Whatever it is, can you e-box me again? Thanks!

 

The @#%$ thing is, i did better in 1st year than my 2nd year, but i tried even harder in my 2nd year. So ironic you know. Hmm.. I think UofT had a cutoff range at around 3.6 but correct me if i'm wrong.

[Guest UTMed07]

Especially after following the folks on this board and seeing practically everyone get into med school Am I the only loser out there?

tantastic:

Many deserving people don't get in... so there isn't any need to put yourself down.

 

I was a reject last year... decided to give the board a break and slinked away feeling dejected. I suspect that is the way it happens more often than not and the posts are thus probably more often from those that made it. 3.68 isn't bad... many people get in with less. Keep in mind that schools look at more than the numbers.

[Guest JSS02]

According to the admissions website, U of T only drops the 3 worst courses for people who apply in 4th year and maintained a full course load every year.

 

"GPA will be calculated eliminating one full course grade per full year of study. Students applying after completion of three years of study will be able to eliminate their lowest 3 full course equivalent grades, after completion of four years will be able to eliminate their lowest 4 full course equivalent grades, etc. The courses eliminated may be from any year of or combination of years of study."

 

However, a 3.69 is certainly fine for most places, so there really is no need to freak out or despair...

[Guest dfenst]

Here's a link to the McGill's accepted/rejected/waitlisted thread. My stuff's there.

 

pub125.ezboard.com/fpreme...D=35.topic

[Guest Biochem10]

Hi Newbee, I wouldn't say that my extracurricular activities were fantastic... I worked in 3 different labs for research projects during 2 summers and in my second year of university. No publications. Did some volunteer work--Terry Fox run, children's hospital and tutoring. I don't do any team sports, just intramural stuff. Anyway, on paper it might not look like much, but I guess it was good enough. Again, I think everyone should apply if they make the "cut-offs" and give their best when writing the essay. It is unfortunate that many deserving applicants don't get in, but persistence pays off. I know how a lot of you feel, when I was filling out my OMSAS application my confidence was pretty low, but after getting interviews I felt a lot better.

[Guest fox]

First of all, I think this board may be a little biased. There are a lot of people who post regularly, and most seem to have gotten into med school this year (including myself, but I got rejected last year and at the time I felt really @#%$ and humiliated, now I think things couldn't have worked out better), but there are also a lot of people who post randomly and didn't talk about whether they got in or not once the letters came out. I had an interview at DAL this year as an OOP and I really wanted to go there, but ended up getting flat out rejected. I was the only one to post that I got rejected, (some said they got waitlisted), so it kind of felt like I was the only one. This probably isn't the case, it's more likely that people who get rejected would rather not post and draw attention to this fact. So, I wouldn't get discouraged from reading about everyone's successes. There are only a few people who know about this forum in comparison to the number of people who apply to med (didn't Mac get about 4000 applications this year?).

 

As for doing better in first year than in second year, that was what happened to me, as well. My second year was so hard and ended up bringing my GPA was down. But a lot of schools drop your worst year after you have completed four years, or only look at one or two years, so don't let this get you down, either.

 

All I can say is stick with it. When everyone posts on this board that they got in, it makes it sound very easy. But trust me, for most it is a long haul and may require a few attempts before success is achieved. When I failed I tried again. I wrote the MCAT three times in order to make my chances better (admitting that used to make me feel embarrassed, now I'm proud I didn't give up). That's three summers of studying! But in the end it was worth it. Good luck.

[Guest Lakers4life]

Yeah I second what was said above; I know a lot of people that went through a very difficult and long process to get into meds and personally I feel that some of these people are going to make far better docs than some of the hotshots that got in at age 20-21.

 

I still don't believe that getting into medical school is that hard if you are willing to do whatever you have to. Sometimes it just takes a bit longer and requires a little more dedication.

[Guest seonagh]

Hello all,

All this talk of GPA... argggh.

I'm very pre-med. That is I'll be starting my undergrad in Sept. This is my second kick at the can, with my first kick being 12 years ago. My question is, how badly will marks of 12-11 years ago come back to haunt me. They are absolutely horrible with some incompletes thrown in there for good measure. In '91 I only stayed in 4 courses (all passed, with marks averageing 76.5) and in '92 I had 3 incompletes and failed two courses. I know that there is no way that I will keep these marks a secret from the medical schools I apply to but with stellar marks for the next 3 years, will I be able to illustrate just exactly how different I am now (29) than I was when I was 17? or will the adcoms be blind to that?

I didn't do badly due to lack of ability, more due to distraction and a string of events I'm not really proud of. I'm sure also that the adcoms will ask about this as well and I'm not sure what I will say but I'm working on thinking that one through already -- that is how to frame the truth and still sell myself since if you knew me then and now you wouldn't know it was the same person.

Sheena

[Guest j282]

Mac: will look at your entire record. What was your CGPA from the first degree? What was the degree in?

 

Western: will only consider your most recent degree, so the past don't worry about it

 

Queens: look at the last two years of your most recent degree, so your past don't worry about

 

Ottawa: your most recent three years, so again nothing to worry about from your last degree if you do well in this degree.

 

 

Just curious, what have you been doing since you completed that not so hot degree? What field are you in? Was your first degree in Science?

 

Anyway I hope the info I have provided is encouraging

 

Take Care

J

[Guest UWOMED2005]

With a decent MCAT, 3.68-3.69 is definitely within the range of a med school acceptance. Don't worry

 

My year of application the UWO GPA cutoff was 3.60. There are a few people in the class right at that cutoff. Yes, this year the cutoff was 3.70. But we don't know where it will be next year. And Queen's consistently has a cutoff in the 3.5x range.

 

Plus MinnieMD. . . you're only going into your 3rd year? You have two more years to do better and pull that GPA up! Many of the formulas applied to GPA benefit the latter years of undergrad. There's absolutely nothing wrong with actually finishing your degree before starting med school.

[Guest seonagh]

Hey j282,

I never finished the degree. I only started out in university and dropped out. I went on to get married, move to Japan, I taught there for 4 years. I now work as a manager of a group that handles 2nd tier technical support for computers. I am self taught never did get that degree.

 

When I started out in university I was taking Engineering, and hated every minute of it. There are 4 half year courses that I took that I will likely apply to my degree but the rest are unpermitted drops with penalty or outright fails.

 

I don't imagine that there is a way I can keep this from the admission committees nor do I know if I really want to, it is after all a part of the story that makes me unique and since I think I would make a pretty awesome doctor that is good... but that doesn't mean that Dal will see it that way :\

 

Has anyone ever heard of someone with this kind of black mark going on to be successful, after all one does change a great deal in 12 years and I just can't imagine that the admissions folks wouldn't see that.

 

Sheena