Do I Have Good Enough Ecs?

[enrike72]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if I have good enough EC's to get in Queen's considering that my 2ygpa is 3.96 (and assuming I have the MCAT):

 

- I'm engineer and I did internships in 3 engineering firms + 1 internship in an hospital

- lots of volunteering (uncluding a 1 month humanitarian trip in Africa)

- only 1 research (it last 1 year and it was the design project at the end of my engineering bachelor).

 

Thanks!

[qszwdxefc]

Queen's uses GPA and MCAT cutoffs so anything above those will not make a difference. I would definitely apply with those ECs, but unfortunately no one outside of admissions can tell you whether they're good enough to receive an interview. Good luck!

[enrike72]

Thanks!

 

And to do the new MCAT, does it require a good english? I miss some vocabulary.

[NewLife]

I heard that Queen's really values diverse ECs although I don't really have a source. You seem to have done plenty outside of healthcare which would probably make you quite appealing. I'd say you have a decent shot at getting an interview if you write the abs well

 

As for the new MCAT, I think there's some version of verbal still on it? That, in addition to the (former) test's questioning style, suggests that you should probably have at least good english skills to do well. I'm just speculating though sorry

[enrike72]

Thank you, but for the MCAT do I need a good score to get an interview at Queen's and is it feasible considering that I haven't done any biology/chemistry (I've never done any biochemistry btw) for 7-8 yeas (since cegep; I did a engineering bachelor after that) ?

 

AND do you think I could get this score THIS summer if I do the MCAT preparation this summer (19 may to july) and then write the MCAT in august (I've already booked a spot) ?

 

Thanks so much. I really need an answer because I need to decide by tomorrow (or at least this week), if I'll do the MCAT prep this summer. Otherwise, I have other plans.

[boggie111]

Thank you, but for the MCAT do I need a good score to get an interview at Queen's and is it feasible considering that I haven't done any biology/chemistry (I've never done any biochemistry btw) for 7-8 yeas (since cegep; I did a engineering bachelor after that) ?

 

AND do you think I could get this score THIS summer if I do the MCAT preparation this summer (19 may to july) and then write the MCAT in august (I've already booked a spot) ?

 

Thanks so much. I really need an answer because I need to decide by tomorrow (or at least this week), if I'll do the MCAT prep this summer. Otherwise, I have other plans.

 

It's hard to say how well you can do on the MCAT, especially given that the new format is a lot more integrative (for example in the bio section it combines biology with organic chemistry instead of separate sections) and given the fact that you haven't taken biology/chemistry courses. If you've already booked a spot I would highly highly recommend picking up some prep course books and giving studying a shot at least for a month and maybe trying to do a few practice sections to gauge your level. Three months prep for someone who's never done bio or chemistry might be too short..but again it depends on how fast of a learner you are. 

 

Also, Queen's doesn't publish its MCAT cut offs so no one really knows what's the minimum score to guarantee you pass the flags for an interview. If you're really serious about the MCAT, I'd sign up for a prep course this summer in order to give you some structure and so that you don't feel overwhelmed. Good luck!

[maybenow]

I heard that Queen's really values diverse ECs although I don't really have a source. You seem to have done plenty outside of healthcare which would probably make you quite appealing. I'd say you have a decent shot at getting an interview if you write the abs well

 

As for the new MCAT, I think there's some version of verbal still on it? That, in addition to the (former) test's questioning style, suggests that you should probably have at least good english skills to do well. I'm just speculating though sorry

 

Thanks for replying to the OP!

 

If he/she has done quite a bit ​outside of health care, making him/her appealing (first of all, does it? Why would it be so do you think?), wouldn't you/we be concerned that he hasn't done enough within health care?

 

In other words, would it come up that hey, does this guy event want medicine/health care? Obviously I'm trivializing it a little bit but you get what I mean. 

[maybenow]

Bump, I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on an applicant explaining how he/she has done a lot of stuff OUTSIDE of healthcare (unlike most premeds), and how said applicant can still explain that he/she wants to be in med school? Advice? I've done quite a bit of random stuff too, so I've been thinking about this.

[NotASerialKiller]

I don't think Canadian schools are all that concerned with applicants having a ton of direct experience in health care. They mostly just want to see that you can handle the workload (high GPA + ECs) and are willing to help people. In an interview if asked why you want to go into medicine it would be hard to justify that decision if you've had absolutely no exposure to anything medically related, but as long as your decision is reasonable and grounded in reality you shouldn't feel that you're at a disadvantage because you've explored other avenues. If anything they'll like that because you'd be bringing a fresh perspective to medicine. You should only be worried that you don't have enough exposure to health care if you yourself aren't really sure that it's right for you. Probably want to figure that out before going through all of this.

 

As for the OP, not sure how people are able to give advice about having enough ECs when all he wrote was that he has done a few internships and has "lots of volunteering". Not trying to insult him, just bringing it up because it seems the entire point of this thread is to determine if what he views as "lots of volunteering" is actually a lot, or even enough. Have to be more descriptive than that if you want helpful responses that can inform your decision about where to apply.

[Bambi]

You need to demonstrate active citizenship, altruism, able to handle active citizenship together with a full course load & CanMEDS competencies regardless of whether you have developed these attributes in healthcare or elsewhere. Direct patient involvement is rare and not required. You should be able to explain well why medicine in a manner that makes sense.

[capillary]

How much is MCAT worth in the Queens admissions process? compared with the wGPA cutoff and the ECs.

 

And second questoin is do they "weigh" your reference letters, like how much are those factored in?

[Savac]

How much is MCAT worth in the Queens admissions process? compared with the wGPA cutoff and the ECs.

 

And second questoin is do they "weigh" your reference letters, like how much are those factored in?

 

You're not going to get any answers to those questions on here. The only people that know are sworn to secrecy. Sorry.