Doing Well On The Verbal Section

[Med_new]

hey guys .. I don't want to hijack someone else's topic .. the question has been asked but I'll give specifics here ...

 

- Mature student .. UG back in 2005. Compsci UofA

- 2nd degree in BCom done in 2 terms. 

- GPA after dropping worst year ~ 3.52 

- Several years of experience in entrepreneurship (tech, finance), and volunteer work as well.

- don't have med related ECs

 

I just finished going through the entire MCAT prep (khan + EK), nearly 5 months straight. I feel I need to go back and review a whack load and do a ton of practice exams. But I am thinking about simply prepping hard for the CARS section and do so-so on the rest of the MCAT (average or maybe even less than average). What do you guys think?

 

My fear is that it will look like "he didn't do well on the other sections, and his undergrad is not all chem/phys etc. so he doesn't have a strong foundation in the sciences required for the MD program ..."

 

the academic portion is 40% of the exam ... given the GPA .. I am not sure if I should risk it ... 

 

any and all advice much appreciated!

[thatonekid]

It doesn't matter what your undergrad is in. It doesn't matter what your score is for the other sections (besides CARS).

 

But you're right, GPA is a big factor at Calgary and CARS isn't worth that much. The ideal situation is that you try your best in every section to allow yourself the opportunity to apply to other schools. However, if you're only worried about Calgary, then it doesn't matter. They'll teach you what you need to know in med school and people come from a diverse background without undergrad science foundations.

[Friendly Magpie]

Hi Med_New,

 

Try your best on all of the sections and see what happens. Do lots and lots of practice problems between now and your MCAT date. They reinforce the concepts.

 

Do you have at least two full time years since 2005? You could invoke the ten year rule and see if that improves your GPA (anything older than 10 years won't be counted as long as you have at least two full time years since then).

[Med_new]

Thanks for the input guys!! 

 

No, unfortunately that's my only education. I am gonna write the last date in Sept. My GPA is fairly consistent .. pretty much a 3.5-3.6 guy here lol. I am 34 now ... and the idea of going back to do 2 years and gun for a 4.0 GPA is painful. By the time I am ready to apply and get in .. that's taking it right down to 37 oh boi. I'd like Calgary but I am also looking @ McMaster .. with those stats a lot of schools will be out of the picture. I live in Edmonton, so Calgary would be ideal for me. 

 

any other takers? 

[Friendly Magpie]

LOL I'm even older than 37, so don't worry about your age. 

 

Best of luck! 

[Med_new]

Lol crazy .. Friendly ... if you don't mind me asking .. how many times have you applied so far? I recall you have a tech background?

[Med_new]

unrelated question .. does UofC accept open studies courses from athabasca (online institutions)? This option works out best for me if I do have to take a year of schooling & apply next year. I will take bird courses and pin that 4.0. That could bring me up to 3.65 I believe ... that way I have a year of grade upgrading in "just in case". Then I will hit 37 for sure lol.  

[Med_new]

looking @ McMaster .. they don't even consider scores from the rest of the MCAT .. jsut CARS .. and a min of 123. And I like that they use *all courses* for GPA calc ... that will throw me close to 3.75 - 3.8 w/summer & spring courses.

 

BUT ... they only allocate 10% spots for OOP applicants. That's like 20 seats for the rest of Canada lol. Damn. 

[lumi]

unrelated question .. does UofC accept open studies courses from athabasca (online institutions)? This option works out best for me if I do have to take a year of schooling & apply next year. I will take bird courses and pin that 4.0. That could bring me up to 3.65 I believe ... that way I have a year of grade upgrading in "just in case". Then I will hit 37 for sure lol.  

 

I took a year of courses from athabasca while working full time. Using those in combination with the 10 year rule made a significant increase in my GPA.  I think they want you to take courses equivalent to those that would be taken at unis with an MD program so just make sure they would transfer to those before you sign up for just anything.  UBC also offers distance courses and they can be done while working full time and were relatively easy as well.  

 

Age doesn't matter. I have a family member who attended Calgary med in his 40s. If you want it you want it.

[Friendly Magpie]

Lol crazy .. Friendly ... if you don't mind me asking .. how many times have you applied so far? I recall you have a tech background?

 

This will be my third time applying overall, but my first time applying to University of Calgary.

 

I applied to U of A for the last two years. I was interviewed and waitlisted the first time I applied and then didn't receive an interview the second time I applied (last cycle). I just took eight months off of work to increase my GPA and make myself eligible for Calgary (U of A counts years with 3 courses per term, but U of C doesn't so that's why I wasn't eligible before), so I'm hoping that the third time is a charm. 

 

I do have a tech background and work in IT right now. 

 

 

unrelated question .. does UofC accept open studies courses from athabasca (online institutions)? This option works out best for me if I do have to take a year of schooling & apply next year. I will take bird courses and pin that 4.0. That could bring me up to 3.65 I believe ... that way I have a year of grade upgrading in "just in case". Then I will hit 37 for sure lol.  

 

 

They definitely do as Lumi said. The only stipulation that they have is that you have to prove that you took them between September and April. Lumi, I've done the work full time/school full time schtick before too (and will be doing it again in September  ), so know what it's like. Kudos to you! 

[MSWschnoodle]

I will take bird courses and pin that 4.0. 

 

I'm not sure if the podcast is up yet but I would watch the podcast of the application information night before you do this because there are restrictions on the types of courses and transferability of courses that will be relevant to you. The admissions committee looks specifically for grade inflation (taking easy courses to inflate your GPA) so depending on what you consider a 'bird' course, it may not be helpful to you.