HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Hi guys, After my recent refusal from McGill Med I'm looking at increasing the number of schools I apply to next year to try and maximize my chances. I know Canadians are at a disadvantage when it comes to applying to the US but I think I have competitive stats and a good CV so I figured I'll give it a shot. I haven't written the MCAT which I plan on doing ASAP, I'll start studying as soon as I finish my undergrad. I know that AMCAS apps open on June 1st and the earlier you apply the better, so I'll try and write my MCAT as early as I can to hopefully not kill my chances too much. Anyways I was hoping there would be someone in this forum who can help me with this process, preferably someone who is familiar with applying as a Quebec resident, as most of my prereqs were done in Cegep and that's another hurdle to take into account. So my stats: GPA, McGill Anat and Cell Bio: 4.0 - graduating in April MCAT: TBD ECs: Varsity sports team, EMT volunteer, volunteer coach Research and jobs: Lead author, book chapter on therapeutic interventions and quality of life in esophageal cancer patients. Research assistant in lab concerned with quality of life in eso cancer pts (which is how I got the opportunity to author a book chapter). 2 other clinical research positions over the summer, smaller roles. I have some other athletic and academic awards and scholarships. So I think I'm a competitive applicant for the US I'd just like to talk to someone who's been through the process before and get their advice, feel free to PM me. It would honestly be incredibly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 App looks solid, just will depend strongly on the MCAT for USMD programs. There are also USDO programs to consider as well if you're set on medicine outside of Canada. If you do well enough on the MCAT, are you otherwise eligble for other Canadian schools? If so, you should apply to those also.It may even make the most sense to focus on the MCAT first and foremost, and then apply broadly to other Canadian schools this upcoming cycle first alongside McGill - and then apply to US programs the cycle after that if Canada again doesn't work. The US process is pretty involving, and you'll need to secure lots of LORs, and have all your pre-reqs in order and personal statments...secondary applications etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 App looks solid, just will depend strongly on the MCAT for USMD programs. There are also USDO programs to consider as well if you're set on medicine outside of Canada. If you do well enough on the MCAT, are you otherwise eligble for other Canadian schools? If so, you should apply to those also. It may even make the most sense to focus on the MCAT first and foremost, and then apply broadly to other Canadian schools this upcoming cycle first alongside McGill - and then apply to US programs the cycle after that if Canada again doesn't work. The US process is pretty involving, and you'll need to secure lots of LORs, and have all your pre-reqs in order and personal statments...secondary applications etc etc. Thanks for the advice. I heard it's slightly more difficult to apply to USDO programs if you went to Cegep because you need to get your Cegep transcripts evaluated by a company to be considered valid, and complications occur. Instead UDMDs just consider Cegep as junior college and accept the prereqs with no evaluation needed. Will definitely apply to other Canadian med schools, just gonna try some USMDs as well. Will start working on the LORs asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks for the advice. I heard it's slightly more difficult to apply to USDO programs if you went to Cegep because you need to get your Cegep transcripts evaluated by a company to be considered valid, and complications occur. Instead UDMDs just consider Cegep as junior college and accept the prereqs with no evaluation needed. Will definitely apply to other Canadian med schools, just gonna try some USMDs as well. Will start working on the LORs asap I wouldn't worry a bit about Cegep evaluations, Quebec students have gotten into USDO programs. It will cost a bit of money, but small change in the grand scheme. The other thing to note before even considering applying to the US is finances. You will definitely need a personal or familial source of money on top of the Student Line of Credit and provincial/federal loans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 I wouldn't worry a bit about Cegep evaluations, Quebec students have gotten into USDO programs. It will cost a bit of money, but small change in the grand scheme. The other thing to note before even considering applying to the US is finances. You will definitely need a personal or familial source of money on top of the Student Line of Credit and provincial/federal loans. Thankfully my parents are really supportive and would help with financing and cosigning for any loans. They're both CPAs so thankfully they already know a lot about this sort of thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1b1 Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Have you applied to the french med schools? unless you dont speak a single word of french, it would be unwise to pass on the oppertunity of applying to 3 more IP med schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks a1b1 for the advice, Yes I have. Sherbrooke gives me a really mediocre Cote Z (~32.5), I asked and it's because they don't convert my McGill GPA (on the 4.0 scale) to 4.3 scale. So basically they calculated that I have a 4/4.3 which is good but I guess not that great compared to other applicants graded on the 4.3 scale. The issue with Laval is they give my program a bad IFG. They consider my bachelor's to be 'biology' and not 'biomedical science' which I dont really understand because my program is much more similar to their biomedical science bac than their biology bac (which is more ecology-centred...). But anyways I digress. So they give biology a weaker IFG and it is still unclear to me if they convert my GPA to a 4.3 scale, even after emailing them. I'm just assuming now that they don't because I've had friends of mine get refused in the past week with GPAs of about 3.8-3.9. Anyways I digress about these two schools, but my chances there are slim, even with the GPA I have. Finally we have UdeM, which seems to be much more friendly to McGill students. I'm still waiting to find out if I passed the TFI test with the required score but even if I did, I'm really afraid of my chances in the MMI. I just got rejected from McGill post-interview so I'm sorta thinking I'm not that great at MMIs and compound this with the fact that french is not my first language I'm not very confident in my chances at UdeM. Yeah I know different places look for different things but I'm sorta down right now about my abilities in MMI scenarios. Right now I'm...really not that confident that I'll ever be accepted in Quebec. Sort of regretting not trying harder in Cegep/not going into physiotherapy at a french school which gives crazy good r scores. It's really depressing to reach this stage having worked so hard at getting good grades and staying active with ECs and research just to have so many doors close for you, so I'm just trying to open other doors. It's not optimal, but I'll give it a sho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Keep improving your application and interviewing skills. Since you interviewed at McGill, you are within reach. You just need to really nail it next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiDrNick Posted March 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks Commons, I'll definitely be trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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