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[BernieMac]

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[Bcemslayer]

References at U of A are reviewed very differently compared to U of C. You are correct - they are just pass fail. Whereas U of C uses these letters to assess your non-academic competencies. 
 

It's going to be hard to get an idea for your chances without knowing more specifics of your ECs. We are also not members of the AdCom - not to my knowledge at least - so our words shouldn't be taken as steadfast. 

 

Your GPA is below average, although not lethal. What is your recalculated GPA with your lowest year removed?

 

Your EC's can definitely make up for low scores, however, they need to be exceptional. And you need to sell yourself in the applications. 

 

I would recommend rewriting the MCAT if you can increase your score by 7 or 8 points. 

 

Anything is possible with dedication! and everyone has their own journey to med

[BernieMac]

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[End Poverty]

Your GPA is below average, but you can make up for it if the reviewers view your ECs favourably . U of A weighs MCAT and GPA more heavily than u of c. If you don't have strong GPA/MCAT, you have a better chance at u of c.

 

Best of Luck.

[Bcemslayer]

What do you mean by selling yourself through ECs? At U of C we are given a 1000 character Impact box, but there is only a 350 character box at U of A. Do we write in the same way that we would if it was a U of C impact statement? Thanks

 

You have to be more succinct for sure. Although you have less space, you still want to make sure what you're saying has some punch. 

You want to make sure that every word is chosen carefully, and frame your responses around the CanMED roles.