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Advice For Mature Applicant W/ Poor Mcat & Gpa History


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Hi everyone,

Let me start by saying that this is my first time posting on here but I have come on every once in awhile over the last few years out of curiosity. I've always been impressed at how knowledgeable you all are and also, for the most part, the thoughtfulness of everyone's responses. Anyway, onto my story...

My bio:


32 yo with a Hon BSc from the University of Toronto.
y1 - 3.27
y2 - 2.65
y3 - 3.44
y4 - 3.34
y5 (after graduating and returning as a "non-degree student") - 2.84. 
I took 8 courses as a non-degree student over a period of 5 semesters (spanning from 2007-2010). The first three courses were in the semester immediately after graduating and they were 2nd yr inorganic/physical chemistry, 2nd yr organic chemistry and 1st yr statistics (yes, the all-important med school pre-requisites). I did terrible on these three courses, failing one (organic chem). The other 5 courses were pre-requisites to get into graduate school and I got mostly As on those, granted I was typically taking them only 1 or 2 at a time. 

Cumulative undergrad GPA - 3.11

Went on to obtain my clinical doctorate at highly regarded university in the US. Graduate GPA was 3.95, received a couple of awards.
 

I've been working as a healthcare professional for about 3 years now. I have some volunteer experience and a bit of research experience as well (authorship on one paper in undergrad). 

MCATs
2006 - 11PS/8VR/10BS/R

2012 - 6PS/8VR/5BS/Q (Note: I literally didn't study at all. I only wanted to write the VR section and about 1 month of examkrackers passages was all I did to prep.)
2014 (May) - 9PS/10VR/10BS
2014 (Dec) - 9PS/10VR/10BS

I've applied twice to North American schools, in 2014 and in 2015. Zero interviews. 

For those wondering why I did so poorly in my post-bac or why I wrote the MCAT so many times:
I only wanted to pursue medicine in my final year of grad school. I mean *really* want it. I kinda wanted it as an undergrad, just like all the other kids studying bio/science, but only because that's what everyone wanted and I didn't know what else to do. That's the reason I wrote the MCAT in 2006. I lacked any kind of drive, work ethic or motivation to get into medicine. Then in 2012 as I was nearing the end of grad school, I thought I would give it a shot and apply to the one Ontario school that only required the VR section of the MCAT (which would explain me not studying for any of the science sections). Since then though, this desire to become a physician hasn't really subsided so here I am now - working full time and studying/preparing apps for the last couple of years.

 

Any advice on what I could do to get into med? I'm considering retaking some undergraduate courses but I don't know if that will significantly improve my GPA. On top of that, I'll probably have to rewrite the MCAT again by the time I'm ready to apply a third time. 

 

Should I do research and try to publish? I would meet U of T's GPA cutoff if they consider me in the grad applicant pool. 

 

Is Caribbean school my only option?

Your thoughts and feedback would be much appreciated 

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The only chance you have at North American schools would be to take full-time undergrad classes and then apply to schools with a weighted GPA calculation. There is no benefit to doing grad school or research or working on your ECs at this point. My opinion about the Caribbean is that it is a giant scam for rich kids and doctors children. You will most definitely need to re-write the MCAT at some point.

 

I started my undergrad at 28 and med school at 31. I always try to help people out who come here asking for it and I have a soft spot for old people who took a different path. That being said you essentially need to start from the bottom and I don't know if this is really worth it to you. I think you are at least 10 years out from staff as a family doc, and that is if everything goes right. You have a hell of a lot of academic baggage. I would think long and hard before setting yourself down what will be a very expensive and time consuming endeavor for what is essentially a slim shot at pulling this off. Which ever way you decide to go I wish you luck. 

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I think the US has better options for your situation (but has much higher cost attached). I know there are one yearish post-baccalaureate premed programs there, but I don't know how they are regarded. FreshFry's advice is accurate regarding full-time studies - especially in Canada. There are US DO med schools, which would mean being able to practice in North America as a physician, though you would probably need an MCAT rewrite and further studies with high grades. It would be more challenging to come back to Canada in the short term, but long term probably could. The academic record will be difficult to overcome for most MD schools- they will use that in their assessment, regardless. Within Canada, you would probably need to increase your GPA and have favourable IP status somewhere outside of Ontario (I suggest the Yukon). This will take not one but multiple years. FreshFry's suggestion of auto-reflection is right on point. Best of luck.

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Thank you all for taking the time to respond! You've been helpful, as I expected you would be! 

 

My only concern with doing a second undergrad is that I might still not get in if my grades aren't high enough the second time around. There is of course the MCAT rewrite to worry about too. 

 

To be honest, I am leaning more towards attending a Caribbean school....

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A USDO school would be much better than a Carribean school in general (but has even higher costs) - I'm not sure if you have considered that route (or other international destinations). THe US clinical doctorate might open some doors there. The Carribean schools are risky and costly, with limited opportunities to return to Canada or specialization. The US MLEs are not any easier than the MCAT - although those schools are geared toward board preparation.

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Thank you all for taking the time to respond! You've been helpful, as I expected you would be! 

 

My only concern with doing a second undergrad is that I might still not get in if my grades aren't high enough the second time around. There is of course the MCAT rewrite to worry about too. 

 

To be honest, I am leaning more towards attending a Caribbean school....

 

I would strongly recommend against the Caribbean or any international options. See my thread on my signature. It's basically tailor made for situations such as this :)

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