Advice needed

[Migmig]

So I am in my third year undergrad. I am expecting to finish my degree with a 3.7-3.75 wgpa for Uoft, and not making the 3.7  cut off for western. I would like to do a masters before applying to med school to do some research and have time to work on my ECs and MCAT(499 MCAT on first try with 122 on CARS). The question is given my GPA, would it even be possible for me to get any interviews after I finish my masters as an Ontario resident? If I move to BC for my masters, would my chances increase in getting into med school? 

Two more silly questions:

The answer is probably no to this one but is there ANY Canadian med school that I would have chance of getting into before doing masters?(Basically finishing third year undergrad with 3.65-3.7 UofT wgpa, 499 on MCAT, possibly a summer of research experience, 200 hours of hospital volunteering, 50 hours of other volunteering, and being a club president, some working experience)

Also, the reason that I did not perform very well in my undergrad was mostly due to having a lot of drama/emotional dilemmas at home(parents divorce, loosing money, mother's depression), had to emotionally support everyone AND dealing with my own depression and anxiety without seeking therapy. Do you think that any med schools would consider this as a valid reason for having a low GPA? especially that I don't have any professional proof.

Thank you

[erilaz]

I can't speak on most of what you've mentioned, but for your last point:

 

I don't think adcoms really care. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it really held you back, but "emotional drama" is extremely common for pre-meds and I'm sure they hear it all the time. At the end of the day, they want people who will preferably be able to maintain a high GPA even with that emotional wreckage going on in their lives, because med school will be very difficult otherwise.

[Migmig]

Thank you, that's what I thought!

[sleepyhead20]

Sorry to hear about what you went through. You kept up a decent GPA though, so nice work! 
Given your stats atm, I don't think you are competitive at any Ontario school. If you can bump up your MCAT that would give you more options of where to apply. As for moving to BC,  that might help with your chances but be aware that UBC also looks at your ECs and not just your GPA. 

[Migmig]

On 3/31/2018 at 0:59 AM, sleepyhead20 said:

Sorry to hear about what you went through. You kept up a decent GPA though, so nice work! 
Given your stats atm, I don't think you are competitive at any Ontario school. If you can bump up your MCAT that would give you more options of where to apply. As for moving to BC,  that might help with your chances but be aware that UBC also looks at your ECs and not just your GPA. 

Thank you! I would definitely write the MCAT again to get better scores and I think spending 2 years doing masters gives me enough time to expand my extracurricular activities. The only thing that I think would hold me back at that point would be my undergrad GPA. I'm just not sure if good MCAT and extracurricular would make up for my GPA or not.

[Meridian]

Undergrad GPA is King for med applications. Unfortunately doing a Master's won't really help much for Ontario schools. If medicine is your singular goal, you  need to improve your undergrad GPA.   What would a 3.95 GPA in fourth and a fifth year do for your cGPA and wGPA ?    

 

 

[Distancea]

3.7-3.75 GPA is not too bad. The problem is this is the wGPA and only valid for uOfT (their average is waaaaaay higher). Have you looked at other schools' wGPA? Would this improve your chances? What about the 4th year and a realistically perfect GPA?

If your GPA cannot be improved into the 3.8s (cGPA) with taking a 4th or a 5th year, look into doing a second undergrad. Schools like Mac will still look at all your grades but Western and Queens would only look at your best/most recent 2 years. I would say with a careful strategy and a decent MCAT score (129 CARS or better) you definitely stand a chance.

 

Best of luck and let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Migmig]

Thank you! I honestly don't know how much a fifth year can help me. I'm kind of hesistant in doing a fifth year because I think I would waste a year of my life if I don't get into medschool after the fifth year, but if that would increase my chances significantly, I'm definitely okay doing this. I don't know if I should graduate before doing the fifth year or just continue taking courses after my firth year is finished. Does it even matter which option we choose?

[Migmig]

11 hours ago, Distancea said:

3.7-3.75 GPA is not too bad. The problem is this is the wGPA and only valid for uOfT (their average is waaaaaay higher). Have you looked at other schools' wGPA? Would this improve your chances? What about the 4th year and a realistically perfect GPA?

If your GPA cannot be improved into the 3.8s (cGPA) with taking a 4th or a 5th year, look into doing a second undergrad. Schools like Mac will still look at all your grades but Western and Queens would only look at your best/most recent 2 years. I would say with a careful strategy and a decent MCAT score (129 CARS or better) you definitely stand a chance.

 

Best of luck and let me know if you have any specific questions.

Yeah My GPA does not make it to the cut off for western because although all my third year courses are 80+, there is a signle course that drags the GPA to below 3.7. I finished my second year with 3.69 omsas GPA, and first year was below that. Basically I have 1-2 courses each year that make me not eligible for western. I assumed if I don't make the cut offs for western I'm also not eligible for Queens and Ottawa. NOSM won't accept me because I have no connectiona with the region. And based on what I checked on premed101 mcmaster's acceptance average gpa was higher than mine. That's why I think going to BC for master's would help me because I would become IP for BC and they need lower GPA for IP. But after what you guys suggested I'm now indecisive between a master's and a fifth year.

[plastics91]

Migmig,

From my experience, GPA & MCAT is the most important factor for medicine in Canada. I would recommend the following:

1. Do 4th and 5th year (yes, DO the 5th year) and get that 4.0. Your weighted will skyrocket and you can have a decent shot

2. Rewrite the MCAT. To be competitive in ONT you must get 128+ in CARS, rest doesn't matter THAT much but just don't bomb it (<125/6)

Masters won't help you, really common misconception. If you do the above and still not get in and still want to do medicine, I'd recommend you look at masters or working in other provinces with lower req (Eastern provinces, Saskatchewan), get a residency in that province, and apply

[Migmig]

On 4/9/2018 at 0:29 PM, plastics91 said:

Migmig,

From my experience, GPA & MCAT is the most important factor for medicine in Canada. I would recommend the following:

1. Do 4th and 5th year (yes, DO the 5th year) and get that 4.0. Your weighted will skyrocket and you can have a decent shot

2. Rewrite the MCAT. To be competitive in ONT you must get 128+ in CARS, rest doesn't matter THAT much but just don't bomb it (<125/6)

Masters won't help you, really common misconception. If you do the above and still not get in and still want to do medicine, I'd recommend you look at masters or working in other provinces with lower req (Eastern provinces, Saskatchewan), get a residency in that province, and apply

Thank you! I'm going to take a fifth year then. What do you think about my ECs? Is there any particular area that I can work on? ( I would probably get more research done until the application cycle, but besides that, I don't know what else to do)

[PremedToronto]

On 4/9/2018 at 7:46 AM, Migmig said:

Thank you! I honestly don't know how much a fifth year can help me. I'm kind of hesistant in doing a fifth year because I think I would waste a year of my life if I don't get into medschool after the fifth year, but if that would increase my chances significantly, I'm definitely okay doing this. I don't know if I should graduate before doing the fifth year or just continue taking courses after my firth year is finished. Does it even matter which option we choose?

Hi Migmig,

Sorry to hear about what you were going through.  You will just need to be a bit careful here - doing a 5th year may mean "waste a year" if you don't get into med school but doing a Master's like you said earlier would mean an even longer time.  So just have a back-up ready and in mind just in case things don't come together as you planned.  Other than that, you still have time to correct a few things as others have said above.  Good luck!

[plastics91]

5 hours ago, Migmig said:

Thank you! I'm going to take a fifth year then. What do you think about my ECs? Is there any particular area that I can work on? ( I would probably get more research done until the application cycle, but besides that, I don't know what else to do)

Don't worry about ECs, from my experience med schools care very little about them. The only thing that might perk them up might be research, but be sure to be as productive as you can: Conference presentations, funded research, and of course publication is king. Doesn't matter what the topic, so try to find which ones you can publish as fast as possible.

Do not however sacrifice research or any ECs for grades & MCAT. They are first priority