3.0 GPA, Authorship in publication, extracurriculars -- dire situation

[MercifulDoc]

Hello,
I am a fourth year student at a top Canadian University.

I currently have a GPA breakdown as follows:
First year - 1st semester: 3.0; 2nd semster: 3.0 GPA
Second year - 1st semester 3.85 GPA; 2nd semester: 3.79 GPA
Third year - 1st semester 3.10; 2nd semester: 2.4 (my father died suddenly)
Fourth year - 1st semester: looks about the same as last semester did; 2nd semester - I plan on getting a 3.7 - 3.8

I know at this point Medical school is out of the question, but maybe if I do grad school I will have a shot at a University like U of T? Also I really don't want to do DO and really want to get an MD. I would like to know what options there are for me to get into a Canadian school. My MCAT is 33R.

I know I could have gotten higher in 3rd year first semester but I got depressed, started chasing girls, stopped focusing so much on school. My marks went to **** in second semester of third year because my dad got diagnosed with brain cancer, and bam a month later he was dead.

In fourth year I lost all hope of getting in -- hence my first semester marks, but I realized it is something I really want and would like a new chance at it. Is there a way for me to stay in Canada, get into a Canadian med school? The amount of time/work does not matter to me. I will do whatever it takes.

I have 1 publication (3rd author) and am working on a fourth year thesis that may get published. I have started a kickboxing club at my university, volunteered in the hospital for 256 hours.

Please help.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Medstart108]

Try and ask this question on premed101.com they know the Canadian schools better than I do. I know for sure that there are schools that take your top 2 years or last 2 years and some take your best credits like UofT.

 

[MadHopsMD]

It's been a while since I applied to medical school. But I remember some schools take best 2 out of 4 years in terms of GPA. Your MCat is decent. I think you have a shot at an American MD school. However, I would look into Post Bac programs. Some of them are pretty easy to get into especially given your mcat score. Some like georgetown you take classes with medical students (a better judge on how your perform) and automatically give you an interview. Only caveat is though, they are quite expensive.

 

[DrHitchcraft]

Hello,
I am a fourth year student at a top Canadian University.

I currently have a GPA breakdown as follows:
First year - 1st semester: 3.0; 2nd semster: 3.0 GPA
Second year - 1st semester 3.85 GPA; 2nd semester: 3.79 GPA
Third year - 1st semester 3.10; 2nd semester: 2.4 (my father died suddenly)
Fourth year - 1st semester: looks about the same as last semester did; 2nd semester - I plan on getting a 3.7 - 3.8

I know at this point Medical school is out of the question, but maybe if I do grad school I will have a shot at a University like U of T? Also I really don't want to do DO and really want to get an MD. I would like to know what options there are for me to get into a Canadian school. My MCAT is 33R.

I know I could have gotten higher in 3rd year first semester but I got depressed, started chasing girls, stopped focusing so much on school. My marks went to **** in second semester of third year because my dad got diagnosed with brain cancer, and bam a month later he was dead.

In fourth year I lost all hope of getting in -- hence my first semester marks, but I realized it is something I really want and would like a new chance at it. Is there a way for me to stay in Canada, get into a Canadian med school? The amount of time/work does not matter to me. I will do whatever it takes.

I have 1 publication (3rd author) and am working on a fourth year thesis that may get published. I have started a kickboxing club at my university, volunteered in the hospital for 256 hours.

Please help.

First, I agree with Medstart108 in that you should post this on premed101 where you will likely find more help.

At the current moment, I highly doubt you will get any interview invites from MD programs in Canada or the US. The MD path is NOT closed off to you but you will need to do a few things to strengthen your application. Here are the options that I thought off:
*Note that I am assuming you are a non-URM and may consider USMD programs

1) Do a SMP program in the US. Meanwhile, apply to Canadian schools that take your best 2-year GPA during that year's application cycle (so they consider year 2 & year 4). That way, if a Canadian school admits you, you can matriculate immediately after completion of the SMP program. If they do not admit you (more likely scenario), you have completed an SMP which will then open many doors for you in the US - given that you performed well - for the following year's application cycle.
Pros: Time-efficient, opens doors in the US
Cons: $$$, SMPs are worthless for Canadian MD admissions, poor SMP performance will close doors for USMD

2) Do a graduate program - Masters or PhD. However, note that many USMD programs perceive grade inflation within graduate programs so it may not offset a very poor undergraduate GPA. Furthermore, if you are banking on U of T, you need to be very academically productive - maintain high GPA, publications, poster presentations - and even then you cannot be sure that they will overlook your undergraduate GPA.
Pros: May open doors in the US, potential career back-up plan
Cons: Time-inefficient, Masters/PhD are generally worthless for Canadian MD admissions with very few exceptions

3) Do a second 3-year undergraduate program. People who pursue this track would generally enroll in an (perceived) easy university and easy undergraduate program (e.g. going to Ryerson in a program that requires only brute memorization to ace exams). Maintain a >3.9 cGPA in years 1 and 2 then apply to Canadian programs at the end of your 2nd year.
Pros: Opens doors in Canada
Cons: Time-inefficient, social stigma/demoralizer as a 22+ year old still in undergrad, USMD/U of T considers all undergraduate grades so you will still likely be below cut-off for interviews, easy degree programs will probably be useless (i.e. cannot be used as a career back-up plan) if you do not get into medicine

Since your goal is Canadian MD and time/work does not matter to you, then I suggest the 3rd option.

 

[MercifulDoc]

First, I agree with Medstart108 in that you should post this on premed101 where you will likely find more help.

At the current moment, I highly doubt you will get any interview invites from MD programs in Canada or the US. The MD path is NOT closed off to you but you will need to do a few things to strengthen your application. Here are the options that I thought off:
*Note that I am assuming you are a non-URM and may consider USMD programs

1) Do a SMP program in the US. Meanwhile, apply to Canadian schools that take your best 2-year GPA during that year's application cycle (so they consider year 2 & year 4). That way, if a Canadian school admits you, you can matriculate immediately after completion of the SMP program. If they do not admit you (more likely scenario), you have completed an SMP which will then open many doors for you in the US - given that you performed well - for the following year's application cycle.
Pros: Time-efficient, opens doors in the US
Cons: $$$, SMPs are worthless for Canadian MD admissions, poor SMP performance will close doors for USMD

2) Do a graduate program - Masters or PhD. However, note that many USMD programs perceive grade inflation within graduate programs so it may not offset a very poor undergraduate GPA. Furthermore, if you are banking on U of T, you need to be very academically productive - maintain high GPA, publications, poster presentations - and even then you cannot be sure that they will overlook your undergraduate GPA.
Pros: May open doors in the US, potential career back-up plan
Cons: Time-inefficient, Masters/PhD are generally worthless for Canadian MD admissions with very few exceptions

3) Do a second 3-year undergraduate program. People who pursue this track would generally enroll in an (perceived) easy university and easy undergraduate program (e.g. going to Ryerson in a program that requires only brute memorization to ace exams). Maintain a >3.9 cGPA in years 1 and 2 then apply to Canadian programs at the end of your 2nd year.
Pros: Opens doors in Canada
Cons: Time-inefficient, social stigma/demoralizer as a 22+ year old still in undergrad, USMD/U of T considers all undergraduate grades so you will still likely be below cut-off for interviews, easy degree programs will probably be useless (i.e. cannot be used as a career back-up plan) if you do not get into medicine

Since your goal is Canadian MD and time/work does not matter to you, then I suggest the 3rd option.

This is a very good reply, thanks! What is an SMP that you mentioned in point 1?

Also, supposing that I do an SMP, do they look at previous grades, do I need to go to the US to do one, and finally do banks give loans to do SMPs/second undergrad?

Thanks in advance.