MD & DO 3.4cGPA, 3.4sGPA, 505 MCAT - CANADIAN

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JibsGuy52

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What are my chances for MD and DO?

126's in all sections, 127 in Bio - white male --- Should I retake? This is my first time taking it.

Upward trend years 4 and 5

Leaning towards DO because of my stats. Have DO shadowing and DO LOR. Will be applying in May of next year for DO. Should I even consider MD?

EC's
Clinical volunteering - 300 Hours or so
Volunteering with kids with epilepsy - 100 hours
Homeless shelters, various other volunteering - 50 hours
Gap year - hoping to land a research job
Sister has cerebral palsy, took/taking care of her my whole life with my parents; doesn't leave much time to do other things besides school

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First off I definitely want to apologize since I didn't see the last line of your first post clearly. You've definitely had your fair share of responsibilities which makes it tough on you to do other things (which will weigh in your favor). Unfortunately the GPA and MCAT is still on the low side for US MD schools and when they have so many of their applicants... they have no reason to take an international.

No worries. What about DO? Will I receive any interviews?
 
Apply broadly to those DO schools that take internationals. Mine requires green card, alas.

What are my chances for MD and DO?

126's in all sections, 127 in Bio - white male --- Should I retake? This is my first time taking it.

Upward trend years 4 and 5

Leaning towards DO because of my stats. Have DO shadowing and DO LOR. Will be applying in May of next year for DO. Should I even consider MD?

EC's
Clinical volunteering - 300 Hours or so
Volunteering with kids with epilepsy - 100 hours
Homeless shelters, various other volunteering - 50 hours
Gap year - hoping to land a research job
Sister has cerebral palsy, took/taking care of her my whole life with my parents; doesn't leave much time to do other things besides school
 
From my personal experience, I would say you might have a fair chance. I have slightly higher stats (3.5+s/cGPA and 506 MCAT) and I got interviews at 5 DO schools out of the 10 I applied to. My advice would be to apply early and have strong essays for both primary and secondary apps and of course try and get strong LORs! Also, if there is any way you could retake any of your C/D/F courses, do it!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I am also Canadian!
 
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Apply broadly to those DO schools that take internationals. Mine requires green card, alas.
Look at these schools:

AZCOM
Ccom
Kcumb
Lecom
Lmu
Marian
Msucom
Pcom
Pcom ga
Nova
VCOM (x2)
Rowan
Touro
Unecom
Tcom
Western
Pikeville

Yeah I agree with both. It's a bit upsetting that US schools are biased against Canadians by treating them like internationals (although some schools treat Canadians as US citizens, but I'm not sure of which DO schools are involved exactly, but I'll look it up for more info). I sincerely hope the US policy will adapt and accommodate Canadian applicants, since Canada itself seems pretty much secluded altogether (and yes, even Canadian medical system needs to adapt by possibly adding more schools etc.). I say this because if you were a US citizen, you will be a very strong applicant for any DO school (stats are below average for MD, which require a 3.7/510).

I think by applying to schools listed by adcoms above, you should be good to go. Perhaps try to get some shadowing in, but it's understandable that some provinces forbid physician shadowing. But rest, you'll be fine.
 
It's a bit upsetting that US schools are biased against Canadians by treating them like internationals (although some schools treat Canadians as US citizens, but I'm not sure of which DO schools are involved exactly, but I'll look it up for more info).
Much of the bias is related to the increased difficulty of getting them a residency position after medical school.
Relatively few programs support J1 or H1b visas needed for Canadians (or other internationals) to work here.
 
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