MD 38 MCAT, 3.68 cGPA Canadian resident. Help with school list please!

[davisfenos]

Hey there, I made one of these last summer but I'd really appreciate a reevaluation from you guys.

Canadian resident. Graduated with a bachelor's in honours chemistry with thesis in June. Will return to do a 5th year of undergrad, taking biology courses such as metabolism and physiology that will be useful to me in medical school.

GPA
1st year: 3.53 (9 courses)
Summer 1st year: 4.00 (2 courses)
2nd year: 3.75 (10 courses)
3rd year: 3.44 (9 courses)
4th year: 3.88 (10 courses)

cGPA: 3.68

MCAT: Taken July 2014. 14/10/14 (PS/VR/BS) total: 38

ECs
-~600 hours organic chemistry volunteer research, leading ultimately to an undergraduate thesis
-~150 hours emergency room volunteering in one hospital. I have started volunteering in both of the other hospitals in the area this summer.
-Volunteering for various charity events in the area
-first year general chemistry TA for 5 semesters
-inorganic chemistry tutor for Students Offering Support (SOS); taught classes of 50-100 students, raising money to build schools in 3rd world countries
-~12 hours shadowing a gastroenterologist
-bilingual certificate in core French obtained in high school

Schools Selected for Application
-Case Western
-Duke
-Loma Linda
-Michigan State
-Oakland
-Wayne State

I've purchased the MSAR, and I've sorted the schools by those that accept international students to come up with this list. Are there any others that I'm missing that a person like me might have a chance with? On a totally different note, what other than school, should I be doing throughout the next year that will make me a better candidate?

Thank you so much in advance for your help, SDN.

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[Sir.SavaLottaLife]

Add Yale, they take a decent amount of international and your numbers are up there IMO.

But I think you should focus on getting more clinical experience if anything.

 

[Lamel]

Your overall application is pretty great, but those can't be the only schools that accept internationals that you are interested in.

I know Pitt is another good option.

 

[gyngyn]

Loma Linda's a mission-based school.
The mission is to serve Christ.

There are 62 MD schools that accept applications from internationals.

 

[davisfenos]

Wow, thanks for your replies. I didn't know that my stats were competitive at schools like those (GPA scared me a bit), so I being fairly conservative with my choices. This helps a lot, though!

 

[Lamel]

Wow, thanks for your replies. I didn't know that my stats were competitive at schools like those (GPA scared me a bit), so I being fairly conservative with my choices. This helps a lot, though!

Just check to make sure your GPA is above the 10%ile. You should have plenty of options.

 

[davisfenos]

Loma Linda's a mission-based school.
The mission is to serve Christ.

Thanks for the heads-up on this, by the way. Jeez.

So I've removed Loma Linda, and added in:
Albert Einstein
Geisel
Rosalind Franklin
Pitt
Virginia
Yale

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Lamel]

You only have ~10 schools right now. Add more, aim for ~20.

Thanks for the heads-up on this, by the way. Jeez.

So I've removed Loma Linda, and added in:
Albert Einstein
Geisel
Rosalind Franklin
Pitt
Virginia
Yale

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Gandyy]

I want to know the secret to how everyone kills the MCAT.

 

[davisfenos]

You only have ~10 schools right now. Add more, aim for ~20.

Unfortunately, I've sent my application off since I feel I'm already on the late side for an international applicant. I'll keep that in mind for next year (although hopefully I won't have to!)

I ran into one of two issues while looking at other schools; either I didn't have two English courses that many schools require, or the school's LOR requests (ie. one from a professor in your faculty, one from a humanities prof, etc) made my chances seem slim. Thank you for your time though, Lamel. Very helpful.

I want to know the secret to how everyone kills the MCAT.

If I could tell you, I would. I literally just took the princeton review course (which I highly recommend) that they offer here, followed their daily homework schedule, and consistently scored 30-33 on their practice tests. Maybe I got lucky on test day or something, but I'm not going to complain.

 

[Banco]

Unfortunately, I've sent my application off since I feel I'm already on the late side for an international applicant. I'll keep that in mind for next year (although hopefully I won't have to!)

I ran into one of two issues while looking at other schools; either I didn't have two English courses that many schools require, or the school's LOR requests (ie. one from a professor in your faculty, one from a humanities prof, etc) made my chances seem slim. Thank you for your time though, Lamel. Very helpful.
.

You can still add more schools even after you have submitted your primary.

And since you're returning for a 5th year, you can do the english courses then. The requirements have to be done before matriculation, not before you submit your app.

 

[davisfenos]

You can still add more schools even after you have submitted your primary.

And since you're returning for a 5th year, you can do the english courses then. The requirements have to be done before matriculation, not before you submit your app.

I didn't know either of these things, thank you! That helps me a lot.

 

[Banco]

I didn't know either of these things, thank you! That helps me a lot.

No problem. For international students it is best to apply broadly so you should aim for 20+ schools.