Low GPA Good MCAT Carib or DO

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ReverseCowG

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Hey everybody.

Canadian student here. Currently at a 2.7GPA. Got 515 on the MCAT. Pretty strong ECs in my opinion (involved in the Olympic Games was one of many). Did my ECs on the basis of what really interested me and not to accrue hours and can speak about them fluently and whole-heartedly.

GPA is **** I know. I can do my 5th and 6th (if need be) year of undergrad and up some of my courses I got F D and C in and go to a DO school. Or I can apply to carib now.

My parents said they'll pay for my school but I know they'd rather save than spend more. But pretty sure my only options are all above the 200k mark or closer to that 1/3 million dollar (damn that's expensive eh).

Anyways if I went to a school in the carib would I have better shot at ending up practicing in US or Canada? Not sure where I'd rather end up but probably Canada with my fam.

I know the residency match rates there aren't 100% but I can deal with driving a taxi for a year or two until I match. Or whatever other job to keep food on the table for a little while (probably would just live with parents at this point).


Thoughts?


- Your friendly Canadian.

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Avoid the Caribbean, retake C/D/F coursework and go DO.
 
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I'm actually not sure on that one, but I do know that many folks that go the Carib route have serious issues matching.
 
I'm actually not sure on that one, but I do know that many folks that go the Carib route have serious issues matching.

Unless they're falsely reporting it's not the most atrocious match, from official source. But I bet it's below 50% for the not known med schools down there. I guess you're right on that count. It would just come down to if the med grad is willing to tough it out for a few years until they match. Which can be a hard decision to make when you're getting ready to start a family or support yourself etc. :

"According to the National Resident Match Program, 595 medical students graduated from Dominica out of a total of 1100 students who applied for 2013 matched to a residency program, a match rate of 55%.[17] This number, however, is exclusive of students who matched into a program other than their first choice residency. In 2015, the first-time match rate for Ross graduates was reported to be 88%"
 
What're the chances I come back to Canada? Don't see many DO docs here. Is it more likely I'd have to end up practicing in US?


Then I am guessing you have to get your sGPA up to acceptable/competitive levels for SMP, do excellent once accepted in that, and see what happens from there.

Ask gonnif, gyngyn, Lizzy or one of the other adcoms here.
 
Then I am guessing you have to get your sGPA up to acceptable/competitive levels for SMP, do excellent once accepted in that, and see what happens from there.

Ask gonnif, gyngyn, Lizzy or one of the other adcoms here.
US is great whenever I visit but Idk if I could live there. I feel cost of living is way more than Canada with taxes, insurance, and healthcare.

SMP as in special masters? aren't the GPA for those around 3.0?
 
Hey everybody.

Anyways if I went to a school in the carib would I have better shot at ending up practicing in US or Canada? Not sure where I'd rather end up but probably Canada with my fam.

I know the residency match rates there aren't 100% but I can deal with driving a taxi for a year or two until I match. Or whatever other job to keep food on the table for a little while (probably would just live with parents at this point).

- Your friendly Canadian.

US...by far..even with you being foreign/having visa issues etc.
Chances of you matching back to Canada coming from a Carib school hovers around ~15-20% yearly. As soon as you step out of Canada, your priority MUST be matching to the states.
DO's are currently CMG's in BC and Quebec, but no one knows how long that'll last. Over the years, they've been losing the CMG status one province at at time. In any case, DO is a superior option to being an IMG because it's the safer route to becoming a physician.

Also, if you're gonna go to the relatively credible Caribbean schools, you'll have ~200k debt. Driving a taxi for a couple of years until you match isn't a feasible idea with that debt accumulating interest. I suppose if your parents are paying for it, it's not that big of a deal. However, given your MCAT score, it'd be a poor choice to flush all that money on a Caribbean school before trying the DO route.
Search around sdn and you'll find plenty of information on the acronyms you're confused about.
Good luck!
 
I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., you'll have better chances of matching with a D.O. than with a Caribbean M.D. I think less than 50% of IMGs match each year.
 
US is great whenever I visit but Idk if I could live there. I feel cost of living is way more than Canada with taxes, insurance, and healthcare.

SMP as in special masters? aren't the GPA for those around 3.0?


Oh no! Another Canadian snob. jk :p

That's how I feel about Canada. Love visiting it, don't want to live there. Could live there in summer though. :)
 
I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., you'll have better chances of matching with a D.O. than with a Caribbean M.D. I think less than 50% of IMGs match each year.

OP wants to settle back in Canada as a physician I believe, and I guess OP believes DOs aren't used or at least are very rare. Don't know what that is about--little to no DOs in Canada, except it's an US thing. So that's why I said kick butt in an SMP and @ or > 87% MCAT. I think you'd have to get in and through the SMP and do well before MCAT expires, unless you want to have to do the MCAT again. So that's 2, 3, or 5 years, depending upon the Med S.
 
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Hey everybody.

Canadian student here. Currently at a 2.7GPA. Got 515 on the MCAT. Pretty strong ECs in my opinion (involved in the Olympic Games was one of many). Did my ECs on the basis of what really interested me and not to accrue hours and can speak about them fluently and whole-heartedly.

GPA is **** I know. I can do my 5th and 6th (if need be) year of undergrad and up some of my courses I got F D and C in and go to a DO school. Or I can apply to carib now.

My parents said they'll pay for my school but I know they'd rather save than spend more. But pretty sure my only options are all above the 200k mark or closer to that 1/3 million dollar (damn that's expensive eh).

Anyways if I went to a school in the carib would I have better shot at ending up practicing in US or Canada? Not sure where I'd rather end up but probably Canada with my fam.

I know the residency match rates there aren't 100% but I can deal with driving a taxi for a year or two until I match. Or whatever other job to keep food on the table for a little while (probably would just live with parents at this point).


Thoughts?


- Your friendly Canadian.

What's your IP? Honestly you can try to do a few more years of schooling purely to lift your GPA and apply to EC heavy schools like UBC and UofC... maybe even Queens when they look at your recent 2YGPA. Don't go Caribbean unless you absolutely have to.
 
do a post bac grad program and go for MD and DO, apply early
 
What courses did you have the worst grades in? Were they mainly the mandatory required courses?
 
Why do you think that you can handle a Carib medical school, much less any medical school????



Hey everybody.

Canadian student here. Currently at a 2.7GPA. Got 515 on the MCAT. Pretty strong ECs in my opinion (involved in the Olympic Games was one of many). Did my ECs on the basis of what really interested me and not to accrue hours and can speak about them fluently and whole-heartedly.

GPA is **** I know. I can do my 5th and 6th (if need be) year of undergrad and up some of my courses I got F D and C in and go to a DO school. Or I can apply to carib now.

My parents said they'll pay for my school but I know they'd rather save than spend more. But pretty sure my only options are all above the 200k mark or closer to that 1/3 million dollar (damn that's expensive eh).

Anyways if I went to a school in the carib would I have better shot at ending up practicing in US or Canada? Not sure where I'd rather end up but probably Canada with my fam.

I know the residency match rates there aren't 100% but I can deal with driving a taxi for a year or two until I match. Or whatever other job to keep food on the table for a little while (probably would just live with parents at this point).


Thoughts?


- Your friendly Canadian.
 
US is great whenever I visit but Idk if I could live there. I feel cost of living is way more than Canada with taxes, insurance, and healthcare.

SMP as in special masters? aren't the GPA for those around 3.0?

Yup, some can be more, which is why you have to re-take and take a number of courses to get your GPA up. MCAT score is favorable for SMP, but you have to take courses and get your c & sGPA up. And SMPs or advanced science PBs have applicants w/ significantly above 3.0. It's expensive, again, becoming more and more competitive, and it is risky. If you don't perform > sGPAs in the SMP or non-career changing PB, you're done, regardless of MCAT. Now, if you somehow get a seat in a Carib school, it's very risky and much more expensive, and if you make it through without being washed out down there, the long-term of getting a decent residency, well, that's been covered over and over on SDN.

Risky versus very risk. See the difference?
 
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