CanadianInLimbo
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- Feb 24, 2024
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Hi all,
Just wanted to get some input into my plan and had a couple questions. For some background information, my GPA is a 4.0 (both cGPA and sGPA), and my MCAT is a 520 (130/126/132/132). Unfortunately, my MCAT score prevents me from applying to many Canadian schools, and as you all know Canadian schools rarely look at MCAT holistically (either cutoffs or only look at CARS, which puts my MCAT score in the 72nd percentile). Thus, I am planning on retaking late August.
As for my extracurriculars, I have ~300 hours of volunteering in various fields (working with children in inner-city schools, long-term one-on-one tutoring with children, etc.), ~500-600 hours of extracurricular activities (including being responsible for financing a local TEDx event, various club exec positions), ~3000 hours of sports (national level player that was ranked top 5 in-province with multiple provincial championships), and ~1000 hours of research (but not pubs unfortunately). My employment is quite diverse but short-term, which I recognize may be a downfall - I have ~700 hours working in fast food, ~200 hours working as a cashier, and some other odd jobs here and there.
My biggest problem? I have essentially zero clinical experiencing (~30 hours shadowing, ~30 hours hospital volunteering) for this upcoming USMD cycle. I'm going to take a course that is pretty short so I can start working as a service worker/porter post-graduation, but will this be a red flag and look like I'm checking a box? I genuinely had no time to work during undergrad as I wanted to focus on maintaining my GPA (which can't be changed post-graduation), but as soon as I graduate I'm going to look for jobs in a healthcare environment. One of my questions is, can I put prospective hours into AMCAS, and will schools look at them seriously and not as a bunch of fluff? For example, I would ideally be working 16 hours a week while studying for the MCAT - would I be able to factor this in to my clinical experience? My personal statement is heavily based on my personal experience as a patient, so not having experiences to talk about from clinical volunteering/work would not be a detriment to my PS in my opinion, but I could be wrong!
My second question is, what kind of school list should I ideally be applying to? I bought MSAR and looked at Canadian friendly schools, but I'm pretty new to the USMD process. With my stats, volunteering, ECs, and employment, what kind of schools should I be looking at (i.e. T50, T30, T20, etc.)?
I appreciate any input, and thank you!
Just wanted to get some input into my plan and had a couple questions. For some background information, my GPA is a 4.0 (both cGPA and sGPA), and my MCAT is a 520 (130/126/132/132). Unfortunately, my MCAT score prevents me from applying to many Canadian schools, and as you all know Canadian schools rarely look at MCAT holistically (either cutoffs or only look at CARS, which puts my MCAT score in the 72nd percentile). Thus, I am planning on retaking late August.
As for my extracurriculars, I have ~300 hours of volunteering in various fields (working with children in inner-city schools, long-term one-on-one tutoring with children, etc.), ~500-600 hours of extracurricular activities (including being responsible for financing a local TEDx event, various club exec positions), ~3000 hours of sports (national level player that was ranked top 5 in-province with multiple provincial championships), and ~1000 hours of research (but not pubs unfortunately). My employment is quite diverse but short-term, which I recognize may be a downfall - I have ~700 hours working in fast food, ~200 hours working as a cashier, and some other odd jobs here and there.
My biggest problem? I have essentially zero clinical experiencing (~30 hours shadowing, ~30 hours hospital volunteering) for this upcoming USMD cycle. I'm going to take a course that is pretty short so I can start working as a service worker/porter post-graduation, but will this be a red flag and look like I'm checking a box? I genuinely had no time to work during undergrad as I wanted to focus on maintaining my GPA (which can't be changed post-graduation), but as soon as I graduate I'm going to look for jobs in a healthcare environment. One of my questions is, can I put prospective hours into AMCAS, and will schools look at them seriously and not as a bunch of fluff? For example, I would ideally be working 16 hours a week while studying for the MCAT - would I be able to factor this in to my clinical experience? My personal statement is heavily based on my personal experience as a patient, so not having experiences to talk about from clinical volunteering/work would not be a detriment to my PS in my opinion, but I could be wrong!
My second question is, what kind of school list should I ideally be applying to? I bought MSAR and looked at Canadian friendly schools, but I'm pretty new to the USMD process. With my stats, volunteering, ECs, and employment, what kind of schools should I be looking at (i.e. T50, T30, T20, etc.)?
I appreciate any input, and thank you!
