Schools I should also gun for?

[tarmogorf]

I guess I can post about my situation here as well...
Canadian, East Asian
Grad of Microbiology, HBSc. (for whatever it's worth)
cGPA: 3.4, sGPA a little lower (not much, since most of my courses are in science)
Junior year took a nosedive, senior year (right now) is better with more A's in senior-level courses, though I still have that one C in marine biology...
MCAT: 31R: VR 8, PS 12, BS 11

ECs:
400hrs volunteering in hospital
Senior thesis
Worked in histology lab for a summer
Working in a lab in yeast, might have a publication by September
May be shadowing this summer
Not much EC's

LORS:
ok I guess. Good letter from PI (thesis and current work place), 1/2 decent letter from doc from hospital volunteering, Don't have a clue about non-science letter (maybe ask English prof? But I only got a 70 on his courses...)

Low points:
C- in virology
C+ molecular genetics
C+ marine biology (wtf?)

Applying to:
Georgetown
Howard (I'm not sure about this one)
Rosalind Franklin
Michigan State
Wayne State
Albany
Einstein
SUNY upstate
Jefferson
Penn State
Meharry (not sure about this one either)
Vermont
George Washington

Any schools that I might have a shot in? Any schools I included that I probably shouldn't? I'm kind of nervous about this since I'm on shakey ground at best...

Then again, you guys think of any other schools to go for? I of course prefer northern schools since it's closer to home...

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[scarletgirl777]

I guess I can post about my situation here as well...
Canadian, East Asian
Grad of Microbiology, HBSc. (for whatever it's worth)
cGPA: 3.4, sGPA a little lower (not much, since most of my courses are in science)
Junior year took a nosedive, senior year (right now) is better with more A's in senior-level courses, though I still have that one C in marine biology...
MCAT: 31R: VR 8, PS 12, BS 11

ECs:
400hrs volunteering in hospital
Senior thesis
Worked in histology lab for a summer
Working in a lab in yeast, might have a publication by September
May be shadowing this summer
Not much EC's

LORS:
ok I guess. Good letter from PI (thesis and current work place), 1/2 decent letter from doc from hospital volunteering, Don't have a clue about non-science letter (maybe ask English prof? But I only got a 70 on his courses...)

Low points:
C- in virology
C+ molecular genetics
C+ marine biology (wtf?)

Applying to:
Georgetown
Howard (I'm not sure about this one)
Rosalind Franklin
Michigan State
Wayne State
Albany
Einstein
SUNY upstate
Jefferson
Penn State
Meharry (not sure about this one either)
Vermont
George Washington

Any schools that I might have a shot in? Any schools I included that I probably shouldn't? I'm kind of nervous about this since I'm on shakey ground at best...

Then again, you guys think of any other schools to go for? I of course prefer northern schools since it's closer to home...

It's going to be REALLY hard for you. Is there a particular reason you don't want to go to school in Canada? Is there no way you can get a green card before applying? I would seriously consider a postbac. And a publication before submitting AMCAS would help. Basically, foreigners need to be really above average to have a shot.

EDIT: Not to scare you, but check out this guy http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5350

 

[tarmogorf]

It's basically the point of no return. I can't get into a school in Canada. I might get a publication out by the end of this summer, though. Getting a green card would be difficult, since I don't know anybody in the US...

 

[scarletgirl777]

It's basically the point of no return. I can't get into a school in Canada. I might get a publication out by the end of this summer, though. Getting a green card would be difficult, since I don't know anybody in the US...

Well, it's worth a shot! You really never know. The issue is that as a foreigner, you will have to apply to a lot of schools that on paper look beneath your stats, but at the same time, the lower ranked the school, the less likely they are to be able to afford to have internationals. It's not as bad for Canadians though. A postbacc program would be a really good idea. Also, do you know anything about whether or not DOs can practice in your province?

 

[abcabc1]

Your odds of getting into American schools are not very good. American Medical Schools do take Canadian students, but they're usually students with exceptionally high numbers (who somehow didn't get into Canadian schools, for whatever reason). You should look into the Osteopathic option and how that works in the Canadian system.

You should look into a Post-Bac or at least taking some additional undergrad Science courses and getting A's in them.

Your VR section of the MCAT doesn't help either, so you'll want to bring that up at least one point. Your Science MCAT scores are excellent so, if you can repeat those and bring VR to 9 or higher, it would certainly help. My take is that even one additional point in VR is worth retaking the test for, since each section is looked at individually. It used to be that no single section should be lower than an 8, but things have gotten more competitive than in the past. It seems like the rule of thumb these days is that no individual section be below a 9. Of course, these are just rough guidelines.

By applying this year, you risk losing time and money. In addition, you may reapply to many schools having already been rejected. If you're rejected once, you're welcome to reapply but you'll need significant improvements in your application to be accepted the second time around. I have no data to support this, but would imagine that many successful reapplicants (to any given school) get accepted more than one year from the time they were rejected. This would apply to those who were rejected without interview or after interview (i.e. excluding those who were wait listed and on the brink of acceptance).

I agree that you never know until you apply, but don't think you have nothing to lose.

 

[tarmogorf]

DO's are allowed to practice in my province provided that they get into ACGME residencies. It's certainly an option I want to look into, but don't know where to start either.

 

[abcabc1]

I believe Osteopathic schools require at least one recommendation from an Osteopathic Physician, so look into that before applying.


Start here: http://www.aacom.org/InfoFor/applicants/Pages/Instructions.aspx