American vs. Canadian MCAT

[coolusername]

Hi,
I'm doing my undergrad in Canada, but I want to attend medical school in the states.
Does anyone know if I write my MCAT in Canada, will it be accepted in the states? Are they the same?

Thanks!

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[JeetKuneDo]

Hi,
I'm doing my undergrad in Canada, but I want to attend medical school in the states.
Does anyone know if I write my MCAT in Canada, will it be accepted in the states? Are they the same?

Thanks!

I think they're the same.

 

[coolusername]

I think they're the same.

Thanks...what about GPA?
Some medical schools in the states say you need a 3.5 GPA (aka it's their cut off)...which is really low for Canada, becuase it's usually 3.75 here. So I was wondering if it was calculated the same?

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Thanks...what about GPA?
Some medical schools in the states say you need a 3.5 GPA (aka it's their cut off)...which is really low for Canada, becuase it's usually 3.75 here. So I was wondering if it was calculated the same?

I'm not too sure about this, but I think the gpa's are scaled by amcas. There's a conversion sheet somewhere in these forums.

 

[coolusername]

I'm not too sure about this, but I think the gpa's are scaled by amcas. There's a conversion sheet somewhere in these forums.

Okay and what would you say is better...Kaplan or princeton review for mcat prep? (if you did them that is...)

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Okay and what would you say is better...Kaplan or princeton review for mcat prep? (if you did them that is...)

I'm currently taking princeton review, so I can't really say anything about kaplan other than what I've heard. The books for TPR are really good and very detailed. They also give you a lot of practice material. This probably depends on location, but I have excellent teachers in physics, chem and bio/ochem. It's worth it for the books.

 

[coolusername]

I'm currently taking princeton review, so I can't really say anything about kaplan other than what I've heard. The books for TPR are really good and very detailed. They also give you a lot of practice material. This probably depends on location, but I have excellent teachers in physics, chem and bio/ochem. It's worth it for the books.

The thing I've heard about Princeton review is they make you study/learn alot of stuff that is unnecessary and it goes into a lot of detail that you don't even need on the actual MCAT.
But I'll take your word for it.

 

[Longshanks]

The thing I've heard about Princeton review is they make you study/learn alot of stuff that is unnecessary and it goes into a lot of detail that you don't even need on the actual MCAT.
But I'll take your word for it.

I purchased a mixture of TBR and TPR books for my retake, and I must say, so far its been much better than when I took Kaplan's class. Kaplan's VR is a joke (waaayyy too easy and detail oriented), their BS is too outside knowledge based, and PS though difficult is not representative of the actual MCAT.

Are there some things in TPR's bio that I think is overkill? Maybe, but it seems more reflective of the MCAT I took in April than Kaplan's skimming. The one thing I'll give Kaplan the edge on is orgo. TPR's orgo is very minimal and doesn't provide many example or go through mechanisms.

edit: Another comment to something you've said, I've never heard of a 3.5 GPA cutoff. Simply is not true. The average matriculant is 3.6-3.7, making a cut off of 3.5 impossible. Look at the AAMC's data for this as well. If there was a 3.5 cutoff, many people on this board might as well give up [myself included].

 

[coolusername]

I purchased a mixture of TBR and TPR books for my retake, and I must say, so far its been much better than when I took Kaplan's class. Kaplan's VR is a joke (waaayyy too easy and detail oriented), their BS is too outside knowledge based, and PS though difficult is not representative of the actual MCAT.

Are there some things in TPR's bio that I think is overkill? Maybe, but it seems more reflective of the MCAT I took in April than Kaplan's skimming. The one thing I'll give Kaplan the edge on is orgo. TPR's orgo is very minimal and doesn't provide many example or go through mechanisms.

edit: Another comment to something you've said, I've never heard of a 3.5 GPA cutoff. Simply is not true. The average matriculant is 3.6-3.7, making a cut off of 3.5 impossible. Look at the AAMC's data for this as well. If there was a 3.5 cutoff, many people on this board might as well give up [myself included].

Alright, sweet thanks for your response...I think I'll go for Princeton Review.
And sorry, the cut off I once saw was not 3.5..it was 3.56, and that was two years ago...I checked that medical school again and it's 3.65 this year.
I just wanted to know if Canadian and American GPA's are considered the same, but I'll have to look that up elsewhere I guess.

 

[Bigz]

Thanks...what about GPA?
Some medical schools in the states say you need a 3.5 GPA (aka it's their cut off)...which is really low for Canada, becuase it's usually 3.75 here. So I was wondering if it was calculated the same?

Canadian Medical Schools especially Mac master and U of T are just ridiculously t competitive. I ha a friend who could not get into either one of them but got a full ride at Washington U St. Louise.

 

[coolusername]

Canadian Medical Schools especially Mac master and U of T are just ridiculously t competitive. I ha a friend who could not get into either one of them but got a full ride at Washington U St. Louise.

Hey Yea I know people that that's happened to. My friend applied to all 5 Canadian Medical Schools and got into all of them...my other friend who had a lower GPA and lower mcat scores got into none but got into two in the states..I was like "WOAH, that's crazy" .... I guess becuase there's more medical schools in the states.