Atlantic Bridge 2019 - Chances, Acceptance, Waitlist.

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RNtoMed92

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Hello Everyone!

I couldn't find a 2019 thread for the Atlantic Bridge so I am starting one 🙂

List your stats, which schools you're applying to, etc. here for advice!

Country of Origin:
Schools applied to:
First choice:
GPA:
EC:
MCAT:
Other comments:
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I will start:

Canadian
NUIG and TCD - 5 Year Programs
TCD is my first choice but any would be great
~3.28 GPA, this was hurt by the fact that most of my GPA came from my 1st 2 years. My second 2 years were clinical.
I am a Peri-operative RN that has led and volunteered on missions to other countries assisting surgeons and has worked in the operating room for ~5 Years.
I did not write the MCAT

Hoping that Ireland's holistic approach gives me a chance at this!
 
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Hey, I've applied for this upcoming year as well.

Canadian
Applied to all
~3.9 GPA and 512 MCAT.
Strong LOR's and have plenty of volunteering, leadership (President and vice presidents of major university clubs, made quite an impact in the Faculty of Science), and research attributes.

Hoping to get into this holistic approach as well! Canadian med schools are so competitive.

Best of luck!
 
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medstudenttobe said:
Hey, I've applied for this upcoming year as well.

Canadian
Applied to all
~3.9 GPA and 512 MCAT.
Strong LOR and have plenty of volunteering, leadership, and research attributes.

Hoping to get into this holistic approach as well! Canadian med schools are so competitive.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Hey! From what I have read on here you have a really good chance to Canadian and Irish schools. What's your first choice?
 
RNtoMed92 said:
Hey! From what I have read on here you have a really good chance to Canadian and Irish schools. What's your first choice?
Click to expand...
Honestly, I would love to travel abroad and study there but being in a Canadian med school offers the feasibility of matching back. Hopefully, I hear back from either one!

I've also applied to SGU! Hoping to hear back from them as well.
 
medstudenttobe said:
Honestly, I would love to travel abroad and study there but being in a Canadian med school offers the feasibility of matching back. Hopefully, I hear back from either one!

I've also applied to SGU! Hoping to hear back from them as well.
Click to expand...
Good Luck! I'm sure you'll get in somewhere. 🙂
 
USA citizen
undergraduate GPA of 3.87 in Health Science studies and Wilderness Education
Applied to RCSI Bahrain, NUI Galway & TCD
Was the TA in Biology during undergrad and worked directly with patients as a researcher for 2 years after college
I have not taken the MCAT, and I'm afraid it might count against me even though is "not required" for the schools I applied. I'm also concerned that graduating from a small liberal arts college won't help me..
 
I think offers are March, but I believe from previous posts that interview invites come out like next week or the end of January.
 
When is the deadline? I was thinking of applying for 2020, but if I can get in this round that would be great. Would love to study in Ireland and get the chance to practice abroad.
 
19brillo95 said:
I know first round offers tend to be in March, but I’m still checking my email notifications like :wideyed::wideyed::wideyed: haha
Click to expand...
me too... Me too.. I think you have a great shot with your GPA that high though. What school is your first choice?
 
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RNtoMed92 said:
me too... Me too.. I think you have a great shot with your GPA that high though. What school is your first choice?
Click to expand...

Hoping to get into RCSI or UCD or TCD.
How about you? I think interview invites for RCSI do come out sometime next week (if we were gauging off of the past years timeline)
 
I thought I saw that RCSI interview invitations for GEM students don't get sent until late Feb but I could be wrong.
 
medstudenttobe said:
Hoping to get into RCSI or UCD or TCD.
How about you? I think interview invites for RCSI do come out sometime next week (if we were gauging off of the past years timeline)
Click to expand...
Hoping for NUIG or TCD, TCD being first choice.
 
RNtoMed92 said:
me too... Me too.. I think you have a great shot with your GPA that high though. What school is your first choice?
Click to expand...
Hope so :xf:, and you applying as RN with 5 years experience is going to be impressive. TCD would be really exciting for me, but beggers can’t be choosers. So whoever takes me wins 😉
 
I've applied to RCSI, Limerick and Cork. RCSI and Limerick are both my top picks but like brillo said, beggars can't be choosy so I'll be grateful for whichever school invites me. I'm taking the MCAT in 14 days and since my GPA is astoundingly low, I hope I can make up for it with the rest of my application.
 
CANTOMURICA said:
I've applied to RCSI, Limerick and Cork. RCSI and Limerick are both my top picks but like brillo said, beggars can't be choosy so I'll be grateful for whichever school invites me. I'm taking the MCAT in 14 days and since my GPA is astoundingly low, I hope I can make up for it with the rest of my application.
Click to expand...
What are your stats if you don't mind me asking? 4 year program?
 
Hey! 🙂 Yes I've applied to the GEM program. My GPA is .2 less than yours so I'm definitely not competitive based on GPA alone. I'm from Ontario where everyone has amazing stats so my only hope is Ireland. Like yourself, I hope that my application is considered holistically. I'm curious, why did you apply to the 5 year programs and not GEM?
 
CANTOMURICA said:
Hey! 🙂 Yes I've applied to the GEM program. My GPA is .2 less than yours so I'm definitely not competitive based on GPA alone. I'm from Ontario where everyone has amazing stats so my only hope is Ireland. Like yourself, I hope that my application is considered holistically. I'm curious, why did you apply to the 5 year programs and not GEM?
Click to expand...

Nursing degrees are a bit strange in the sense that most of your classes are called "nursing 504" even if the true nature is Biology etc. so prerequisites become quite hard. I also never took Ochem or some of the tougher subjects, which makes writing the MCAT near impossible with a full time job and I am married with a house so taking time off is tricky. Additionally my GPA is a bit weird too because the 3.28 I mentioned above is based largely off my first 2 years because my second 2 years were all practicum which don't count towards the GPA.

Basically, I think I would have a hard time scoring competitively on the MCAT and think the 5th year will be valuable for me to succeed once I'm in.

It's really tough in Canada, they don't look at much other than your GPA and it makes it impossible for a lot of us! So I hope you get in!
 
I didn't know that about GPA calculations for nursing programs. I really hope that both of us are able to get into our respective programs! I'm a little nervous reading past threads about how the interview offers work. From what I understand, each year the number of interview invitations vary as well as when they send them out so I'm not sure what I should expect at this point.

Do you think there are more applicants this year than previous years?

Also, that's really impressive to have so much going on and still find time to apply to med school. You definitely deserve an invite!
 
CANTOMURICA said:
I didn't know that about GPA calculations for nursing programs. I really hope that both of us are able to get into our respective programs! I'm a little nervous reading past threads about how the interview offers work. From what I understand, each year the number of interview invitations vary as well as when they send them out so I'm not sure what I should expect at this point.

Do you think there are more applicants this year than previous years?

Also, that's really impressive to have so much going on and still find time to apply to med school. You definitely deserve an invite!
Click to expand...

I think only RCSI interviews out of the 5 year programs so I don't know much about that! I don't think TCD or NUIG do at all. I have no idea on the number of applicants. Thanks for the confidence!
 
Has anyone heard from any of the schools? This was usually the week for RCSI interview offers.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
hey guys, i'm a first year GEMS student at the University of Limerick. I remember a year ago being in your position, so i think its only fair to give back. if you have any questions shoot me a message and I'll reply. To answer some basic questions, last year we did have an interview for UL and it was held in Toronto. Not sure whether they will do interviews this year again. The school incorporates problem based learning (PBL) and is similar to the way the medical program is run at McMaster's from my understanding. What this means is twice a week we get a tutor (who is a physician) and we discuss a case, and based on that, we come up with learning objectives to understand the physiology, pathology, pharmacology. I must say that the campus itself is quite nice, and pretty big as well! Only downside is that there is only half a dozen of microwaves on campus (due to fire regulations) LOL so be prepared for that. The city of Limerick is on the smaller side but its got great options for food. Ireland does have great places to visit so you definitely will not be bored!!
 
nuclearbabe93 said:
hey guys, i'm a first year GEMS student at the University of Limerick. I remember a year ago being in your position, so i think its only fair to give back. if you have any questions shoot me a message and I'll reply. To answer some basic questions, last year we did have an interview for UL and it was held in Toronto. Not sure whether they will do interviews this year again. The school incorporates problem based learning (PBL) and is similar to the way the medical program is run at McMaster's from my understanding. What this means is twice a week we get a tutor (who is a physician) and we discuss a case, and based on that, we come up with learning objectives to understand the physiology, pathology, pharmacology. I must say that the campus itself is quite nice, and pretty big as well! Only downside is that there is only half a dozen of microwaves on campus (due to fire regulations) LOL so be prepared for that. The city of Limerick is on the smaller side but its got great options for food. Ireland does have great places to visit so you definitely will not be bored!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight! I applied to UL too. I was wondering what were your stats or what stats do you need to get an interview? Also if you can touch on how the interview went in TO?
 
nuclearbabe93 said:
hey guys, i'm a first year GEMS student at the University of Limerick. I remember a year ago being in your position, so i think its only fair to give back. if you have any questions shoot me a message and I'll reply. To answer some basic questions, last year we did have an interview for UL and it was held in Toronto. Not sure whether they will do interviews this year again. The school incorporates problem based learning (PBL) and is similar to the way the medical program is run at McMaster's from my understanding. What this means is twice a week we get a tutor (who is a physician) and we discuss a case, and based on that, we come up with learning objectives to understand the physiology, pathology, pharmacology. I must say that the campus itself is quite nice, and pretty big as well! Only downside is that there is only half a dozen of microwaves on campus (due to fire regulations) LOL so be prepared for that. The city of Limerick is on the smaller side but its got great options for food. Ireland does have great places to visit so you definitely will not be bored!!
Click to expand...

Hey thank you for posting this, it gives some reassurance to us! 🙂

I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind answering,

1.) How did you handle the cost of going to Ireland and paying tuition etc.? Did you have any trouble with that? (sorry if its a personal question you don't have to answer)

2.) Around what time do Limerick GEM interview invites come out? How many rounds of offers did they have last year?

3.) I know this is a very subjective question but how holistically do Irish schools consider applicants? If my MCAT is really good but my GPA is rather lackluster, do you think I might be considered (looking for just a general answer, I know its hard to give a firm yes/no)?

4.) This is a different type of question but do you ever feel homesick or alienated or are there sufficient support serviced for international students?

5.) Is there enough support from the university to take electives in North America or is this something that is entirely in the hands of students?

Thank you once again and I hope your first year is going really well!
 
medstudenttobe said:
Hey, I've applied for this upcoming year as well.

Canadian
Applied to all
~3.9 GPA and 512 MCAT.
Strong LOR's and have plenty of volunteering, leadership (President and vice presidents of major university clubs, made quite an impact in the Faculty of Science), and research attributes.

Hoping to get into this holistic approach as well! Canadian med schools are so competitive.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Did you consider applying to US medical schools? I know people with lower stats than you who got into US MD schools (not DO). To be honest I am surprised you are even considering going to Ireland with such high stats. I am not trying to discourage you from going to Ireland, but going international with such amazing stats just does not make sense to me.
 
CANTOMURICA said:
Hey thank you for posting this, it gives some reassurance to us! 🙂

I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind answering,

1.) How did you handle the cost of going to Ireland and paying tuition etc.? Did you have any trouble with that? (sorry if its a personal question you don't have to answer)

2.) Around what time do Limerick GEM interview invites come out? How many rounds of offers did they have last year?

3.) I know this is a very subjective question but how holistically do Irish schools consider applicants? If my MCAT is really good but my GPA is rather lackluster, do you think I might be considered (looking for just a general answer, I know its hard to give a firm yes/no)?

4.) This is a different type of question but do you ever feel homesick or alienated or are there sufficient support serviced for international students?

5.) Is there enough support from the university to take electives in North America or is this something that is entirely in the hands of students?

Thank you once again and I hope your first year is going really well!
Click to expand...

Hey I'll answer what I can in the meantime! Last year I was a late applicant (submitted in early-mid March). I got a UL interview invite literally 2 days after submitting to Atlantic bridge. When I went to interviews (they were early-mid April... 14th-ish maybe?) there were 3 days for Canadians in Toronto, each ~30 people per day.
My GPA was a 3.3 by Irish standards and my mcat was 512 (128/126/128/130). So nothing stellar. But I do have an MSc, loads of publications, years of teaching at a Uni level, feel I had a killer statement, and good references. So that helped. Fingers are crossed I get an interview this year as UL is my top Ireland choice (I want to do rural family, and really value clinical experience).
The interviewers indicated they looked holistically. Even though I had a 3.3 gpa, it was because my first year was a 2.1 but grades increased every year with a 4.0 in my MSc. So they look at trends and potential etc.

Hopefully this is enough info in the meantime until somebody who actually passed the UL interviews last year (sigh) can answer your questions more... Haha...
 
bwbyers said:
Hey I'll answer what I can in the meantime! Last year I was a late applicant (submitted in early-mid March). I got a UL interview invite literally 2 days after submitting to Atlantic bridge. When I went to interviews (they were early-mid April... 14th-ish maybe?) there were 3 days for Canadians in Toronto, each ~30 people per day.
My GPA was a 3.3 by Irish standards and my mcat was 512 (128/126/128/130). So nothing stellar. But I do have an MSc, loads of publications, years of teaching at a Uni level, feel I had a killer statement, and good references. So that helped. Fingers are crossed I get an interview this year as UL is my top Ireland choice (I want to do rural family, and really value clinical experience).
The interviewers indicated they looked holistically. Even though I had a 3.3 gpa, it was because my first year was a 2.1 but grades increased every year with a 4.0 in my MSc. So they look at trends and potential etc.

Hopefully this is enough info in the meantime until somebody who actually passed the UL interviews last year (sigh) can answer your questions more... Haha...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information. Do you know how many internationals UL admits each year?
 
bwbyers said:
Hey I'll answer what I can in the meantime! Last year I was a late applicant (submitted in early-mid March). I got a UL interview invite literally 2 days after submitting to Atlantic bridge. When I went to interviews (they were early-mid April... 14th-ish maybe?) there were 3 days for Canadians in Toronto, each ~30 people per day.
My GPA was a 3.3 by Irish standards and my mcat was 512 (128/126/128/130). So nothing stellar. But I do have an MSc, loads of publications, years of teaching at a Uni level, feel I had a killer statement, and good references. So that helped. Fingers are crossed I get an interview this year as UL is my top Ireland choice (I want to do rural family, and really value clinical experience).
The interviewers indicated they looked holistically. Even though I had a 3.3 gpa, it was because my first year was a 2.1 but grades increased every year with a 4.0 in my MSc. So they look at trends and potential etc.

Hopefully this is enough info in the meantime until somebody who actually passed the UL interviews last year (sigh) can answer your questions more... Haha...
Click to expand...


Thanks for answering! 🙂

If you get accepted, are you hoping to get into any family medicine residency or are you specifically looking to get a rural one? I share the same goal as you but I've been anxiously reading all the posts on premed101 and apparently FM has gotten more competitive with a lot more people applying. Hopefully (if we get accepted) by the time we have to match, its not the case!
 
nuclearbabe93 said:
hey guys, i'm a first year GEMS student at the University of Limerick. I remember a year ago being in your position, so i think its only fair to give back. if you have any questions shoot me a message and I'll reply. To answer some basic questions, last year we did have an interview for UL and it was held in Toronto. Not sure whether they will do interviews this year again. The school incorporates problem based learning (PBL) and is similar to the way the medical program is run at McMaster's from my understanding. What this means is twice a week we get a tutor (who is a physician) and we discuss a case, and based on that, we come up with learning objectives to understand the physiology, pathology, pharmacology. I must say that the campus itself is quite nice, and pretty big as well! Only downside is that there is only half a dozen of microwaves on campus (due to fire regulations) LOL so be prepared for that. The city of Limerick is on the smaller side but its got great options for food. Ireland does have great places to visit so you definitely will not be bored!!
Click to expand...

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I would also be interested in knowing how you funded your schooling, mostly I'm curious about anything you learned in terms of LOC's or student loans from Canada. Are you working during medical school? How are you funding the interest on the LOC if you have one.

My wife will be working full time which will help me but we also have to support 2 people in a rather expensive country! (especially Dublin) So any advice is welcome. (feel free to only answer what you are comfortable responding to).
 
RNtoMed92 said:
Hello! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I would also be interested in knowing how you funded your schooling, mostly I'm curious about anything you learned in terms of LOC's or student loans from Canada. Are you working during medical school? How are you funding the interest on the LOC if you have one.

My wife will be working full time which will help me but we also have to support 2 people in a rather expensive country! (especially Dublin) So any advice is welcome. (feel free to only answer what you are comfortable responding to).
Click to expand...
I live in Alberta and the government does tend to give more loans in comparison to Ontario so that helped me out quite a bit. My parents also pitched in and that was enough for the first year. However the majority of students do get a student line of credit. If you have strong co-signers it should not be difficult to get one however I strongly recommend to look for a good bank as soon as possible because finances can be tricky especially if you end up in Dublin where things are indeed quite expensive including tuition fees!
 
CANTOMURICA said:
Hey thank you for posting this, it gives some reassurance to us! 🙂

I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind answering,

1.) How did you handle the cost of going to Ireland and paying tuition etc.? Did you have any trouble with that? (sorry if its a personal question you don't have to answer)

2.) Around what time do Limerick GEM interview invites come out? How many rounds of offers did they have last year?

3.) I know this is a very subjective question but how holistically do Irish schools consider applicants? If my MCAT is really good but my GPA is rather lackluster, do you think I might be considered (looking for just a general answer, I know its hard to give a firm yes/no)?

4.) This is a different type of question but do you ever feel homesick or alienated or are there sufficient support serviced for international students?

5.) Is there enough support from the university to take electives in North America or is this something that is entirely in the hands of students?

Thank you once again and I hope your first year is going really well!
Click to expand...
To answer your first question government student loans and parents helped me out with first years tuition fees. Mind you I lived in Alberta and the province does give out higher amounts in comparison to other provinces like Ontario!

I got my interview in February. I believe they had two rounds of interviews but don’t quote me on that. I do know for a fact that they had more than one round of interviews last year.

As it was my first time moving away I did feel quite homesick but you get so caught up with school and the days pass by so quickly before you know it months have passed by! The school does have support services but I haven’t had the need for that. Our class consists of quite a few Canadians so we kind of find all support each other!

I do believe that UL has a holistic approach. My GPA was quite good but my verbal reasoning on the meat was lacklustre and they did point it out and asked me why that was the case. So if u have a good reasoning behind any dips in ur academic performance you should be okay!
 
medstudenttobe said:
Thanks for the insight! I applied to UL too. I was wondering what were your stats or what stats do you need to get an interview? Also if you can touch on how the interview went in TO?
Click to expand...
I think to have a good chance at an interview you should have average stats such as 3.7/505.
 
nuclearbabe93 said:
I think to have a good chance at an interview you should have average stats such as 3.7/505.
Click to expand...
medstudenttobe said:
Thanks for the insight! I applied to UL too. I was wondering what were your stats or what stats do you need to get an interview? Also if you can touch on how the interview went in TO?
Click to expand...
snd the interview consisted of a 2-on-1 as well as a group exercise where they observe how you interact in a group setting. Best advice I can give you is to be yourself. I know everyone says that but trust me that’s the best way to handle the interview especially the group exercise. Don’t try to be something you are not!
 
nuclearbabe93 said:
I think to have a good chance at an interview you should have average stats such as 3.7/505.
Click to expand...
Is the 505 considered a cut-off or is it possible to get a interview with 3.7 and 502-504?
I am in a situation were I have a decent GPA and a lot of extracurriculars (research, volunteering, shadowing, leadership). Will a poor MCAT score prevent me from getting interviews?
 
Last edited:
nuclearbabe93 said:
I live in Alberta and the government does tend to give more loans in comparison to Ontario so that helped me out quite a bit. My parents also pitched in and that was enough for the first year. However the majority of students do get a student line of credit. If you have strong co-signers it should not be difficult to get one however I strongly recommend to look for a good bank as soon as possible because finances can be tricky especially if you end up in Dublin where things are indeed quite expensive including tuition fees!
Click to expand...

Thank you! We also live in Alberta and my wife works at a bank so that makes me feel a bit better!
 
medicallytaken said:
Is the 505 considered a cut-off or is it possible to get a interview with 3.7 and 502-504?
I am in a situation were I have a decent GPA and a lot of extracurriculars (research, volunteering, shadowing, leadership). Will a poor MCAT score prevent me from getting interviews?
Click to expand...
I don't believe that the school has a cutoff, but to be on the safe side and to increase your chances, it is in your best interest to have scores around that area. if you have a 502-504 it should give you an interview (fingers crossed) based on the rest of your application!
 
I heard from my admissions officer that RCSI and UCD started reviewing applications for this cycle and UL will start soon. I also found out that UCD actually has a interview (via skype)!
 
Last edited:
Canadian applicant with 3.93 GPA, 508 MCAT.
Received an interview for UCD GEM today! Anyone else hear back from schools?
 
medicallytaken said:
I heard from my admissions officer that RCSI and UCD started reviewing applications for this cycle and UL will start soon. I also found out that UCD actually has a interview (via skype)!
Finally, while completing the application for GEM I was asked to rank which school I would prefer to attend. I am curious to know how you guys ranked each school?
My order was: 1) UCC 2) UCD 3) UL 4) RCSI (great school, but most expensive!)
Click to expand...
I applied last year like in october and I wasn't asked to rank the school.
 
medicallytaken said:
I heard from my admissions officer that RCSI and UCD started reviewing applications for this cycle and UL will start soon. I also found out that UCD actually has a interview (via skype)!
Finally, while completing the application for GEM I was asked to rank which school I would prefer to attend. I am curious to know how you guys ranked each school?
My order was: 1) UCC 2) UCD 3) UL 4) RCSI (great school, but most expensive!)
Click to expand...

Wait what? When were you asked to rank because I did not see any option to rank schools when I applied.
 
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