Atlantic Bridge - 6 year Program from High School

[mwissa]

Hey,
I was planning on applying through the Atlantic Bridge Program to the Med Schools in Ireland straight from high school and I had a few questions...
1) What are the average High School GPAs of accepted students to both UCD and RCSI?
2)What is the average acceptance rate for North American, (US), high school students to either/both schools?
3) What are the main things considered for acceptance?
4) How important is the SAT and what is the average SAT score?

I know its quite a few questions but whoever I speak to at the AB office in Newport isn't very willing to give out straight answers.... the most popular is, "it depends"...lol
Thanks

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[vegetto_456]

Hey,
I was planning on applying through the Atlantic Bridge Program to the Med Schools in Ireland straight from high school and I had a few questions...
1) What are the average High School GPAs of accepted students to both UCD and RCSI?
2)What is the average acceptance rate for North American, (US), high school students to either/both schools?
3) What are the main things considered for acceptance?
4) How important is the SAT and what is the average SAT score?

I know its quite a few questions but whoever I speak to at the AB office in Newport isn't very willing to give out straight answers.... the most popular is, "it depends"...lol
Thanks

Hey there mwissa,

To be honest, I dont know about the SAT score cutoffs etc (I never took it ) but I would imagine a high 80's to mid 90s averge would be needed to get past the interview stage. As for the acceptance rate I only know that 50-60% make it past the interview stage (at least thats what my experience was). Hope that helps and good luck with your application.

 

[mwissa]

Thanks vegetto,
I had a couple more questions.... By high 80's to mid 90's is that on a Canadian scale, or is that GPA like 3.6-4.0?
My school GPA is 4.27 (no limit on the scale) and I have plenty of extracurricular activities-- Model UN, National Honor Society (President), and California Scholarship Federation (similar to NHS but on a state level).
--Will those help me?? and,
-- Could you give me any indication of my chances?
I took Biology (1st year) and got an A both semesters and I took Chemistry and AP Physics last year and got a A and B+ / B- B- respectively. I plan on taking AP Biology this upcoming year (my senior year). I know the lack of skills in Physics might hurt me and my math grades are ok, not bad but definitely not great. Also I'm doing IB and I'm pretty sure I didn't do to hot on the IB Physics test (4 at most), which is the only one I've taken so far.
Sorry for all the questions, any advice you could provide would be great!
Thanks

 

[tennisball80]

Thanks vegetto,
I had a couple more questions.... By high 80's to mid 90's is that on a Canadian scale, or is that GPA like 3.6-4.0?
My school GPA is 4.27 (no limit on the scale) and I have plenty of extracurricular activities-- Model UN, National Honor Society (President), and California Scholarship Federation (similar to NHS but on a state level).
--Will those help me?? and,
-- Could you give me any indication of my chances?
I took Biology (1st year) and got an A both semesters and I took Chemistry and AP Physics last year and got a A and B+ / B- B- respectively. I plan on taking AP Biology this upcoming year (my senior year). I know the lack of skills in Physics might hurt me and my math grades are ok, not bad but definitely not great. Also I'm doing IB and I'm pretty sure I didn't do to hot on the IB Physics test (4 at most), which is the only one I've taken so far.
Sorry for all the questions, any advice you could provide would be great!
Thanks

With those amazing status, why don't you do your undergrad in US and try to get into a US medical school first ?

Why would you like to have many disadvantages automatically by being an IMG ?

If I were a U.S citizen, I would try to go a med school in the U.S first.

 

[mwissa]

Thanks tennisball80 for the complement, but I'm not sure your familiar with the American system.... my grades aren't bad but they are not great, and the ability to save two years of schooling and skip the MCAT as well as getting out of the house... (I am egyptian no need to say more lol) makes AB an amazing opportunity. I am definitely applying to plenty of schools in the US but Ireland (UCD) is definintly my first choice.
If you have any advice, I am more than open to hear it.... there aren't many people that I can get info from outside the forums.
Thanks again

 

[tennisball80]

Thanks tennisball80 for the complement, but I'm not sure your familiar with the American system.... my grades aren't bad but they are not great, and the ability to save two years of schooling and skip the MCAT as well as getting out of the house... (I am egyptian no need to say more lol) makes AB an amazing opportunity. I am definitely applying to plenty of schools in the US but Ireland (UCD) is definintly my first choice.
If you have any advice, I am more than open to hear it.... there aren't many people that I can get info from outside the forums.
Thanks again

I sent you a PM with more information

 

[mwissa]

thanks for the PM.....I PM'd you back...
Also to anyone who went through the AB program from the US, what were your stats PLEASE!!!! Even if its just one person but I need something to stack it up against!!!!
thanks

 

[msk90]

Hey, I'll try to answer your questions as best I can:
1) What are the average High School GPAs of accepted students to both UCD and RCSI?
im from Canada and for us we had to have a minimum 85% average and competitive scores in the 3 sciences.
2)What is the average acceptance rate for North American, (US), high school students to either/both schools?
im not sure what the acceptance rate is but yea only 50-60% make it past the interview. The thing is though, if you're invited to an interview they must be impressed. The point of the interview is just to make sure you're a real person and have some sort of personality. I had a decent average when I applied but i had done a lot of sports, service and volunteering. I know of 2 people who applied with higher marks than me. one of them wrote an essay that was too cocky and didnt get the interview, the other one got an interview but had no social skills so neither of them got accepted. I'm pretty sure RCSI wants intelligent but well rounded students.
3) What are the main things considered for acceptance?
they consider grades, involvement in the community, how dedicated or serious you would be (basically you're not bsing them and actually want the education).
4) How important is the SAT and what is the average SAT score?
nnoo idea about the SATs, we don't have to take them. check on the rcsi website though, they have all this information.

 

[mwissa]

Hey guys thanks for the help... but I really need to get stats from people who applied from the US. The Canadian and American system are so different so it is very difficult to compare.
Thanks to those who replied so far, it helped nonetheless.