Best Strategy- Non Trad. Canadian Student - DO

[goatling]

Hello everyone!

I need your guidance. I guess I am considered a non-trad. Canadian student looking to apply to US. DO schools within the (hopefully) next few years. But I need your help planning my strategy. In 2009, I graduated with a BSc(Honours) Environmental/Applied Science degree, with a CGPA of 3.05 (upward trend, terrible first year with 3.5-3.6 in last two years). I had always planned on applying to Naturopathic Medical school, and after spending the last 2 years at an ND clinic ( as well as working in the environmental health industry), and applying to the 2 Canadian ND schools (I was accepted to both), I decided I really did not want to go through 4 years of intense schooling, and ultimately not be a doctor with the ability to treat both holistically and allopathically. Basically, I don't want to be limited, and although I believe in what NDs do, they are VERY limited in their practice. In saying this, I want to maintain the holistic route, and so after a lot of thought it seems DO is a really good alternative for someone like me. I'm really into endocrinology/ internal medicine as a result of some of my work experience.

I recently accepted a fully funded (graduate scholarship) Masters program in health and environmental policy, and I am excited about the program, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking DO is my ultimate route. In saying this, I want to do the masters, because Im interested in it (even if it wont help me get into DO school), and I will also have the opportunity to do some interesting research and possibly work with areas like Health Canada in the summer of next yr. My GPA in my MA I am aiming for 3.8-4.0 and I know this is possible because I am a good student (just wasn't in the first two years of my undergrad).

I may be babbling on, but my question for all of you is WHAT SHOULD BE MY PLAN OF ACTION? I have a ton of really interesting ec's/ volunteer and work experience, mainly in areas of env/health field like contaminants, etc. I think my background maybe makes me a unique candidate as a DO but i'm not sure, everyone has amazing stats! At the same time, my CGPA is 3.05, too low, and I was considering going back AFTER my masters, to do a 2 year post bac program in health science. By the time I finish my masters I will be 25/26. Age is not a factor for me, I just want to follow my right path and reach my goals, but at the same time would love to get in by age 28? Maybe I'm being optimistic. What about SMPs? I heard there was one at TouroCOM that is a segway for their DO ...

So what are your suggestions on:
-What to do strategy wise?
-To do a post-bac. after my masters, or SMP?
-Where to apply as a Canadian?
-what volunteering / ec suggestions everyone has?

I know this may be a long road, but I would sincerely appreciate your honesty and assistance in this aspiration. Thank you to all !

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[nicknickp3]

I don't know much about Canadian applicants, but if you were an American I would say, doing well in your masters shows that your mature and dedicated, despite you first bad two years. And as for doing an SMP after might be overkill, you should possibly just consider doing a year of retakes and utilizing the D.O. grade replacement policy. Assuming the rest of your application is good, I dont see why you wouldn't get accepted, this is of course if you were American, I have no idea how much harder it is to get accepted as a Canadian. Good luck!

 

[SRC1987]

I agree with nick's comment above. If you want to do the masters pursue that and you can apply to DO school while you are finishing your last year to avoid unnecessary delays. I also agree not to worry about SMP, that would be a whole lot of schooling you dont necessarily need. Check with some of the schools to see how your masters GPA will be incorporated. If you do well in that it will demostrate your abilities.
Also there is the MCAT.. make sure you plan for plenty of time to prepare . Account for the time it takes to score your exam (4-6 weeks). I would have that done and scored by the time you submit your application (otherwise it will just get held up). Put a lot of effort into the MCAT so you do well and show that you do have the necessary knowledge for med school. Hopefully a solid MCAT will make up for a slightly lower GPA.
Refer to the DO for Canadians thread.. there's a lot of helpful people that can point you in the right direction. Some have gotten in in past years, others like myself are in the process of applying. They also talk about what schools accept Canadians on a regular basis. (Some say they do but really don't).
If you've already written your MCAT you could potentially apply this year... doesn't hurt to have extra options.
Go to the AACOM website and look through the CIB. It gives you the run down of all the schools and GPAs, MCAT, etc.
Hope this helps a little! Good luck.

 

[drgioiadds]

I'm not 100% sure what AACOMAS will do with your masters degree gpa. I know that my DDS degree is not counted in the CGPA. I would retake some of the science courses to increase your AACOMAS GPA and apply early. US schools use rolling admissions unlike Canadian schools. Also, DO school is essentially an allopathic curriculum with OMM training. ND school is completely different. Good luck. (Don't worry about your age, I should be 40 when I graduate )

 

[Muffles]

As a fellow Canadian non-trad who is about to start their DO degree at KCUMB, it is definitely doable and to me it sounds like your plan is pretty good. I would just follow up on the other advice given: 1) focus on the MCAT to make sure you allow enough time to prepare and therefore do well (aim for 28+, preferably 30+); AND 2) if some of your prereqs had less than stellar grades, redo them and get A's. A third thing to do would be to keep up your voluteer efforts as schools want to see commitment to community and volunteerism.

DO schools do grade replacement as long as the courses are relatively the same. For example, I took organic chemistry at U of T 20 years ago and did quite poorly so I redid a couple of years back at York U. Both were full year courses with lab so my grade was replaced (both were seen on the application, but in calculating the GPA the 2nd grade was used). On the other hand, I took general chemistry at U of T and it was a full year course with lab. At York it was 2 half courses, each with a lab component, and they weren't replaceable (although I asked about this during verification and if I had received the same letter grade in both York courses they probably would have done a replacement). I had to go the York U route because U of T would not allow me to retake a course that I had passed already, regardless of how long ago I took it.

I was doing my Masters in Biology during the application (glide) year and the schools were aware of this as I had to list courses currently being taken.

I hope that helps. You could also check out the DO for Canadians thread for application specific info from a Canadian perspective.