Canadian Applicant Pt. 2 - Help widdling down my list please!!

[joshg]

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Hi again,
So I've made a preliminary list of schools I'm looking to apply to based on the LizzyM spreadsheet.

My basic stats are 3.8 cGPA 3.86 BCPM GPA. MCAT - 11 BS 10 VR 11 PS S-Writing. I am an international applicant (Canadian - UG @ University of Western Ontario.
My EC's and reference letters are pretty solid.

I need help cutting out some of these schools. They are in descending order of LizzyM scores so obviously there a couple top 20 schools in there, but the rest I think are fairly reasonable.

Please let me know your thoughts or if you know anything about international applications at these schools.

Thanks!!

Yale
Northwestern
U of Chicago
U of Michigan
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
Stanford
Emory
TuftsN
YU
U of Pennsylvania
Brown
Vanderbilt
UT Southwestern
Dartmouth
Einstein
U of Virginia
U of Southern California
Boston
U of Connecticut
U of Minnesota
Georgetown
Rosalind Franklin
U of Maryland
Wayne State

NEW ADDITIONS:
Albany
SUNY Upstate
Jefferson
U of Hawaii
Michigan State
Howard
Meharry


-Josh

 

[mallard]

Hey man,

That seems like a fairly top-heavy list even for a non-international student. I believe that being international makes the process a bit more difficult so I would add even more safety-target schools and take away a few of the reaches (unless you are really married to them). Definitely add more of the safety-target range such as Jefferson, MCW, Chicago Schools (Loyola, UIC, etc. ) there are plenty more but those are a few off the top of my head

 

[JJMrK]

That's way too top heavy.

 

[joshg]

Thanks for your input mallard,

You're definitely right it is a bit top heavy I'll throw in some more safeties.
It's a bit of a two sided dagger because the school's with the highest international acceptance rates are all of the high-end schools.

I'll probably cut out the Ivy leagues except for Yale and Northwestern - I know they are long shots but they give financial aid to Canadians.

Do you think that many of these schools will screen me out right away because of the low MCAT?

Hey man,

That seems like a fairly top-heavy list even for a non-international student. I believe that being international makes the process a bit more difficult so I would add even more safety-target schools and take away a few of the reaches (unless you are really married to them). Definitely add more of the safety-target range such as Jefferson, MCW, Chicago Schools (Loyola, UIC, etc. ) there are plenty more but those are a few off the top of my head

 

[Daffy99]

Your GPA is great, but your MCAT is going to cause you trouble at the higher end schools. Adcoms know very little about the quality of Canadian undergraduate education, so I think for international students, the MCAT means a lot more.

I am also Canadian and going to med school in the US next year. I'm happy to answer any questions!

 

[aRnonymous]

I agree, your list is top heavy. However, I applied to many of the same schools as you with similar stats. I had a 3.98 and a 32Q (12B, 11P, 9V). I only received three interviews (Maryland, Wayne, NYMC). I got accepted at all three. However, I applied late. I submitted AMCAS mid-September.

Personally, I would remove both Wayne and MSU. Their tuition costs are simply insane, you won't be able to afford it. The schools aren't amazing either, it's worth staying in Canada instead of going there. I also would NOT add NYMC to your list. They want a full four years tuition in escrow.

Also, remove U of Michigan, they don't take international students. You won't even get a secondary from them. Trust me, I tried to apply anyway.

You can try for U of Hawaii, but personally I think it's a waste of money. The flight out there will cost you an arm and a leg, and they accept very little OOS for the amount they interview.

Btw, in case your wondering what I'm up to. I withdrew from NYMC and Wayne, keeping the acceptance at Maryland. Waiting until May 15th to hear back from Western and Toronto. I turned down an interview at Ottawa because I didn't want to drive that far, maybe that was a bad move.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to go to US schools so bad? Your stats seem good enough to get you into Canadian schools at a fraction of the price.

If you have any questions shoot me a PM!

 

[aRnonymous]

Btw, I think it's also wise to remove Howard unless you're a minority or have a true passion for rural medicine. I applied there and never got an interview

 

[witness23]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=622817

please look at the list of schools there. it highlights international/canadian applicant policy.

i only looked at your last school, meherry, which pretty much said it will not take you. check others.

 

[Aegle]

I'm a Canadian too and planning to apply for US med schools.

I have a few things I need advice on:

I have the option of doing an Honors Cell Biology Major, which I know will impact my GPA OR I can do a General Biology Major and a Latin minor. At Canadian Med Schools, they'd say do the honors. But I've been told that US med schools don't really care if it's honors or not. They just look at GPA/MCAT. Is Honors vs. Gen going to make a huge difference?

Also, the full course load is 5 classes (we're on semester system). I'd like to take 4 and 5 off and on. I'll take summer classes too. But my GPA started off low first year and I really need to boost it. Is taking less than full course load going to hurt my chances? I've been told that here, it will kill me. But I don't know about US med schools.