Canadian...Low GPA and High MCAT

[tiagoe]

Hi All,

I'm a Canadian citizen, and hoping to get into med school in the US for 2014... I had a tough time during undergrad with my health resulting in a GPA of 2.9. However, I will be doing my masters in biomedical sciences in the states in the fall to hopefully improve my chances of being accepted.

I already wrote the MCAT and scored a 38... I'm wondering if there are any Canadian/international applicants in a similar position who were accepted somewhere in the states, if so do you mind sharing where?

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?? I'm really paying for my low GPA, but I'm trying my best to make the most out of my situation and am really hoping to start med school in 2014! Any advice would be appreciated!!

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[Lamel]

How do you get an MCAT that high and a GPA that low. Pretty amazing. Were you just lazy during school?

 

[tiagoe]

How do you get an MCAT that high and a GPA that low. Pretty amazing. Were you just lazy during school?

lol i wasn't very serious about school during my first year... and then in my second year when i decided to get serious i ended up having to deal with a slew of health issues and i didn't know how to cope with my health and school at the same time... by the time i finally figured things out it was the second time i wrote my mcat

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Impressive MCAT. I'd recommend you take a few more undergrad classes to get your cGPA above a 3.0.

 

[La Presse]

I've noticed that Canadians consistently score higher on the MCAT than US applicants. Is this a coincidence?

 

[nysegop]

I've noticed that Canadians consistently score higher on the MCAT than US applicants. Is this a coincidence?

There are more US applicants applying to US programs. There could be a lot of self-selection with Canadians.

2.9 is essentially impossible for an MD school, but you could bring it up above 3.0 and apply to an osteopathic school.

 

[tiagoe]

Impressive MCAT. I'd recommend you take a few more undergrad classes to get your cGPA above a 3.0.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses.

UPDATE: I am taking some extra classes right now and *hopefully* will have some of the D's and F's removed from my transcript by the summer if my petition goes through (i was dealing with a lot of medical stuff when I wrote those exams)... if this petition goes through my cGPA will be 3.2... as an international applicant with the 3.2 and 38 MCAT do you think i have a decent chance anywhere? If so do you have any schools in mind?

 

[YankyDoodle]

I've noticed that Canadians consistently score higher on the MCAT than US applicants. Is this a coincidence?

Many canadian schools do not require the MCAT for local students. Therefore, only students who expect to do well will take it.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Not going to happen in any MD program as an international student. Now michigan as DO, likely.

 

[gunner1]

go back to undergrad and get a higher gpa.....ur seen as an international and the cutoffs are slightly higher because of that......mcat is impressive but work on ur gpa...prove to urself and everyone that u can do alot better. Good luck!

 

[amichel]

Many canadian schools do not require the MCAT for local students. Therefore, only students who expect to do well will take it.

Actually, all but 2 of the Canadian schools require the MCAT.

 

[YankyDoodle]

Actually, all but 2 of the Canadian schools require the MCAT.

-1

Mcgill, Ottawa, McMaster, Northern Ontario and all 3 French schools in Quebec do not require the MCAT to some extent. Others are considering removing the requirement.

 

[amichel]

Mcmaster requires the MCAT... Sorry, didn't include French schools because they are closed to most, my mistake. Anyways, doesn't really matter, on with the thread.

 

[Medstart108]

-1

Mcgill, Ottawa, McMaster, Northern Ontario and all 3 French schools in Quebec do not require the MCAT to some extent. Others are considering removing the requirement.

Whether or not these schools require the MCAT or not, i believe most still take it because 1. a lot of other medical schools require it and you would be limiting your chances by just not taking it 2. Medical schools that don't require it probably do prefer it nevertheless.

 

[are we ther yet]

Many canadian schools do not require the MCAT for local students. Therefore, only students who expect to do well will take it.

I have never met a Canadian md applicant who has not taken the mcat (I am canadian).

 

[batgrl_11]

Hi All,

I'm a Canadian citizen, and hoping to get into med school in the US for 2014... I had a tough time during undergrad with my health resulting in a GPA of 2.9. However, I will be doing my masters in biomedical sciences in the states in the fall to hopefully improve my chances of being accepted.

I already wrote the MCAT and scored a 38... I'm wondering if there are any Canadian/international applicants in a similar position who were accepted somewhere in the states, if so do you mind sharing where?

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?? I'm really paying for my low GPA, but I'm trying my best to make the most out of my situation and am really hoping to start med school in 2014! Any advice would be appreciated!!

Hi Tiagoe. I'm in a similar situation as my gpa was pretty low since I was facing health issues during undergrad but my MCAT scores were high. Just wanted to see where you were at now and how things worked out! thanks!

 

[mariambaby3]

@OP, your MCAT is fantastic, but your GPA is much too low for an acceptance to a US MD program as an international applicant. Even if you brought it up to a 3.2, it would still be too low. You may have a chance at a Canadian-friendly school like Wayne State depending on who reads your app.

Would you be able to do some sort of master's program? The downside of course is the risk that your MCAT may expire by the time you finish the program and apply.

 

[DrRedBug]

Would doing a Master's in this situation help?

 

[gyngyn]

Would doing a Master's in this situation help?

No.

 

[Goro]

SAMP with linkage to the med school, yes (provided they take international students).

Would doing a Master's in this situation help?

 

[GrapesofRath]

This is absolutely someone who SCREAMS SMP candidate if I've ever seen one. Do your research on which ones take internationals and avoid those which don't have strong linkage.

The less risky option is to do a post-bacc and ace it (in the US) but with that GPA you are probably looking at 2 years of this as opposed to 1 year of SMP.

 

[Advisor Prep]

Would doing a Master's in this situation help?

The short answer is it depends on the school. Some schools take into account additional degrees so if you have a specific school please let us know!

 

[Advisor Prep]

@OP, your MCAT is fantastic, but your GPA is much too low for an acceptance to a US MD program as an international applicant. Even if you brought it up to a 3.2, it would still be too low. You may have a chance at a Canadian-friendly school like Wayne State depending on who reads your app.

Would you be able to do some sort of master's program? The downside of course is the risk that your MCAT may expire by the time you finish the program and apply.

A 2.9 Cummulative GPA and 38 MCAT is not too low to be admitted to a US MD program. We have helped candidates with 2.5+GPAs and stellar MCATs get admitted to MANY US schools.