Canadian PhD looking to US MD schools, low undergrad GPA

[bbbanplay]

Hi Everyone,
In brief, I am a PhD student studying medicine in Canada. My biggest hurdle as I apply to medical schools is most definitely my GPA.
>undergrad GPA: 2.8
>graduate GPA: 3.9 (Though this is a thesis-based degree, I have taken a course (or two) every single semester over my 5 year PhD)
[Based off of this year's entry statistics for almost all Canadian and US schools, my MCAT score is competitive. I have hundreds of hours of extracurricular activities ranging from volunteering, community service, student groups, leadership, etc. I have 100+ hours of shadowing in different clinics/services. 10+ pubs in mid-high tier journals (4 first author), various long-term employment experiences, etc etc.]

At this time, it seems very unlikely that I'll make it past the GPA cutoffs for all Canadian schools based off of conversations with advisers, weighted GPA calculations, etc. This has pushed me to look in the direction of US schools.
Are there any US MD schools (not DO) that look favorably to PhD students? And a step-further: Canadian PhD students?

I have zero intention of changing my career path, so I have also entertained the idea of EU or AUS schools, though I am very aware of the obstacles, costs, and residency challenges associated.

Eager to gather some input from this forum!

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[Seihai]

Without your actual MCAT score, there's not much advice to give. Just saying it's "competitive" means nothing as anything above a 510 is competitive at a different set of schools. Your target schools are likely to be research-heavy schools given your PhD, and those schools tend to have consistently high GPA and MCAT averages (3.7+/520+).

Your undergraduate GPA is a nonstarter, and your graduate GPA (while decent) does not make up for it. There are few USMD schools that would consider you (notwithstanding the fact that you're presumably an international student).

 

[bbbanplay]

Without your actual MCAT score, there's not much advice to give. Just saying it's "competitive" means nothing as anything above a 510 is competitive at a different set of schools. Your target schools are likely to be research-heavy schools given your PhD, and those schools tend to have consistently high GPA and MCAT averages (3.7+/520+).

Your undergraduate GPA is a nonstarter, and your graduate GPA (while decent) does not make up for it. There are few USMD schools that would consider you (notwithstanding the fact that you're presumably an international student).

Thanks for the response Seihai!

Although truthful, your response doesn't really provide direction or guidance - that's more what I am looking for!

 

[Goro]

Hi Everyone,
In brief, I am a PhD student studying medicine in Canada. My biggest hurdle as I apply to medical schools is most definitely my GPA.
>undergrad GPA: 2.8
>graduate GPA: 3.9 (Though this is a thesis-based degree, I have taken a course (or two) every single semester over my 5 year PhD)
[Based off of this year's entry statistics for almost all Canadian and US schools, my MCAT score is competitive. I have hundreds of hours of extracurricular activities ranging from volunteering, community service, student groups, leadership, etc. I have 100+ hours of shadowing in different clinics/services. 10+ pubs in mid-high tier journals (4 first author), various long-term employment experiences, etc etc.]

At this time, it seems very unlikely that I'll make it past the GPA cutoffs for all Canadian schools based off of conversations with advisers, weighted GPA calculations, etc. This has pushed me to look in the direction of US schools.
Are there any US MD schools (not DO) that look favorably to PhD students? And a step-further: Canadian PhD students?

Nope. MD schools don't include graduate GPAs unless they from post-bac work or SMPs, and even then, not all MD schools reward reinvention.

Beggars can't be choosy. Your best chances are with the 14ish DO schools that take internationals.

 

[Seihai]

Thanks for the response Seihai!

Although truthful, your response doesn't really provide direction or guidance - that's more what I am looking for!

Thanks for the response bbbanplay!

While you're correct that my response doesn't really provide concrete steps, that's mostly because we really need to know your MCAT score (or at least a useful range) to give actual advice.

If your MCAT score is already good, then potentially doing a postbacc or SMP to try to appeal to the MD schools that reward reinvention is your best idea. If your MCAT score isn't that good (again, "competitive" means a lot of things and provides essentially no information), then you aren't going to be able to apply to USMD schools any time soon. Like Goro said, your best bet if you want to go to a US medical school is probably to consider DO.

 

[Dave1980]

Are there any US MD schools (not DO) that look favorably to PhD students? And a step-further: Canadian PhD students?

I have zero intention of changing my career path, so I have also entertained the idea of EU or AUS schools, though I am very aware of the obstacles, costs, and residency challenges associated.

All MD schools would consider a PhD as a positive (assuming it is vaguely STEM related). What is your PhD in?

 

[Goro]

All MD schools would consider a PhD as a positive (assuming it is vaguely STEM related). What is your PhD in?

The grade inflation inherent in PhD programs counterbalances many of the benefits of the PhD.

 

[deleted853480]

If you have 20 credit hours of courses in you phd Wayne state will use that as your gpa. So I recommend apply there ED and you will most likely get in.