Canadian trying to apply to DO

[sam290]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello,

I am new to this forum. However, I constantly come on this forum in order to gain more information about medical school in general.

I started off my undergrad in criminology and focused on that for about 2 years. At that time I really didn't care about my marks or anything I just wanted to simply complete my undergrad. 2 years into my undergrad I suddenly began to have an increased amount of interest in medicine and basically everything associated with it. In high school I never took any science course aside from a general science course, which was mandatory. I ended being able to take biology without a prerequisite. However, I have not taken any chemistry or physics. I will complete these courses once I finish my undergrad in April. I also plan on writing the mcat once I am done these courses.

My cGPA is around 3.2. I know I can bring it up a bit this coming semester. I was just wondering what I can do in order to gain admission into a DO school as a Canadian. Like I know that there are post bac programs, but these programs are mainly for US citizens. Also I was looking at special masters programs but I dont know if my marks are good enough, or that if I even have a good enough science background. And my last option was to try to do a second undergrad. I really don't want to go to the Caribbean route.

Sorry for making this email extremely long. But I was just wondering what my options are. Can I get in to a smp with a low gpa like mine? Is there any chance I can get into a DO school with my low gpa assuming I complete the prerequisite courses and the mcat? Or should I just do a second undergrad?

Thanks.

 

[TexasMedic15]

Just so you know, SMPs are technically post-baccs. Post-bacc classes are done after your bachelors degree, hence "post-baccalaureate". You can definitely get into an SMP with your GPA. Med schools, and SMPs for that matter, don't really care what your undergraduate major or minor was as long as you have the prerequisites done. If you're shooting for US DO then maybe you can retake some classes that you didn't do so well in. The AACOMAS grade replacement policy can significantly raise your GPA if you have a couple of C's. Getting another bachelor's degree is a huge waste of your time, money and energy. Also, what's your MCAT? Kind of hard to chance you based on your GPA alone.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Hello,

I am new to this forum. However, I constantly come on this forum in order to gain more information about medical school in general.

I started off my undergrad in criminology and focused on that for about 2 years. At that time I really didn't care about my marks or anything I just wanted to simply complete my undergrad. 2 years into my undergrad I suddenly began to have an increased amount of interest in medicine and basically everything associated with it. In high school I never took any science course aside from a general science course, which was mandatory. I ended being able to take biology without a prerequisite. However, I have not taken any chemistry or physics. I will complete these courses once I finish my undergrad in April. I also plan on writing the mcat once I am done these courses.

My cGPA is around 3.2. I know I can bring it up a bit this coming semester. I was just wondering what I can do in order to gain admission into a DO school as a Canadian. Like I know that there are post bac programs, but these programs are mainly for US citizens. Also I was looking at special masters programs but I dont know if my marks are good enough, or that if I even have a good enough science background. And my last option was to try to do a second undergrad. I really don't want to go to the Caribbean route.

Sorry for making this email extremely long. But I was just wondering what my options are. Can I get in to a smp with a low gpa like mine? Is there any chance I can get into a DO school with my low gpa assuming I complete the prerequisite courses and the mcat? Or should I just do a second undergrad?

Thanks.

Have you ever been to the states before? Why don't you do this? Come to the states and do a formal post bacc program, take all those science pre-recs you need and do well. Work a job as an ER scribe and make sure medicine is right for you. If you like what you see, then apply to an SMP. If that works out think about citizenship, this will open up jobs, residencies, and medical schools to you. Finally take and nail the MCAT and apply to both MD and DO schools. I know someone that had a similar path (Russian though) and this is what he did. He is about 27 year old and is in his first year of medical school.

 

[sam290]

Just so you know, SMPs are technically post-baccs. Post-bacc classes are done after your bachelors degree, hence "post-baccalaureate". You can definitely get into an SMP with your GPA. Med schools, and SMPs for that matter, don't really care what your undergraduate major or minor was as long as you have the prerequisites done. If you're shooting for US DO then maybe you can retake some classes that you didn't do so well in. The AACOMAS grade replacement policy can significantly raise your GPA if you have a couple of C's. Getting another bachelor's degree is a huge waste of your time, money and energy. Also, what's your MCAT? Kind of hard to chance you based on your GPA alone.

Thanks, I will definitely look into the different SMP programs. I heard about the grade replacement policy as well and I was thinking of retaking some courses too. Regarding the MCAT I haven't done it yet. I am planning on doing it after I complete some of the prerequisite courses.

 

[sam290]

Have you ever been to the states before? Why don't you do this? Come to the states and do a formal post bacc program, take all those science pre-recs you need and do well. Work a job as an ER scribe and make sure medicine is right for you. If you like what you see, then apply to an SMP. If that works out think about citizenship, this will open up jobs, residencies, and medical schools to you. Finally take and nail the MCAT and apply to both MD and DO schools. I know someone that had a similar path (Russian though) and this is what he did. He is about 27 year old and is in his first year of medical school.

I have been to states plenty of times. I was just looking into different post bacc programs and realized that many of them have a requirement to be a US citizen, but I will look into the ones that accept Canadians more thoroughly. I have started to volunteer at a hospital and also shadowed an ER physician too. I will look in to these options. Thank you!

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I will be honest and frank with you -- based on other Canadian applicants and their conversations about DO admissions I gather that you must be very competitive to even be considered for a spot in medical school as a Canadian applicant. There are Canadians with 3.8 GPAs and 30+ MCAT scores that are just barely competitive for U.S. Schools. Many times, SMP programs can be just as hard to gain admittance to as medical school. You will need to definitely do some grade replacement, do a DIY postbacc, or apply for an SMP as a last ditch effort.

 

[torontopharm]

.

 

[futuremdforme]

Have you ever been to the states before? Why don't you do this? Come to the states and do a formal post bacc program, take all those science pre-recs you need and do well. Work a job as an ER scribe and make sure medicine is right for you. If you like what you see, then apply to an SMP. If that works out think about citizenship, this will open up jobs, residencies, and medical schools to you. Finally take and nail the MCAT and apply to both MD and DO schools. I know someone that had a similar path (Russian though) and this is what he did. He is about 27 year old and is in his first year of medical school.

FYI Canadians can't work as ER scribes unless they have green cards/work permits which OP does not have. And OP cannot "think about citizenship". You can't just decide you'd like to be a citizen and apply. You need a job to sponsor you for a green card then after several years you can apply for citizenship. This route is not a possibility if the OP is pursuing medicine currently.

Best case scenario: Find a life partner at the post bacc, get married, get GC!

 

[TexasMedic15]

I will be honest and frank with you -- based on other Canadian applicants and their conversations about DO admissions I gather that you must be very competitive to even be considered for a spot in medical school as a Canadian applicant. There are Canadians with 3.8 GPAs and 30+ MCAT scores that are just barely competitive for U.S. Schools. Many times, SMP programs can be just as hard to gain admittance to as medical school. You will need to definitely do some grade replacement, do a DIY postbacc, or apply for an SMP as a last ditch effort.

This isn't entirely correct. True, in some cases it might be just as hard getting admitted into SMPs as it is getting into medical school, but you don't need incredibly high stats to get into a U.S. medical school just because you're Canadian. I think you're a little confused. Canadians need really strong stats to get into CANADIAN medical schools. The number of schools in Canada greatly pales in comparison to the number of schools in the U.S., that's why you find Canadians all over SDN looking to gain acceptance to U.S. schools. In order to get into a school in Canada, you need really really strong stats usually. Think of it this way, most DO schools are private institutions. They don't really care where you come from so long as you are able to pay for their tuition. US MD schools are the same way, even the public ones. If you have the stats and the prerequisites then you can apply. Getting accepted is the easy(er) part, paying for the education is the difficult part.

FYI Canadians can't work as ER scribes unless they have green cards/work permits which OP does not have. And OP cannot "think about citizenship". You can't just decide you'd like to be a citizen and apply. You need a job to sponsor you for a green card then after several years you can apply for citizenship. This route is not a possibility if the OP is pursuing medicine currently.

Best case scenario: Find a life partner at the post bacc, get married, get GC!

This is true too. The whole process of applying for citizenship can take years. Lol at the best case scenario.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

This isn't entirely correct. True, in some cases it might be just as hard getting admitted into SMPs as it is getting into medical school, but you don't need incredibly high stats to get into a U.S. medical school just because you're Canadian. I think you're a little confused. Canadians need really strong stats to get into CANADIAN medical schools. The number of schools in Canada greatly pales in comparison to the number of schools in the U.S., that's why you find Canadians all over SDN looking to gain acceptance to U.S. schools. In order to get into a school in Canada, you need really really strong stats usually. Think of it this way, most DO schools are private institutions. They don't really care where you come from so long as you are able to pay for their tuition. US MD schools are the same way, even the public ones. If you have the stats and the prerequisites then you can apply. Getting accepted is the easy(er) part, paying for the education is the difficult part.



This is true too. The whole process of applying for citizenship can take years. Lol at the best case scenario.

No, I am most certainly not confused and my information still holds true for more reasons than just the medical school. You have to look further into the future, residency policies, etc. there is more to it than the school alone.

 

[Goro]

You're competitive for the 14 or so Do programs that take Canadians...but you're going to need to do better on the MCAT. My school only takes green card holders and US citizens.

Hello,

I am new to this forum. However, I constantly come on this forum in order to gain more information about medical school in general.

I started off my undergrad in criminology and focused on that for about 2 years. At that time I really didn't care about my marks or anything I just wanted to simply complete my undergrad. 2 years into my undergrad I suddenly began to have an increased amount of interest in medicine and basically everything associated with it. In high school I never took any science course aside from a general science course, which was mandatory. I ended being able to take biology without a prerequisite. However, I have not taken any chemistry or physics. I will complete these courses once I finish my undergrad in April. I also plan on writing the mcat once I am done these courses.

My cGPA is around 3.2. I know I can bring it up a bit this coming semester. I was just wondering what I can do in order to gain admission into a DO school as a Canadian. Like I know that there are post bac programs, but these programs are mainly for US citizens. Also I was looking at special masters programs but I dont know if my marks are good enough, or that if I even have a good enough science background. And my last option was to try to do a second undergrad. I really don't want to go to the Caribbean route.

Sorry for making this email extremely long. But I was just wondering what my options are. Can I get in to a smp with a low gpa like mine? Is there any chance I can get into a DO school with my low gpa assuming I complete the prerequisite courses and the mcat? Or should I just do a second undergrad?

Thanks.

 

[sam290]

Thank you all for all the information. This honestly helped a lot. I will continue to look into all of this.