Help me out please

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coolusername

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Hi,
I'm from Canada and I was wondering how some of the high-tier medical schools calculate their GPA (ex. U Illinois, U Boston, Harvard U)
I know that at UWO here, they look at the best two years and at U of Ottawa they look at your top 3 years.
In American medical schools do they drop your lowest year? Or do they use your cGPA? Becuase if so then perhaps I should give up the medical school dream now since my first year was a 2.6 (becuase I was so lost and confused with what to do with 5 courses and I was just a mess that didn't know how to study in first year..huge mistake). In second year I boosted it to a 3.96 (HUGE DIFF, I know) but even still, averaging out the two doesn't bring me to a good GPA.

SO I was just wondering if it's worth trying for medicine anymore if they do calculate my 2.6 in?

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST

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All MD schools basically calculate your GPA the same way. They count every college level course you have ever taken. Unfortunately, this would include your bad year. Osteopathic schools here will replace grades with retakes. So, if you got a D in OChemI, you could retake it, and the old D would go away, replaced with the retake. AMCAS does present your grades in a chronological format, so if you had one terrible year followed by 3 good ones, schools will be able to easily detect the trend. Unfortunately, this has no bearing on the calculated cGPA, which along with the MCAT are the most objective screening tools the institutions have to wield.
 
All MD schools basically calculate your GPA the same way. They count every college level course you have ever taken. Unfortunately, this would include your bad year. Osteopathic schools here will replace grades with retakes. So, if you got a D in OChemI, you could retake it, and the old D would go away, replaced with the retake. AMCAS does present your grades in a chronological format, so if you had one terrible year followed by 3 good ones, schools will be able to easily detect the trend. Unfortunately, this has no bearing on the calculated cGPA, which along with the MCAT are the most objective screening tools the institutions have to wield.

Thanks for your response...do you know what the lowest average for getting accepted into medicine is? (or the general cut off? Is it like a 3.65?)
 
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You're generally treading on thin ice below a 3.5. The mean for MD matriculants nationwide is about 3.65/30 MCAT...I believe. That doesn't take into account your international status. I'm assuming you're a Canadian citizen...if so, it would be more difficult for you to matriculate to a US school as opposed to the average US applicant.
 
Imo, the gpa cutoff in the US is a 3.0. In Canada its probably around 3.5 or above. But the further from 4.0 you get, the better your ECs and MCAT must be. Realistically, its good to have a 3.5 GPA/30 MCAT or above to have a decent chance at US schools. Standards for internationals are also more rigorous.
 
You're generally treading on thin ice below a 3.5. The mean for MD matriculants nationwide is about 3.65/30 MCAT...I believe. That doesn't take into account your international status. I'm assuming you're a Canadian citizen...if so, it would be more difficult for you to matriculate to a US school as opposed to the average US applicant.

Canada is correct, I am from Canada. but I've heard getting into American Medschools is a lot less competitive than trying to get into a Canadian one only because the States has so many more schools than does Canada.
I know people who've applied to University of Toronto Medicine and McMaster Medicine and have been turned down but got into schools like Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey I believe.

And I thought being an international student would have it's benefits since seats at some medical schools are often reserved for international students.

Anyway thanks for your answer!
 
Imo, the gpa cutoff in the US is a 3.0. In Canada its probably around 3.5 or above. But the further from 4.0 you get, the better your ECs and MCAT must be. Realistically, its good to have a 3.5 GPA/30 MCAT or above to have a decent chance at US schools. Standards for internationals are also more rigorous.

My E.C's are killer and my MCAT I haven't written yet, but as for my GPA - I feel that getting that avg in the 2.0's in first year is really going to bring me down no matter how well I do. I got a 3.9 this passed year and even if I keep getting 3.9's it'll only avg out to a maximum of 3.45...which is low! And I don't even have a back up, cause med has been my goal for so long, so I don't know what to do.
 
My E.C's are killer and my MCAT I haven't written yet, but as for my GPA - I feel that getting that avg in the 2.0's in first year is really going to bring me down no matter how well I do. I got a 3.9 this passed year and even if I keep getting 3.9's it'll only avg out to a maximum of 3.45...which is low! And I don't even have a back up, cause med has been my goal for so long, so I don't know what to do.

You can get in with a 3.45 as long as you have good ECs/MCAT. They'll also notice the upward trend. Acceptance is definitely possible. Even if you don't get in, you'll be able to get into great SMP programs and if you do well in those (3.8+) an acceptance to US MD is almost guaranteed. If that doesn't work you could apply DO or Carribean.
 
You can get in with a 3.45 as long as you have good ECs/MCAT. They'll also notice the upward trend. Acceptance is definitely possible. Even if you don't get in, you'll be able to get into great SMP programs and if you do well in those (3.8+) an acceptance to US MD is almost guaranteed. If that doesn't work you could apply DO or Carribean.

Hey thanks.
This is the first time I've heard of an SMP, so I looked it up and realized it's a Special Master's Program?
I guess they have none in Canada..but Boston and Loyola has a good SMP....

thanks for your input/help! I appreciate it.

Can you give me more info or send me a link of these SMPs? I just want to know general costs/if I'd have to do courses that I did I my SMP in medical school again or not?
 
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