Help! What are my chances? Canadian applicant

[ablin1234]

Hey everyone,

I got a 2.8 first and second year, 3.3 third year and aiming for a 3.8 fourth yr. I got 506 (71st) on the MCAT first try and doing it again. I am sure I can do much better. I had was battling mental health issues my first two years of uni and hence had a hard time doing well in school-which made my health even worse as a pre-med. But since I've gotten better(third yr), you can see the drastic upward trend.

I've done:
-research, presented at a conference, submitted posters and abstracts to conferences as well.
-started my own group based on funding won at a health symposium aiming to increase students living in residences' health
-Residence life staff for two years
-Shadowed a physician
-Volunteered at hospital
-Regularly perform at cultural shows/lead dance events
-peer mentoring at the university to freshman students
-Nominated for several awards in residence

And probably some other things here and there that I can't remember. My prof and I are also possibly going to be working on a manuscript to be submitted for peer review as well.

What are my chances for MD schools in US/Can? Caribbean?

Please no negativity! I've had enough of that lol. I don't mind "your chances are slim, you should try 'X' " but please no "you'll never get in anywhere".

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[gyngyn]

What are your AMCAS gpa and Sgpa's?

 

[GrapesofRath]

I'll summarize my thoughts

1) Whether or not you can get into a Caribbean school is not the question you should be asking; the real question to ask is why on earth would you want to commit 200K and 4 years of your life to go to subpar institutions where the odds of you getting a residency are probably under 35%? To the vast majority of people, even the most desperate and richest ones, the answer is clear and there isnt a justifiable way to pursue this route

2) DO schools will factor in the grade you get in a retake only for their GPA calculation, have you retaken any classes? If you haven't, is there a reason you wont? Your GPA as of now is low enough to get screened out at a hoard of institutions; retaking classes will boost the GPA considerably for DO schools.

3) Your MCAT score is fine for DO schools. Being an international often makes things much more competitive. If you have strong reason to believe you can improve significantly on a retake, it could be worth considering doing.

4) The average DO matriculant has a 3.5/27(the 3.5 including grade replacement). Being an international youll want to be above those stats. Trying to get your DO calculated GPA to 3.5 should be your goal.

5) Your GPA is 2-3 standard deviations below US MD programs.Your MCAT is clearly below average also. The road to a US MD school is going to require extreme dedication, a radical turnaround on your part, a much longer time period(youll need a while to enhance your academic record), and frankly a fair amount of good fortune to have a chance to being fruitful. And honestly, even if all those things happen, it's still far from a guarantee Note, for the DO route, retaking some C's you have gotten, acing your senior and having well balanced ECs will make you a fair DO candidate? Which path sounds more feasible and shorter? This isn't about being negative, its about trying to look at what the US MD and DO path will require from you and whether it is something you think feasible enough to be considered worth pursuing. That's the question you have to ask yourself?

 

[Doug Underhill]

I'll be honest: it's going to be very tough for a Canadian with your stats. There are DO programs take international students, but the competition is stiff and your MCAT is only average.

The AACOMAS grade replacement policy may be a good idea for first and second year.