Help with school list (Canadian)

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HCN4

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Could somebody please give me feedback on my school list?

Here's a short summary of my stats:
- Undergrad at U Toronto with a Physiology Specialist, consistent upward trend, cGPA at 3.63 (3.8 without first year). Similar sGPA, but my first year pre-reqs are obv on the low side.
- Wrote old MCAT twice, new one once. First time I only wrote VR because I was applying to one school, which only looks at that. Second time I had a 10PS/10BS/8VR. On MCAT 2015, I have a 132PS/126CARS/131BS/130PSY (519/98th percentile total).
- Numerous research projects in multiple quite different fields and locations, one publication, 2-3 under review, lots of conferences.
- Few awards here and there for research and academic record.
- Long experience in physician shadowing and some other health-care volunteering. Few extracurriculars, academic and otherwise.
- Great LORs, I believe.
- Currently doing an MSc at U of Zurich in virology and prion science/neurodegenerative proteinopathies.
- Not a first time applicant

I have chosen the list below based on multiple factors: I basically made an algorithm that optimizes the choice based on the median MCAT, GPA, Verbal score, weight placed on MCAT vs GPA, tuition, living expenses, percent IS matriculation in class, percent of OOS and int'l applicants matriculated, prereqs and some other specifics (after contacting individual schools). I also chose some top-tiers regardless of probability but considering possibility of admission, just because the profit outweighs the cost. Therefore, if there is ANY school in the entirety of the US that was not included, it was not included for a reason. Please only comment on the ones already on the list.

Case Western Reserve U
Georgetown U
Washington U in St. Louis
Oakland U
Tulane U
George Washington U
Geisel at Dartmouth
Thomas Jefferson U
Brown U
U Penn
U Pittsburgh
Yale
Rosalind Franklin U
Northwestern U
Icahn at Mount Sinai
Tufts U
Emory U
Weill Cornell
Boston U
Albert Einstein
Columbia U
Virginia Commonwealth
Wayne State U
Penn State U
Mayo
NYU
U Utah
U Chicago
Stanford U
Central Michigan U
Michigan State U

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- Wrote old MCAT twice, new one once. First time I only wrote VR because I was applying to one school, which only looks at that. Second time I had a 10PS/10BS/8VR. On MCAT 2015, I have a 132PS/126CARS/131BS/130PSY (519/98th percentile total).

Just to clarify:
MCAT take #1 - 0 PS, 0 BS, X VR (where X is some number >1?)
MCAT take #2 - 10 PS, 10 BS, 8 VR
MCAT take #3 - 132 PS, 131 BS, 126 CARS, 130 PSY -> 15 PS, 14 BS, 9 VR

Is this right?

[edit]
- Not a first time applicant
Where did you apply previously?
 
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Just to clarify:
MCAT take #1 - 0 PS, 0 BS, X VR (where X is some number >1?)
MCAT take #2 - 10 PS, 10 BS, 8 VR
MCAT take #3 - 132 PS, 131 BS, 126 CARS, 130 PSY -> 15 PS, 14 BS, 9 VR

Is this right?

[edit]

Where did you apply previously?
Pretty much yes, idk how cars translates exactly but around 9.5.
I don't really remember which schools I applied to, but mostly some of the low tiers in the list.
 
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Pretty much yes, idk how cars translates exactly but around 9.5.
I don't really remember which schools I applied to, but mostly some of the low tiers in the list.

Do any of the schools on your list only consider your most recent MCAT? Any school that looks at your old MCATs are going to average in those 0's from your first take..
 
Crap, you guys are right. I never actually considered the schools' policies on multiple takes of the MCAT.

Well I mean I was kind of young and stupid, I just thought "let me take it cold, what is the worst that could happen." So I wrote the verbal and got 7. For the other sections I didn't answer anything so I got the minimum grade, 1. So 9 in total.

I will google/contact the schools about their policy, thanks for bringing this up guys! But assuming they take the most recent MCAT, what is your opinion of the list?
 
Crap, you guys are right. I never actually considered the schools' policies on multiple takes of the MCAT.

Well I mean I was kind of young and stupid, I just thought "let me take it cold, what is the worst that could happen." So I wrote the verbal and got 7. For the other sections I didn't answer anything so I got the minimum grade, 1. So 9 in total.

I will google/contact the schools about their policy, thanks for bringing this up guys! But assuming they take the most recent MCAT, what is your opinion of the list?
Even at schools that say they take the highest or most recent, all scores will be visible. Most reviewers will never have seen a score that low. It's very hard to know how it will be interpreted.
Begin by filtering your list for schools that took 3 or fewer internationals (e.g. Stanford, Penn St., Utah...).
 
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Crap, you guys are right. I never actually considered the schools' policies on multiple takes of the MCAT.

Well I mean I was kind of young and stupid, I just thought "let me take it cold, what is the worst that could happen." So I wrote the verbal and got 7. For the other sections I didn't answer anything so I got the minimum grade, 1. So 9 in total.

I will google/contact the schools about their policy, thanks for bringing this up guys! But assuming they take the most recent MCAT, what is your opinion of the list?
You didn't optimize how your ECs compare to the average for the schools. It looks like you're weak on clinical and non-clinical ECs. I think your research would be considered strong for someone taking gap year/coming straight from undergrad, but average for someone working on a science heavy MSc (depending on where you are on those author lists and on the journal impact factors).

(Edit) assuming you took 4 years for undergrad, your first year would be ~3.12? Unless you majored in something non-premed, I remember that at UofT, most of the med school prerequisite courses are taking during the freshman year. Does this mean that you're looking at a bunch of B's and B-'s for your prereqs? ... How many upper level sciences did you take since then?
 
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What were the actual results from the first MCAT?
Very few US screeners are going to be aware of the "Verbal only" requirement in your province.

IS this something that might be worth putting in the "anything else you want us to know" part of the application or is just going to reek of excuse making? Some might still look negatively upon this even if you were to mention it as well.
 
IS this something that might be worth putting in the "anything else you want us to know" part of the application or is just going to reek of excuse making? Some might still look negatively upon this even if you were to mention it as well.
Exactly.
He has to provide some kind of explanation. It's hard to imagine what he could say that would resonate, though.
 
Even at schools that say they take the highest or most recent, all scores will be visible. Most reviewers will never have seen a score that low. It's very hard to know how it will be interpreted.
Filter your list by removing the schools that took 3 or fewer internationals (e.g. Stanford, Penn St., Utah...).

Well I will try to write this somewhere either on my essay on AMCAS or by asking the admission office to add a note to my file. I mean, honestly.. it would probably take pretty intelligent choices to score a 1 on the test because you'd have to get everything wrong, so I don't think they'll assume I'm ridiculously stupid. They also cannot assume I got extremely nervous and skipped a section because verbal comes in the middle of the exam, and I got a 1 on the bracketing sections.

You didn't optimize how your ECs compare to the average for the schools. It looks like you're weak on clinical and non-clinical ECs. I think your research would be considered strong for someone taking gap year/coming straight from undergrad, but average for someone working on a science heavy MSc (depending on where you are on those author lists and on the journal impact factors).

True, but unfortunately, the algorithm is not perfect.. I could not embed ECs because they are hard to quantify. And maybe I should elaborate a little on them so you'd give me a more accurate opinion: the physician shadowing experience was 1100 hours, I also have 40 hours as a nurse assistant, and my current MSc is at a hospital and one of my supervisors is an MD/PhD so I get to observe and take part in some diagnostic procedures. The research experiences are in applied psychology, theoretical quantum chemistry, molecular cardiology, enteroendocrinology, and neuropathology. I don't have many publications now because a lot of them are still under review, but I should have some by the end of the year (impact factors are not certain, but possibly 5 to 32 depending on the paper, almost all of which I am a first author). The community service is average.
 
Well I will try to write this somewhere either on my essay on AMCAS or by asking the admission office to add a note to my file. I mean, honestly.. it would probably take pretty intelligent choices to score a 1 on the test because you'd have to get everything wrong, so I don't think they'll assume I'm ridiculously stupid. They also cannot assume I got extremely nervous and skipped a section because verbal comes in the middle of the exam, and I got a 1 on the bracketing sections.
You may get lucky and have a human screener. Even so, files are electronic now. It's hard to know how or when a staff note might make it into the equation.
 
You may get lucky and have a human screener. Even so, files are electronic now. It's hard to know how or when a staff note might make it into the equation.

Well I mean there isn't much I can do now is there.. beyond asking them to put copious notes or, if they average scores, to make an exception that is. But I will look into the policies, that's for sure.
 
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Well I mean there isn't much I can do now is there.. beyond asking them to put copious notes or, if they average scores, to make an exception that is. But I will look into the policies, that's for sure.
I must emphasize that most reviewers will never have seen something like this. I suggest that your well-crafted explanation figure prominently in your primary. It's the only way to make sure it gets considered.
 
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I know I'm not really offering helpful advice but...why would you write the MCAT just for Mac when you've got a low cGPA...it just isn't a decision that was likely to get rewarded...
 
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Exactly.
He has to provide some kind of explanation. It's hard to imagine what he could say that would resonate, though.

Another way to look at is what would be YOUR first thought if you saw an MCAT history like this and saw that first score? Merely a lack of preparation, or would you suspect there is something going on here that is beyond the usual "I just choked" or "I didnt prepare well?"

One potential issue might be that some might not completely buy the argument "Oh I just took it that way because Canadian schools only look at one section" argument. It might just be looked at as a convenient excuse and the suspicion might still just be he simply choked or did something else that doesnt reflect well upon him. This might even be more true since the second score here isnt US MD caliber either. That raises questions a whole new set of questions.

It's a tough call. In one sense if an explanation has the potential to be looked at as disingenuous, that might not be better than simply having no explanation.
 
It's a tough call. In one sense if an explanation has the potential to be looked at as disingenuous, that might not be better than simply having no explanation.
That score is more than 3 SD's from the norm. It can't just sit there without explanation (even if the explanation may not sit well). Can you just picture OP, sitting there listening to tunes while he passes the time for the other parts of the test?
 
Another way to look at is what would be YOUR first thought if you saw an MCAT history like this and saw that first score? Merely a lack of preparation, or would you suspect there is something going on here that is beyond the usual "I just choked" or "I didnt prepare well?"
I would have suspected petit mal seizures or some other medical explanation.
Even so, I would have expected a voided exam.
 
I would have suspected petit mal seizures or some other medical explanation.
Even so, I would have expected a voided exam.

Really? My first thought seeing that is simply a mental breakdown where the stakes of the exam got to you and some form of a panic attack ensuing. Once things start going bad in a situation like that, even properly filling in bubbles can be problematic. On a test like the MCAT if you arent fully engaged and focused, you just arent going to get questions right. Even the gimme questions require reading multi paragraph long essays and experiments which isnt happening if you start panicking to that level.

Regardless it probably is in their best interest to provide some form of explanation. I just have no idea how I would go about that. The explanation itself isnt might not always help the applicant in the sense that they are in a better position than they would be if the evaluator were just left to speculate. But as much as anything, it just shows awareness of the situation and awareness of what will be perceived as a major blip in your app and discordance. Not even showing awareness that this is a very rare occurrence that really stands out might be another strike on the OP. It could make it seem like just ignoring 2 sections of the MCAT is the type of thing they have no problem nonchalantly doing in general.
 
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I know I'm not really offering helpful advice but...why would you write the MCAT just for Mac when you've got a low cGPA...it just isn't a decision that was likely to get rewarded...

Because I didn't really realize that it could affect my chances of admission in the future. I was quite uninformed in regard to the impact of writing the MCAT multiple times and being a re-applicant. I just thought, I don't expect to get in, but I'll apply anyway since all I'm losing is the money. All in all, very stupid, but oh well.. :smack:


And for the rest of the comments, you're just freaking me out at this point :shifty:
I really don't think they'll think my excuse is no genuine, because Google is right there if they'd like to check the McMaster University admission requirements, and like I said, it couldn't be that I'm stupid enough to score 1, 7 and 1 especially that I scored a 98th percentile later, and it couldn't be that I got nervous or had a medical condition because I didn't void and did relatively well on the subsequent tests.
 
Really? My first thought seeing that is simply a mental breakdown where the stakes of the exam got to you and some form of a panic attack ensuing. Once things start going bad in a situation like that, even properly filling in bubbles can be problematic. On a test like the MCAT if you arent fully engaged and focused, you just arent going to get questions right. Even the gimme questions require reading multi paragraph long essays and experiments which isnt happening if you start panicking to that level.

Regardless it probably is in their best interest to provide some form of explanation. I just have no idea how I would go about that. The explanation itself isnt might not always help the applicant in the sense that they are in a better position than they would be if the evaluator were just left to speculate. But as much as anything, it just shows awareness of the situation and awareness of what will be perceived as a major blip in your app and discordance. Not even showing awareness that this is a very rare occurrence that really stands out might be another strike on the OP.
Even random answers would get a better score than OP so absence seizures are higher on the differential!
 
Even random answers would get a better score than OP so absence seizures are higher on the differential!

Perhaps. Youre in a position where you know better than me the occurrence of students having absence seizures vs total panic attacks on standardized tests. That might actually be a better explanation in this complete hypothetical as to why the test wasnt voided.
 
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Perhaps. Youre in a position where you know better than me the occurrence of students having absence seizures vs total panic attacks on standardized tests. That might actually be a better explanation in this complete hypothetical as to why the test wasnt voided.
I actually can't remember seeing a 1, ever. Even those with single digit totals have at least a 2.
 
Because I didn't really realize that it could affect my chances of admission in the future. I was quite uninformed in regard to the impact of writing the MCAT multiple times and being a re-applicant. I just thought, I don't expect to get in, but I'll apply anyway since all I'm losing is the money. All in all, very stupid, but oh well.. :smack:


And for the rest of the comments, you're just freaking me out at this point :shifty:
I really don't think they'll think my excuse is no genuine, because Google is right there if they'd like to check the McMaster University admission requirements, and like I said, it couldn't be that I'm stupid enough to score 1, 7 and 1 especially that I scored a 98th percentile later, and it couldn't be that I got nervous or had a medical condition because I didn't void and did relatively well on the subsequent tests.
It seems to me that you need to not only address the mcat score itself, but convince adcoms that your judgement and decision making skills have since improved.
 
Guys........ can you please focus on my original question? let's just assume for the sake of this thread that I wrote the MCAT once: the last one (and this is a viable assumption given the number of schools that have a latest- or even a best-score multiple take policy). I WILL look into policies and I WILL comment about this on my essay. But could someone please comment on my choice of schools? Any school they think doesn't belong? Anything too much of a reach?
 
Guys........ can you please focus on my original question? let's just assume for the sake of this thread that I wrote the MCAT once: the last one (and this is a viable assumption given the number of schools that have a latest- or even a best-score multiple take policy). I WILL look into policies and I WILL comment about this on my essay. But could someone please comment on my choice of schools? Any school they think doesn't belong? Anything too much of a reach?
Begin by filtering your list for schools that took 3 or fewer internationals (e.g. Stanford, Penn St., Utah, Tufts...). It's on the "acceptance information" tab in the MSAR.

With regard to the "latest or best policy," even the schools that state this policy have no way of enforcing it at the level of individual evaluators since all scores are visible. The policy is more likely to be the way that they express their central tendency on US Snooze.
 
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Guys........ can you please focus on my original question? let's just assume for the sake of this thread that I wrote the MCAT once: the last one (and this is a viable assumption given the number of schools that have a latest- or even a best-score multiple take policy). I WILL look into policies and I WILL comment about this on my essay. But could someone please comment on my choice of schools? Any school they think doesn't belong? Anything too much of a reach?

Stats:
cGPA at 3.63 (3.8 without first year). Similar sGPA
[ignoring old MCATs, as requested] MCAT 2015, I have a 132PS/126CARS/131BS/130PSY (519/98th percentile total).
GPA: meh.
MCAT: 15 PS, 14 BS, 9 VR = Overall excellent. CARS: meh.

Research:
- Numerous research projects in multiple quite different fields and locations, one publication, 2-3 under review, lots of conferences.
- Few awards here and there for research and academic record.
- Currently doing an MSc at U of Zurich in virology and prion science/neurodegenerative proteinopathies.
-don't have many publications now because a lot of them are still under review, but I should have some by the end of the year (impact factors are not certain, but possibly 5 to 32 depending on the paper, almost all of which I am a first author).
-The research experiences are in applied psychology, theoretical quantum chemistry, molecular cardiology, enteroendocrinology, and neuropathology.
Good to Strong. Depends on the med school reviewing the file, and depends on which of the "under review" papers get accepted between now and AMCAS/secondaries get submitted.

Shadowing:
-the physician shadowing experience was 1100 hours
-observe and take part in some diagnostic procedures.
Good, but why so many hours?! I don't know how to judge (IMO) excessive hours here..

Clinical EC's:
-40 hours as a nurse assistant
Weak

Non-clinical EC's:
-The community service is average
Taking the OP's word for it.

LOR's:
- Great LORs, I believe.
Taking the OP's word for it.

- Not a first time applicant
Schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant, so make sure you figure out which ones you've applied to previously.

Please only comment on the ones already on the list.

Other pertinents: Canadian.

You have one MCAT score that might be good enough for these, but not the accompanying GPA. Your EC's may also be considered weak:
Case Western Reserve U
Washington U in St. Louis
Geisel at Dartmouth
U Penn
U Pittsburgh
Yale
Northwestern U
Icahn at Mount Sinai
Emory U
Weill Cornell
Mayo
NYU
U Chicago
Stanford U
Columbia U
Albert Einstein

Your GPA and one MCAT might be good for these, but your EC's may be considered weak for these:
Oakland U
Virginia Commonwealth
Wayne State U
Michigan State U
Penn State U
George Washington U <- Low yield
Thomas Jefferson U<- Low yield
Rosalind Franklin U<- Low yield
Tulane U<- Low yield
Georgetown U<- Low yield
Tufts U<- Low yield
Boston U<- Low yield

You don't live in the right area code/have the right passport for these:
Brown U
U Utah
Central Michigan U

My conclusion: You need a new/better schools list.
 
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GPA: meh.
MCAT: 15 PS, 14 BS, 9 VR = Overall excellent. CARS: meh.


Good to Strong. Depends on the med school reviewing the file, and depends on which of the "under review" papers get accepted between now and AMCAS/secondaries get submitted.


Good, but why so many hours?! I don't know how to judge (IMO) excessive hours here..


Weak


Taking the OP's word for it.


Taking the OP's word for it.


Schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant, so make sure you figure out which ones you've applied to previously.



Other pertinents: Canadian.

You have one MCAT score that might be good enough for these, but not the accompanying GPA. Your EC's may also be considered weak:
Case Western Reserve U
Washington U in St. Louis
Geisel at Dartmouth
U Penn
U Pittsburgh
Yale
Northwestern U
Icahn at Mount Sinai
Emory U
Weill Cornell
Mayo
NYU
U Chicago
Stanford U
Columbia U
Albert Einstein

Your GPA and one MCAT might be good for these, but your EC's may be considered weak for these:
Oakland U
Virginia Commonwealth
Wayne State U
Michigan State U
Penn State U
George Washington U <- Low yield
Thomas Jefferson U<- Low yield
Rosalind Franklin U<- Low yield
Tulane U<- Low yield
Georgetown U<- Low yield
Tufts U<- Low yield
Boston U<- Low yield

You don't live in the right area code/have the right passport for these:
Brown U
U Utah
Central Michigan U

My conclusion: You need a new/better schools list.


Thank you!! It seems a practical (possibly changeable) common denominator is my weak ECs. How do you suggest I strengthen those, more clinical experience?
 
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