I'm in my last year of undergrad!?? WHAT'S NEXT?? *panic mode: ON*

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angeeya

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Heyy guys, this is my first post here on SDN~ I can really use some suggestion right now... Thank you in advance!!!

I'm doing pathology + human biology double major in Canada, and have a cGPA of around 3.5, and I got my MCAT back recently (B9 P9 V8) and realized that I don't stand much chance for med school :cry: (no chance at ALL in Canadian meds, and I think a little too late for this round of rotation for American meds), so guys, please help me figure out what's happening next!!

I have quite a bit of volunteering experience ever since grade 11, I've been executives for clubs, and I've done research for two summers (only to find that research is not my thing).. with so much extracurricular activities, I kinda don't want to waste it all and just give up on med---so I'm thinking about doing D.O school, whose application deadline is a bit later and the requirement not as strict.

HOWEVER, some people have been warning me about the degree difference of DO and MD, so I'm still struggling inside whether I should take the time to do MCAT again the coming spring and boost my GPA for the final year, and then apply early in the next rotation for american/canadian MD instead. -->should I apply for DO now? should I wait a year for MD?

Another thing about applying next year is that I feel really insecure about leaving school and just waiting for offers... so should I take on a job meanwhile (even though I really doubt I could find anything except for research assistant with an undergrad degree), or should I start a master's program while doing all the preparations? if so, could anyone suggest a NON-RESEARCH master's program that's good for pre-med (except for public health)??

I feel that if you're in science and have no chance for med (for the time being at least), and you happen to hate research---THEN YOU'RE SCREWED!! The idea of being a physiotherapist/pharmacist/dentist/optometrist doesn't really appeal either.... my backup profession is to be a biomedical illustrator--but that's another story.

Ahh sorry I realize I'm talking non-stop... but please give me some advice!!

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I don't want to give advice about exactly what you should do just because your canadian and I'm not, so I know that there can be some differences. If you aren't trying to get into an extremely competitive residency and just want to do primary care and be the regular family medicine doctor then DO seems perfectly acceptable in your case (in the US at least). It's when you want to do neurosurgery/dermatology, heavy research, or want a prestigious title is where it can be a problem.

But from an american standpoint, it is difficult to get into US medical schools when you don't have US citizenship. I think it is well known that as a foreign applicant you need to have a better than average application and since the US average allopathic is 3.6/31 you will want a 3.7+ 32+ to be competitive. Your gpa is below that and so you really need an mcat to be higher than average to compensate. So study very hard for the MCAT so you can dominate it.
 
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