Looking for encouragement/advice

[CanadianRN]

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So, I just realized that American medical schools consider your GPA from community college... This is not the case in Canada for most medical schools. This has a devastating blow on my cGPA, moving it from >3.7 to 3.37!!! As a Canadian, I would have a better shot at mid/high tier schools as they tend to accept more internationals. As a result, very few of the schools that I have been looking at have cGPA's this low in their bottom 10th percentile. I literally went from average accepted GPA to out of the ball park... My BCMP also dropped because of a couple of human anatomy and physiology courses that I took in community college. I'm feeling very discouraged. Here is a breakdown of my education:

Total cGPA: 3.37
BCMP: 3.5

Community College cGPA: 3.11 (these grades are 10 years old!!!)
University cGPA (1st degree): 3.37 (also old)
University cGPA (2nd degree): >3.9
Graduate GPA (MA): 3.88
Post-bac (all the science pre-requisites): >3.9

Rewriting MCAT this August. Do any international/non-traditional successful applicants have any advice/words of encouragement? My life experience is a very strong part of my application, and I believe that I will do well on the MCAT in August. I scored a 29 without any physics of Ochem last year and I have now completed these courses. Will I get auto-screened out of a lot of MD schools?

Only serious responses please, and no discouragement. I am well aware of my own weaknesses/failures.

Thank you!

 

[petyr_baelish]

Apply broadly to MD/DO who allow international applications. Looking at your grades, there is a strong upward trend. As long as a human is looking at your grades, all is well.

 

[CanadianRN]

Just as an update for any Canadian applicant who might read this thread years down the road. AMCAS verified my transcripts today and it turns out that they do not include CEGEP GPA in their calculation. It made all the difference in my application. My application is MUCH stronger this way and it has drastically changed the number of schools that I will apply to. Made my day!

 

[jayceee]

With a 2nd degree GPA of 3.9, did you apply to the Canadian schools that only look at grades from your second degree? Queens, for example.

 

[CanadianRN]

Yes, I will be applying to a few Canadian schools this year. Queens is at the top of my list in Canada, but it will depend on what my MCAT score is. However, I think I would be equally happy to go to medical school in the U.S. Thanks for asking.