OMSAS GPA American degree

[MDToBe1989]

Has anyone applied to Ontario medical schools with a US degree? I graduated with a 3.55/4.0 and OMSAS is converting this to a 3.1 on their "fair" scale. Does anyone have any experience in this area. This makes zero sense as this conversion is not anywhere near being accurate and effectively takes me out of the running. Is this some weird agenda to keep undergrads in Canada (I know, paranoia, I'm not that special, etc.)? Has anyone had any success with this? Replies eagerly awaited! Thanks 🙂

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[KnightDoc]

Has anyone applied to Ontario medical schools with a US degree? I graduated with a 3.55/4.0 and OMSAS is converting this to a 3.1 on their "fair" scale. Does anyone have any experience in this area. This makes zero sense as this conversion is not anywhere near being accurate and effectively takes me out of the running. Is this some weird agenda to keep undergrads in Canada (I know, paranoia, I'm not that special, etc.)? Has anyone had any success with this? Replies eagerly awaited! Thanks 🙂

Maybe they are retaliating because their dollar is only worth 75 cents by making your 3.55 worth 3.1! 😎

Are you American or Canadian? If American, why are you looking to Ontario for med school? If Canadian, why do UG in the US if you wanted to return to Canada for med school?

The only way to really know is to ask them. It's very possible that they are adjusting for widespread and well known grade inflation in the US, if the same isn't happening in Canada, in order to not give you an unfair advantage over your counterparts from Canadian schools. And sure, while I have zero first hand knowledge, it only makes sense that they would set up a system that would advantage their home grown UGs. American schools do exactly the same thing.

 

[MDToBe1989]

Maybe I should've given more background info LOL. I am a Canadian permanent resident who had no idea I would be moving to Canada when I was studying in the US. I'm an immigrant to it just happened to turn out this way. Also, while it's their prerogative who they favor or don't favor, plenty of Canadian students attend medical school in the US and if they have permanent residence they're not subjected to this kind of protectionism I'm seeing here. A permanent resident is a permanent resident. I can't even get a WES evaluation like people coming coming from outside North America can because American schools are "exempt" so if they are trying to keep places in their programs for students educated in Canada why allow foreigners from continents away to convert their grades to the Canadian system but put hurdles in place for students educated just across the border?

Also what well known US grade inflation are you talking about, and well known by whom? There are thousands of 4 year colleges and universities in the US so I'm not sure how you can paint them all with the same brush so confidently? McMaster is one Canadian school I've read about that allegedly has grade inflation going on, but I haven't seen proof of that outside rumors and stories so I can't go around saying they inflate grades like it's a known fact. Anyway, thank you for your insight. I'll reach out to them and see if I can get anywhere with them. If what you're saying is true, I think it's pretty messed up. I pay taxes in my province just like anyone else and I am here legally and on a permanent basis just like many Canadians reaping the benefits of being legal residents in the US. But Canadian bureaucracy never fails to amaze so we'll see.

 

[KnightDoc]

Maybe I should've given more background info LOL. I am a Canadian permanent resident who had no idea I would be moving to Canada when I was studying in the US. I'm an immigrant to it just happened to turn out this way. Also, while it's their prerogative who they favor or don't favor, plenty of Canadian students attend medical school in the US and if they have permanent residence they're not subjected to this kind of protectionism I'm seeing here. A permanent resident is a permanent resident. I can't even get a WES evaluation like people coming coming from outside North America can because American schools are "exempt" so if they are trying to keep places in their programs for students educated in Canada why allow foreigners from continents away to convert their grades to the Canadian system but put hurdles in place for students educated just across the border?

Also what well known US grade inflation are you talking about, and well known by whom? There are thousands of 4 year colleges and universities in the US so I'm not sure how you can paint them all with the same brush so confidently? McMaster is one Canadian school I've read about that allegedly has grade inflation going on, but I haven't seen proof of that outside rumors and stories so I can't go around saying they inflate grades like it's a known fact. Anyway, thank you for your insight. I'll reach out to them and see if I can get anywhere with them. If what you're saying is true, I think it's pretty messed up. I pay taxes in my province just like anyone else and I am here legally and on a permanent basis just like many Canadians reaping the benefits of being legal residents in the US. But Canadian bureaucracy never fails to amaze so we'll see.

Good luck! I don't know anything about how Canadian schools work, so I don't know how or why they did the grade conversion -- that's what you need to find out. As far as US schools go, you are correct about permanent residents being treated the same as citizens, but that is because they attend American UGs.

American schools also have a bias against students from foreign UGs, due to their not accepting foreign transcripts. I don't know whether Canadian schools are an exception to this. Your GPA conversion is not because you are a permanent resident -- it's because they are devaluing your US grades. You need to find out why.

 

[MDToBe1989]

Good luck! I don't know anything about how Canadian schools work, so I don't know how or why they did the grade conversion -- that's what you need to find out. As far as US schools go, you are correct about permanent residents being treated the same as citizens, but that is because they attend American UGs.

American schools also have a bias against students from foreign UGs, due to their not accepting foreign transcripts. I don't know whether Canadian schools are an exception to this. Your GPA conversion is not because you are a permanent resident -- it's because they are devaluing your US grades. You need to find out why.

Thanks for your input! I'm going to need all the luck I can get. All the best to you as well 🙂

 

[Hermes.]

Has anyone applied to Ontario medical schools with a US degree? I graduated with a 3.55/4.0 and OMSAS is converting this to a 3.1 on their "fair" scale. Does anyone have any experience in this area. This makes zero sense as this conversion is not anywhere near being accurate and effectively takes me out of the running. Is this some weird agenda to keep undergrads in Canada (I know, paranoia, I'm not that special, etc.)? Has anyone had any success with this? Replies eagerly awaited! Thanks 🙂

I don't want to be rude OP, but even a 3.55 won't get you past the first round of automated rejections in Ontario, unless you're Indigenous, in which case you wouldn't be a PR. Either way, look at the OMSAS conversion tables and plead your case.

 

[MDToBe1989]

T

I don't want to be rude OP, but even a 3.55 won't get you past the first round of automated rejections in Ontario, unless you're Indigenous, in which case you wouldn't be a PR. Either way, look at the OMSAS conversion tables and plead your case.

Thanks for your candid response, Hermes. My understanding is that most universities in Canada use a weighted rather than raw GPA? This is my raw GPA and does not take into account allowances for dropped grades or does this not matter? In addition, U of T has a 3.0 minimum for people with graduate degrees is my understanding. Thanks 🙂

 

[MDToBe1989]

I don't want to be rude OP, but even a 3.55 won't get you past the first round of automated rejections in Ontario, unless you're Indigenous, in which case you wouldn't be a PR. Either way, look at the OMSAS conversion tables and plead your case.

Also Ontario isn't my first choice because I live in Manitoba, just trying not to put all my eggs in one basket.

 

[coramDeo]

Maybe they are retaliating because their dollar is only worth 75 cents by making your 3.55 worth 3.1! 😎

As a Canadian who's recently moved down south, this is relatable and painful in so many ways.

Back to the question, I believe such discrepancies happen because many Canadian schools use +/- in grades. So I believe in Ontario (might be wrong as I didn't go to an Ontario school) A+ is worth 4 grade points where A's are 3.9 points? In the states an A will give you 4 grade points. So if your 3.5 is composed of bunch of A's with B-'s,C+'s and so on (as opposed to bunch of A-'s and B+'s), the OMSAS GPA will be lower.

 

[Hermes.]

T



Thanks for your candid response, Hermes. My understanding is that most universities in Canada use a weighted rather than raw GPA? This is my raw GPA and does not take into account allowances for dropped grades or does this not matter? In addition, U of T has a 3.0 minimum for people with graduate degrees is my understanding. Thanks 🙂

I didn't know you had a grad degree. It does help, so good luck! Also, if this is any consolation, depending on what your MCAT is, you might have an guaranteed interview at Manitoba being IP and a 3.55 gpa!

 

[MDToBe1989]

I didn't know you had a grad degree. It does help, so good luck! Also, if this is any consolation, depending on what your MCAT is, you might have an guaranteed interview at Manitoba being IP and a 3.55 gpa!

Thanks for the encouragement. Maybe I need to start adding more detail to my posts so people get the whole story! 🙂

 

[MDToBe1989]

As a Canadian who's recently moved down south, this is relatable and painful in so many ways.

Back to the question, I believe such discrepancies happen because many Canadian schools use +/- in grades. So I believe in Ontario (might be wrong as I didn't go to an Ontario school) A+ is worth 4 grade points where A's are 3.9 points? In the states an A will give you 4 grade points. So if your 3.5 is composed of bunch of A's with B-'s,C+'s and so on (as opposed to bunch of A-'s and B+'s), the OMSAS GPA will be lower.

Are you having your transcript "translated" so to speak?