What to do? Low first year. Canadian getting into Medical School?

[sandprince]

Hi! I am currently in my 4th year of undergrad in Bio Sciences, attending a university in Alberta. As I'm reaching the end of my undergrad studies, I am trying to weigh my options of what I should do. My GPA is in an upward trend from my first year which was quite poor:

Year 1: 3.0
Year 2: 3.77
Year 3: 3.85
Year 4: In progress

I wrote my MCAT last summer and unfortunately due to poor test taking skills I ended with a 509, with my CARS score weighing me down as I landed a score much lower than what I was consistently scoring in my practice. I am open to applying to both Canadian and American med schools; this year I applied to the two medical schools in Alberta, putting in my application that I am planning on graduating in June.

My ECs are pretty good, but could be improved upon. I am currently trying to figure out the best options for me to be able to land a spot at a medical school, preferably in Canada (I am not considering the Caribbean). Currently I'm thinking about:

1. Doing a Masters
2. Cancelling application for graduation, pursuing a minor maybe to improve cGPA (for American medical schools)
3. Focussing on ECs and rewritting my MCAT (Honestly do not want to rewrite, but considering my low CARS if thats the only option I might have to).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

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[Meeehai]

Not familiar with the new MCAT scoring but isn't that a decent score? Equivalent to an old 32ish? I would just apply broadly with those stats if your 4th year GPA remains in the 3.8+ region.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

premed101.com is the SDN equivalent for Canadians, you won't find many people here who know about Canadian schools, but they can still advise you about applying as an international student to US schools.

I'm one of the few Canadian users though, so here's my take. Your best chances are obviously UofA and UofC, and lucky for you UofC drops your worst year if you're been full-time throughout. The average GPA for successful applicants a couple years ago (couldn't find this year) was around 3.8 so if you continue to improve this year you'd be right on track. MCAT was 10 across the board which I think is a bit higher than a 509 but you'll have to do the conversion.
All that is to say that especially if you're willing to spend another year in undergrad, and possibly retake the MCAT if your CARS is too low as you said, you could definitely be competitive there. UofA might be a bit harder because they don't drop anything, and OOP schools would be pretty tough with your stats unless you really nail this year and apply to the schools that only look at your most recent years. For the schools that do this you'd definitely want to be >3.85 as an OOP applicant.

Also remember that the average successful Canadian applicant takes several cycles to get in, so if you're dedicated to making it happen and are patient, you should have a decent chance. There are plenty of people who don't do well their first year and still make it happen, but you have to keep improving your GPA and make sure your ECs are strong. A Master's is nice, but your GPA is much more important, so make sure your GPA is as competitive as possible before considering doing a Master's.

 

[gyngyn]

Only 57 US MD schools will accept applications from internationals. Most of them matriculate 3 or less.
The median MCAT for a successful international is 33.6 (about 515).
When you are ready to apply, buy the MSAR and look for schools that matriculated more than 3 and have a median MCAT close to 30, if that is your only MCAT score.
Master's degrees have little effect on an MD application.

 

[sandprince]

premed101.com is the SDN equivalent for Canadians, you won't find many people here who know about Canadian schools, but they can still advise you about applying as an international student to US schools.

I'm one of the few Canadian users though, so here's my take. Your best chances are obviously UofA and UofC, and lucky for you UofC drops your worst year if you're been full-time throughout. The average GPA for successful applicants a couple years ago (couldn't find this year) was around 3.8 so if you continue to improve this year you'd be right on track. MCAT was 10 across the board which I think is a bit higher than a 509 but you'll have to do the conversion.
All that is to say that especially if you're willing to spend another year in undergrad, and possibly retake the MCAT if your CARS is too low as you said, you could definitely be competitive there. UofA might be a bit harder because they don't drop anything, and OOP schools would be pretty tough with your stats unless you really nail this year and apply to the schools that only look at your most recent years. For the schools that do this you'd definitely want to be >3.85 as an OOP applicant.

Also remember that the average successful Canadian applicant takes several cycles to get in, so if you're dedicated to making it happen and are patient, you should have a decent chance. There are plenty of people who don't do well their first year and still make it happen, but you have to keep improving your GPA and make sure your ECs are strong. A Master's is nice, but your GPA is much more important, so make sure your GPA is as competitive as possible before considering doing a Master's.

Thanks, would you happen to have advice on the best way to improve my GPA after this year? Would it be best to cancel my graduation plans, and perhaps pursue a minor? Or apply for open studies post graduation and take a few courses to get my GPA up to where it needs to be?

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Thanks, would you happen to have advice on the best way to improve my GPA after this year? Would it be best to cancel my graduation plans, and perhaps pursue a minor? Or apply for open studies post graduation and take a few courses to get my GPA up to where it needs to be?

Look at the schools you'll have the best shot at and see how they calculate GPA. For most of them all that should matter is that you're full-time, whether that means starting a new degree after graduation or taking more classes delaying graduation. Just make sure that you also look at their course level requirements. If you start anew you can get away with taking 1st year courses making it easier to get a high GPA, but obviously with the drawback of having to continue if you don't get in. If not, you'll probably have to take mostly 3rd/4th year courses for that year to count. Again, these policies can change on a school-to-school basis so do your research.