What are my chances?

[Gala10802]

First of all, thank you in advance to whoever responds. Im basically thinking about this everyday and I have no idea who to ask for guidance in this situation.

Im taking my MCAT this upcoming summer, and preparing relentlessly to get the best possible score. My current GPA is 3.50/4.3 (So around 3.45/4.0). I started off horribly in my BSc major in Biology, with first 3 semesters having around a 3.0 GPA. Then I picked it up to the point where I have a cGPA of 4.2 during the last year and half. I have learned to study efficiently and am a completely new person when it comes to my education. Medicine was always a passion, but only two years ago did I fully put myself into the pursuit. Im graduating by the end of this semester, and am not sure whether I should do another year of bachelors in Psychology or to just boost my EC's (which have been great by the way). I know Canadian schools are out of the option due to my poor scores so how do I stand for US D.O schools and in what direction should I proceed? Money isn't an issue, so my decisions aren't based on it. Im currently doing 7 classes, just in order to prove to myself that I'm ready for this challenge, and so far it seems like I am since my recent success isn't a matter of luck but rather just hard work.


Other questions;
1. If I was to score average in my first MCAT attempt, would a repeat be looked down upon by US schools?
2. In my fifth semester, I took 4 classes rather than a full course load of 5 classes. Would that disqualify me from many schools?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[FlameBroiledDoc]

You probably need to post this to a different part of the forum. The questions here tend to be more about school and licensing issues for Canadians studying elsewhere, or grads from elsewhere looking at Canadian schools.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Do your research-a few Canadians schools will drop your lowest year or a few credits if you've always taken a full course load/have already graduated.

 

[mashmetoo]

First of all, thank you in advance to whoever responds. Im basically thinking about this everyday and I have no idea who to ask for guidance in this situation.

Im taking my MCAT this upcoming summer, and preparing relentlessly to get the best possible score. My current GPA is 3.50/4.3 (So around 3.45/4.0). I started off horribly in my BSc major in Biology, with first 3 semesters having around a 3.0 GPA. Then I picked it up to the point where I have a cGPA of 4.2 during the last year and half. I have learned to study efficiently and am a completely new person when it comes to my education. Medicine was always a passion, but only two years ago did I fully put myself into the pursuit. Im graduating by the end of this semester, and am not sure whether I should do another year of bachelors in Psychology or to just boost my EC's (which have been great by the way). I know Canadian schools are out of the option due to my poor scores so how do I stand for US D.O schools and in what direction should I proceed? Money isn't an issue, so my decisions aren't based on it. Im currently doing 7 classes, just in order to prove to myself that I'm ready for this challenge, and so far it seems like I am since my recent success isn't a matter of luck but rather just hard work.


Other questions;
1. If I was to score average in my first MCAT attempt, would a repeat be looked down upon by US schools?
2. In my fifth semester, I took 4 classes rather than a full course load of 5 classes. Would that disqualify me from many schools?

Under the circumstances, DO school is a perfectly viable option for you. It'll be the path of least resistance. With your current scores, and assuming you do decent on the MCAT, you should be able to secure a seat somewhere.
But, before looking to the US, try out the various marking schemes for some of the other Canadian schools to see if your gpa will significantly increase due to various weighing formulas (However, I suspect any changes in your GPA will not be enough to meet most cutoffs).

General rule of thumb - you are allowed 3 MCAT tries before being looked down upon in the US.
Schools won't care how many courses you took each semester, I finished undergrad as a part-time student, and got into med school.

Lastly, if you haven't already, check out my thread via my signature below. It deals exactly with this type of situation. G'luck.