Hi everyone,

Long time reader but never posted anything before. I figured it was time to finally get some opinion on my own personal situation.

Basic stats: Canadian, 3.0 GPA (Immunology major, Biochemistry minor), 30T MCAT (with a 6 in physical sciences), lots of national awards and volunteering, 5 years of student research and physician shadowing lined up for this summer.

Because my MCAT wasn't consistent in all sections, I'm planning to re-sit the MCAT in June or July. Also trying to get the GPA up as high as possible.

I can graduate by December 2008 or at latest, June 2009. SGU has said I'm a competitive candidate, esp with my portfolio while Queensland won't process my application until after a new MCAT score arrives (because 6 doesn't meet their requirement). I'm likely not competitive for Canadian or US schools, although getting in somewhere in North America would be aweeesomeeee.

Ideally, I want to practice in Canada as soon as possible, but I'm willing to practice in the US or anywhere else as long as it takes before I can come back.

What do you all think? Just go to SGU? Rewrite my MCAT and apply to UQ (when it could already be full?) or just rewrite my MCAT and see how American schools say? (I'm alright with financing my education as a non-American citizen)

Sorry for the blab! Thanks for all your input! (sorry for posting in more than one thread)

Your GPA is really not good enough for a Canadian school, but you know that already. Do you have any "inside pull" for a Canadian school (i.e. are you sleeping with anyone on an admissions comittee)? If so, then you might give them a try.

I'm not sure about US schools (because my MCAT was too old by the time I started to think outside of Canada so I didn't even try the US route, beyond a few initial inquiries), but you might have a small chance there. Their requirements are generally a little easier than Canadian schools.

IMO, the order you should be looking at outside of Canada is US, Commonwealth (UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ), and then Caribbean. Liscensing is much easier if you went to med school in Australia.
No one can tell you what to do. It all depends on your priorities. If time is a factor, then apply to Carib schools, and you'll probably get in. But you haven't graduated yet, so you've still got some time. Check out the Australian forums and see what the hoops are and when the application deadlines are. With your (mostly) decent MCAT, you should be able to bone up on your Physics and Chem and get a better score. If you want to reduce the frustration and hoops you have to jump through to go back to Canada and practice, then waiting, rewriting your MCAT and trying to get in in the US or Australia is probably a better option.

Good luck on your journey. Trust your instincts.

Tenor why do you consider Australian or UK/Irish med schools more favourable than Caribbean (SGU, ROSS, Saba) when coming back to Canada pre or post-residency?

I remember reading somewhere that graduates from certain countries (US, UK, AUS, SA) were more acceptable than other MDs. Now, I can't remember where I read that. Perhaps on the Royal College website. I'll try and find it...

__________________
Suffering is optional.

I read this on wwww.atlanticbridge.com

The irish universities registered in this program are allowed in the first round of CaRMs in canada.

But only the RCSI (royal college of surgeons in ireland) has a graduate entry program. Most have a highschool entry program.

and the fees there are extremely expensive the 4 cheaper universities cost 27,000 pounds a year. and RCSI costs 42,000 pounds a year.

And this is ONLY the tuition fee. Books are also not included.

The living expenses in ireland are also fairly high.

Good Luck

Oz is only a bit cheaper; Bond university has a total tuition of a quarter-million for Internationals; the cheapest is somewhere around a sixteen-hundred. If you add the living expenses of Australia (Sydney especially), you're right wanked if you want to get through med school without a debt and a half.