Application Cycle One: 2008

• Undergraduate college: McGill University
• Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences

• Total MCAT SCORE: 517
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 129, CARS 127   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.80
• Science GPA: 3.30

Summary of Application Experience

Note: The date of most primaries for the AMCAS schools was when my AMCAS application was deemed complete. I submitted it much earlier in order to have that on my side since my stats (mainly the GPA) are not too strong. I don't remember exactly when I submitted it but it must have been end of May or within the first week of June. Ditto for the TMDSAS; I was verified in the first batch on June 11th, but I submitted it midway through May or so.

I was on top of sending my primaries at the earliest date possible, but that motivation waned, partly because I had a family situation crop up over the summer and I was overseas for a good month, but even then it was not impossible to have those secondaries a month or more earlier, especially since it really does pay off in this process to be as early as possible.

The main reason I made one of these despite not being a very cyber-public person, is that I faced a lot of discouragement since, understandibly, the first thing people would see was my GPA. I wanted to post the details to the best of my knowledge, so that others can see it is not about the GPA if everything else - including your honest drive to be a doctor - is in order.

Another lesson, however, which is less changeable and unfortunately still the truth, is that your residency plays a very large role, and I was fortunate to be a resident of a state with eight (and growing!) medical schools, a state that has a strong in-state preference and a state I am happy to serve.

This process isn't over for me yet, but it is a relief to know I have already an acceptance at a school that I am very excited to enroll in for the class of 2013.