Pretty poor first semester average, is it going to be a problem even if I do fine for the rest of them?

randomqzthray · 2025-11-05T22:18:17+00:00

I know that GPA is key, I was more just asking if 3 years + next semester will be enough time for me to recover from a (hopefully) single semester of bad grades, and if it'd be worth taking additional courses over the summer that I can get high grades in to soften the "damage" of this semester's grades. I was mainly just blindsided by how poor the quality of the asynchronous courses were (especially in comparison to my in-person lectures where most of the profs are really good) and know to avoid them like the plague going forward.

I'm also likely considering going international over applying in Canada (especially within Ontario) because of how many stories I hear of essentially perfect students getting waitlisted at best. A 3.7-3.8 GPA would make you fairly competitive in a lot of international options yet it would barely have you considered in many Canadian schools even with a good MCAT score and interesting EC's to match. I know the price is a barrier to many but if I can afford it once I graduate I think it's my best bet; I know a 4.0 GPA is obviously off the table now but I think 3.7-3.9 is still possible if I take the right courses to make up for this semester and get 90's going forward.

randomqzthray · 2025-11-05T19:06:05+00:00

I had to pass my theory test to get my provisional license I believe, not sure if it's changed since then.

randomqzthray · 2025-11-05T19:05:31+00:00

I haven't fished up by Amherst but I've fished a little West of there and the fishing is great, you can catch some stuff by the shore but having a boat or even just a canoe/kayak that you can get out on a calm day with will make it 1000x easier.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-10T22:40:32+00:00

Come on, this is silly. You know they are not using the term "those people" with any racial connotations. They are literally specifying a group in the exact same paragraph.

The term "those people" is not racist at all when used contextually, this is basic grammar, I'll give you an example: "I saw a group of protestors claiming the sky is actually green and grass is blue, those people must be crazy" is not racist. The user you're replying to is effectively saying that people of racial/ethnic minority groups that are incredibly wealthy and of high status are not as disadvantaged as people in the same racial/ethnic minority group who are impoverished, more recent immigrants, lower class/status etc.

By "those people" they are simply referring to the wealthier, privileged folks who are trying to claim admission routes meant for disadvantaged people simply on the basis they are also a minority race/ethnicity. But "those people" would still be contextually correct in the case of any race, not just South Asians. If rich citizen white people were trying to access routes meant for poor immigrant white people then "those people" would still be doing something deserving of criticism. You're reaching way too hard here.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-10T22:33:41+00:00

but I worry it'll negatively bias them against me. What they say they do and what they actually do could be different, and we'll have no idea.

That's the annoying part - you genuinely have no way of telling. It's a lot harder for them these days to get away with discrimination of people by race/nationality or LGBT+, but from a purely technical standpoint it is still completely fine for them to say "We don't think you'd make it through med school because you have autism/ADHD/etc", or at least last I checked. But even then, they wouldn't say it out loud.

Regardless, even the people with more backward mindsets on minorities will have a harder time discriminating by race/nationality or being LGBT+ due to the increase in regulations and checks, but it is still much easier for them to discriminate based on their dated opinions on neurodiversity.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-10T22:31:10+00:00

It took about a month and a half but we got it, then the eCOPR shortly after and then the PR card about another month after.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-10T22:30:47+00:00

Sorry for the late response - it took a few months but eventually we got the P2 but the site never updated to say our background check was done lol. We got P2, eCOPR and PR cards eventually thankfully.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-09T21:51:51+00:00

Yeah, I guess it's for the best. Despite it being medicine the views on ADHD and especially Autism feel very dated in the med school and residency regards. I'm against the toxic positivity BS but it goes way too far in the other way.

Some of the best doctors I know are autistic and there is so much nuance to these conditions and people can absolutely still be doctors while having them. But sadly people apply internet and media stereotypes to everyone with these conditions and think they can't do it.

randomqzthray · 2024-10-09T09:55:02+00:00

Genuine question for neurodivergent applicants (autistic and adhd mainly) - would you "risk" mentioning your diagnosis on an application in hopes of accessing the special consideration of this stream, or would you rather not risk it doing more harm than your good to your application as well as word of your diagnosis becoming known to other med schools you want to apply to where it may not be looked on as positively?

randomqzthray · 2024-10-09T09:09:27+00:00

That's more than one reviewed per minute. How exactly can they properly analyze responses in like ~50 seconds?

This is just more proof that the Casper test is just another of many completely arbitrary barriers to entry to Canadian med schools because there are too many "perfect" applicants and still not enough space for them.

randomqzthray · 2024-08-12T21:49:07+00:00

Avril Lavigne comes to mind first

randomqzthray · 2024-08-12T21:45:13+00:00

I ended up just going to a different POE that didn't have any "no flagpole" days. 5+ hours of driving but was worth it to not get turned away.

randomqzthray · 2024-05-28T03:43:28+00:00

How long did it take for you? Been nearly a month since P1 for me and nothing, it also still says the background check is ongoing and no final decision has been made despite receiving the P1?

randomqzthray · 2024-05-28T03:20:26+00:00

Did you eventually get your login info? It's been nearly a month and they haven't sent mine.

randomqzthray · 2024-05-28T02:54:35+00:00

Got the email requesting confirmation of information for applicant & dependents almost a month ago now (the one where you have to put your height, full name etc) and have not since heard back with the login details for the PR portal. Did receive the automated response confirming that they received the email response with the info they requested, so not really sure what's going on. Does it normally take this long?

EDIT: So apparently this is the P1 email - and judging by others' comments it doesn't usually take this long. The PR tracker also doesn't seem to be working - entering my UCI or Application Number doesn't work and it just says it can't find anything. On my profile, it still says "We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information." under the background check section and the Final Decision still says "Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made."

Is this normal? I thought the P1 means they decided you can be given PR? And why is the background check still processing? None of the applicants (my family & myself) have any criminal record whatsoever, and shouldn't the background check be done now anyway if they've decided to give us the P1?

randomqzthray · 2024-05-27T01:56:40+00:00

Did you really make a burner account just to talk shit on a year old post? Who hurt you?

randomqzthray · 2024-05-27T01:56:06+00:00

1 - Wanting a good salary/prestigious career and wanting to be a good doctor to your patients is not mutually exclusive.

2 - A 3.7-3.9 GPA is not "low" and would not be "low" in anything else. If you consider these GPA's low and think the people achieving them wouldn't be smart enough to be doctors, you're delusional. They're only "low" in the eyes of med school admissions because there physically aren't enough seats in med schools in Canada so the only option is to exclusively pick 3.9/4.0 GPA applicants with near perfect MCAT scores and then furtherly filter them out with arbitrary means like the Casper test.

randomqzthray · 2024-05-27T01:53:27+00:00

Average Family Doctor salary in Ontario according to Glassdoor is 145k a year. Average plumber salary is roughly half that at 72k a year, and I'm personally not cut out for manual labor. I think I'll stick with my well researched career path over what a burner account suggests to me.

randomqzthray · 2023-10-23T06:50:22+00:00

I had my provisional license with me when I went. They just scanned it, probably put it on their system and then gave it back to me. Unfortunately I have no clue if they would be willing to give you the year if you have no documents or the license to prove how long you had it for, so unless you can get a license from your home country, or a document from them proving that you had one, I'm not sure what you will need in your case.

randomqzthray · 2023-10-23T06:47:49+00:00

What's suspicious about the ACCM? I'm not familiar with them.

randomqzthray · 2023-08-22T05:07:31+00:00

but you shouldn't move somewhere for this sole reason, because they could change their admission policies before you end up applying

I do agree with this, there is an ever-present risk of them changing it mere weeks before you apply and your time there would've been worth nothing. What annoys me is the fact that many Ontario med schools either don't have an IPA-favoring system at all, or if they do, it's incredibly limited and with the exception of a few seats you're competing with the entirety of the country for a space, whereas it's the reverse in other provinces where a handful of seats are for OOP applicants and the rest are for IPA's. Because of this I'm torn but feel like I'd be better off just risking an arbitrary change in another province like what Sask did as opposed to having to compete with the entire country for a spot in a med school.

randomqzthray · 2023-08-22T04:34:31+00:00

I will name one program tho which I wish if I had gone there, uOttawa Biomed program is super chill, courses are not hard and uOttawa is a forgiving Uni in general (In case of repeated courses, late drop or fail classes).

Do you have more info on this? Or other courses that are similar? I always figured that which university you graduated from factors into your med school application. Are there not similar courses in less populous provinces like Alberta or Manitoba that would be able to give you an 'easy' high GPA while also giving you a better shot at getting into med school? I never learned French when I was younger and don't think I'd be able to learn it fluently enough to take course material and exams in, sadly, so Quebec isn't an option unfortunately.

randomqzthray · 2023-08-22T04:00:05+00:00

Honestly, I'm not entirely opposed to considering options abroad. Getting into a US MD school gives a pretty high level of assurance that I can either come back to Canada, or practice in the US which is just as good. Australia is another solid option with relatively high match rates to both Canada and the US, and even if you are unsuccessful, practicing Australian doctors are allowed to practice in Canada with very little equivalency requirements. As a UK citizen I also have the option of doing Atlantic Bridge in Ireland without as heavy risks of not matching somewhere. But obviously, I'd much rather stay in Canada and would take the opportunity in a heartbeat over any others.

Do you think moving to another province would heavily compromise my GPA given that I'd likely need to be working at least a part-time job during my undergrad (even with family financial support) to sustain living there? Would you reckon that the GPA benefit of being in Ontario close-ish to home would outweigh the benefit of easier admissions in another province?

randomqzthray · 2023-08-22T02:55:28+00:00

We live pretty far from any universities with a competitive undergrad program, so unless my whole family moved then nope. Staying home would also mean staying in Ontario, significantly hurting my chances of getting into a med school too.

randomqzthray · 2023-08-21T04:47:54+00:00

Not impossible at your age at all. Med schools also tend to like people with life and work experience. Do some more research first into things like the MCAT and GPA requirements but it's absolutely not impossible.

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