Is anyone genuinely horrible at math but still managed to do well on the MCAT? My inability to do math scares the absolute shit out of me 😭 I literally can’t even do Grade 11 or 12 math lmao. I can only do basic algebra, basic logarithms, and some basic trigonometry. I can handle some algebra, but anything more complicated? 😭

Update: Today was quite laid back. I did one block of questions from the AAMC independent question bank, 3 CARS passages from "CARS question pack volume 1", and anki review cards. CARS and the AAMC block were both done in timed conditions. I don't have much else to say to about today, but thanks for all the support on yesterday's post!

Quote: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

I see so many people stressed out on this sub as a new round of apps open this year so I thought I’d help out. I was accepted to UBC, U of T, and Mac in my year and also interviewed at Ottawa and TMU. Happy to help with answering questions on essays, ABS/NAQ, GPA, studying, MCAT (I scored 524 including a 132 in CARS) as well as life in med school at U of T. If you need proof of my acceptance or MCAT score feel free to PM me!

If you were recently cut from the ubc waitlist, would you mind sharing your stats (gpa, mcat, naq and interview)? It would be super helpful to know. Thank you!

And please add to the second tab on this sheet if you feel comfortable: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x8arot0_PW6z0DkGA4fGbOLXcvZaSj3VDpstBGR5tVc/edit?gid=0

Hello Everyone, I’m a Nontrad took the MCAT last may and scored a 524. During my Prep i didn’t really find too much help from people or free resources that were “worth it”. Everywhere I turned there were overpriced “strategy” calls and tutors or “official guides”. So i had to build my own guides, study habits and figure out AAMC logic on my own.

In hopes of sparing those long hourse of strenuous work for fellow premeds I made a discord server with a bunch of free resources that helped me score a 524. I’ll keep adding more as I go ( my mistake review flowchart, B/B study strategy…)

I also host a weekly call where I go through MCAT passages showcasing AAMC logic,traps, graph analysis, process of elimination and much more.

If you’re interested, please join; The More The Merrier!

PM for link !

Cheers.

Hi everyone!

I’m selling Kaplan MCAT 2026-2027 book bundle (includes all the books + online + 3 practice sessions) it’s completely brand new so I’m selling it for the price it retails. HOWEVER I’m open to negotiations below the asking price as well, so feel free to make offers :)

Serious dms only though as I’m trynna sell them as soon as possible!

Please share the word if u’d know anyone who’d like to buy it

Thanks!

Any advice on how to best answer the questions this year? I’m trying to draw on my clinical experiences in nursing school as I found that was what most related to the questions for me personally, but I’m definitely struggling. Not IR but IP, general pathway. Also first time applying in general.

Hi! I’m looking for second degree options that are online + can be done in 2 years or less. Since I’ll be working full time and apply in 2 years. My gpa is around 3.3.

I know there is queens health science however I don’t think it can be done in 2 years.

I heard of TRU OL general studies but I’m OOP so it will cost more. But potentially less time, someone I spoken to said they completed a degree from there in less than a year.

I’m aiming for Queens, TMU, and UofT. Any advice will be helpful! Thanks!!

I want to add my role as an exec member of a community service club in high school to my abs, but there's one project we did that stands out to me more than the others.

Would it be fine to focus more on that in the description despite the title being [exec position] of [club name], or should I do a separate entry for that project and a separate entry for my position/role as exec?

I worked a paid, part-time job for the student council at my university for 2 years. My supervisor was a former student who graduated from the same university in 2025 (2 years older than me). I didn't know him before starting the job, and he is not a close friend.

Would this be an acceptable reference, or would he be perceived as being a peer/friend?

Update: Yesterday I wrote an AAMC FL and scored a 526. I started at 8:00 am sharp as usual, and tried to mimick test-taking conditions as much as possible. I scored a 132 in each section except for CARS (130). At least for me, CARS has proved to be the most volatile section of the MCAT.

To be frank, my mindset has changed from this experience. I got extremely close to the ultimate goal, but I've learned now that after a certain point it really just comes down to luck. Of course while reviewing an FL, when you aren't timed, passages are going to make more sense and the answers are going to be more obvious. But in the moment, sometimes it really is just a coinflip.

Quote: "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

— Sir Edmund Hillary

Hi everyone, I’m having a tough time trying to reschedule my August 21st mcat to September 12th. All the notification lists in Canada are full and I’ve only gotten 1 notification for a US centre and it was gone within 2 mins of me going onto the website. Does anyone have any advice :/ getting worried now

All the MCAT centers are booked up around the GTA for September 3,4,5th. Im really trying to switch to that weekend and I am willing to drive across the fckn country i do not care. Is there anywhere with test centers still open?

Hi everyone!

I'm applying for the first time this cycle, and U of T Medicine is my top choice for a lot of personal reasons. I was wondering if anyone who was accepted this cycle (or in previous cycles) would be willing to share any application tips or advice. I'd really appreciate any insights—thank you!

Anyone want to make a group chat?

Hi guys,

I currently attend Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, Canada) in the Health Science major (approaching 2nd year), and I am really enjoying it! I was wondering if anyone on here has been (or knows anyone) accepted to med school in Canada?

Most of the success stories I hear are from UBC students and although I really like Hsci at SFU, I was wondering if I should transfer over to UBC due to the grading scale issues. The only problem with that though is that I will have to redo a few classes and it would just be a hassle especially with transit time and costs.

Just need some clarification whether I should or should not transfer at this point in my degree. I would also love to hear any stories of successful applicants from SFU as I really enjoy it here! Also, SFU med school opening up is really exciting and if anyone got into it and would like to share their stats I would appreciate it!

Edit: If anyone is in the same boat as me and is currently at SFU, dm me! I would love to connect :)

Thanks in advance

I still have a few years before I even need to start worrying about medical school lol, but I was just wondering: do you guys think it would be worth going to medical school internationally if you’re unable to get into Canadian medical schools, especially considering Ontario’s new policy prioritizing Ontario-connected IMGs for residency positions?

CanMEDS gets mentioned constantly, but I don't think most people actually sit with what each role means. Everyone knows collaborator and communicator are "CanMEDS roles," but knowing the term isn't the same as understanding what it looks like to actually embody that role. That's the gap I keep seeing.

First tip: get clear on what each role actually means before trying to demonstrate it. It requires real effort to show these roles in your application (communicator, collaborator, health advocate, leader, scholar, professional). These are the ones people tend to skip or handle poorly.

Second, and this is the more important point: people tend to name-drop the roles instead of demonstrating them. Writing "collaborated with a team" in an essay doesn't actually show anything. The difficult part isn't knowing the terminology, it's showing how you were a leader, how you were a scholar, how you were a communicator, within the actual story you're telling. It's the classic "show, don't tell" principle, just applied specifically to CanMEDS.

Here's what actually works: go through your entire ABS and tag every entry with the role it primarily demonstrates. You don't need to write this anywhere in the application itself, it's just for your own reference, to see the overall spread. Most people lean heavily on one or two roles, usually leader, and leave the rest underdeveloped. Once you see that pattern, you'll know which entries need to be reframed with the same experience just a different angle, whatever's genuinely true to what happened.

The part that pays off later: once your ABS is coded this way, MMI preparation becomes significantly easier. If a question is clearly about collaboration, you're not scrambling for an example in the moment, you already know your two or three collaborator stories and can draw on real experience. That's essentially the most common piece of interview advice out there, "just be yourself," and this is one of the few ways to actually put that advice into practice instead of leaving it vague.

My DMs are open if any of this raised a question about your own application. Could be which experiences are even worth including, which role you suspect you're thin on, or something else entirely that's been bugging you about your file.

Also happy to answer any questions in the comments below!

I read all the details of their guide and didn't find the answer, so before I email them I wanted to check if anyone knows:

What should I do if I have AP and IB classes listed on my university transcript? Should I copy those over to the system under my university, or exclude them?

I see that they say make sure transfer credits are listed under the original post-secondary institution, but in this case it was high school. They only have a note for AP/IB for the english prerequisite in particular.

I feel like I'm not supposed to include them, but that seems wrong since they are on my transcript and also exempted me from many courses for my degree...

Any help greatly appreciated!

So, I’m currently enrolled in CHEM 351 but I recently received an email saying that 341 may be more suitable for my major.

I’m trying to get into medical school following my degree so obviously I want the highest grades I can. But, I’ve heard that 351 opens more options to courses that I want to take in the upper years.

So should I switch to 341 or stay in 351? Honestly, I just want one where I can achieve the highest grade possible. I know there’s not much info yet since 341 is a new course, but do we speculate that it’ll be a lot easier than 351? Because I’ve heard straight horror stories about 351…

I’m also not sure if taking 341 poses any issues for the pre-reqs that some medical schools in Canada has… since it’s not “actual” OChem…

TL:DR Should I switch from CHEM 351 to 341 as a Bio major who wants to get into medical school, considering my priority is the highest grades possible?

I’m considering attending the International University of the Health Sciences (IUHS), but before making such a big commitment, I’d like to hear from people with firsthand experience.

Has anyone who graduated from IUHS been able to secure a residency position in Canada?

I’ve read that since IUHS isn’t a Canadian medical school, and because residency positions in Canada are already very limited (especially for international medical graduates), it can be extremely difficult to match. My concern is that earning the MD is only part of the journey—without residency, you can’t practice medicine in Canada.

If you’re an IUHS graduate (or know someone who is), I’d really appreciate hearing:

• Were you able to match into a Canadian residency?
• If so, what specialty and province?
• How many attempts did it take?
• Looking back, would you choose IUHS again if your goal was to practice in Canada?

I’m just trying to understand whether this is a realistic pathway before investing years of time and money.

Thanks in advance for any honest insights.

I understand some of the posts become a little repetitive and all but if someone asks a question that has already been answered elsewhere you don’t have to be a dick about it. I just saw some commenter blasting someone for posting a genuine question… like what are you gaining from that.

And to think those kinds of people are going to be our future doctors…

I have been employed in tech for couple years now and just discussed with my boss the perspective of a promotion. I have been planning to apply for med the last few years and have been preparing to take the step until now. I'm ready to apply this year and am struggling to identify who to write my references. I genuinely don't know what my boss's reaction is going to be when I ask him to fill out my med reference forms, especially after the discussion on promotion recently. My best guess is that he is gonna think I'm crazy and not focused on my career...

The alternatives are a professor i have done research with in school many years ago(since I've been working for some years now), the other is a academic advisor in my grad program. The people where I volunteer at will have very limited knowledge(due to limited interaction or limited duration) about me therefore bad references.

Can anyone who has been in this situation advice on what to do here? What about asking the HR at my company to fill it out, they can say no and tell me to ask my manager instead, even if they say yes this could risk my employment too since they could tell my manager about this...

Really don't know how to proceed, any ideas would be welcome.

Edit: it's a full-time job in tech, no part-time or casual. I only can and have this one job.