For some, the most daunting thing about starting a new school year is which colour notebook should be designated to which course. Green for Biology, red for English and blue for Math. For countless anxious pre-med students however, this time of year means having what feels like the fate of your future be decided in one email. We all know that medical school is tough to get into but is it tough for the same reasons that we think?
With medical school admission averages in Ontario only increasing with each year it’s no secret that academics play a significant role in the deciding process. Currently, across Ontario schools the expected cumulative GPA sits just above 3.8 according to Macleans’s but GPAs upwards of 3.9 are being considered competitive.
On the surface, the cost for applying to medical school is at par with nearly every other type of professional school but an additional cost that is not always considered is that of the MCAT (Did chills just run down your spine hearing that word? Us too). Most pre-med students know that the MCAT is the Medical College Admissions Test which, other than one’s GPA, is the principal determinant of whether or not an applicant makes it into medical school.
While the typical Kaplan Test Prep book can be bought for just over $200, test prep companies often charge more than $2,000 for their standard general MCAT prep courses. The answer may seem simple: ditch the course and do the heavy lifting yourself with the book. However, with acceptance rates across Canada averaging 11.2% (assuming the applicant is from Ontario and applying to every single school), most students take advantage of all the resources they can get.
While the students who don’t purchase prep courses still have a shot, they are put at a significant disadvantage and often must retake the test to get a higher score and remain competitive. Retaking the test comes with a price tag of $185 each go. And with the recommended study period being 3 months with 20 hours of dedicated study per week, lower income students (and middle class students for that matter) will find themselves having to choose between studying and making enough money to survive.
All things considered, getting into medical school isn’t as simple as acing that Organic Chemistry final.
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