Thinking About a Second Undergraduate Degree?

[nhafezi]

For those of you doing a second degree online, 

 

I am currently doing my second degree in Psychology (honours) at Athabasca U (after getting abysmal marks in my first degree at U of T), and I was wondering if anyone knows how your course end dates show up on your transcript? I am aiming to get my full course load in between Sept-April, which requires me to finish my first semester exams in December, but will that show on my transcript? By starting a course in September you have a 6-month course contract date which in this case goes until the end of February which would present a challenge for me when enrolling now in my second semester courses beginning Jan 1 (they'll have course contract dates until the end of June). I just want to make sure that as long as I write my finals in April this will not present a problem for me when applying. 

 

On a happier note, after finishing my first semester I've got a pretty strong 4.13 GPA (out of 4.3) while working full-time at a clinic! Hopefully this'll do it, fingers crossed!!

[xiaoyy]

I'm also doing a 2nd UG after graduating from UofT with GPA below 3

 

It's nice to know that I'm not alone in pursuing med school with a 2nd UG.

 

Thank you OP!

[guitarcoffee]

For those of you doing a second degree online, 

 

I am currently doing my second degree in Psychology (honours) at Athabasca U (after getting abysmal marks in my first degree at U of T), and I was wondering if anyone knows how your course end dates show up on your transcript? I am aiming to get my full course load in between Sept-April, which requires me to finish my first semester exams in December, but will that show on my transcript? By starting a course in September you have a 6-month course contract date which in this case goes until the end of February which would present a challenge for me when enrolling now in my second semester courses beginning Jan 1 (they'll have course contract dates until the end of June). I just want to make sure that as long as I write my finals in April this will not present a problem for me when applying. 

 

On a happier note, after finishing my first semester I've got a pretty strong 4.13 GPA (out of 4.3) while working full-time at a clinic! Hopefully this'll do it, fingers crossed!!

 

Would also be curious if anyone has any insights regarding this. 

[t0ny]

Would also be curious if anyone has any insights regarding this. 

If you are planning on doing a second UG make sure you do it right. Doing it is agreeing to take on a long process that might not end up being fruitful. Being currently in the process of finishing my second UG, I would highly suggest you put all the chances on your side and avoid any problems that might come from doing a degree online. 

 

The last thing you want is a school not allowing it to be eligible for wGPA calculation, or even worse not recognizing it. 

 

This is just my 0.02$, I do not have any actual facts to back up what I said. 

[guitarcoffee]

If you are planning on doing a second UG make sure you do it right. Doing it is agreeing to take on a long process that might not end up being fruitful. Being currently in the process of finishing my second UG, I would highly suggest you put all the chances on your side and avoid any problems that might come from doing a degree online. 

 

The last thing you want is a school not allowing it to be eligible for wGPA calculation, or even worse not recognizing it. 

 

This is just my 0.02$, I do not have any actual facts to back up what I said. 

 

Thanks Tony, that makes a lot of sense. I think I should probably contact the schools that look at 2nd degrees to ask how they would treat a 2nd degree from Athabasca. AFAIK, only Ottawa will not consider it. 

[summergirl]

If you are planning on doing a second UG make sure you do it right. Doing it is agreeing to take on a long process that might not end up being fruitful. Being currently in the process of finishing my second UG, I would highly suggest you put all the chances on your side and avoid any problems that might come from doing a degree online.

 

The last thing you want is a school not allowing it to be eligible for wGPA calculation, or even worse not recognizing it.

 

This is just my 0.02$, I do not have any actual facts to back up what I said.

 

This is absolutely great advice. I am one week away from completing my second degree. I strongly suggest anyone considering a second degree to do lots and lots research before choosing a program so that you can be competitive for a larger number of schools. This is because you may start your degree thinking you are aiming for a particular school but may end up with a set of qualifications after you are done that fits a completely different set of schools. Too many unpredictable things happen in second degrees that I can't recommend doing an online degree. Of course people have succeeded with online degrees but doing a regular in-person degree can prevent a lot of problems down the road.

 

FYI, had my second degree was done online, I would not have received the two interview invites I managed to get this year because neither school accepts online classes, even though I didn't think it mattered before I started my 2nd degree because I was aiming for completely different schools.

[guitarcoffee]

This is absolutely great advice. I am one week away from completing my second degree. I strongly suggest anyone considering a second degree to do lots and lots research before choosing a program so that you can be competitive for a larger number of schools. This is because you may start your degree thinking you are aiming for a particular school but may end up with a set of qualifications after you are done that fits a completely different set of schools. Too many unpredictable things happen in second degrees that I can't recommend doing an online degree. Of course people have succeeded with online degrees but doing a regular in-person degree can prevent a lot of problems down the road.

 

FYI, had my second degree was done online, I would not have received the two interview invites I managed to get this year because neither school accepts online classes, even though I didn't think it mattered before I started my 2nd degree because I was aiming for completely different schools.

 

Thanks, Summergirl. Can you share some info/your stats? I believe the only school that doesn't accept a degree done thru distance education is Ottawa. I was really only planning on applying to Queens, Western, Dalhousie, Calgary (will apply 10 yr rule and only use my 2nd degree) and McGill, since they have favourable 2nd degree policies - my first degree is basically unusable. 

[PinkPearl]

This is absolutely great advice. I am one week away from completing my second degree. I strongly suggest anyone considering a second degree to do lots and lots research before choosing a program so that you can be competitive for a larger number of schools. This is because you may start your degree thinking you are aiming for a particular school but may end up with a set of qualifications after you are done that fits a completely different set of schools. Too many unpredictable things happen in second degrees that I can't recommend doing an online degree. Of course people have succeeded with online degrees but doing a regular in-person degree can prevent a lot of problems down the road.

 

FYI, had my second degree was done online, I would not have received the two interview invites I managed to get this year because neither school accepts online classes, even though I didn't think it mattered before I started my 2nd degree because I was aiming for completely different schools.

May I ask what you are doing as your second degree and what schools you applied to?

[heregoesnothing]

When you say that "neither school accepts online classes",  do you mean individual classes or the entire degree?

I'm planning on doing a conventional, in-class second UG, but was looking at doing one or two of the courses online. 

Anyone know if individual online classes are deemed acceptable?

Thanks

[summergirl]

Thanks, Summergirl. Can you share some info/your stats? I believe the only school that doesn't accept a degree done thru distance education is Ottawa. I was really only planning on applying to Queens, Western, Dalhousie, Calgary (will apply 10 yr rule and only use my 2nd degree) and McGill, since they have favourable 2nd degree policies - my first degree is basically unusable. 

I had 3.1-ish GPA in my first degree, 3.9-ish in my second degree. I thought I could do the second degree to take advantage of the policies some schools have for only looking at best/last x number of years (like the schools you've listed: Queens, Western, Dal etc). But when I actually applied, I was either OOP or just missed the cut-off, or just got rejected (bad luck maybe). However, I got two interviews from USMD schools which I did not expect at all as an international applicant with a ridiculously low cGPA. So I'd suggest everyone who is considering to do a second undergrad to try to cast a net as big as possible, because when you actually start to apply, you may find a bunch of things preventing you from being competitive at various schools. 

 

 

May I ask what you are doing as your second degree and what schools you applied to?

My second degree is in kinesiology and I've applied to all the Canadian schools that have best/last x years policies, like Western, Dal, Queens etc. I also applied to 14 USMD schools and I definitely should have applied to more had I were to do it all over again. 

 

When you say that "neither school accepts online classes",  do you mean individual classes or the entire degree?

I'm planning on doing a conventional, in-class second UG, but was looking at doing one or two of the courses online. 

Anyone know if individual online classes are deemed acceptable?

Thanks

It would definitely depend on the schools so check their website. In my personal experience, I found Canadian schools tend to be more lenient with online classes than US schools. I can only think of one Canadian schools that explicitly said they don't accept online classes and that's Ottawa. However, most US schools I've applied to don't accept pre-reqs done online. 

[stephanie_s]

summergirl, where did you take your second degree in kin? I'm currently at Mac, postponed my grad to buy me some time when I realized I wanted to pursue med in my 4th year (great timing I know) and am going back in the fall for my fifth year to finish honours life sci. I'm considering applying to UofT kin afterwards for Fall 2017. However, I've heard stories about kin students not being able to/have had difficulty obtaining seats in pre-med type classes because they don't have priority seating as a kin student taking them as electives.. is this true, have you experienced difficulty with this?

 

With a low cumulative gpa of 2.6, is a second bachelors the best option at this point? Thanks

[summergirl]

summergirl, where did you take your second degree in kin? I'm currently at Mac, postponed my grad to buy me some time when I realized I wanted to pursue med in my 4th year (great timing I know) and am going back in the fall for my fifth year to finish honours life sci. I'm considering applying to UofT kin afterwards for Fall 2017. However, I've heard stories about kin students not being able to/have had difficulty obtaining seats in pre-med type classes because they don't have priority seating as a kin student taking them as electives.. is this true, have you experienced difficulty with this?

 

With a low cumulative gpa of 2.6, is a second bachelors the best option at this point? Thanks

 

I would personally not recommend doing your second degree at U of T Kin. I did my first degree at U of T. We did have restrictions on courses where the students from the course's department would get first pick, then everyone else can start to enroll (i.e. chem courses are open to chem students first, then everyone else). I would assume it could be very difficult for a kin student to get into every science class she wants becauseshe would not get first pick at most science classes. Also, U of T is a very competitive academic environment, which I personally don't think it's beneficial for someone who is doing a degree solely for the purpose of obtaining the highest GPA possible. Of course there are plenty of people who can get great GPAs from UT (and you may be one of them), but you will be sacrificing a lot to do that second degree so you really need to minimize as much risk as possible, and U of T is a risky choice.

 

Also, is there a particular reason you are staying at Mac for one more year before starting your second degree? It seems to me that there should be no difference in effort for you to start your second degree now as opposed to one year later. I'm mentioning this because there could be some schools who will only look at GPAs from a single degree (i.e. McGill and maybe Western???).

 

Oh and to answer your last question, yes a second degree is absolutely necessary if you have a 2.6 GPA. Unless of course you've got some ridiculous upward trend like 1.0->1.0->4.0->4.0. So if you are seriously committed to do a second degree, I wish you the best of luck. It will likely be very emotionally difficult to do a second degree, but just keep your eyes on the prize. Good luck

[Bambi]

Also, is there a particular reason you are staying at Mac for one more year before starting your second degree? It seems to me that there should be no difference in effort for you to start your second degree now as opposed to one year later. I'm mentioning this because there could be some schools who will only look at GPAs from a single degree (i.e. McGill and maybe Western???).

 

Oh and to answer your last question, yes a second degree is absolutely necessary if you have a 2.6 GPA.

There is merit to the advise of summergirl. Why continue? And, for example, if you moved to Montreal, and di part time studies only say at Concordia, you would make yourself IP in Quebec which is a great advantage if you have a decent GPA when you go for your degree. Moreover, you could use the year for volunteering/ECs so as build up your CVPN when you finally apply @ McGill for med.

[stephanie_s]

Does anyone know the chances of getting accepted as a second degree seeking applicant into their second degree particularly for kinesiology programs? I've applied to UofT, Western, and York for Kin but am wondering if they hold less spots for people like me. I'm considering applying to one more non-kinesiology program as a back up in case I don't get accepted into any of the above.. but not really sure what other options I have because I don't want to stray too far away from the sciences. I'll be graduating with a BSc next June, so I naturally assumed a BKin would be my best bet at acquiring a competitive GPA while reviewing for the MCAT.

 

Right now my cumulative average is pretty weak (B-). It will be a B if i get a 3.9-4.0 average this year (so far my fall term is looking to be a 4.0 which I imagine will be shocking to them considering my average has never been higher than a B- in previous undergrad years but I don't know if this will necessarily be an advantage because of my low cGPA). I believe they do review your highschool transcripts as well, which I can only hope is true because my highschool grades are stellar but I don't think they would count as much in comparison to a recent undergrad GPA.

 

I'll also be graduating from Life Sciences and so I can't complete another BSc. Does anyone have any suggestions of second degrees other than in Kinesiology that I could apply to as a backup and that might be easier to get into? Thanks

[m_jacob_45]

Does anyone know the chances of getting accepted as a second degree seeking applicant into their second degree particularly for kinesiology programs? I've applied to UofT, Western, and York for Kin but am wondering if they hold less spots for people like me. I'm considering applying to one more non-kinesiology program as a back up in case I don't get accepted into any of the above.. but not really sure what other options I have because I don't want to stray too far away from the sciences. I'll be graduating with a BSc next June, so I naturally assumed a BKin would be my best bet at acquiring a competitive GPA while reviewing for the MCAT.

 

Right now my cumulative average is pretty weak (B-). It will be a B if i get a 3.9-4.0 average this year (so far my fall term is looking to be a 4.0 which I imagine will be shocking to them considering my average has never been higher than a B- in previous undergrad years but I don't know if this will necessarily be an advantage because of my low cGPA). I believe they do review your highschool transcripts as well, which I can only hope is true because my highschool grades are stellar but I don't think they would count as much in comparison to a recent undergrad GPA.

 

I'll also be graduating from Life Sciences and so I can't complete another BSc. Does anyone have any suggestions of second degrees other than in Kinesiology that I could apply to as a backup and that might be easier to get into? Thanks

 

I'm not sure how easy it would be for you to get in, but I did a psych BSc at Western, and loved the program. I know you can also do a BA and there is also developmental cognitive neuroscience major which is a ba if that might appeal to you. Good luck! 

[stephanie_s]

I would personally not recommend doing your second degree at U of T Kin. I did my first degree at U of T. We did have restrictions on courses where the students from the course's department would get first pick, then everyone else can start to enroll (i.e. chem courses are open to chem students first, then everyone else). I would assume it could be very difficult for a kin student to get into every science class she wants becauseshe would not get first pick at most science classes. Also, U of T is a very competitive academic environment, which I personally don't think it's beneficial for someone who is doing a degree solely for the purpose of obtaining the highest GPA possible. Of course there are plenty of people who can get great GPAs from UT (and you may be one of them), but you will be sacrificing a lot to do that second degree so you really need to minimize as much risk as possible, and U of T is a risky choice.

 

Also, is there a particular reason you are staying at Mac for one more year before starting your second degree? It seems to me that there should be no difference in effort for you to start your second degree now as opposed to one year later. I'm mentioning this because there could be some schools who will only look at GPAs from a single degree (i.e. McGill and maybe Western???).

 

Oh and to answer your last question, yes a second degree is absolutely necessary if you have a 2.6 GPA. Unless of course you've got some ridiculous upward trend like 1.0->1.0->4.0->4.0. So if you are seriously committed to do a second degree, I wish you the best of luck. It will likely be very emotionally difficult to do a second degree, but just keep your eyes on the prize. Good luck

 

Sorry for the crazy late reply. I'm staying at McMaster for an extra year (currently in my fall term) because I was all over the place last year deciding what I was going to be doing after grad, and so I purposely removed some of my grad requirements to buy me some time to stay at Mac while I figured it out. Turns out that I figured most of it out in my second term of my 4th year when it was too late to graduate with the courses I was taking already. It worked out because it gave me a little more time to research further into second degree pathways into med and right now my average is looking to be a 4.0 (2.3--> 2.7-->2.7-->2.7-->4.0 (if I maintain a 4.0 next term that is)) so i'm hoping the upwards trend helps in my future applications anywhere really.

[RTtoMD]

Hi everyone. I need some guidance-questions answered.

I graduated from UWO with a Bachelor of Science and received a poor GPA. At the time I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and I did not have an interest in school. I graduated and took a year off.

 

After a year I realized I would give health care a try. I went to College, graduated with a 4.1 GPA in respiratory therapy and am a practicing RRT. I have a great amount of volunteer work, a lot of extracurriculars, I tutor, and work with all age groups currently.

 

Now that I am aware of my potential and have a better understanding of what I want to do with my life, I've made the decision that medical school is what I want to pursue. I am dedicated, determined and disciplined enough for it. I will be writing my MCAT this summer as well.

 

I want to return to uwo because I know the only way Schulich will accept me is with a better GPA. I want to take a second undergrad. Here comes the question:

 

Since I took my first undergraduate degree in biology would I be able to take my second undergraduate degree in something similar such as health sciences? If so, do I simply reapply online through OUAC? I have contacted admissions multiple times and somehow I'm still not getting my questions answered.

 

I want to know if anyone else has taken this route to enter medical school before and if they have any advice. Thanks in advance!

[trimethoprim]

Hey RTtoMD,

 

You can take any degree you want, though I would suggest that you take something related to health sciences. You did well in respiratory therapy and some of that knowledge will transfer over to other healthcare related degrees.

[Bluemoon34]

I hope you could offer some advice as I didn't receive a lot of responses. I'm in BScN program but I truly want to go into medicine. However my marks are not superb and in Level 4, all the required courses are pass/fail so I no longer have a chance to increase my GPA.

 

Last semester, I did badly. Now this semester I'm still not doing well (for personal reasons). It's clear that I have to do a second undergraduate degree, perhaps BSc.

 

Can anyone please be honest with me and tell me what they think?

 

First year (split up Level 1 into two years): 3.6

Second year (latter part of Level 1): 3.7 - a full-time course load

Third year (Level 2): 3.8 - a full-time course load

Fourth year: (first semester of Level 3): 3.3

[RicardoKaká]

I hope you could offer some advice as I didn't receive a lot of responses. I'm in BScN program but I truly want to go into medicine. However my marks are not superb and in Level 4, all the required courses are pass/fail so I no longer have a chance to increase my GPA.

 

Last semester, I did badly. Now this semester I'm still not doing well (for personal reasons). It's clear that I have to do a second undergraduate degree, perhaps BSc.

 

Can anyone please be honest with me and tell me what they think?

 

First year (split up Level 1 into two years): 3.6

Second year (latter part of Level 1): 3.7 - a full-time course load

Third year (Level 2): 3.8 - a full-time course load

Fourth year: (first semester of Level 3): 3.3

 

Second degree would really help, I believe getting at least 3.7+ in almost all years would be ideal, or higher obviously.

 

For example my breakdown was

3.52, 3.81, 3.92, 4.00 (strong upward trend) - got no interviews after UG however due to a bad mcat and my 1st year marks. Re-applied this year with a MSc under my belt and got 3 interviews.

 

Edit: Also redid my MCAT in my MSc and improved my score.

[Bluemoon34]

Second degree would really help, I believe getting at least 3.7+ in almost all years would be ideal, or higher obviously.

 

For example my breakdown was

3.52, 3.81, 3.92, 4.00 (strong upward trend) - got no interviews after UG however due to a bad mcat and my 1st year marks. Re-applied this year with a MSc under my belt and got 3 interviews.

 

Edit: Also redid my MCAT in my MSc and improved my score.

 

Thanks for your response. I'm still not doing well this year so it's clear cut that I have to do a second undergraduate degree. However I am not sure if Masters will give a substantial increase to my current cGPA. Can I complete a second undergraduate degree within three years or does it have to be strictly four years in length? 

 

The reason why I may want to get a B.Sc is because I am thinking of going into research that's not related to nursing. A B.Sc will open doors for me. 

[Blueshift]

Has anyone been successful in doing their first few years of university online, then completing an entirely separate four-year degree through a brick and mortar institution later?

 

To introduce myself a bit: I’m presently working in the north in another profession, while doing my BSc degree online. I’ve been having some serious second thoughts about my chosen career path though. Without getting into a longwinded story, medicine has always been in the back of my mind, and I’m starting to research the feasibility of pursuing it.

 

Although my grades in my current online degree aren’t bad, they aren’t up to snuff with those required to be competitive into medical school. Ideally, I’d like to start an entirely independent degree, with none of my courses from my current degree counting toward my final cumulative grade. Would anyone know if this would be possible?

 

 

Thanks for your time!

[mollypercocet]

On 3/25/2017 at 2:34 AM, Blueshift said:

Has anyone been successful in doing their first few years of university online, then completing an entirely separate four-year degree through a brick and mortar institution later?

 

To introduce myself a bit: I’m presently working in the north in another profession, while doing my BSc degree online. I’ve been having some serious second thoughts about my chosen career path though. Without getting into a longwinded story, medicine has always been in the back of my mind, and I’m starting to research the feasibility of pursuing it.

 

Although my grades in my current online degree aren’t bad, they aren’t up to snuff with those required to be competitive into medical school. Ideally, I’d like to start an entirely independent degree, with none of my courses from my current degree counting toward my final cumulative grade. Would anyone know if this would be possible?

 

 

Thanks for your time!

Here are some questions for you:

 

1. Which med school would you be an IP applicant for?

2. What classes have you taken so far?

3. What degree do you plan to switch to?

 

My personal experience from tutoring students who took a class or two from an online university are mixed. I've found in some cases the class is too easy, but very frustrating for the student because they just throw a book at you and expect you to know everything. On the other hand, there are some really hard classes where you have no idea what your tests or midterms are going to be like. I've found that many students I worked with did not realize how much time they had to put into their course work which was another reason for not doing so well. 

[Rahvin13]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has applied to or been accepted to med school after using an accelerated BSc Nursing as their 2nd degree? I'm from Nova Scotia and would be hoping to get into Dal. They apparently have a forgiving 2nd degree assessment (only last 2 years of undergrad) and also look at "case by case" in terms of exceptional circumstances related to course load (Sept-Apr) requirements. I'm hoping an accelerated BScN falls under these exceptional circumstances. Basically I'm wondering if those schools with the "last 2 years" policies would only look at the nursing degree.

The issue being with a 2 year BScN, they are given in a calendar year format, so I take ~75 credits (not including a 15 credit pass/fail consolidated practice) over ~20 months, with full time (15 credit hours May-August) summer semesters. Anyone have experience with this? The information out there about this situation is basically nonexistent, probably because not a lot of people do it.

[mollypercocet]

6 hours ago, TripleC said:

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has applied to or been accepted to med school after using an accelerated BSc Nursing as their 2nd degree? I'm from Nova Scotia and would be hoping to get into Dal. They apparently have a forgiving 2nd degree assessment (only last 2 years of undergrad) and also look at "case by case" in terms of exceptional circumstances related to course load (Sept-Apr) requirements. I'm hoping an accelerated BScN falls under these exceptional circumstances. Basically I'm wondering if those schools with the "last 2 years" policies would only look at the nursing degree.

The issue being with a 2 year BScN, they are given in a calendar year format, so I take ~75 credits (not including a 15 credit pass/fail consolidated practice) over ~20 months, with full time (15 credit hours May-August) summer semesters. Anyone have experience with this? The information out there about this situation is basically nonexistent, probably because not a lot of people do it.

Yes, you can take this route. I myself considered it, but later felt that there was no point for me to do another degree. You will not be able to apply until the end of your 2nd year as they only look at 2 recent years from one degree. So you can't use your GPA from the years of your previous degree (i.e. your 4th year + 1st year BScN)

If you have concerns about degree assessment you should contact admissions to clarify.