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Engineering To Medical School - The Gpa Tradeoff


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I'm currently enrolled in an Ontario undergraduate engineering program (just completed first year). 

 

Medicine has always been something that's interested me (though I am an engineer at heart and love my major) and so I'm thinking of maybe applying to Ontario medical schools (and perhaps even some in the states) upon completing my undergraduate studies. 

 

The problem is I'm not super confident in my ability to maintain a very competitive GPA through my engineering undergrad (have 3.77 after first year - one of the easier ones in my study plan). I am more confident in my test-taking abilities (given enough study time) and hope to score what's currently a 32+ on the MCAT (maybe even higher if I'm lucky). 

 

As per the schools in the US, I'm taking the prerequisite courses for most of them over the summer in order to have that option open.  I also don't want to overload my Fall/Winter semesters and further compromise my GPA.

 

My question is whether I would stand a decent shot at medical schools (both in Ontario and the US) with a below-average GPA score (a low 3.7 if I'm being realistic), a good MCAT, and a pretty good application (EC's and such).  There is some light at the end of the tunnel as my final year is comprised almost entirely of electives which could give me a nice GPA boost and help me knock-off any last-minute pre-reqs I'm not able to get out of the way during my summers off. 

 

I would also consider applying to dental school afterwards, but I'm not sure whether GPA is more heavily factored in one's application down that route.

 

All help appreciated! 

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Very hard to say at this point. You've only finished one year, if your GPA climbs in the next couple years then you could be competitive. If not, things would look more bleak and it would really depend on other factors. If you're just guessing that you'd get a 32 on the MCAT it doesn't mean much, you could easily struggle and not get that or completely ace it and stand a great chance in the US (where they care a lot about your MCAT score).

 

If you love engineering and would be happy as an engineer then you can just continue on this path and in a couple years see what your GPA is and decide based on that. Medicine generally isn't something that you can half-heartedly pursue and get in just because you did well on the MCAT. Your desire to stay in a program you love even though you don't think you can get a GPA that is competitive for medicine might indicate that you're more committed to being an engineer than a doctor. Nothing wrong with that!

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@NotASerialKiller

Thanks for the response.

I did see that on many of the "Previous Admission Years" Statistics for some Ontario medical schools, there were chunks of applicants that were accepted with GPA's ranging from 3.59 - 3.79 and so that also gave me some hope. 

Is there something about these applicants that makes them special apart from great MCAT scores? 

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As someone with an engineering degree starting medical school in about a month, it’s awesome seeing engineering students interested in medicine.

 

However, I agree with everything NotASerialKiller said. You just finished first year of engineering and you have all the time in the world to explore the world of engineering. To be honest, I’m kind of surprised that you already made the financial and time commitments to take the prerequisite courses this summer.

 

Take the time to see if engineering is right for you. Also, take the time to see if medicine/dentistry is right for you. Then choose the one that fits your personality and career goals. Speaking from experience, these experiences will give the admission committee a much more convincing story of why you want to be a physician. I think people tend to forget that GPA and MCAT might get you the interview, but you need your academics balanced with your personal aspects to actually get into medical schools.

 

Med school or no med school, high GPA shouldn’t hurt you. So my personal recommendation is for you to explore your options and to have a competitive GPA especially if you are planning on attending a Canadian med school.

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@NotASerialKiller

Thanks for the response.

I did see that on many of the "Previous Admission Years" Statistics for some Ontario medical schools, there were chunks of applicants that were accepted with GPA's ranging from 3.59 - 3.79 and so that also gave me some hope. 

 

Is there something about these applicants that makes them special apart from great MCAT scores? 

 

What school/year was that? Getting accepted with 3.6 should be very, very uncommon these days. And yes, if your GPA is that low it would take something very special for them not to throw your application in the trash, that is if they're even willing to look at it after cutoffs. More special than a high MCAT score. Probably in the range of many publications in reputable journals and military service. 

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Engineering GPAs tends to go down and courses will get quite difficult. You're right in not overloading yourself on courses. To graduate from engineering in 4 years you'd generally need 6 courses per semester. If you want to get a competitive GPA it might be a good idea to finish in 5 years (most people I know are taking 5).

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As someone with an engineering degree starting medical school in about a month, it’s awesome seeing engineering students interested in medicine.

 

However, I agree with everything NotASerialKiller said. You just finished first year of engineering and you have all the time in the world to explore the world of engineering. To be honest, I’m kind of surprised that you already made the financial and time commitments to take the prerequisite courses this summer.

 

Take the time to see if engineering is right for you. Also, take the time to see if medicine/dentistry is right for you. Then choose the one that fits your personality and career goals. Speaking from experience, these experiences will give the admission committee a much more convincing story of why you want to be a physician. I think people tend to forget that GPA and MCAT might get you the interview, but you need your academics balanced with your personal aspects to actually get into medical schools.

 

Med school or no med school, high GPA shouldn’t hurt you. So my personal recommendation is for you to explore your options and to have a competitive GPA especially if you are planning on attending a Canadian med school.

Yes, reflect and prioritize and then go after that which you believe is the best fit.

 

Having too many balls in the air as you intend may end up with an overall loss. Time to make up your mind and then execute a workable plan that has a chance!

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Thank you for the great responses everybody!  The truth is I'm not really sure whether I would rather practice as an engineer, a doctor, a dentist, or (Insert arbitrary profession here).  I guess I'll find out these next 3 years once I've volunteered at a hospital and gone through a few engineering internships.

What I think I'm going to do is continue with the engineering undergrad and pay close attention to my GPA these next three years.  If I find medicine is the path I'd rather follow I would then take the MCAT.  Maybe I'll apply to medical schools with GPA calculation formulas that would play to my favour (Western's top 2 years, etc.) and hopefully stand a chance. 

If all else fails, I hear some people do a second undergraduate degree or master's to polish their applications (thoughts on this?).

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Thank you for the great responses everybody!  The truth is I'm not really sure whether I would rather practice as an engineer, a doctor, a dentist, or (Insert arbitrary profession here).  I guess I'll find out these next 3 years once I've volunteered at a hospital and gone through a few engineering internships.

 

What I think I'm going to do is continue with the engineering undergrad and pay close attention to my GPA these next three years.  If I find medicine is the path I'd rather follow I would then take the MCAT.  Maybe I'll apply to medical schools with GPA calculation formulas that would play to my favour (Western's top 2 years, etc.) and hopefully stand a chance. 

 

If all else fails, I hear some people do a second undergraduate degree or master's to polish their applications (thoughts on this?).

 

Spot on! You have plenty of time, if you really enjoy engineering there's no need to switch gears. And yes, if at the end of your degree you decide that engineering isn't a perfect fit and medicine (maybe because of taking physiology/pharmacology electives in the summer?) is, you can always start a science degree to try to boost your GPA. It's never too late to make it work, and you owe it to yourself to explore what genuinely interests you.

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Thank you for the great responses everybody!  The truth is I'm not really sure whether I would rather practice as an engineer, a doctor, a dentist, or (Insert arbitrary profession here).  I guess I'll find out these next 3 years once I've volunteered at a hospital and gone through a few engineering internships.

 

What I think I'm going to do is continue with the engineering undergrad and pay close attention to my GPA these next three years.  If I find medicine is the path I'd rather follow I would then take the MCAT.  Maybe I'll apply to medical schools with GPA calculation formulas that would play to my favour (Western's top 2 years, etc.) and hopefully stand a chance. 

 

If all else fails, I hear some people do a second undergraduate degree or master's to polish their applications (thoughts on this?).

 

Although I don't want to discourage you in any way, I also feel the need to caution you a little bit. I think that it's fine that you don't currently know what you really want to be as a future career, but I don't think trudging through 4-5 years of a difficult engineering degree is the best way to find out whether you would like to be an engineer in the end.

 

I would suggest shadowing different engineers/doctors/dentists if possible within the next year to get a better grasp of each career path and reflecting on what you would like to become in the future.

 

If you find it's really medicine you're interested in and not engineering, I would consider choosing an easier stepping stone into medical school. Getting into medicine from engineering is not impossible (as evidenced by some who have successfully done so), but there are easier ways of getting to the same destination.

 

My biggest worry for you would be you finishing your engineering degree, deciding that it's not for you and you would rather pursue medicine, and then have difficulties getting in due to your lower GPA as a result of a tough undergrad program.

 

Regarding your last question, yes, that is a possibility. That is almost always a Plan B or a result of the aforementioned late decision to pursue medicine instead of "x". If you can figure out that you are interested in medicine ASAP, go for medicine as your Plan A. Don't spend too much time and energy on Plan B if you can use that toward Plan A.

 

Hope this helps!

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lol at people saying he is not competitive right now with a 3.77, I'm applying as a third year this year and my GPA is not even that. You should all use your heads and know that there are other schools in Canada outside of Ontario and some of these schools weigh GPA minimally and even then their entering GPA average is not astronomical. 

 

Usually when people ask for advice about these things they want to know what will give them the best chance, not what is within the realm of possibility. While it's not impossible to get in with a 3.75, you're facing a tough uphill battle, and if there's something you can do to avoid this it's definitely advisable. I think you're also describing a scenario that is very residence-dependent, OOP cutoffs aren't particularly friendly.

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lol at people saying he is not competitive right now with a 3.77, I'm applying as a third year this year and my GPA is not even that. You should all use your heads and know that there are other schools in Canada outside of Ontario and some of these schools weigh GPA minimally and even then their entering GPA average is not astronomical. 

 

You do know that out of province med schools usually have less than 10 seats available for Ontario residents, right?

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Once again, I thank everyone for taking the time to help me figure this all out, I really appreciate it!

I was also wondering if I would be in a good position to apply to Dentistry school as well? What are the main challenges faced by dentistry school applicants?  The GPA cutoffs seem to be about the same, though there do seem to be quite a few more prerequisite courses required for UWO and UofT.  

 

I'll definitely be exposed to the world of dentistry (tools, medical imaging, human factors/ergonomics) through my undergrad and would consider this route as well if it appealed to me, it just seems like a bit more preparation is required to meet application criteria.

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Hey,

I also Just finished engineering and your gpa does tend to decrease as you go further along. However, in my opinion, you can use your engineering degree to your advantage through internships. Depending on where you do your internships, you can really stand out, compared to other students that haven't been exposed to internships like that. Keep up the good work and good luck!

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