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Prospective Non-Traditional Mcmaster App - Opinions?


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Hi everyone, first post here and it's going to be long so please bear with me. I'd appreciate some opinions about my current situation.

 

So... I'm going on 26 this year, currently employed as a paramedic in Ontario for 3.5 years. I'm at the point already in my career that I already want more, and becoming a doctor has crossed my mind more than once, and at least in theory seems achievble for me. These thoughts aren't about the money, I have a well-paying job now, but more about the frustrations in not having enough time with patients to manage their conditions in ways I know I can. I've had the opportunity to talk to some current med students from Mac and they informed me that they had a handful of paramedics in the program, and spoke nothing but good things about them in terms of their already established knowledge.

 

I have the opportunity to be exempt from about 2/3rds of a degree from Thompson Rivers University in BC, other collegues are pursing the same just to get a degree under their belt. I should also say that have not taken any undergrad university courses before. The only problem is that the degree would be completely online and also part-time, and I'm wondering what the policy is in Ontario med schools about this. From what I understand, in ON McMaster would be my only chance, and I'm wondering if I would be at a significant disadvantage with an "online" degree there. Unfortunately I can't see myself moving to say Calgary if I somehow got accepted there, as I already have so many roots in ON so I figure McMaster would be my only chance anyways just due to geography.

 

Now I should also admit that I understand that this degree aside, I'd still need a kickass GPA, as well as a good MCAT and Casper score etc. Just looking at the admissions website it seems theoretically possible, albeit unlikely. I figure that if this doesn't work out, I still have a well-paying career and a degree which is still handy for advancing to management positions.

 

So, should I go for this degree? Or start from scratch and do a traditional degree to have an actual chance? If I have an extremely small chance I'd like to start getting over it now, as I'm obessing over the opportunity.

 

If you got to the end, thanks! I'd appreciate any advice.

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Hey, I can't speak to the perception of online degrees versus traditional degrees, but I can say that doing a degree part-time won't prevent you from applying to other schools either. Most schools prefer to see full-time studies because it's indicative of the applicant being able to handle the rigours of the med school curriculum. With that said, you can still apply with a part-time degree. 

 

In Ontario:

U of T: you can apply with part-time studies except they will not use the weighted GPA formula for you, and will use your cGPA

Queen's: will use your cGPA

I don't know enough about NOSM to comment, but you need to be rural or aboriginal to have a shot at interview.

Ottawa and Western: looks like they require full-time studies.

 

This is looking at the course load requirements only, and obviously schools have different prereqs. 

 

I say go for it. 

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I think your situation is unique enough that you need to contact Med school admins directly.  Part time is OK.   Something to check on  - you indicate you could be exempted from 2/3 of the degree.   Would you have enough University level courses for med admins to accept your transcript ?    

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As far as I can tell you can apply as long as the degree is completed. For sure for Mac I'd have enough courses; couldn't find much from the other schools. I was more worried about the schools looking down on me for having an online degree rather than having a traditional one.

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Hi everyone, first post here and it's going to be long so please bear with me. I'd appreciate some opinions about my current situation.

 

So... I'm going on 26 this year, currently employed as a paramedic in Ontario for 3.5 years. I'm at the point already in my career that I already want more, and becoming a doctor has crossed my mind more than once, and at least in theory seems achievble for me. These thoughts aren't about the money, I have a well-paying job now, but more about the frustrations in not having enough time with patients to manage their conditions in ways I know I can. I've had the opportunity to talk to some current med students from Mac and they informed me that they had a handful of paramedics in the program, and spoke nothing but good things about them in terms of their already established knowledge.

 

I have the opportunity to be exempt from about 2/3rds of a degree from Thompson Rivers University in BC, other collegues are pursing the same just to get a degree under their belt. I should also say that have not taken any undergrad university courses before. The only problem is that the degree would be completely online and also part-time, and I'm wondering what the policy is in Ontario med schools about this. From what I understand, in ON McMaster would be my only chance, and I'm wondering if I would be at a significant disadvantage with an "online" degree there. Unfortunately I can't see myself moving to say Calgary if I somehow got accepted there, as I already have so many roots in ON so I figure McMaster would be my only chance anyways just due to geography.

 

Now I should also admit that I understand that this degree aside, I'd still need a kickass GPA, as well as a good MCAT and Casper score etc. Just looking at the admissions website it seems theoretically possible, albeit unlikely. I figure that if this doesn't work out, I still have a well-paying career and a degree which is still handy for advancing to management positions.

 

So, should I go for this degree? Or start from scratch and do a traditional degree to have an actual chance? If I have an extremely small chance I'd like to start getting over it now, as I'm obessing over the opportunity.

 

If you got to the end, thanks! I'd appreciate any advice.

 

You should spend some time digging through the forums here, looking for posts from Elaine.  She was a TEMS medic and supervisor who went back to school, got accepted to Queens and is now living happily ever after practicing family medicine.  The search engine here is kind of dodgy, so if you're completely stumped flip me a pm and I'll give you a few more pointers to her posts.

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You should spend some time digging through the forums here, looking for posts from Elaine. She was a TEMS medic and supervisor who went back to school, got accepted to Queens and is now living happily ever after practicing family medicine. The search engine here is kind of dodgy, so if you're completely stumped flip me a pm and I'll give you a few more pointers to her posts.

Couldn't find anything just like you said. I'd appreciate any info you could give! Thanks.

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