strongshow Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hey everyone! I graduated from an Honors Bachelor of Health Science in Medical Laboratory Science from UOIT in 2012 with a 3.44 average. My mind wasn't totally set on med school (but it was lurking in there) and I decided to apply after my 3rd year to no success. Currently I am completing my first year of a 2 year course based Masters of Clinical Science Pathologist Assistant Program at Western. So far I'm at about an A average. Now that I've been doing some serious thinking, and I want to get into med school. So I've been thinking about doing a second undergraduate degree (starting September after I graduate my masters) to boost my marks as well as get some volunteer/EC stuff (Previous; Agricultural society, Figure Skating Assistant, Karate Assistant) since I want to be "more well-rounded". As well, during my next undergrad taking the MCAT is a must, since I didn't score too well during the first one. Just looking for some advice/thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtravo Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 can we get a breakdown of your gpa during your undergrad? Where did you apply anyways when you were in undergrad? What was your mcat score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongshow Posted April 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Year 1- 3.22/3.58 Year 2- 3.02/2.80 Summer Term- 3.66 Year 3- 4.00/3.80 Year 4- 3.70 MCAT- I think it was around 18M... so not good.. at all. Applied- NOSM, U of T, Mac, UWO, Queens and Ottawa and some schools in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongshow Posted April 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 I feel that my MCAT score isn't my true potential, I barely studied for it as I was not sure going in what to expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtravo Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Yeah, I think a second undergrad is necessary. Kill your gpa and the mcat and you should be set. In terms of your ecs, don't just do them to be well rounded (like padding your cvs). Do Ecs, that you're truly passionate about so you can obtain meaningful experiences from them. Well that's my 2 cents anyways. The fact that you'll have your masters will be looked upon well by some school. ie uoft. Just keep at it and you'll be able to obtain your goal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 I'd recommend re-writing the MCAT this summer and reapplying next year to queens and western. Your gpa is competitive for both queens and western (they look at the last/best 2 years), so if you meet their mcat cutoffs, your chances of getting an interview at both schools would be great. A second undergrad will only help you for ottawa and you'll need to get a 3.9 to meet their cutoff. This is on the assumption that you had taken a full course load in your last two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh fry Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Does the slash represent semester breakdown? If it does then Charmer's usually solid advice doesn't apply because your last year is not full time. Also your summer GPA doesn't count. Your Masters won't help you all that much regardless of your grades and your EC's are average. You will need at least 1-2 years of full time undergrad to bring your GPA up. 18M on the MCAT is a non-starter you will need >30Q with at least a 10 in VR. This is not as easy as people think it is and may take a few attempts. Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Television Posted April 29, 2013 Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 I'd recommend re-writing the MCAT this summer and reapplying next year to queens and western. Your gpa is competitive for both queens and western (they look at the last/best 2 years), so if you meet their mcat cutoffs, your chances of getting an interview at both schools would be great. A second undergrad will only help you for ottawa and you'll need to get a 3.9 to meet their cutoff. This is on the assumption that you had taken a full course load in your last two years. This is the best route I can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongshow Posted April 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 Thanks for the input so far! Yes the slash represents the semester breakdown. I did take a full year my 4th year, but the way my course ran was I had practicum all year (so one mark) and then a pass/fail mark. So I don't think it really counts as a year. Even with that year gone, would I still be competitive? I thought competitive for med schools were like 3.8+, but maybe I was wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh fry Posted April 29, 2013 Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 Thanks for the input so far! Yes the slash represents the semester breakdown. I did take a full year my 4th year, but the way my course ran was I had practicum all year (so one mark) and then a pass/fail mark. So I don't think it really counts as a year. Even with that year gone, would I still be competitive? I thought competitive for med schools were like 3.8+, but maybe I was wrong! Competitive is >3.8, especially in Ontario. You can get an interview at a couple of schools with 3.7ish and that is where ECs and grad school can help but its no guarantee. The lower your GPA the fewer options you have, the fewer the interviews, and the lower your odds become. I think the consensus is 2nd undergrad for 1-2 years minimum, and a solid MCAT to start it all off. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongshow Posted May 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Thanks for all the suggestions! I will be enrolling into a second undergrad for next September Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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