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Hi! I have a question concerning the science GPA that I'm hoping one of you can answer! 

I have a relatively low science GPA, around 3.15, that I'm worried played a role in my rejection post-interview this year. The guidelines on both the med and dent pages aren't clear whether or not I am able to re-take a pre-requisite science course (Say General Chemistry II) and have it replace my grade for ChemII in option one. I'm not sure if I'm required at this point to submit the grades for the recommended courses in Option two?

I was thinking of taking a summer class for one of the science pre-requisites, but admissions told me that summer courses aren't valid.

Any insight would be appreciated! Thank you!

https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/files/medadmissions/basic_concepts2017-18_for_admissions-kh.pdf 

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9 hours ago, canada747 said:

Are classes recorded/podcasted for students to watch at home or later? What is the day-to-day class schedule like for students?

Hi, 

The day-to-day schedule is composed of lectures in AM and small groups or labs in PM. The AM lectures are recorded and available for students to watch whenever they want. However, attendance to PM activities is mandatory.

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12 hours ago, Farfalla said:

Hi! I have a question concerning the science GPA that I'm hoping one of you can answer! 

 I have a relatively low science GPA, around 3.15, that I'm worried played a role in my rejection post-interview this year. The guidelines on both the med and dent pages aren't clear whether or not I am able to re-take a pre-requisite science course (Say General Chemistry II) and have it replace my grade for ChemII in option one. I'm not sure if I'm required at this point to submit the grades for the recommended courses in Option two?

 I was thinking of taking a summer class for one of the science pre-requisites, but admissions told me that summer courses aren't valid.

Any insight would be appreciated! Thank you!

https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/files/medadmissions/basic_concepts2017-18_for_admissions-kh.pdf 

 Hi Farfalla, 

If you want to improve your science GPA, you need to take all 4 courses in option 2, and the admission will take the better of the 2 sets (option 1 or option 2). However, it is not possible to increase your grades for a single course in option 1. 

I hope this helps

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1 hour ago, McGillMedAmbassadors said:

 Hi Farfalla, 

If you want to improve your science GPA, you need to take all 4 courses in option 2, and the admission will take the better of the 2 sets (option 1 or option 2). However, it is not possible to increase your grades for a single course in option 1. 

I hope this helps

Thanks for your reply! Is it possible to re-take any one of the recommended courses in order to increase my GPA?

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58 minutes ago, Farfalla said:

Thanks for your reply! Is it possible to re-take any one of the recommended courses in order to increase my GPA?

Hi Farfalla,

I contacted the office of admissions and they said that you are allowed to retake any one of the recommended basic science courses in either option 1 or 2. They will take the better of the two results for that course at the end. Also, there are no restrictions about summer courses. They recommend that you contact them directly if you have further questions.

Hope this helps! 

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Just a tip for anyone who's in Quebec and worried about your pre-req GPA from Cegep, You can retake your pre-reqs at a Cegep during your undergrad, that way it won't affect your university GPA (if you're worried about that) but still will count in calculation of your pre-req GPA. I believe this is true, but maybe @McGillMedAmbassadors can confirm this

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On the McGill website it says that they will accept up to 11 people for the OOP stream. This year they accepted 10 students. Do you know under what circumstances they would chose to accept 11, or if they would decide to accept another 1 applicant this year?

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35 minutes ago, Jfourn said:

On the McGill website it says that they will accept up to 11 people for the OOP stream. This year they accepted 10 students. Do you know under what circumstances they would chose to accept 11, or if they would decide to accept another 1 applicant this year?

Hi Jfourn,

I have asked the question to the admission committee, I will get back to you as soon as I get an answer. 

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3 minutes ago, Junior Member said:

Where do we send the official transcripts? I couldn't find the address on their website.

 Their office of admissions address (1010 Sherbrooke St. W., Suite 1210)

You'd think they would make it more obvious on the site after so many of us were confused lol

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Hello,

 

2 questions:

-Is the fall semester GPA during the year of application considered for interview offers? (IP student)

-If an MCAT score is submitted (and is advantageous) is it considered pre-interview, or post-interview only?

Thank you!

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18 minutes ago, Leyan said:

Hello,

2 questions:

-Is the fall semester GPA during the year of application considered for interview offers? (IP student)

-If an MCAT score is submitted (and is advantageous) is it considered pre-interview, or post-interview only?

Thank you!

For your first question: 

Minimum of 60 consecutive graded credits complete at the time of application. Performance in courses not yet completed at the time of application must be comparable to the level of performance seen in the academic records submitted at the time of application. A marked decline in academic performance in the final term(s) may lead to withdrawal of an offer of admission. (Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/applying/requirements-edu) In other words, they won't be looked at until the acceptance stage to make sure there is no marked decline. 

For your second question: 

Where valid MCAT results are submitted, results will be considered in conjunction with academic results in the relevant science prerequisite courses (50/50 weighting). (Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/applying/requirements-edu/mcat). In other words, if an MCAT score is submitted and it is advantageous - it is considered post-interview only at 50% of the science prereq courses GPA. 

 

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19 hours ago, Looktoabove said:

Do you have any tips on how to do well during M1 for example? Is there a list of book recommendations? Any books that you loved? Found really helpful?

 Thank you!

Honestly there is no benefit to stressing about how to do well in Med1, just enjoy your summer. If you've gotten to this point already, you know how to study and you will learn to adapt quickly to Med school pace. The first block (Block A) is very relax on purpose so that you have the time to adjust.

 

As for textbooks, when school starts, you're going to get all the textbooks you need "magically" given to you.  You'll understand what that means in due time.

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Hi!

I have a few questions regarding moving in and orientation. I'll be moving from outside of Quebec! Orientation is on the 21st of August - do you recommend I get a place (and pay rent) starting August 1? I may not be in the country, as I'd like to travel for the few weeks before school starts.

Also, is the first week an orientation of sorts, similar to frosh week? Or do we get right into classes?

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Hi, I am currently finishing CEGEP and I was recently admitted to the Med-P program. My grades have dropped a little this semester because of the admissions process and personal issues (nothing significant, I'm not failing anything) and I was wondering if that's fine or could I potentially get my offer revoked.

Thanks!

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Hi, are there only four courses that we can take as science prerequisites if we choose option 2? Any other equivalent to cell biology and metabolism? 

Also, if I decide to take organic chemistry at university, are they going to take into account the grade I will obtain from the university course or the one I obtained from the organic chemistry course I did in cegep?

Thank you!

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54 minutes ago, med1998 said:

Hi, are there only four courses that we can take as science prerequisites if we choose option 2? Any other equivalent to cell biology and metabolism? 

Also, if I decide to take organic chemistry at university, are they going to take into account the grade I will obtain from the university course or the one I obtained from the organic chemistry course I did in cegep?

Thank you!

Yes, there are only four courses that you need to take to fulfil the Option 2 basket. You need to make sure Option 1 courses are all completed before you are allowed to use Option 2. Per the website, they give the McGill courses required to fulfil Option 2: 

"The most commonly recognized courses at McGill for OPTION 2 are listed here.

  • PHGY 209 -Mammalian Physiology (3 credits)  www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/phgy-209
  • BIOL 200 -Molecular Biology (3 credits) www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/biol-200
  • BIOL 201 - Cell biology & Metabolism (3 credits)  www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/biol-201 
  • CHEM 212 - Introductory Organic Chemistry 1 (3 credits) www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/chem-212"

You can use the following two sites to help you determine equivalency:

For the CEGEP question, I believe they briefly mentioned that here: 

"For applicants using CEGEP courses to fulfil OPTION 1 Basic Sciences:  A university level Introductory Organic Chemistry is required for OPTION 2 Recommended Sciences. If you used a university level Introductory Organic Chemistry for OPTION 1, exceptionally, you can reuse this same course in OPTION 2."

 

 

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On 5/18/2018 at 10:49 PM, canada747 said:

Hi!

I have a few questions regarding moving in and orientation. I'll be moving from outside of Quebec! Orientation is on the 21st of August - do you recommend I get a place (and pay rent) starting August 1? I may not be in the country, as I'd like to travel for the few weeks before school starts.

Also, is the first week an orientation of sorts, similar to frosh week? Or do we get right into classes?

 Hi Canada747,

You should keep in mind that the "moving date" in Québec is July 1st. It is always possible to find something before/after this date, but this is generally when people move in and out of apartments. If you find something for August 1st, I think that this would be the best option, keeping in mind that you would pay rent while being outside of the country for the first three weeks of August (it is rare to find a place for the third week of the month). You might find the McGill housing website useful: https://www.mcgill.ca/students/housing/. Also, the websites that I have seen the most commonly used for apartments in Montreal are kijiji and craigslist.

Regarding orientation, here is the full schedule: https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/newmedp/orentation

Hope this helps.

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On 5/19/2018 at 10:24 PM, MD2023 said:

Hi, I am currently finishing CEGEP and I was recently admitted to the Med-P program. My grades have dropped a little this semester because of the admissions process and personal issues (nothing significant, I'm not failing anything) and I was wondering if that's fine or could I potentially get my offer revoked.

Thanks!

Hi MD2023,

Since this is a specific question regarding the admission process, I would contact the office of admission directly: https://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/contact-us

Best

 

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On 5/20/2018 at 2:26 PM, la marzocco said:

Yes, there are only four courses that you need to take to fulfil the Option 2 basket. You need to make sure Option 1 courses are all completed before you are allowed to use Option 2. Per the website, they give the McGill courses required to fulfil Option 2: 

"The most commonly recognized courses at McGill for OPTION 2 are listed here.

  • PHGY 209 -Mammalian Physiology (3 credits)  www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/phgy-209
  • BIOL 200 -Molecular Biology (3 credits) www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/biol-200
  • BIOL 201 - Cell biology & Metabolism (3 credits)  www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/biol-201 
  • CHEM 212 - Introductory Organic Chemistry 1 (3 credits) www.mcgill.ca/study/courses/chem-212"

You can use the following two sites to help you determine equivalency:

For the CEGEP question, I believe they briefly mentioned that here: 

"For applicants using CEGEP courses to fulfil OPTION 1 Basic Sciences:  A university level Introductory Organic Chemistry is required for OPTION 2 Recommended Sciences. If you used a university level Introductory Organic Chemistry for OPTION 1, exceptionally, you can reuse this same course in OPTION 2."

 

 

Perfect thank you very much!! 

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