suramandanar Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 So, I finished my undergraduate degree in 2013 at Western. I took a year (2013-2014) to do research and then decided to apply to med school. I've always had an interest in English but never took it during my Bachelor's degree because I knew it would be a GPA killer, so I thought, while I'm applying to med school, why don't I just go back for a fifth year, as a non-degree student, take English courses and just do a fun year for me, where my grades are not my biggest concern. I did just that, didn't take a full-course load, 4 courses each term, and applied to med school, got an interview at Queens, and am waiting to hear back. However, during my discussions with some Queens med students, I learned that my non-degree year may be counted towards my GPA if I were to apply again next year. I e-mailed several med schools who confirmed that they do consider the non-degree year. Clearly my grades this year do not represent what I am capable of because they are in courses that I took for pure interest and not for "studying" purposes; I never wanted to change my GPA because it was fine. Also, I took a full course load throughout my degree. Now, in this pain-in-the-neck non-degree year, I took 4 courses, which is not the full-five course load that U of T requires to grant the weighted GPA formula, so that means they will take a CGPA...which never works out. So I feel like this non-degree year may have just ruined all of my chances at med school if I have to apply again and I just can't wrap my head around how me choosing to go back to school rather than dick around for a year may have cost me my life... So my question here is, is there a way for me to convince med schools to not consider this non-degree year in my GPA calculation? Thank you for all of your help, Sincerely, Sura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumdogMD Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 you really should have done ur research before going back to school. that non degree year is still counted by some schools, plus u lost the wgpa for uoft. if u decided to go back to school, u should have aimed for the highest possible gpa knowing that although you are doing it for pure interest, some med schools still count that year despite not taking a full course load...rookie mistake sura smh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesecake19 Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 I don't think there's a way to convince schools not to count the year...they probably get a lot of requests like that and they can't exactly take the effort to favour one applicant. Exactly how bad was your GPA for the non-degree year? And what GPA does it pull you down to? If your MCAT scores are good enough, you will likely still qualify for Western and their weighted GPA, as well as Mac if your verbal is high enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ace of Spades Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 So I feel like this non-degree year may have just ruined all of my chances at med school if I have to apply again and I just can't wrap my head around how me choosing to go back to school rather than dick around for a year may have cost me my life... The majority of people outside of medicine are alive. Medicine =/= Living Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBronto2019 Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 The majority of people outside of medicine are alive. Medicine =/= Living yeah wtf man, calm down. and even with this, you still got an interview at Queens so relax and see what happens. if anything, go back, do another non-degree year, fix that GPA, and undo whatever you're concerned with. but seriously, this isn't your life. and if you think it is, you need to re-evaluate yourself big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardHammond Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Try contacting the schools and ask if there is anything they can do. I personally doubt they can accommodate and make an exception but it doesn't hurt trying. If they can omit the year, then great. If not, you gotta re-tailor your application for the schools you still have a shot at (e.g. kill the MCAT for Western, pump up your ECs for others, etc). It's quite unfortunate that this non-degree year may have negatively impacted your chances but, no, your life is FAR from ruined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arztin Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 I seriously doubt they will grant you an exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneDoctor Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 yeah wtf man, calm down. and even with this, you still got an interview at Queens so relax and see what happens. if anything, go back, do another non-degree year, fix that GPA, and undo whatever you're concerned with. but seriously, this isn't your life. and if you think it is, you need to re-evaluate yourself big time. too much sympathy in one comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mononoke Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Also some schools like Queen's and Western take best 2 years so even if this is your worst year, if you got an interview with Queen's, you can possibly get it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Also some schools like Queen's and Western take best 2 years so even if this is your worst year, if you got an interview with Queen's, you can possibly get it again. This, Queens and UWO won't even look at that anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 But I feel your pain OP, I took a few classes at a local college in parrallel to while I was at UBC, because of better scheduling during my 5th year. Turns out OMSAS doesn't count college classes, so I missed out on being able to apply to best 2 year schools. I didn't know this because UBC doesn't make the distinction, but it was purely my own fault for not looking into that more! Life happens, you move on and recoup the best you can.Medicine isn't your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Medicine isn't your life. I imagine most pre-meds would be perfectly happy (maybe even happier) in any number of professions that isn't medicine related, despite what they say during interviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 This, Queens and UWO won't even look at that anyways. Queen's will, their metric is last-two years, so the year the OP refers to will count. If their cGPA is still above the cutoff, it won't matter, but this year will factor in, one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Queen's will, their metric is last-two years, so the year the OP refers to will count. If their cGPA is still above the cutoff, it won't matter, but this year will factor in, one way or another. My apologies, I always forget that fact that's its "most recent two years" and not "best two years" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBronto2019 Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 too much sympathy in one comment The point is that getting into medicine or any other career shouldn't be a life-and-death issue. If you are doing it for the career itself instead of other intrinsic values that are in the career (and many others that can fulfill the same things), then it'll be a long journey of anxiety and panic: "OMG I GOT A B+? FML! I'll never be Dr. ___________. My life is over. Now I'll have to be a pharmacist or a nurse or a lawyer or something. Might as well drop out now" All I'm saying is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suramandanar Posted April 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Okay, I understand. I may have blown this situation out of proportion, I apologize. Do you guys think doing a masters may help it out? Thanks again for all the help! -Sura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arttomed Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Okay, I understand. I may have blown this situation out of proportion, I apologize. Do you guys think doing a masters may help it out? Thanks again for all the help! -Sura Okay, I understand. I may have blown this situation out of proportion, I apologize. Do you guys think doing a masters may help it out? Thanks again for all the help! -Sura It really depends on what your GPA looks like. If you provide that info I think people can help you in a better way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Okay, I understand. I may have blown this situation out of proportion, I apologize. Do you guys think doing a masters may help it out? Thanks again for all the help! -Sura I wouldn't do a master's for the sole purpose of getting into med school and/or trying to make up for the GPA. Some schools won't even care. You will be miserable as fuck. But if you're into research and think you'd actually enjoy it then sure, why not. It won't hurt you (obviously you gotta consider all the other factors like time, money, etc. too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suramandanar Posted April 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Before my non-degree year: My two most recent years GPA = 3.68, CGPA = 3.71, U of T wGPA = 3.84 If I include my non-degree year, well everything drops a fair amount below that, my two most recent years becomes like a 3.53 or something. U of T would take my CGPA then. So I'm thinking a masters could be good. I know U of T and Queens considers a Masters, so it wouldn't be completely detrimental. Also, I am interested in research, so it would beat working. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Before my non-degree year: My two most recent years GPA = 3.68, CGPA = 3.71, U of T wGPA = 3.84 If I include my non-degree year, well everything drops a fair amount below that, my two most recent years becomes like a 3.53 or something. U of T would take my CGPA then. So I'm thinking a masters could be good. I know U of T and Queens considers a Masters, so it wouldn't be completely detrimental. Also, I am interested in research, so it would beat working. Thoughts? A Master's could help, but your chances wouldn't be overly high at the schools where it'd matter. Queen's considers a Master's, but only in the margins - it's not a boost I'd rely on. U of T is about the only school where it'll make an appreciable different in your chances. With any luck you'll get into Queen's this year and it won't matter, but in the event that doesn't happen, a Master's is an unreliable path to become competitive for med school. It won't hurt, it just won't help much either. If it's something you'd do even if you didn't get into medical school, go for it. If it's just to improve your med school admissions, don't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumdogMD Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 I really don't understand your logic sura. Your two most recent years was 3.68 (relatively low) and your uoft wgpa was 3.84 (low for uoft) and your cgpa was 3.71 (low for mac). why in the world would u go back for another year and cruise, and not take a full course load???? Without being overly negative, the truth is you screwed yourself pretty bad. Now your queens gpa will drop to 3.53 and your UofT gpa will be close to 3.71. A masters + a 3.71 for uoft will most likely not be enough (that gpa will not be competitive despite the masters). If you are rejected from queens this year, you are gonna have to go back to school for 1 or 2 years and get 3.9++ in order to be competitive. Lol im upset for how bad you screwed ur own grades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borborygmi Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 A Masters will be unlikely to offset your gpa at this point. A Masters would be useful if you actually have an interest in pursuing a specific area as a career path or if you're extremely productive in the way of publications and have exceptional life experience. If you're really set on medicine, I would continue applying while doing a second undergrad. My other suggestion is to learn from your mistake and actually do your own research for each institution to which you plan to apply for medicine. Otherwise, I think there is a risk that you may make another choice that will further decrease your chances of acceptance. Did you ruin your life? No, I think that's quite dramatic, but your current year will definitely be a major setback. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumdogMD Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 you didn't ruin your life, you ruined your gpa, which is equivalent to your premed life, so what you should say is "did I just ruin my premed life?" and the answer is most definitely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 you didn't ruin your life, you ruined your gpa, which is equivalent to your premed life, so what you should say is "did I just ruin my premed life?" and the answer is most definitely You are a beacon of sunshine in an otherwise dark and cruel world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunAndMoon Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 You absolutely did NOT ruin your life nor did you ruin your premed life. You may have made a serious mistake but if you want it badly you can always do another degree or even go DO. Don't beat yourself up for something that's already done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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