Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

I'm about to complete my bachelor's degree in psychology at McGill University and my GPA after 75 credits is a 3.71. I'm hoping to raise it even further this winter semester.

I'm really interested in entering UdeM's pharmacy program, but I unfortunately didn't do my research before I went into psychology and I didn't realize that it was a "programme non-connexe" AND that its IFG isn't as high as other programs.

I applied last year to UdeM Pharmacy when my GPA was a 3.56 and I ranked like 75 out of 111 in the "non-connexe" category.

 

I guess I just need some guidance as to what some of you think I should do...I'm contemplating doing a second undergrad in a different program to boost my GPA up even further. What bachelor's would you recommend [that aren't too hard to get good grades in, and for which there might be jobs if ever this pharmacy thing doesn't work out]? Law, nutrition, physio, speech therapy (orthophonie)?

 

I'm already considering applying in pharmacy to Canadian universities outside of Quebec but they require a bunch of prereqs that I don't have since I'm a Quebec student (Organic 2, Biochem, etc) and their out-of-province quotas just make things harder. 

 

One more thing: when UdeM/ULaval/USherbrooke look at your marks, do they convert them into their own 4.3 scale? For instance, would I have a 3.71/4.3 or do they cross multiply and convert my 3.71 to whatever it would be on 4.33?

 

*Si vous voulez me répondre en français, ça me dérange pas du tout! Merci de votre aide  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall correctly, the "non-connexe" and "connexe" categories were merged this year which would make it ever harder for you to enter. As far as switching to another program, your best shot probably is physiotherapy since it gives unholy R scores (in the vacinity of 45 for a 4,3 GPA and around 40 for a 4,1 GPA) while having decent job prospects. I'd personally recommend against McGill's program as it isn't well regarded in the PT community, as far as I have heard (take that with a grain of salt, I'm only a 1st year PT student). Montreal's program is mostly MCQ based and therefore, it is very much possible to get a GPA of 4 or more. Nutrition is another common choice with similarly high R scores (albeit a bit lower) but I don't know much about what it's like.

 

Regarding the conversion, this is subject to some debate. As far as I know, Sherbrooke and Montreal won't convert since a 4,0 at Mcgill is 85% just like it is in the french universities. Some people say Laval does convert but I'm not sure enough to tell you they do. Sherbrooke most definitely does not convert.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall correctly, the "non-connexe" and "connexe" categories were merged this year which would make it ever harder for you to enter. As far as switching to another program, your best shot probably is physiotherapy since it gives unholy R scores (in the vacinity of 45 for a 4,3 GPA and around 40 for a 4,1 GPA) while having decent job prospects. I'd personally recommend against McGill's program as it isn't well regarded in the PT community, as far as I have heard (take that with a grain of salt, I'm only a 1st year PT student). Montreal's program is mostly MCQ based and therefore, it is very much possible to get a GPA of 4 or more. Nutrition is another common choice with similarly high R scores (albeit a bit lower) but I don't know much about what it's like.

 

Regarding the conversion, this is subject to some debate. As far as I know, Sherbrooke and Montreal won't convert since a 4,0 at Mcgill is 85% just like it is in the french universities. Some people say Laval does convert but I'm not sure enough to tell you they do. Sherbrooke most definitely does not convert.

 

How is McGill's PT program not "well regarded in the PT community" ? And are you sure that UdeM does not convert? I mean 4.0 is 85 and OVER meaning 95 = 4.0, would be very unfair not to convert ... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But they have no way to know whether your 4.0 is 85% or 95%. Also, an A- is most definitely between 80 and 85. Wouldn't make sense do drag it up by doing a cross-multiplication.

 

It's not as well regarded because of a lack of emphasis on practice. By the time you start doing meaningful practice at McGill, Montreal students will have completed 2 practical internships of roughly 4 weeks and been practicing actual techniques for 2 years. McGill's program is much more theoretical. Honestly though, I have no idea whether or not that would affect you as far as finding a job goes. Probably not that much. If you want to do research, Montreal also is very strong in that regard and the same for doctoral studies.

 

The final point, and not the least, do you want to risk getting stuck at 4.0 when you could get a higher GPA at another university?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, thank you so much for your help!

 

I guess I really put myself in the worst position by not only going to McGill but also by doing a psychology undergrad. I'm still going to email UdeM just to make sure about the conversion, but man, I can't believe how out-of-the-loop I was.

 

If I were to start an undergrad in physio at UdeM next year and did really well, what would you say about my chances? Does UdeM 'bonify' you for being a UdeM student? Is it common for students to simply do half a year of a program and get accepted into pharm?

I mean, I don't think my McGill GPA is bad or anything...I just wish I sort of knew where I stand at the moment.

 

Finally, does anyone know of anyone who did an undergrad in law and then pursued a career in pharm, med, etc? Because since UdeM doesn't seem to do the 'connexe' thing anymore and law R scores seem to be pretty high as well, that could be another option...

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sache que TOUS tes crédits comptent. Donc tes crédits en psychologie vont compter dans le calcul de cote R.

Oui c'est très faisable d'avoir 4.1+ en physio en première année à l'UdeM.

Ergo, c'est plus subjectif, mais possible d'avoir 4.1+.

À ce que je sache, ULaval covertit sur l'échelle 4.33. UdeM et Sherbrooke, ça sert à rien d'y penser à cause du manque de transparence anyways.

Nutrition = assez difficile d'avoir des super bonnes notes une fois que les stages commencent.

Droit = assez difficile d'avoir 3.7+ à cause des notes en fonction de la moyenne.

Le meilleur choix, ça serait physio d'emblée. 

Par contre, tes crédits en psychologie te désavantagent beaucoup.

Donc idéalement, si tu veux absoluement entrer en médecine, vas en physio ou biomed et obtiens les meilleures notes possibles et applique à la fin de ton 2e bac.

 

Certaines écoles regardent surtout le 2e bac. McGill et Ottawa par exemple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Note sur le programme mentionné par la personne précédente: J'ai jamais entendu qui que ce soit recommander ce programme là pour l'entrée en médecine en dehors de 2-3 personnes sur le forum qui sont un peu trop en amour avec ce programme là pour que ça soit aussi beau que ça l'est. Personnellement, j'irais dans les programmes qui ont fait leur preuve au lieu de ce programme là qui semble être une sorte de programme de kinésiologie glorifiée avec 0 perspectives d'emploi. C'est encore plus vrai si tu as la cote pour rentrer dans un programme plus reconnu comme tremplin vers la médecine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Note sur le programme mentionné par la personne précédente: J'ai jamais entendu qui que ce soit recommander ce programme là pour l'entrée en médecine en dehors de 2-3 personnes sur le forum qui sont un peu trop en amour avec ce programme là pour que ça soit aussi beau que ça l'est. Personnellement, j'irais dans les programmes qui ont fait leur preuve au lieu de ce programme là qui semble être une sorte de programme de kinésiologie glorifiée avec 0 perspectives d'emploi. C'est encore plus vrai si tu as la cote pour rentrer dans un programme plus reconnu comme tremplin vers la médecine.

De quel programme est-il question ici ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...