BCMB_UNBC Posted December 1, 2016 Report Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello Everyone! I am currently in my fifth year of a biochemistry and molecular biology degree (expected May 2018) and I have been a med school hopeful for as long as I can remember. My CV looks great except for my GPA. I have come to realize that by time I graduate it may not be high enough for any medical school to even take a look at my application. My plan B is to either enter BSc in nursing (UNBC) or possibly Bachelor of midwifery (UBC). These can lead to both wonderful careers with possibilities of further learning. However I have not given up on medicine just yet. I'm wondering if anyone here that has done this could share their experience? I am also unsure if I have to go back and re-do all the pre-requisites for medical school. After start the BScN when is the best time (soonest) I can start applying to medical school? [i have looked into accelerated nursing programs 2 years, 3 years and the traditional 4 years and all are appealing to me when I am ready to apply I will make that decision.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhopeful25 Posted December 1, 2016 Report Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello Everyone! I am currently in my fifth year of a biochemistry and molecular biology degree (expected May 2018) and I have been a med school hopeful for as long as I can remember. My CV looks great except for my GPA. I have come to realize that by time I graduate it may not be high enough for any medical school to even take a look at my application. My plan B is to either enter BSc in nursing (UNBC) or possibly Bachelor of midwifery (UBC). These can lead to both wonderful careers with possibilities of further learning. However I have not given up on medicine just yet. I'm wondering if anyone here that has done this could share their experience? I am also unsure if I have to go back and re-do all the pre-requisites for medical school. After start the BScN when is the best time (soonest) I can start applying to medical school? [i have looked into accelerated nursing programs 2 years, 3 years and the traditional 4 years and all are appealing to me when I am ready to apply I will make that decision.] I'm anticipating you're currently a UBC student. How's your average and/or GPA (both overall and adjusted) so far? I think the major consensus here is that Nursing itself is quite subjective, so it might not be a good program to be at if you're aiming for Med. However, I am certain that it is different for every person and judging from several postings in here, a lot of BSN students have actually gone to medicine. Meanwhile, if I were you, I think the two year accelerated program is a way to go unless your average is extremely low. If you decided to go for the 2-year program, then you can apply during your second year, but its really up to your judgement. For instance, if you finished your first year, did you manage to raise your average by 5%? In addition, the tricky part is that nursing offers a lot of P/F courses, so that might affect your chances for med schools that require full time status (e.g. Ottawa, U of T). Anyone please expound on this since I am not really expert on this. In terms of prerequisites for med, almost all medical schools in Canada no longer require specific prereqs and I believe that even if you re-do these so called prereq courses, med schools will still take the average of your first and second attempt, so that itself would be a waste of money and time (look into each school to verify this). Furthermore, once you get into nursing, you would have a hard time taking specific science courses since their schedule isn't flexible at all. In your case, you have already taken all the needed science courses (e.g. biochem, ochem, gchem), which are imperative for the MCAT. Overall, I believe its a matter of knowing where your current average is sitting at. If you think it would take more than two years to raise it, then go for a longer program. AND as a final note, have you thought about doing masters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCMB_UNBC Posted December 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2016 Thank you for answering! At the moment my transcript says I'm at about 2.04 GPA and by time I graduate I could possibly raise that to a 3.2. However that is taking the best mark from my repeated classes. When I calculate my overall GPA (with all courses passed and failed) I have a GPA of 1.92 by graduation I could possibly raise that to 2.6. These grades look absolutely terrible sometimes i wonder if i should even consider a career other than medicine. I have thought about masters degrees and I will apply next fall but it doesn't interest me as much as doing another undergrad degree in nursing. I just don't want the lack of passion for pursuing a master to lead me to failure. That being said I am still exploring graduate school and potential thesis based programs my motivation could change by next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhopeful25 Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 Thank you for answering! At the moment my transcript says I'm at about 2.04 GPA and by time I graduate I could possibly raise that to a 3.2. However that is taking the best mark from my repeated classes. When I calculate my overall GPA (with all courses passed and failed) I have a GPA of 1.92 by graduation I could possibly raise that to 2.6. These grades look absolutely terrible sometimes i wonder if i should even consider a career other than medicine. I have thought about masters degrees and I will apply next fall but it doesn't interest me as much as doing another undergrad degree in nursing. I just don't want the lack of passion for pursuing a master to lead me to failure. That being said I am still exploring graduate school and potential thesis based programs my motivation could change by next year. How did you calculate your GPA? Did you just use UBC's 4.33 scale? I asked this because Ontario schools have a specific way of calculating your GPA (Omsas scale) I also majored in biochemistry at UBC and I truly understand your situation. It was certainly difficult to maintain a high "A" average in that major. In your case, I think its a good idea to look for med schools that would exclude your first degree as it may hurt your chances especially the GPA cut offs in Canada are insanely high. The first step for you is to look on how each medical school in Canada calculate your average or your GPA. To start with, I know Dalhousie uses your most recent 2 years given that you carry a full time course load (5 courses/semester) Western looks at best two years given that you also have 5 courses/term Ottawa does the same thing, but it uses your most recent 3 years and has a different calculation system UBC uses all university courses you attempted (with the removal of your worst year) and the list continues... Check out this information! I believe this will come handy when doing your research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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