4Th Year Undergrad Student Needing Some Advice

[BalkanRelations]

So I am currently in the 4th year of my Honors Molecular Biology and Genetics program at McMaster University and have only one pre-requisite class left to complete in order to graduate, which I originally planned on doing next semester. 

 

*My Yearly GPA breakdown has been as follows:

 

Year 1 - 3.23

Year 2 - 3.6

Year 3 - 3.83

Year 4 - 3.95 (first semester only; includes only 4 courses since I am doing a full-year thesis)

 

*My 2015 MCAT Score (taken once in the summer of 2015 - I want to retake it because I believe I can do better, but I am reluctant to spend the time studying again and there is a chance that I might do worse) 

 

Total = 512

 

(Bio = 126, Chem = 129, CARS = 127, PSYCH = 130)

 

*EC's (average I guess?):

-300+ Hours of Volunteering at the Hospital

-15+ Hours of Physician Shadowing 

-2 Years in a Program Involving Mentoring At-Risk Youth

-Currently involved in a research project at a medical clinic 

 

 

I realize that I am not a high-end applicant by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that I have progressed a lot as an undergrad student and will be able to either maintain or improve my 4th year GPA. Thus regardless of what decision I decide to make, I will be applying to Canadian med schools in 2017, as I believe I will have a decent shot for at least a few of them. I will also likely apply to US medical schools, where I believe I will likely have a better shot due to the strong upward trend in my GPA, but I am unsure If I would be able to afford the tuition, in the event that I am accepted. In terms of international schools, its not really a risk that I would be willing to take unless it was in a country that I would be willing to work and live in as a Doctor. 

 

The dilemma comes from what I will be doing this upcoming year, as I await the admission results for my 2017 Med School applications. I originally thought it might be good to take the year off and work, but I realized that it was very likely I would not be accepted at all, so it would be more prudent for me to do something during the year that would both bolster my application and further my education. Until now, I was originally planning on applying for a 1 year course-based Masters Program - the Global Health program at McMaster, as I think it would be something that I would enjoy and give me some of the knowledge required to work in healthcare overseas. But then I considered the possibility of delaying by graduation by not taking my final pre-req until next school year and instead doing a fifth year of undergrad.

 

I am now leaning towards this option because it does not appear that having a completed Master's degree would give me much of a benefit at most universities (with the exception of NOSM), while doing a fifth year of undergrad (full course-load) would significantly bolster my overall gpa, and especially my most recent 2/3-year gpa, likely to the the point where it would be competitive at any of the Canadian universities (except maybe UofT). The reason I am confident that I would be able to get at least a mid 3.9 in my final year is because I have proven that capability in my last two academic semesters, and also because I will have more freedom in what classes I can take, as the pre-reqs for my undergraduate program are considered difficult and time-consuming by most. In either case, I would also intend to bolster my EC's in the year, by doing some additional research in the summer and also by getting a position as a Teaching Assistant during the academic year. 

 

Basically, I just want to know if my assessment of both options (Masters vs 5th Year) is logically sound, or if there are potential pros/cons from either one that I have not considered. By this I mean, are there some Canadian medical schools that look down upon taking 5 years of full course-load to complete an Honours Bachelor Degree (should I stray from taking more than just a couple non-science courses)? 

 

 

[Fresh fry]

Take a 5th year, if you continue with your current grades you will be in middle of pack for applicants.

 

Personally I think physician shadowing is pointless although I understand some American schools require this. Your ECs are not too bad, I wouldn't invest a bunch more time on them especially if it puts your GPA at risk.

 

With the dollar going the way it is I don't know how anyone can afford tuition in the states. I personally wouldn't bother applying and investing all that time and effort unless you know you can pay for it and are prepared to go down that road.

 

GL  

[BalkanRelations]

Take a 5th year, if you continue with your current grades you will be in middle of pack for applicants.

 

Personally I think physician shadowing is pointless although I understand some American schools require this. Your ECs are not too bad, I wouldn't invest a bunch more time on them especially if it puts your GPA at risk.

 

With the dollar going the way it is I don't know how anyone can afford tuition in the states. I personally wouldn't bother applying and investing all that time and effort unless you know you can pay for it and are prepared to go down that road.

 

GL  

 

Thank you for the reply! I mostly did the shadowing because the opportunity presented itself and it gave me the chance to see patient-physician interactions first hand. And yes, in the perfect world I'm kind of just hoping the trend will reverse itself and the Canadian Dollar will go back on the rise in the next two or three years, but that is just wishful thinking. 

 

If you don't mind me asking - would you advise that I first try applying with my current MCAT, or just opt to retake it as soon as I can? As far as I'm aware, the current MCAT cut offs would mean that I am ineligible at Western, Calgary, and Saskatchewan - which is a lot of potential seats. I do feel that I probably should have retaken the test right away, and now that I have waited at least 2 years, I'm am unsure if a lot of the knowledge and skills that I've accumulated will necessarily be retained, which is disheartening. 

[Fresh fry]

Apply with what you have and go with your plan of re-writing but don't wait out a cycle or anything.

 

nema nista