Endogenous_ Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 I am looking to get some external perspective on how competitive my application would be for medical school, and if it is worth a shot. I've done some serious thinking on future career paths...thoughts? My aim would be to progress into neurology specialization with a combination of practice and research (more-so research) Undergraduate: BSc Honours Psychology, Minor Neuroscience Year 1: ~70% Year 2: ~76% Year 3: ~78% Year 4: ~82% Year 5: ~88% Overall: ~78-79.4% Masters: MSc Neuroscience GPA: 88% Post-Graduate Diploma: Clinical Trials Management, Western University Continuing Studies (9 courses + Practicum) GPA: 89% Research Experience 1 published first author 2 published co-author 1 first author in progress 1 co-author in progress Work Experience Research Assistant (Currently Hired; Nephrology) Coordinate cluster randomized clinical trials Research Intern (Oncology) 400 hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoopDreams Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 The main problem that I see is that your undergraduate grades seem a bit low to be competitive. I'm not an expert but I believe graduate grades are not considered, even though having a Masters is a great asset in terms of experience and demonstrates some academic maturity. I might be wrong but I believe that a second bachelors would be the way to go. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goleafsgochris Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 I agree you are probably not competitive to apply now (your grades are too low). You would need at least a few more years of another undergrad. As someone in neurology I would also STRONGLY suggest you don't bother if your intention is to stay in research. Becoming a neurologist will take 8-9 years of often brutal time demanding training and that's once you start med school so you are prob looking at maybe 10-11 years, theres just no way it would be worth it if you want to stay in research. I would only recommend if you want to do clinical work. Edit: in case its not clear from above, GPA is the most major part of a med school app, and they only consider undergrad GPA (aside from some rare pretty minor details--graduate GPA almost never helps). Everything you've done after undergrad is great, but will help minimally to not at all on a med school app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 Many schools use weighting in their undergrad GPA calculation as long as you did full course-load. Examples: Western (best 2 years), Queens (last 2), Ottawa (last 3 weighted), Toronto (drops 10 grades over the 5 years). Convert your individual grades to GPA and then calc your yearly GPAs. Test them against each schools weighting method. A +3.85 wGPA could be enough to be competitive. Your Masters work does not help your GPA , but it does give you leg up in being in Graduate pools and you bring in super ECs in research with publications. If your wGPA is reasonable, study and write the MCAT this summer and give applications a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchpress Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 Your master’s degree grades do actually count at some schools (e.g. ubc, calgary, alberta). It’s not a lot of credits so it rarely makes a huge difference to your GPA, but if the school also weights your undergrad grades or drops a year, then overall it can mean an increase of several % points. And that can be the difference between getting an interview (and eventually getting in) or not. If you decided you were determined to go, I certainly think it’s possible with your stats. I know several people, myself included, who were admitted with undergrad GPAs below 80% (edit: although many with subsequent MScs with higher GPAs). But you may need to really strengthen the non-academic and extra curricular parts of your application in order to be realistically competitive. The scoring systems across Canada actually vary quite a bit. Some schools care a lot more about GPA than others, and similarly some care a lot more about non-academic aspects of the application. For schools outside Ontario, moving to make yourself an in-province applicant can also make a huge difference in the GPA you need to get admitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubbed0ut Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 On 1/22/2018 at 6:53 PM, frenchpress said: Your master’s degree grades do actually count at some schools (e.g. ubc, calgary, alberta). It’s not a lot of credits so it rarely makes a huge difference to your GPA, but if the school also weights your undergrad grades or drops a year, then overall it can mean an increase of several % points. And that can be the difference between getting an interview (and eventually getting in) or not. If you decided you were determined to go, I certainly think it’s possible with your stats. I know several people, myself included, who were admitted with undergrad GPAs below 80% (edit: although many with subsequent MScs with higher GPAs). But you may need to really strengthen the non-academic and extra curricular parts of your application in order to be realistically competitive. The scoring systems across Canada actually vary quite a bit. Some schools care a lot more about GPA than others, and similarly some care a lot more about non-academic aspects of the application. For schools outside Ontario, moving to make yourself an in-province applicant can also make a huge difference in the GPA you need to get admitted. What school did you get admitted to with a GPA below 80%? Did you have a Masters degree too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubbed0ut Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 On 1/22/2018 at 2:28 PM, Endogenous_ said: I am looking to get some external perspective on how competitive my application would be for medical school, and if it is worth a shot. I've done some serious thinking on future career paths...thoughts? My aim would be to progress into neurology specialization with a combination of practice and research (more-so research) Undergraduate: BSc Honours Psychology, Minor Neuroscience Year 1: ~70% Year 2: ~76% Year 3: ~78% Year 4: ~82% Year 5: ~88% Overall: ~78-79.4% Masters: MSc Neuroscience GPA: 88% Post-Graduate Diploma: Clinical Trials Management, Western University Continuing Studies (9 courses + Practicum) GPA: 89% Research Experience 1 published first author 2 published co-author 1 first author in progress 1 co-author in progress Work Experience Research Assistant (Currently Hired; Nephrology) Coordinate cluster randomized clinical trials Research Intern (Oncology) 400 hours Any updates? did you go back for any undergrad courses or did you apply for med school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchpress Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 7 hours ago, scrubbed0ut said: What school did you get admitted to with a GPA below 80%? Did you have a Masters degree too? UBC. I did have an MSc, and my GPA was high. My undergrad GPA worked out to ~79% when all my grades were converted. But because UBC includes MSc grades and drops your worst year, I think it probably bumped my adjusted GPA to around 82%. I'm sure those few points made a huge difference to my chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubbed0ut Posted October 24, 2018 Report Share Posted October 24, 2018 On 10/22/2018 at 3:24 PM, frenchpress said: UBC. I did have an MSc, and my GPA was high. My undergrad GPA worked out to ~79% when all my grades were converted. But because UBC includes MSc grades and drops your worst year, I think it probably bumped my adjusted GPA to around 82%. I'm sure those few points made a huge difference to my chances. Are you OOP ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchpress Posted October 24, 2018 Report Share Posted October 24, 2018 45 minutes ago, scrubbed0ut said: Are you OOP ?? No, IP. My grades would not have met the OOP cutoff for UBC for interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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