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Should I Do a Second Undergrad


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I am feeling very lost about what to do next year and where to go at this point with my application as this is my second cycle applying and I'm feeling unsure of my chances. 

My GPA: 

1st year: 3.49 (dropped one course and took it in the summer so counting that 3.53)

2nd year: 3.53

3rd year: 3.91

4th year: 3.85

cGPA (uoft): 3.695  cGPA (mcmaster): 3.704  wGPA (UWO, Queens): 3.88    wGPA (ottawa): 3.82

Course Based Masters of Public Health: so far high 80% (this would only could for Dal)

MCAT Total: 514 (128, 128, 131, 127) 

EC's: multiple volunteer trips abroad with the same company and continued work with them, two summers of summer undergrad research, a publication, university clubs with a few that i was part of the exec team, and was president of a club that worked our cities homeless population, other kind of basic extracurriculars this summer will be gaining some clinical experience as a clinical assistant and hopefully another two publications one from my masters and one from this summer- will also be gaining some more certifications over the summer through my masters. Will also be volunteering more locally this summer. 

I just feel kind of lost in my options. I know my cGPA holds me back and can't help feeling that a second undergrad could help- in this undergrad I don't count for UofT's weight GPA because i dropped a course in first year. But I also will be adding lots to my EC's and getting a couple new references from my masters. I could work for a year while applying a third cycle this time covering all of Canada and a bunch of US schools. I could try for a 3rd cycle and then weigh my options if the 3rd time doesn't work. 

What do you guys think? Any advice is appreciated

 

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Dal rounds gpa to the 10th when calculating, so your gpa there will already be 3.9, and ‘high 80’s’ usually means 3.9 depending on the school so that’s not going to change your gpa for Dal.

What province are you IP for? Are you Swomen? Do you have a maritime connection for Dal?

Just looking at academic stats I’d say competitive for Queens, and UWO if swomen. If not swomen the 128 in cars would make you ineligible. For Mac I think you’d need a pretty good Casper. Gpa probably not competitive for UoT and Ottawa. 3.9 is competitive OOP for Dal and so is your mcat (I think that would get you 22/25 on academic raw score)

Personally I’d try to get a higher CARS score before I took on a whole second undergrad but that’s just me. 

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I really don't think a 2nd undergrad is worth it after a master's degree. Why would you want to subject yourself to that misery? Especially since your 2 year GPA is strong. It is NOT worth it in my view. That's so much money and time gone. Why don't you apply to jobs across Canada and try to work/live in a province that favors your application strengths. During that period you can re-take the MCAT to improve CARS.

If you have the money to go down south, submit some apps this time around and see what happens. If it doesn't pan out, don't beat yourself up over it. Work, enjoy your life and have fun while you're young. Life is too short to memorize useless details from long-winded psychology textbooks at 2 in the morning, hoping that it makes a slight bump in your GPA. The wasted time, money and brain space of an undergraduate degree is more than enough the first time around...at least it was for me.  

My final message:  Look up different schools across Canada, research their policies/stats, choose one that favors your application and try to set up work in that province to eventually qualify as IP. Warning: schools can change their IP policies without notice, so this isn't a guarantee, but anything beats wasting more time in Ontario. Good luck!  

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13 hours ago, jr2 said:

I really don't think a 2nd undergrad is worth it after a master's degree. Why would you want to subject yourself to that misery? Especially since your 2 year GPA is strong. It is NOT worth it in my view. That's so much money and time gone. Why don't you apply to jobs across Canada and try to work/live in a province that favors your application strengths. During that period you can re-take the MCAT to improve CARS.

If you have the money to go down south, submit some apps this time around and see what happens. If it doesn't pan out, don't beat yourself up over it. Work, enjoy your life and have fun while you're young. Life is too short to memorize useless crap from long-winded psychology textbooks at 2 in the morning, hoping that it makes a slight bump in your GPA. The wasted time, money and brain space of an undergraduate degree is more than enough the first time around...at least it was for me.  

My final message:  Look up different schools across Canada, research their policies/stats, choose one that favors your application and try to set up work in that province to eventually qualify as IP. Warning: schools can change their IP policies without notice, so this isn't a guarantee, but anything beats wasting more time in the god forsaken province of Ontario. Good luck!  

I agree with this.  Its hard to imagine what school a second undergrad would even help with.  You likely wouldn't be competitive still for U of T or Mac.  MAYBE an extra year could help for Ottawa?  Youd be much better off just getting a better MCAT score

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On 2/28/2018 at 10:16 PM, Rahvin13 said:

Dal rounds gpa to the 10th when calculating, so your gpa there will already be 3.9, and ‘high 80’s’ usually means 3.9 depending on the school so that’s not going to change your gpa for Dal.

What province are you IP for? Are you Swomen? Do you have a maritime connection for Dal?

Just looking at academic stats I’d say competitive for Queens, and UWO if swomen. If not swomen the 128 in cars would make you ineligible. For Mac I think you’d need a pretty good Casper. Gpa probably not competitive for UoT and Ottawa. 3.9 is competitive OOP for Dal and so is your mcat (I think that would get you 22/25 on academic raw score)

Personally I’d try to get a higher CARS score before I took on a whole second undergrad but that’s just me. 

Thank you! I'm Ontario IP and not Swomen which is why I had no luck at western this year. I will be applying to Dal next year as OOP and some american schools. Most likely will retake the MCAT next summer after giving american schools and Dal a try, and aim for 129 in CARS. Thank you for the advice!

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On 3/1/2018 at 1:34 AM, jr2 said:

I really don't think a 2nd undergrad is worth it after a master's degree. Why would you want to subject yourself to that misery? Especially since your 2 year GPA is strong. It is NOT worth it in my view. That's so much money and time gone. Why don't you apply to jobs across Canada and try to work/live in a province that favors your application strengths. During that period you can re-take the MCAT to improve CARS.

If you have the money to go down south, submit some apps this time around and see what happens. If it doesn't pan out, don't beat yourself up over it. Work, enjoy your life and have fun while you're young. Life is too short to memorize useless crap from long-winded psychology textbooks at 2 in the morning, hoping that it makes a slight bump in your GPA. The wasted time, money and brain space of an undergraduate degree is more than enough the first time around...at least it was for me.  

My final message:  Look up different schools across Canada, research their policies/stats, choose one that favors your application and try to set up work in that province to eventually qualify as IP. Warning: schools can change their IP policies without notice, so this isn't a guarantee, but anything beats wasting more time in the god forsaken province of Ontario. Good luck!  

Thank you so much for the reply! You're right I really don't want to do a second undergraduate degree. I will be applying to the US this summer and retaking my MCAT in the future if that doesn't work out. I am done my Master's in August and have been thinking about moving to Calgary as I think I could have a shot at UofA if I was IP. 

Thank you again for your thoughtful reply I appreciate it. 

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On 3/1/2018 at 3:34 PM, goleafsgochris said:

I agree with this.  Its hard to imagine what school a second undergrad would even help with.  You likely wouldn't be competitive still for U of T or Mac.  MAYBE an extra year could help for Ottawa?  Youd be much better off just getting a better MCAT score

Thank you! I will not waste my time with a second undergraduate degree. Retaking the MCAT would be my next step moving forward! 

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