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Showing results for tags 'nontraditional'.
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I started university straight out of high school. I did 2.5 years before being kicked out. My poor academic performance was due to a variety of reasons including trauma and mental illness. I took some time off and I went back to school in the 2020/2021 academic year. I'm currently doing well academically and personally. I'm halfway through my degree. I calculated my gpa using the OMSAS scale: Year 1 - 2.60 (30 credits) Year 2 - 2.05 (22 credits) Year 3 - 0.7 (12 credits) 2020/2021 - 3.96 (30 credits) I've never taken the MCAT but I've done some basic science courses. I know that medical school admissions are extremely competitive in Canada and my GPA is low. Is there a realistic chance that I could get accepted into a Canadian med school? I know that Queens and Western could be options for me due to their 2 year gpa policies. Are there other medical schools with similar GPA policies? I am not from Ontario and med school in my home province is not an option due to my marks. I know that some schools allow applicants to provide an explanation for poor academic performance. Are there any med schools which are known to give this a lot of weight? I do have compelling reasons to explain my poor academic performance but I don't know if they would be enough to make up for 2.5 years of bad marks. I am also worried that disclosing my trauma and mental illness could backfire. Is there a realistic chance that I could get into a US MD or DO med school with a decent MCAT score? For reference, I'm a Canadian citizen. I have some work experience and some volunteering but my extracurriculars are nothing special. I don't have any clinical experience. Does anyone have suggestions for extracurriculars I could do to improve my application? Thanks. -
I’ll start by unapologetically saying that I wasn’t given a fair chance in life in regards to pursuing my academic ambitions (specifically my 1st undergraduate degree years). During my first degree I had 2 brothers that had strokes and passed away. I was routinely involved in caring for them and had to juggle school at the same time. Sadly my academic standing suffered greatly due to these family issues. Anyhow, I’m living a new life now and things have settled. I am no longer in depression related to my brothers deaths and want to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. I would like you to be 100% honest. How good or bad are my chances to get accepted to medical schools either in America or Canada if the following situations pans out? My plan: - Previous degree cgpa 2.7 - New degree: I’ve just been accepted to York for a 3 year undergrad (due to my transfer credits) - Suppose I do well in the new degree (3.8+ gpa for 3 years), score well on the mcat and have good EC. Also would my story of caring for my disabled brothers assist me in any way? What I mean is they were disabled and I am passionate about caring for disabled people. I did volunteering related to this also. Is getting a second degree and pursuing medicine in this manner a good plan or not? I don’t want to get started just to find out at the end that all my work was worth nothing. I feel like I have been forever stained by my first degrees gpa and that no medical school will take me seriously. I believe I have a legitimate case that could be made in saying that my first degrees low gpa was directly related to the amount of time I spent caring for my brothers. Is it possible to have my new degree only considered in the GPA process? Especially for American schools since they consider trends. thank you -
Hi, here is the breakdown of my situation. I am from Canada and I am 30. - undergrad in an unrelated program (accounting and econ) - worked 3 part time jobs and grades suffered... low GPA - how would I go about financial aid? I do not have a background in science. However, I have always been interested in medicine. I keep seeing the non-traditional student but I don't know exactly what that entails. Would I need to take a post-bacc, but I see in Canada this is uncommon. Would I need to take some pre-requisite courses and how could I increase my GPA or would this not matter now as a mature student. Please help. Thank you! -
Self MCAT prep as non-trad???
GabriellaGE posted a topic in Non-Traditional Applicants/Grad Students
Sorry if I’m not supposed to post here! My UG is Psychology and my schools of interest don’t require prerequisites, has anyone been in a similar situation and self studied for the MCAT? how long did you give yourself? Did you study while in school? TIA -
Hello I am a non traditional resident in Ontario. I graduated in 2015 with a science degree and want to apply to medical school in Canada (very preferred) but will consider US MD and DO. Can you give me your honest advice on what I should do? Year 1 3.75 Year 2 3.65 Year 3 3.72 Year 4 3.24 (personal issues) cGPA 3.59 EC from Uni: Club VPs, Student Mentor, Tutor, Student Counselor and other smaller involvements Work: Non profit organization internships, tutor, scribe, medical assistant in a specialty clinic, research assistant References: Strong references from PI and doctors I have worked with MCAT: took in Uni got 24. Recently took MCAT and felt a lot better than my first time around. Now waiting for results to come back in 2 weeks. I realize my lowest GPA occurred during the most important year of undegrad (4th) but unfortunately personal issues (family, friends and mental health) really effected me at the time. Now I am in a better place. I am considering doing a 5th year to help boost my GPA, work part time and strengthen my ECs. The GPA gain would be minimal but I hope to convey that I am capable of doing well and have recovered from my bad 4th year. Is there value in this thought? Should I do a second degree instead? I don't want to commit 2-3 more years for a degree that may lead me to the same job prospects I have now but I would appreciate your honest opinions. At this time, I am not very interested in pursuing a certificate or Masters program. Cheers