JakeR Posted January 21, 2019 Report Share Posted January 21, 2019 Hello everyone, it's my first time posting on this forum. I'm currently enrolled in engineering at Ryerson University, but am on medical withdrawal. I have completed two full years at Ryerson but since September of 2017 I have been dealing with a chronic illness that has not allowed me to return. I originally planned to pursue either medicine or pharmacy but couldn't afford med school so opted to go for engineering as I have always been interested in the sciences. I've fallen in love with medicine again in this two year span and I feel miserable in my engineering program. I've had a long time to consider my options and I'm doing a little better financially but I don't know where to go from here. Should I transfer? Complete my degree? Start a new undergraduate? I'm not too sure if GPA is carried over to new schools. My GPA is currently 3.0 if that helps at all. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. I just want to know where my options lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted January 21, 2019 Report Share Posted January 21, 2019 Hi Jake, In Canada you need to do 3-4 years of an undergrad degree before being able to apply to Medicine. It is a 2nd entry program. Your undergrad can be anything -- even Engineering. You will find on premed101 discussions on entering from Engineering like below link. It is doable, but not a typical path as achieving a high GPA can be harder to achieve. Med School Interviews rely heavily on a high GPA. You really need +3.85 GPA in Ontario and +3.95 GPA would open more doors. Schools do have a weighting approach to calculating wGPA (such as Queens - last 2 years, Western - best 2 years). Each school does it differently. Your current yr 1 and yr 2 stay on your transcript. They do not disappear by moving programs. You could complete your current Engineering degree needing to achieve +3.85 in yr 3 and yr 4 and apply after 4th year. If possible at Ryerson, you could tack on a 5th year to help your GPA. You could shift to a different program where you may be able to achieve higher grades. If you do get a Med School acceptance, the costs can be covered in Canada by Grants/OSAP and a very large LOC (ie $275K.) Financing once you get into medical school is achievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeR Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2019 Hello, thank you for the reply first of all it was very informative. Do you recommend perhaps completing a second degree in order to increase my GPA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted January 21, 2019 Report Share Posted January 21, 2019 6 hours ago, JakeR said: Hello, thank you for the reply first of all it was very informative. Do you recommend perhaps completing a second degree in order to increase my GPA? You need to somehow achieve atleast 2 years of high GPA. You could do that in yr3 & yr4 of your current Engineering degree. Or you could switch to something else if you do not think you can get the +3.85. Some people tack on a fifth year if they need to just boost their GPA a little. That might be your path. You need to plan for full course-load to keep options open. Note some med schools (UWO) require you to be in process of a 4 yr degree - so watch for that if you switch. Many people who do not do well in 1st year still succeed in med school interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeR Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Ok thanks a lot for your help things are a little clearer now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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