Next steps

[96er]

Hello!

Was just looking to see if anyone could advise me on next steps for my situation. I graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 2018 from an Ontario university, and have been focusing on building my ECs since graduation.

Here are my stats:

1st year - 2.9

2nd year - 3.0

3rd year - 3.9

4th year - 3.9

MCAT - 514 (128 CARS)

I was diagnosed with ADHD in the summer following my second year, treatment helped me score well on the MCAT and in my courses in my last two years.

I would like to go to Med School in Ontario, but I am open to other options.

Currently, I am not sure whether to pursue a:

Master’s degree (I would prefer to study Global Health or something related to ADHD)

Second undergrad (in something more employable than a HBSc, hopefully beginning in 3rd/4th year while allowing me to get a 4.0)

Or continuing to stay out of school, volunteering and working

Can anyone give me some advice?

 

 

[Anon-e-mous]

Great 3rd and 4th year!  

I saw from your previous posts that your cGPA won't help for McMaster and wGPA won't help for Toronto or Ottawa. So right now in Ontario your best shots are Queen's and Western. The thing that sucks about these schools now is how potentially subjective ECs can be. Even with good stats and seemingly well-rounded ECs many people do not receive interviews. 

If you want to go to med school in Ontario, then opening up Ottawa would probably be the next easiest thing to do to boost your chances. One more year of school could boost your wGPA to a competitive level there. Second undergrads that are more employable include things like nursing (2 year accelerated), social work (1-2 years), and occupational health and safety (2 years) for people who have completed degrees.

Dalhousie would also only look at your two years with 3.9 and you have a good MCAT score. Competition is fierce out of province even with a good connection to the Maritimes but all eligible in-province applicants are interviewed. It takes a year of living and working/volunteering there before the application deadline to be considered IP but it may be worth it if you would rather work instead of going back to school and want to increase your chances in anyway possible. 

Living in Ontario is rough for admissions but you can do it, you've done so well! Best of luck  

[96er]

On 10/23/2019 at 7:58 PM, ruralmed said:

Great 3rd and 4th year!  

I saw from your previous posts that your cGPA won't help for McMaster and wGPA won't help for Toronto or Ottawa. So right now in Ontario your best shots are Queen's and Western. The thing that sucks about these schools now is how potentially subjective ECs can be. Even with good stats and seemingly well-rounded ECs many people do not receive interviews. 

If you want to go to med school in Ontario, then opening up Ottawa would probably be the next easiest thing to do to boost your chances. One more year of school could boost your wGPA to a competitive level there. Second undergrads that are more employable include things like nursing (2 year accelerated), social work (1-2 years), and occupational health and safety (2 years) for people who have completed degrees.

Dalhousie would also only look at your two years with 3.9 and you have a good MCAT score. Competition is fierce out of province even with a good connection to the Maritimes but all eligible in-province applicants are interviewed. It takes a year of living and working/volunteering there before the application deadline to be considered IP but it may be worth it if you would rather work instead of going back to school and want to increase your chances in anyway possible. 

Living in Ontario is rough for admissions but you can do it, you've done so well! Best of luck  

Thanks for the detailed reply, I really appreciate it

Would you recommend a second undergrad over a Masters? Honestly I am thinking about doing both, but which one do you think would be more immediately helpful? (Masters for Toronto/ECs, second undergrad for Ottawa/job)

[Anon-e-mous]

2 hours ago, 96er said:

Would you recommend a second undergrad over a Masters? Honestly I am thinking about doing both, but which one do you think would be more immediately helpful? (Masters for Toronto/ECs, second undergrad for Ottawa/job)

What's your wGPA for Toronto? And your cGPA for McMaster? A masters might be enough to put you in the competitive range for these schools depending on your GPAs. The other good thing about a masters is that the grades count for many med schools in western Canada so that could help if you apply OOP. A second undergrad/special year might also open up those schools though too. 

Definitely a tough decision and there's no one path you could take. Seems like more years of undergrad would open up more schools to apply to faster but a masters might also help for some schools.

[96er]

wGPA for Toronto is 3.68. cGPA for Mac is 3.42. I know Toronto has the graduate application stream, but Mac only gives an extra 1% score for a Masters.

I guess the safest route would be doing both a second undergrad and a Masters.

[needguidanceee]

2 hours ago, 96er said:

wGPA for Toronto is 3.68. cGPA for Mac is 3.42. I know Toronto has the graduate application stream, but Mac only gives an extra 1% score for a Masters.

I guess the safest route would be doing both a second undergrad and a Masters.

Why dont you apply western and queens???? A 128 cars is good in my books, 518 is good; 3.9 in year 3 and 4 is all theyre going to look at. But everything else isnt going to be competitive, if you want ottawa and uoft and mac a second undergrad is probably necessary; we're actually in the same boat; your stats are similar to mine,  but my MCATs a lot lower. Realistically I think youre more competitive than me for western and queens so like just apply, if not then I think then do what youre more inclined to do; the second undergrad would open up 3 more schools in ON, theres OOP too, idk its up to you; I know the feeling sucks, because you make the turn around but then boom 3 schools are gone. Especially in your case for the ADHD, a masters focused on that would be quite cool as you have a personal connection; but yeah, good for you for the turn around! But I still think you should apply to western and queens; as long as your ec's are good youre in the same pool. Yeah its only 2 schools but its better than 0 schools. Im personally doing a 2nd undergrad, but thats a me thing; Im not super passionate about research- I've done it since 1st year undergrad;  so I didnt really consider a masters because of that; but if youre into research that'll help your app, argh, I want to help you so bad but I dont know; someone please guide this person 

[96er]

17 hours ago, needguidanceee said:

Why dont you apply western and queens???? A 128 cars is good in my books, 518 is good; 3.9 in year 3 and 4 is all theyre going to look at. But everything else isnt going to be competitive, if you want ottawa and uoft and mac a second undergrad is probably necessary; we're actually in the same boat; your stats are similar to mine,  but my MCATs a lot lower. Realistically I think youre more competitive than me for western and queens so like just apply, if not then I think then do what youre more inclined to do; the second undergrad would open up 3 more schools in ON, theres OOP too, idk its up to you; I know the feeling sucks, because you make the turn around but then boom 3 schools are gone. Especially in your case for the ADHD, a masters focused on that would be quite cool as you have a personal connection; but yeah, good for you for the turn around! But I still think you should apply to western and queens; as long as your ec's are good youre in the same pool. Yeah its only 2 schools but its better than 0 schools. Im personally doing a 2nd undergrad, but thats a me thing; Im not super passionate about research- I've done it since 1st year undergrad;  so I didnt really consider a masters because of that; but if youre into research that'll help your app, argh, I want to help you so bad but I dont know; someone please guide this person 

Thanks for the response, appreciate it! I have applied to Western, Queen’s, Toronto and Mac this cycle. Honestly theres so many people applying to Western and Queen’s that your EC’s have to be insane, and of course it can be quite subjective. It sucks to have to do more school when I know I’m ready but at least I can study something I’m actually interested in pursuing as a backup career now while also picking up good grades to cast a wider net for med apps.

[yeescience]

On 10/23/2019 at 5:38 PM, 96er said:

Hello!

Was just looking to see if anyone could advise me on next steps for my situation. I graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 2018 from an Ontario university, and have been focusing on building my ECs since graduation.

Here are my stats:

1st year - 2.9

2nd year - 3.0

3rd year - 3.9

4th year - 3.9

MCAT - 514 (128 CARS)

I was diagnosed with ADHD in the summer following my second year, treatment helped me score well on the MCAT and in my courses in my last two years.

I would like to go to Med School in Ontario, but I am open to other options.

Currently, I am not sure whether to pursue a:

Master’s degree (I would prefer to study Global Health or something related to ADHD)

Second undergrad (in something more employable than a HBSc, hopefully beginning in 3rd/4th year while allowing me to get a 4.0)

Or continuing to stay out of school, volunteering and working

Can anyone give me some advice?

 

 

Hey, amazing turn around for your GPA, congrats

I had a very similar situation and GPA trend as you in undergrad but my MCAT is lower. I personally decided to go the grad school route and hoping for UofT now! I suggest maybe starting with grad school and applying while in your last year. If you still don't receive admission then, I think a second undergrad would be helpful (that's my plan as well). Best of luck!!

[96er]

15 hours ago, yeescience said:

Hey, amazing turn around for your GPA, congrats

I had a very similar situation and GPA trend as you in undergrad but my MCAT is lower. I personally decided to go the grad school route and hoping for UofT now! I suggest maybe starting with grad school and applying while in your last year. If you still don't receive admission then, I think a second undergrad would be helpful (that's my plan as well). Best of luck!!

Thanks for the response! Could I ask what you’re studying in grad school and what your plans are after grad school and your second undergrad if you aren’t able to make it into med? My fear is going through that entire process (3-5 years I imagine) and still not being in a better position as I am today. 

[yeescience]

On 10/28/2019 at 12:48 PM, 96er said:

Thanks for the response! Could I ask what you’re studying in grad school and what your plans are after grad school and your second undergrad if you aren’t able to make it into med? My fear is going through that entire process (3-5 years I imagine) and still not being in a better position as I am today. 

Sure, no problem! I'm doing a research-based MSc, and I am currently in my fourth year (should probably have transferred to PhD as I do stem cell work, which can take a long time!). I would recommend doing this route if you have a genuine interest in research or if you want to find out if you would like it as an alternative career. I've read many posts on this forum warning against doing research if you hate it and to some degree, that holds true. The expectations as a grad student are high and the program is very demanding, but if you pursue it for the right reasons, it can be really rewarding and you will develop a lot of skills (not just research related). That being said, I think I am a much stronger applicant today than I was after my 5 years of undergrad. However, one can always keep improving, which is why I maaay do a second undergrad (or at least, take some extra courses on a full-time basis) to strengthen my GPA. I was a Life Science major and my undergrad university agreed that doing a second undergrad in a Biology major there would be alright. You will have to evaluate your situation  as it might be more beneficial for you to do a second undergrad in something that would give you an alternative career (physician assistant, nursing, public health inspection, etc). I would only choose Biology as a second undergrad as I would be looking to strengthen my GPA only, since my back up career is working in stem cell field research/industry. If you want to chat more, I am glad to do so, just PM me