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Picking the right undergrad


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Hello! I am a grade 12 student in New Brunswick with a 4.0 gpa. I plan on going to medical school and considering I have to apply to a university soon, I decided to reach out and ask some of you for help. I was debating if doing my undergrad in the maritimes then applying to med school at MU or Dalhousie (as a Maritime applicant) would be better than going to a bigger school in Ontario/ elsewhere in Canada and then just apply to every medical school there.

Not sure if questions like this are appropriate for this forum, and if they aren't, please excuse me as I am not very familiar with this website. Thank you :)

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4 hours ago, Alexandru4 said:

Hello! I am a grade 12 student in New Brunswick with a 4.0 gpa. I plan on going to medical school and considering I have to apply to a university soon, I decided to reach out and ask some of you for help. I was debating if doing my undergrad in the maritimes then applying to med school at MU or Dalhousie (as a Maritime applicant) would be better than going to a bigger school in Ontario/ elsewhere in Canada and then just apply to every medical school there.

Not sure if questions like this are appropriate for this forum, and if they aren't, please excuse me as I am not very familiar with this website. Thank you :)

the first and most important rule it doesn't matter what school or program you take or where you take it, what matters will be your GPA. You can apply to most of the Ontario schools with no disadvantage if you do your schooling in your home province. 

You may know as you mention your GPA but as a usual warning make sure you understand GPA - and learn how every single course matters (a single low grade trashes GPA) :)

 

Edited by rmorelan
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8 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

the first and most important rule it doesn't matter what school or program you take or where you take it, what matters will be your GPA. You can apply to most of the Ontario schools with no disadvantage if you do your schooling in your home province. 

You may know as you mention your GPA but as a usual warning make sure you do - and how every single course matters (a single low grade trashes GPA) :)

 

Totally get that, I do know that it is easier to get into Atlantic Canada medical schools if you are a maritime resident, easier in terms of GPA and MCAT and that's why I was considering school here rather than Ontario.

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4 hours ago, Alexandru4 said:

Totally get that, I do know that it is easier to get into Atlantic Canada medical schools if you are a maritime resident, easier in terms of GPA and MCAT and that's why I was considering school here rather than Ontario.

 you obtain no significant disadvantage in Ontario for doing that. 

work hard, study well, learn the rules of admission and good luck! 

Edited by rmorelan
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High school grades are an indication of absolutely nothing as university is an entirely new ball game, so do not believe that your stellar grades so far mean anything other than you will get into university. And should you not have yet developed a strong work ethic, time and stress management skills because you were able to coast through h.s., you will be in for the surprise and shock of your life.

Moreover, if you have or find a significant other in undergrad, choose with exceptional care as the wrong person can derail your ambitions and goals. The last thing you want is a needy person who grabs all your time. Rather, you want a person who is supportive of your goals, who will understand that you can only devote limited time to that person. By way of example, in undergrad, I had a s.o. whom I only saw on Saturday nights for a maximum of 3 hours on Saturday nights and otherwise, we did not communicate in any manner, as my time, energies and focus were strictly devoted to attain my goals. Had he been selfish and needy, he would not have existed in my life. 
I was exhausted at the end of every semester, however, I remained motivated throughout my studies. I became a straight A student in undergrad, went to med school which was much much harder for me,  but I never realized what work and efficiently meant until I became a surgical resident. 

It helps if you take a program that interests you and about which you are passionate. I studied kin which was not difficult but the material was voluminous and required considerable effort to attain top, competitive grades. It also was a great preparation for medicine. I took easy electives to balance my work load. The most important ingredient, assuming a competitive academic record,  to attain acceptance to medical school is blind luck! Every application cycle, stellar candidates are refused entry and need to apply again and again. For ECs and volunteering do what interests you, so long as you demonstrate CanMED competencies. The other piece of advice I will share with you is to be humble, and do a kindness to someone every day, no matter how small it may be. 

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34 minutes ago, Bambi said:

High school grades are an indication of absolutely nothing as university is an entirely new ball game, so do not believe that your stellar grades so far mean anything other than you will get into university. And should you not have yet developed a strong work ethic, time and stress management skills because you were able to coast through h.s., you will be in for the surprise Nd shock of your love.

moreover, if you have or find a significant other in undergrad, choosecwith excdptional care as the wrong person can detail your am irions and goals. The last thing you wNt is a needy person who grabs all your time. Rather, you want a person who is supportive of your goals, who will understand that you can only devote limited time to that person. By way of example, in undergrad, I had a s.o. whom I only saw on Saturday nights for a maximum of 3 hours on Saturday nights and otherwise, we did not communicate in any manner, as my time, energies and focus were strictly devoted to attain my goals. Had he been selfish and needy, he would not have existed in my life. 
I was exhausted at the end of every semester, however, I remained motivated throughout my studies. I became a straight A student in undergrad, sent to med school which was much much harder for me,  it I never realized what work and efficiently meant until I became a surgical resident. 

It helps if you take a program that interests you and about which you are passionate. I studies kin which was not difficult but the material was voluminous and required considerable effort to attain top, competitive grades. It also was a great preparation for medicine. I took easy electives to balance my work load. The most important ingredient, assuming a complétive academic record,  to attain acceptance to medical school is blind luck! Every application cycle, stellar candidates are refused entry and need to apply again and again. bFor ECs and volunteering do what interests you, so long as you demonstrate CanMED competencies. The other piece of advice I will share with you is to be humble, and do a kindness to someone every day, no matter how small it may be. 

Totally! I haven't had the chance to practice study skills as school is beyond easy here. Definitely something I look forward to improving in my grade 12 year, and if not, wish me luck in university. Thank you for the great tips though! 

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4 minutes ago, UwoToUo said:

@rmorelan @Bambi LOL are y'all good? Now I'm convinced all the doctors here are either working really hard or sleep deprived when they come to this site :P Get some rest!

often am sleep deprived ha - it is a problem i am working on.  If any one asks what one of the drawbacks to becoming a doctor is you can always add a constant struggle for enough time to sleep. 

one of my weaknesses is that grammar seems to be the first thing to go when I am tired. Math for the record is the last. So I know if I cannot add then I am in really big trouble :)

Fortunately there is a path forward to a better rested future ha. 

 

Edited by rmorelan
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6 minutes ago, UwoToUo said:

@rmorelan @Bambi LOL are y'all good? Now I'm convinced all the doctors here are either working really hard or sleep deprived when they come to this site :P Get some rest!

***nothing wrong with your posts just a lot of funny typos/sentence structure haha***

ha :) I will have to go back and edit things. 

also I should mention - when you are writing scientific papers and then bouncing on there every once in a while, you can be stuck in academic mode while writing. It is as if you are trying to make some formal thesis argument on a trivial post. Not good ha!

 

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