Transition from Economics to Medicine

[Enigma24 0]

Hi, so I’m currently considering switching from Economics to Medicine and I need some advice on the feasibility. Did Econ in both undergrad and grad school, no science background.

I was looking at University of Calgary and they don’t require much. Any advice on how to move forward? 

[neurologist19 15]

I am in a similar situation trying to self-learn the material for the MCAT exam. Fortunately, there are a lot of materials online where you could use to prepare for the exam, e.g. Khan Academy.

[offmychestplease 226]

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[rmorelan 2,572]

12 hours ago, Enigma24 said:

Hi, so I’m currently considering switching from Economics to Medicine and I need some advice on the feasibility. Did Econ in both undergrad and grad school, no science background.

I was looking at University of Calgary and they don’t require much. Any advice on how to move forward? 

Econ major over here (although I have a combined arts/science degree ha) - nothing really stopping you with an econ degree - you will have the usual GPA requirements, and on the MCAT 1/2 of the test your background prepares you well for (the other half is science - no matter what you degree for the most part 1/2 of the test you are not particular well prepared for ha). 

You will of course have to hit any prereqs for the schools your require for and probably should consider more than one school. 

I always say start by computing your GPA so you have an initial idea of where you stand

[rmorelan 2,572]

33 minutes ago, offmychestplease said:

What do you mean 'they don't require much'? This past application cycle 1700+ people applied for 135 seats in this year's class at UofC. The vast majority of these applicants have great stats + experiences. The average accepted GPA was also just under 3.90 and the vast majority of the students accepted took several tries before admission. 

Ha probably bad phrasing Not as much in terms of prereqs/degree restrictions etc. (?)

No Canadian medical schools is "easy" to get into. 

[Enigma24 0]

1 hour ago, offmychestplease said:

What do you mean 'they don't require much'? This past application cycle 1700+ people applied for 135 seats in this year's class at UofC. The vast majority of these applicants have great stats + experiences. The average accepted GPA was also just under 3.90 and the vast majority of the students accepted took several tries before admission. 

They don’t require as much when compared to other canadian med schools. 

[Enigma24 0]

58 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

Econ major over here (although I have a combined arts/science degree ha) - nothing really stopping you with an econ degree - you will have the usual GPA requirements, and on the MCAT 1/2 of the test your background prepares you well for (the other half is science - no matter what you degree for the most part 1/2 of the test you are not particular well prepared for ha). 

You will of course have to hit any prereqs for the schools your require for and probably should consider more than one school. 

I always say start by computing your GPA so you have an initial idea of where you stand

Okay, thanks. 

I’ve seen where some schools require science prerequisites but I haven’t seen any such requirement for UofC. Is it that the MCAT is satisfactory? 

[rmorelan 2,572]

1 hour ago, Enigma24 said:

Okay, thanks. 

I’ve seen where some schools require science prerequisites but I haven’t seen any such requirement for UofC. Is it that the MCAT is satisfactory? 

I believe you are right - 

each school is different and if they have prereqs they often are for specific reasons. Two examples - U of Ottawa has a bunch of them but doesn't use the mcat (it can't as there is no french version), and toronto does but has relatively low mcat cut offs (and only uses them as cut offs) so is forcing assessment of both arts and science at a higher level in another way. 

There is always a logic to every school rule after all

 

[Enigma24 0]

On 8/14/2020 at 4:42 PM, rmorelan said:

I believe you are right - 

each school is different and if they have prereqs they often are for specific reasons. Two examples - U of Ottawa has a bunch of them but doesn't use the mcat (it can't as there is no french version), and toronto does but has relatively low mcat cut offs (and only uses them as cut offs) so is forcing assessment of both arts and science at a higher level in another way. 

There is always a logic to every school rule after all

 

Thanks so much for the feedback