Can anyone give me some advise if its worth it for me to continue applying?

[Canadian123 0]

Hi. I started my undergrad in 2011 and graduated in 2015. My first two years of university were poor and affected my GPA by a lot. My last 2 years were better and as such I got accepted into masters programs (since most only look at last 2 years). I still don't think my overall undergrad GPA is good enough for med school. My masters gpa is 3.8 and I have 4 first-author publications and 5 published abstracts (11 total publications) and over $35,000 in awards and scholarships/funding. I know my background is strong for academia but not med school. I'm working in research now but keep longing for medicine. 

Would I have a better chance getting into MD/PhD programs with my strong research background and lower GPA? Are there any schools that will drop courses taken as late as 2011? What schools include masters courses in GPA? Ive got my first rejection and I think Im getting discouraged now because I know the courses I took 10 years ago will probably be the reason I don't get in although I'm now much older and mature and know I am capable of medical school. 

[Snowmen 587]

It's hard to help you if you won't mention your GPA and breakdown. Also, regarding MD/PhD programs, my understanding is that you need to be accepted to the MD and PhD components separetaly so it wouldn't make it easier to gain acceptance.

[Canadian123 0]

Just now, Snowmen said:

It's hard to help you if you won't mention your GPA and breakdown. Also, regarding MD/PhD programs, my understanding is that you need to be accepted to the MD and PhD components separetaly so it wouldn't make it easier to gain acceptance.

Sorry! My first two years my average was like a 70 but the last two years its an 80. My overall average now is about a 75.

[Snowmen 587]

7 minutes ago, Canadian123 said:

Sorry! My first two years my average was like a 70 but the last two years its an 80. My overall average now is about a 75.

Do you know what that ends up being in terms of GPA on a 4.0 scale?

[Canadian123 0]

25 minutes ago, Snowmen said:

Do you know what that ends up being in terms of GPA on a 4.0 scale?

I think my current GPA is like a 3 or even a 2.9 my masters GPA is a 3.84 so it sucks...

[sorrynotsorry 26]

2 minutes ago, Canadian123 said:

I think my current GPA is like a 3 or even a 2.9 my masters GPA is a 3.84 so it sucks...

Most schools don’t look at graduate GPA (except UBC, Alberta and Calgary, maybe more?). With a 3.0/4.0 GPA, you will likely have to do a second undergrad to have a realistic chance. 

[medicallyricalmiracle 151]

your research and scholarship CV is amazing. from what i see of your GPA it's much too low to be competitive in Canada because I don't think a 2.9-3 meets the minimum cutoffs to be considered. I think a couple years of a new undergrad degree with really good grades would 'erase' your first undergrad and would give you a really good shot. 

[Canadian123 0]

1 hour ago, medicallyricalmiracle said:

your research and scholarship CV is amazing. from what i see of your GPA it's much too low to be competitive in Canada because I don't think a 2.9-3 meets the minimum cutoffs to be considered. I think a couple years of a new undergrad degree with really good grades would 'erase' your first undergrad and would give you a really good shot. 

Thanks so much! Do you know how many courses would I have to take for a second undergrad? I already started a second undergrad in 2014 and did 5 courses. I only did those courses because I was going to do clinical psychology. Would it look bad if I resumed from 2014? Do programs still look at your first degree if you do a second?

[Canadian123 0]

1 hour ago, sorrynotsorry said:

Most schools don’t look at graduate GPA (except UBC, Alberta and Calgary, maybe more?). With a 3.0/4.0 GPA, you will likely have to do a second undergrad to have a realistic chance. 

Thanks so much! Do you know how many courses would I have to take for a second undergrad? I already started a second undergrad in 2014 and did 5 courses. I only did those courses because I was going to do clinical psychology. Would it look bad if I resumed from 2014? Do programs still look at your first degree if you do a second?

 

[medicallyricalmiracle 151]

1 hour ago, Canadian123 said:

Thanks so much! Do you know how many courses would I have to take for a second undergrad? I already started a second undergrad in 2014 and did 5 courses. I only did those courses because I was going to do clinical psychology. Would it look bad if I resumed from 2014? Do programs still look at your first degree if you do a second?

 

•  

i think it's fine if you pick back up from your 2014 degree. You would ideally want to do 2 or 3 years of full-time undergraduate studying (you can get away with part-time but you'll be ineligible for weighted GPA formulas at a lot of schools which can be helpful for giving your GPA an even bigger boost!). if you apply after completing 2 full-time years of your current undergrad, they should not consider your GPA from the first one...however don't take my word for it, consult the schools' websites for concrete info.

[Psych 161]

First off, for MD/PhD you are assessed in a completely separate stream from the plain MD stream, so you definitely could have a shot there. How it works is you're assessed first for the MD/PhD and then if you aren't selected for that, they put you in the normal MD stream. I don't know much more about it than that, but it is for sure its own stream separate from the MD

For a second undergrad, it can be done in as little as 2 years- I personally know someone who did this!

Also, don't forget that some schools (western and queen's) only look at your 2 most recent years for the GPA so you might have a shot there even without the second undergrad. All schools calculate GPA differently, so I recommend you look into each school and find ones that work best for you

[Canadian123 0]

On 11/12/2020 at 8:08 PM, Psych said:

First off, for MD/PhD you are assessed in a completely separate stream from the plain MD stream, so you definitely could have a shot there. How it works is you're assessed first for the MD/PhD and then if you aren't selected for that, they put you in the normal MD stream. I don't know much more about it than that, but it is for sure its own stream separate from the MD

For a second undergrad, it can be done in as little as 2 years- I personally know someone who did this!

Also, don't forget that some schools (western and queen's) only look at your 2 most recent years for the GPA so you might have a shot there even without the second undergrad. All schools calculate GPA differently, so I recommend you look into each school and find ones that work best for you

Thanks so much! I already have 5 courses in progress from another degree. When do you think the best time would be for me to fit in courses? Would it be realistic to expect acceptance for the next cycle? (not the one that the deadline just passed)

[Psych 161]

4 minutes ago, Canadian123 said:

Thanks so much! I already have 5 courses in progress from another degree. When do you think the best time would be for me to fit in courses? Would it be realistic to expect acceptance for the next cycle? (not the one that the deadline just passed)

I wish I could give you better advice but I don't know enough about it to help you with this unfortunately- I think it's very program and school-dependent (both where you're doing the courses and also in terms of the med school's requirements). It doesn't hurt to do some digging on the med school websites or even sending them an email to check! Maybe someone else can also chime in on this

[AAA123 1]

On 11/12/2020 at 9:53 AM, sorrynotsorry said:

Most schools don’t look at graduate GPA (except UBC, Alberta and Calgary, maybe more?). With a 3.0/4.0 GPA, you will likely have to do a second undergrad to have a realistic chance. 

Hey would you mind sharing with me how you know UBC looks at graduate GPAs? I have an MSc. with a 3.86 GPA, and I'm wondering how they will look at this compared to a lower GPA from my undergrad?

[sorrynotsorry 26]

28 minutes ago, AAA123 said:

Hey would you mind sharing with me how you know UBC looks at graduate GPAs? I have an MSc. with a 3.86 GPA, and I'm wondering how they will look at this compared to a lower GPA from my undergrad?

Here, under academic criteria: 

https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/evaluation-criteria/

Overall academic average (OGPA): Will be based on all university transferable courses attempted with letter or percentage grades¹ (excluding Term 2 of the 2019-2020 academic year (or equivalent term) courses and courses taken in the summer of the year of application²).

In other words, they will take the average of all courses (undergrad+ grad) you’ve taken.