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Admissions chances with extended / part-time undergrad?


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Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the last year of my undergrad degree, which I have taken 5 years to complete. During several semesters, I only took a 2-3 courses, so that I could also work and focus on other activities. My current cumulative GPA is ~ 88%. IP applicant. I always wanted to pursue medicine, but ended up going down a different path during my undergrad (BA). However, now that I'm nearing the end of my degree, I just can't shake the feeling that I should give med school a shot. I'm considering taking an extra year (part-time) of science courses to start prepping for the MCAT. If I do this, I will have taken a total of 6 years to complete my undergrad, with many part-time semesters. I'm wondering if anyone knows if this is a serious disadvantage for UBC. Is it a red flag to admissions if someone takes their undergrad really slow? I would love to know if anyone else has been in the same boat and has been admitted, or knows of anyone who has. Just looking to get a clearer picture before taking a few years to pursue something that may be a long shot. Any help / advice is appreciated. Thank you.

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With an 88% definitely apply! Your ecs will be a huge factor as well, so depending on what you have done that will greatly impact your chances of interviewing. I don’t have much advice to give since I’m in a similar position to you and will be applying next cycle for the first time.

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I'm not too sure if it'll be a red flag for admissions per se, but they do want you to demonstrate the ability to take a full course load. I think they ask that if you haven't taken full course loads regularly, there's a space at the end of the application to explain why you weren't able to do so. :) 

Also if you want to know the real answer, you can just e-mail UBC Med admissions themselves. If this is truly what you want, go for it! Your GPA is right around the average. But also don't feel like you need to rush to apply, there are tons of people in my class who had settled into other career paths at first, before starting the process of taking the MCAT and applying!

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21 hours ago, sunny.sideup said:

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the last year of my undergrad degree, which I have taken 5 years to complete. During several semesters, I only took a 2-3 courses, so that I could also work and focus on other activities. My current cumulative GPA is ~ 88%. IP applicant. I always wanted to pursue medicine, but ended up going down a different path during my undergrad (BA). However, now that I'm nearing the end of my degree, I just can't shake the feeling that I should give med school a shot. I'm considering taking an extra year (part-time) of science courses to start prepping for the MCAT. If I do this, I will have taken a total of 6 years to complete my undergrad, with many part-time semesters. I'm wondering if anyone knows if this is a serious disadvantage for UBC. Is it a red flag to admissions if someone takes their undergrad really slow? I would love to know if anyone else has been in the same boat and has been admitted, or knows of anyone who has. Just looking to get a clearer picture before taking a few years to pursue something that may be a long shot. Any help / advice is appreciated. Thank you.

It’s not a red flag at all. You just need to be able to outline what you were doing with that time. They want to know you can handle hard work - but a combo of classes and other life activities, work, etc. can demonstrate this. I had several years of part-time semesters.

As per UBC’s faq: “A full course load is not necessary for application to the program, and we recognize that applicants may have many reasons for taking less than a full load. However, applicants must display an ability to handle the demands of medical school and may be required to demonstrate the reason behind a part-time course load.”

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