Not everyone is given a fair hand in life. Trying to get back on track

[Redface]

I’ll start by unapologetically saying that I wasn’t given a fair chance in life in regards to pursuing my academic ambitions (specifically my 1st undergraduate degree years). During my first degree I had 2 brothers that had strokes and passed away.  I was routinely involved in caring for them and had to juggle school at the same time. Sadly my academic standing suffered greatly due to these family issues. 
 

Anyhow, I’m living a new life now and things have settled. I am no longer in depression related to my brothers deaths and want to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. 
 

I would like you to be 100% honest. How good or bad are my chances to get accepted to medical schools either in America or Canada if the following situations pans out? 
 

My plan:

- Previous degree cgpa 2.7 

- New degree: I’ve just been accepted to York for a 3 year undergrad (due to my transfer credits) 

- Suppose I do well in the new degree (3.8+ gpa for 3 years), score well on the mcat and have good EC. Also would my story of caring for my disabled brothers assist me in any way? What I mean is they were disabled and I am passionate about caring for disabled people. I did volunteering related to this also. 
 

Is getting a second degree and pursuing medicine in this manner a good plan or not? I don’t want to get started just to find out at the end that all my work was worth nothing. 
 

I feel like I have been forever stained by my first degrees gpa and that no medical school will take me seriously. I believe I have a legitimate case that could be made in saying that my first degrees low gpa was directly related to the amount of time I spent caring for my brothers. Is it possible to have my new degree only considered in the GPA process? Especially for American schools since they consider trends. 

thank you 

[JohnGrisham]

Anything is possible if you ace the 2nd degree and buff up your non-academic/life experiences.  If you are open to the US, then even more so possible - but you need to look into if you could even finance it or not. US schools will give you some benefit if you get for sure 3.8+(but strive for 4.0) in 3 year degree, and ace the mcat. Again, finances and money for viability. 

[Redface]

@JohnGrisham Hello and thanks for your reply. My family is well off and money will not be an issue. My only concern with applying to American medical schools is that they assess GPA on 3 levels and one of them being CGPA. I’m afraid if I do end up achieving a 3.8+ average on my new degree the 2.7 gpa that I have already received from my first degree will cause me to not meet the minimum CGPA required to apply to medical school. As such, my application will not be looked at since my CGPA will be very low. Do you know if this is accurate or have I misunderstood the gpa assessment process of American schools? 
 

thanks 

[JohnGrisham]

1 hour ago, Redface said:

@JohnGrisham Hello and thanks for your reply. My family is well off and money will not be an issue. My only concern with applying to American medical schools is that they assess GPA on 3 levels and one of them being CGPA. I’m afraid if I do end up achieving a 3.8+ average on my new degree the 2.7 gpa that I have already received from my first degree will cause me to not meet the minimum CGPA required to apply to medical school. As such, my application will not be looked at since my CGPA will be very low. Do you know if this is accurate or have I misunderstood the gpa assessment process of American schools? 
 

thanks 

Then you need to get 4.0 instead of a 3.8, and keep taking classes until your cGPA >3.0 to meet the minimum cutoff. Not all schools have 3.0 cGPA cutoff, some where 2.75. But either way, you won't get anything unless you try for it.

[bearded frog]

5 hours ago, Redface said:

- New degree: I’ve just been accepted to York for a 3 year undergrad (due to my transfer credits) 

Basically going anywhere that looks at cumulative GPA (mcmaster etc) is off the table with only 3 years more undergrad. Many schools now have a policy where they will make some GPA modifications if completing a new degree with fulltime enrollment but you have to make sure you qualify so do your research first.

You can tell your story on the prompts/interviews when they ask if there is any extenuating circumstances about your transcript and perhaps you can mention it as a time you overcame hardship etc. but its not going to give you extra points otherwise.

And for anyone else reading this thread in similar circumstances please WITHDRAW or apply for retroactive withdrawal if you have life circumstances that are affecting your GPA and you're aiming for medical school.