AllieSulvian Posted February 9, 2021 Report Share Posted February 9, 2021 Hello guys, I apologize I know this has been asked 10928768238970 times but I haven't found any forum that directly answers to situations like mine. So like many non-trads, I got a low GPA in my previous Undergrad degree due to the fact that I was not passionate about that major and also personal reasons (I was an international student in another province and unfortunately the textbooks were way too expensive for my single mother to afford, so I had to only rely on the few info that my teachers gave us in the lectures to prepare for the exams). And to be honest, even if my GPA was competitive enough, I did not take any science pre requisites during my previous undergrad because I had most of my science credits from back home (I majored in Physics and Chem before coming to Canada) be transferred so the only Science courses that I took at the university level were 3000 level courses... I spoke to a McGill advisor and they told me that the science pre reqs I took in my previous school back home won't be considered for a 2nd degree in B.sc since it's been more than 5 years, and they do not offer "general/independent" year where I can take those pre reqs... I know that by getting a 2nd degree I will increase my chances, since I've been taking advanced STEM courses since I was 14yo and always had really good grades in them. Also, I cannot study those pre reqs at a university outside of Quebec since I signed an "intent to live and remain in Quebec" and my immigration lawyer told me I need to live in Quebec for at least 2-3years as a new Permanent resident before I can move to another province. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vons Posted February 9, 2021 Report Share Posted February 9, 2021 I'm not entirely sure if I understand your situation, but if you need to both get a second undergraduate degree as well as complete the science prerequisites (but I'm not sure what you mean by "they told me that the science pre reqs I took in my previous school back home won't be considered for a 2nd degree in B.sc since it's been more than 5 years"), you could check out Concordia University. They offer a 1 year program that gets you most of the science prerequisites that you'd need (I don't remember exactly what it's called), though if you need a second bachelor's degree anyways you should probably just apply directly for a bachelor's program, which you should be able to finish in 60 credits/4 semesters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capoo Posted February 9, 2021 Report Share Posted February 9, 2021 5 hours ago, AllieSulvian said: Hello guys, I apologize I know this has been asked 10928768238970 times but I haven't found any forum that directly answers to situations like mine. So like many non-trads, I got a low GPA in my previous Undergrad degree due to the fact that I was not passionate about that major and also personal reasons (I was an international student in another province and unfortunately the textbooks were way too expensive for my single mother to afford, so I had to only rely on the few info that my teachers gave us in the lectures to prepare for the exams). And to be honest, even if my GPA was competitive enough, I did not take any science pre requisites during my previous undergrad because I had most of my science credits from back home (I majored in Physics and Chem before coming to Canada) be transferred so the only Science courses that I took at the university level were 3000 level courses... I spoke to a McGill advisor and they told me that the science pre reqs I took in my previous school back home won't be considered for a 2nd degree in B.sc since it's been more than 5 years, and they do not offer "general/independent" year where I can take those pre reqs... I know that by getting a 2nd degree I will increase my chances, since I've been taking advanced STEM courses since I was 14yo and always had really good grades in them. Also, I cannot study those pre reqs at a university outside of Quebec since I signed an "intent to live and remain in Quebec" and my immigration lawyer told me I need to live in Quebec for at least 2-3years as a new Permanent resident before I can move to another province. Any advice? You can do your prereqs at any English cegep (Dawson/Vanier/Marianopolis/etc.) or even French if you feel comfortable doing so, just give them a call, tell them about your situation, and their academic advisors should be able to let you take those prereqs during night school/weekend school or any other option you’re comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDee2B Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 While the advisor may have told that you that the science prereqs you did back home would not count toward your 2nd undergrad since they were done too long ago, I think it’s important to consider that those same completed science prereqs may still well count for the purpose of your medical school applications in Quebec. The policy of Quebec medical schools has fluctuated over time but at the moment, I believe that all (or at least some) Quebec medical schools will consider science prereqs completed more than 8-10 years ago. You’d have to check with each faculty if the courses you did abroad are indeed deemed equivalent to those required by each faculty. As for your requirement to reside in Quebec: Even if you have to physically reside in Quebec, there are online options such as Athabasca University for example. But as @keipop pointed out, there are plenty of good cegep/University options within the province that are well worth considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieSulvian Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 hours ago, keipop said: You can do your prereqs at any English cegep (Dawson/Vanier/Marianopolis/etc.) or even French if you feel comfortable doing so, just give them a call, tell them about your situation, and their academic advisors should be able to let you take those prereqs during night school/weekend school or any other option you’re comfortable with. I called Dawson and they were like « you’re too qualified for our cegep » lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieSulvian Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 59 minutes ago, MDee2B said: While the advisor may have told that you that the science prereqs you did back home would not count toward your 2nd undergrad since they were done too long ago, I think it’s important to consider that those same completed science prereqs may still well count for the purpose of your medical school applications in Quebec. The policy of Quebec medical schools has fluctuated over time but at the moment, I believe that all (or at least some) Quebec medical schools will consider science prereqs completed more than 8-10 years ago. You’d have to check with each faculty if the courses you did abroad are indeed deemed equivalent to those required by each faculty. As for your requirement to reside in Quebec: Even if you have to physically reside in Quebec, there are online options such as Athabasca University for example. But as @keipop pointed out, there are plenty of good cegep/University options within the province that are well worth considering. I read that medical schools look down on online courses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capoo Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 5 minutes ago, AllieSulvian said: I called Dawson and they were like « you’re too qualified for our cegep » lol nah most academic advisors are like that ahaha (personal experience, had quite a bit of... not too nice experiences with Dawson's academic advisors during my time there), you really need to haggle with them for them to let you do your prereqs there. also, try other cegeps, like Vanier/John Abbott (public) or Mariano (private, so $$ but still less than doing your prereqs at a university), or maybe if you're comfortable doing them in French try Maisonneuve/Ahuntsic, they're quite lax about letting mature students doing prereqs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieSulvian Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 hours ago, Vons said: I'm not entirely sure if I understand your situation, but if you need to both get a second undergraduate degree as well as complete the science prerequisites (but I'm not sure what you mean by "they told me that the science pre reqs I took in my previous school back home won't be considered for a 2nd degree in B.sc since it's been more than 5 years"), you could check out Concordia University. They offer a 1 year program that gets you most of the science prerequisites that you'd need (I don't remember exactly what it's called), though if you need a second bachelor's degree anyways you should probably just apply directly for a bachelor's program, which you should be able to finish in 60 credits/4 semesters. So basically McGill told me that if I want to get a second undergrad degree in Science, I should’ve taken Science pre reqs at the university level which I didn’t... I only took 3000 level science courses while doing my previous bachelor’s degree, since I had the advanced science pre reqs that I did back home transferred. And unfortunately those same science pre reqs won’t be accepted by McGill because they don’t accept pre reqs that we’re done more than 5 years ago for their 2nd degree undergrad programs... I will look into Concordia, honestly I didn’t contact them since I thought all Quebec universities have the same rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieSulvian Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 7 minutes ago, keipop said: nah most academic advisors are like that ahaha (personal experience, had quite a bit of... not too nice experiences with Dawson's academic advisors during my time there), you really need to haggle with them for them to let you do your prereqs there. also, try other cegeps, like Vanier/John Abbott (public) or Mariano (private, so $$ but still less than doing your prereqs at a university), or maybe if you're comfortable doing them in French try Maisonneuve/Ahuntsic, they're quite lax about letting mature students doing prereqs. Thank you so much for your suggestions! I think I will speak to Concordia first though, if they can accept my credentials for a second bachelors degree then might as well study it there rather than wasting time in cegeps for McGill’s second degree ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vons Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 16 minutes ago, AllieSulvian said: So basically McGill told me that if I want to get a second undergrad degree in Science, I should’ve taken Science pre reqs at the university level which I didn’t... I only took 3000 level science courses while doing my previous bachelor’s degree, since I had the advanced science pre reqs that I did back home transferred. And unfortunately those same science pre reqs won’t be accepted by McGill because they don’t accept pre reqs that we’re done more than 5 years ago for their 2nd degree undergrad programs... I will look into Concordia, honestly I didn’t contact them since I thought all Quebec universities have the same rules. Ah yes I see the problem. Keep in mind though that if you want to apply to medical school at McGill, you'll need certain introductory science courses as prerequisite courses to be eligible to apply. Even if Concordia allows you to do a second undergraduate degree based on the science courses you completed in your home country, those courses may not be acceptable to the McGill medicine admissions committee. You have to verify that separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDee2B Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 26 minutes ago, AllieSulvian said: I read that medical schools look down on online courses? Some do (Uottawa), for others they’re perfectly acceptable (UdeM). Depends where you plan to apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieSulvian Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, Vons said: Ah yes I see the problem. Keep in mind though that if you want to apply to medical school at McGill, you'll need certain introductory science courses as prerequisite courses to be eligible to apply. Even if Concordia allows you to do a second undergraduate degree based on the science courses you completed in your home country, those courses may not be acceptable to the McGill medicine admissions committee. You have to verify that separately. Yes, I am aware of that but my plan is to not transfer any credits in Concordia and actually study the pre reqs that McGill (and other medical schools) require to apply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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