Which medical schools in Canada do consider the MS gpa?

[Angela Tithi]

Hello there! I am a nontraditional applicant, basically I am a Computer Science major. I obtained 3.45 CGPA in my undergrad. Now, I want to apply to medical schools in Canada. As I do not have the prerequisite courses done, I am thinking of taking the prerequisite courses, should I go for a non-degree program, or should I go for an MS? I really want to know how the medical schools are going to judge my profile. Will they consider only the undergrad gpa, in which I do not have any of the prerequisite courses? Or if I take the prerequisite courses, are those grades going to be considered? I was going through the suggestions of some medical students and came up with the idea that, I can do a master’s and then apply to medical schools, that will compensate for my lower undergrad gpa. I really want to know what should I do. Should I go for a master's? And which medical schools in Canada will consider the master's gpa?

Thanks for your time!

[bearded frog]

Master's GPA is not considered the same as undergrad GPA at all schools, but some will combine them or otherwise give some undergrad GPA credit for graduate credit. Although I think if you took undergrad courses for prereqs during a graduate degree it would still count as undergrad GPA.

In general, if you're interest is purely to get into med school and you wouldn't otherwise do the graduate degree for your own interest, doing more undergrad is better if GPA is the weak spot on an application, due to various GPA weighting schemes. See my post here for schools which consider graduate degrees, although schools might have changed their policies so you'll have to do your own due diligence:

 

[Angela Tithi]

2 hours ago, bearded frog said:

Master's GPA is not considered the same as undergrad GPA at all schools, but some will combine them or otherwise give some undergrad GPA credit for graduate credit. Although I think if you took undergrad courses for prereqs during a graduate degree it would still count as undergrad GPA.

In general, if you're interest is purely to get into med school and you wouldn't otherwise do the graduate degree for your own interest, doing more undergrad is better if GPA is the weak spot on an application, due to various GPA weighting schemes. See my post here for schools which consider graduate degrees, although schools might have changed their policies so you'll have to do your own due diligence:

 

Thank you so so much! I think I better go for a second undergrad! Umm, I have another thing to know. Actually, I was going through the threads in here, and found someone saying that he did his second undergrad only for two years. I am sorry I do not have much idea about it, and that's why I am asking this; is it really possible to take the prerequisite courses only and do only two years of undergrad and then apply to medical school? Or do I have to complete the undergrad for four long years? 

[bearded frog]

On 7/30/2021 at 10:51 AM, Angela Tithi said:

Thank you so so much! I think I better go for a second undergrad! Umm, I have another thing to know. Actually, I was going through the threads in here, and found someone saying that he did his second undergrad only for two years. I am sorry I do not have much idea about it, and that's why I am asking this; is it really possible to take the prerequisite courses only and do only two years of undergrad and then apply to medical school? Or do I have to complete the undergrad for four long years? 

Some schools will do weighting so that you don't need a full 4 years. If you're going to commit years and thousands of dollars to this, I strongly encourage you to read each school's requirements and GPA scheme to see where you stand and what you would need to do to be compeditive.

[Angela Tithi]

7 hours ago, bearded frog said:

Some schools will do weighting so that you don't need a full 4 years. If you're going to commit years and thousands of dollars to this, I strongly encourage you to read each school's requirements and GPA scheme to see where you stand and what you would need to do to be compeditive.

Yeah @bearded frog, I am going through the school's requirements. But I do not think there is a way other than doing a second undergrad. Because, I need many more semesters to lift up my cGPA from 3.45 to 3.8 if I go for the non-degree courses. Maybe it will be easier for me if I go for another undergrad. I don't know, I need to do more research. Anyway, thank you so much for your response!