a little concerned...

[Guest geckoUBC]

Hi,

 

Well first of all I am a new poster here so a brief intro is in order - I just finished my second year in biology at UBC and, guess what, I'm hoping to get into med school eventually....

 

My question is - I'm going on exchange to a university in England next year. I'm worried about how the grades I get over there are going to affect me when I apply to meds. I found this chart on the website:

 

% grade ..... Approximate % of students achieving marks in range ...... Degree Classification

70 and above ...... 15 ..... First Class

60 - 69 ..... 60 ..... Upper Second Class

50 - 59 ...... 19 ..... Lower Second Class

40 - 49 ...... 3 ....... Third Class

below 40 ...... 2 ...... Fail

 

The take home message being: the British system makes higher marks very hard to achieve.

 

Are med schools going to look at these extenuating circumstances or are they going to take one look at my GPA calculated with my 3rd year marks and toss me in the reject pile? My second year marks were very good, first year was acceptable (I was in Science One, for anyone familiar with UBC).

 

I hope I can get some reassurance here..

 

Thanks!

[Guest Jazz]

I have a friend who went on exchange to England for a yr, it totally messed up her GPA and she was rejected pre-interview solely because of the academic mark. I don't think UBC take into consideration how hard the marking scheme is. My friend ended up taking 6 courses a semester, more courses than necessary so that the England marks wouldn't be calculated into the last 60 credit GPA. She got an interview after that though. I guess you should go only if you value the experience enough.

[Guest ryguy]

I personally would not even consider for 2 seconds the effect on my GPA. Why?

 

Well...A chance to study in England will be far more memorable and important in the long term then anything else. You may have to work hard later but who cares - it would be totally worth it. On top of that - you have bags of time. Go to England - work hard, play hard - enjoy it, and you'll have plenty of time later to focus on med school.

 

Not one thing I did in university ('92-'96) hinged upon how it would affect my chances on med school and I don't regret it one bit. I've worked, travelled and started a family. I've had to work extra hard in the last 2 years but it's paid off.

 

Go to England and have fun! - my humble opinion only

 

R

[Guest gonzo23]

Hey there!

 

I was in a similar situation. I spent 4 months in at a British school. However, it is possible to do very well. A first class is 70+% but somehow I ended up with 90s for 2 courses. On top of that my school had a North American equivalent (where next to each grade they listed a letter grade). The highest you could achieve was an A but a first class was an A. That helps the legitimacy of what you achieve there.

 

I can't say since my marks were not used in my GPA calc. (for UT) this year but from what I understand they don't count them at some schools b/c they are transfer credits. If they do count them I've read somewhere that they will use a universal grade conversion for overseas marks.

 

Don't worry too much. I talked a lot about my travels in my interview and I think that helped a lot. Some schools may penalize you b/c they have strict guidelines but I'm sure there are many that don't... and the experience you will gain in invaluable! I highly recommend study abroad... it was FANTASTIC!!!

 

Good luck!

[Guest aneliz]

I wouldn't worry too much...for schools like UWO that use 'best' years, no matter what happens, it won't 'bomb' your application. As well, if your home school transfers them to your transcript as "transfer credit- pass" (as they often do) there will be no mark for med schools to see. If there is a mark on there, there is an entirely different OMSAS scale for 'overseas' schools...so no worries!! Go on exchange and enjoy!