Major in Commerce before applying to Med School?

[Guest dentisthopeful]

How would this be looked upon by med school admission committee? I mean, these two routes require somewhat different. If a person manages to squeeze into their schedule only the minimum of required life science courses, would that be a disadvantage as well?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Canadian medical schools will accept any educational background garnered from any Canadian university when considering applicants for admission. As long as your roster of courses includes the pre-requisites stipulated by some medical programs and your marks are decent, then your academics, whether in medieval boffins in literature, sociology of small, clam-eating birds or commerce, shall make no difference nor burden the applicant with any disadvantage.

 

Where you may find a difference is at the interview stage. In my four interviews this year, I received quite a few questions about my MBA, e.g., economic issues in health care, doctor's salaries and what they should be relative to that of CEOs in large corporations, why the MBA, etc. Be prepared to explain your relatively unusual background.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest 4EverRose]

Hello,

 

I just want to add that other than your academic work/degree med schools look at extra-curricular activities from their applicants. So if you have done the prerequisite courses as Kirsteen mentioned, have decent grades plus have experiences in clinical settings dealing with patients then you will be as competitive as the science students.

 

In fact, I wonder whether students from non-science backgrounds actually have an advantage. Med schools like to make their class made up of students from different backgrounds (both in terms of culture and experience). For instance, coming from a commerce background, you could be involved in healthcare/hospital management as a medical doctor. Being a non-science student could give you a niche in your application provided you can rationalize your decision to go to med.