Three year bachelors

[Guest Angelussum]

With respect to med school requirements and prereqs... is obtaining a bachelors degree in three years the same as having three years of undergrad or is it different because you have a degree? And would you be at any disadvantage for having completed your degree in three years when you apply?

[Guest aneliz]

It doesn't make a difference right now...three years is three years regardless of whether you have a degree or not. However, be warned that things are changing soon.

 

As of Sept 2006, a FOUR YEAR HONOURS DEGREE will be a pre-req for UWO. Ottawa and the new Northern Ontario school will also have a 4 year requirement. I believe that Dal and McGill already have this requirement (in practice if not officially). Doing a three year degree may somewhat limit your options.

[Guest medicator007]

With regards to McGill policy, unless you are admitted into the Med-P program direct from CEGEP you MUST have a Bachelor's degree by the first day of classes.

[Guest Angelussum]

Yes, but would it need to be done over the course of four years? After all, you would essentially have the same degree, just after three years instead of four. Do schools care about that? Or just that you have a bachelors degree?

[Guest Steve U of T]

When people talk about a 3 year degree, they are referring to 15 credit degrees that certain schools offer or used to offer. As long as you finish 20 credits (including all the appropriate course requirements), you will earn a '4 year degree', regardless of how long you take to complete it. If you have transfer credits and/or want to make up extra credits over summers, that's a good way to get a headstart, although keep in mind that if you're taking courses every summer, you'll have less time for research, volunteer work, employment, and recreation.

[Guest weerdo]

so as it stands now, if you were to apply during your 3rd yr of study(before Sept 2006), would it make a difference if you were currently enrolled in a 4 yr degree? Let's say you were able to impress somebody enough that they would recommend accepting you, would you ultimately be rejected that year if you were to not complete your HBsc.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Depends on the requirements of the school- if they accepted you contingent on you completing your four-year degree program (hence a "conditional acceptance") and you failed to complete that four-year degree, then they'd probably reject you without any further questions asked.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest blinknoodle]

I think admissions to an MD/PhD program (or a combination of dual degrees) may require an honours degree due to enrollment in the PhD (not the MD). I'm not sure about getting your MD first then going for the PhD though. I'd check out the schools that interest you specifically.

 

-blinknoodle

[Guest peachy]

I ask because I'm considering md/phd and trying to find a way to condense the years I spend in school.

My guess is that they wouldn't mind how many years you had actually spent, as long as you graduated with a 120-credit honours degree. As someone above said, though, you'd have to check with the school.

 

It strikes me as a very odd question, though. First, I imagine that it would be very difficult to get everything done in three years. How would you do it? Six full courses a year, plus a full course during the summer? You'd also be missing another whole summer of potential summer research.

 

Second, if your goal is to push through as quickly as possible, MD/PhD is probably not your best bet. I think (and I don't know a ton about this option) that it's much faster to get a PhD during residency. MD/PhD is a long program, of variable length. It doesn't really mesh well with trying to do things as fast as possible, imho. And if your goal really is to do things as fast as possible, you're better off searching for MD/PhD programs that put a limit on the length of your PhD, because the PhD is really the period (as opposed to undergrad) when there is huge variation as to how long it will take you, and you have some degree of control over it.

[Guest Angelussum]

I'm taking some courses during the summers so I think I'll end up with the opportunity to get a 120-credit degree in three years.

 

The goal isn't to push through as quick as possible. I know how long the md/phd program can take. You can get a PhD during residency?

[Guest Steve U of T]

The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons has a Clinician-Investigator Program that allows you to complete graduate work during your residency. That is something I'm considering for the future, so I've only applied to MD programs this year (no MD/PhD). They tend to get done a lot quicker, probably because you get used to working 80 hour weeks after the first year or two of residency. Once you start the graduate work, you halt your clinical training, but I think some people can finish their PhD in 2-3 years, while it generally takes 3-4 in an MD/PhD. I think that after you earn your MD, you're more of an asset, so it's beneficial for your supervisor to push you through that PhD a lot quicker than if you're in the middle of med school.