Rejected!!!

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there Dunes,

 

Do you guys think that some of these look better on the Med. application than others? And does any of you know more about M. in Epidemiology in other universities?

I don't think it's the name of the graduate degree that differentiates your medical school application from the rest, but what you accomplish within your graduate degree experience. For example, a few folks from my MSc Epi program applied to medicine this year and last. Those who seemed to secure the interviews were (coincidentally or not) those who had superior graduate productivity. That is, they won awards, they were on the conference circuit, they were involved in diverse extracurricular activities within the program and outside of it, and they also secured good grades.

 

Overall, if you're considering pursuing a graduate degree, do so in a field that appeals hugely to you. Graduate work can be grueling, especially if your aspirations lie elsewhere. A related example: one of my classmates really wanted to pursue medicine and seemed to view epidemiology as a quick route to medical school entry. As such, during first year she seemed to plow a lot of effort into activities that were not as much related to our program, and more related to getting into medical school, e.g., preparing for the MCAT, etc. Our program was pretty demanding, i.e., lots of coursework, assignments, exams, etc., which required a great deal of time and elbow grease. She obviously wasn't enjoying our program that much, most especially when we received an assignment back and she proclaimed, "Why do I have to do this cr@p when I just want to get into freaking medical school!" Not a pretty sight.

 

In the end, I think she may have been juggling a bit too much, with less than ideal enthusiasm for what she was doing. As far as I've heard, she didn't do too well in her courses, and didn't have time to do too much within the program in terms of research productivity. Overall, she may have been better off taking a year off and concentrating on other endeavours rather than launching into the MSc program and potentially hindering her chances at medical school by doing a less than ideal job in her degree. :rolleyes

 

As for MSc Epidemiology degrees at other schools, here is a quick rundown:

 

UofT: they are currently revamping their Masters programs in Epidemiology. They used to offer a thesis-based and practica-based Masters. They are now hoping to offer only one, but I don't know if the details have yet been worked out.

McMaster: I don't know any students who have completed their MSc Epi here, but I do know some PhD students and they are very pleased with their program.

McGill: excellent faculty with students who appear to be quite happy in their programs. They also offer an excellent selection of diverse and concentrated summer courses which may be used to complete the degree.

Queen's: I know a number of MSc Epi graduates from the Queen's program and all of them loved their experience there. Apparently the faculty does a very good job of tending to their students.

 

Best of luck with your choices.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there kanayo101,

 

First off, regarding the style and tone of application writing a wee caveat: I have not yet received positive news from UBC; at this point, I can only state that I received an interview.

 

I'd be happy to send you a wee sample of how my writing changed in the sketch from one year to another to help you burst out of the "formal writing" box. Send me a private message and I'll zip that over to you.

 

For other examples of emotive writing, have a look at some of the essays that appear in the book, "Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School". Some of them are written wonderfully. A few of them really turned the light on for me as to how I should approach the medical school application writing task.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest walkorbike]

Hi, all,

 

Sorry to hear the bad news that some have received. Having been there myself before making it this year, I know how discouraging it can be to get the thinvelope.

 

There are some good testimonials on this board from repeat applicants. (Mine is more boring: I had to write the MCAT three times until I figured out how to do it.) I hope you have a good, happy year ahead as you figure out your plans.

-walkorbike

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

Ollie,

how exactly did they say the credit dropping thing worked for the last 60 credits? Is that written somewhere in their policy?

Thanks.

mymom

[Guest Ollie]

Hi,

 

I don't think it's written anywhere in their available info. It's what Angela told me at my feedback meeting. Here's my situation for example: If I reapply next year (if I don't get into UofT this year ), then my "last 60 credits" average will come only from the courses that I complete from 2001 until now. For me this is only 36 credits from my MSc (18 credits courses + 18 credits thesis). No courses from my BSc will count as they were completed 2000 and before. Works well for me cause it makes my average higher!

[Guest Kels2004]

Hi Dunes,

To add to what Kristeen posted about the Canadian epi programs...

 

I finished my MSc at UofC in November. I can't praise the Department of Community Health Sciencs enough... I had a fantastic experience. Profs are enthusiastic and very helpful, classmates are so diverse (we had an urban planner, docs, nurses, dentists, etc), and you get an amazing background in both stats and epi, as well as electives (global health, health policy, etc). There is a heavy course load, but still possible to work part time, particularly if it is thesis-oriented.

 

I'm working at the University of Cambridge now, and their epi MPhil is a one year program (no thesis, just a project)... and in my experience, the UofC program is 100 times superior. However, if a 1 year program away piques your interest, think about looking at some programs abroad.

 

However, the other thing to keep in mind is that you really need to love the research... it is a lot of work, there is not a lot of funding, but if you enjoy it, go for it! It was a great experience in my opinion!

 

Also, although the program and department is important, you can easily do cross-diciplinary studies... for example community based nutrition, health policy, medical ethics...

 

Oh, and Calgary is an awesome place to live... GO FLAMES!

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

Thanks Ollie, I'll enquire about that myself... do you know if that applies to courses in the spring semester of the academic year? Specifically, would courses that you completed in the latter half of the 2000/2001 school year be excluded?

 

Good luck with U of T!

[Guest Dunes]

thank you so much Kirsteen and Kels2004. I am looking into many things right now and hope I work something out. unfortunatelly for UBC the deadline has passed, but I'll check other schools for sure.

 

I am also thinking of writing the MCAT again, I think every little detail can help I will definitly be applying everywhere

 

Hope things work out for you Kirsteen and you'd be taken off the waitlist soon

 

take care,

 

Dunes

[Guest flowers]

when they calculate your overall avg, do they drop your lowest year (as long as it's not recent etc.) like they do for dentistry?

 

with regards to the whole brain drain thing, i TOTALLY agree that canada really needs a slap in the face in order to wake up and smell the coffee. why is it that a person with a 2.something can get into med in the carribean and have a successful medical career (and get a higher salary) in the US and a person with a 3.0-3.5 has a very slim chance of getting into canadian schools unless they have were able to achieve a nobel peace prize during they're summer break??????

it's a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

[Guest Ollie]

mymomthinksimacatch:

 

I'm not sure exactly. I think it depends on how many credits you have in the last 3 years. I'm guessing if it's less than 30, then they'd probably go back 3+ years. Also, Angela mentioned that when calculating the last 60 average, they use the combination that is most beneficial to you (aren't they nice!). So even if you asked, they probably couldn't tell you without seeing your marks first.

 

Flowers: unfortunately, UBC does not drop one single course when calculating your overall avg. It's every class you have ever taken.