Some part-time years: is my med school eligibility affected?

[sickgirl]

Hi there,

 

I had a quick question for those on this thread more in the know than me. I did a bachelor's and three of my four years were full-courseload. (My fourth year was slightly lighter because I had advanced credit and could take one less class, which I did to concentrate on my thesis writing.) I'm now finishing up my last pre-meds at a local university (not under the guise of any degree, just as an unclassified student) but I'm also not full-time, since I don't need to take many classes.

 

Does this disqualify me from applying to any Canadian med schools? I've heard talk of certain schools requiring only full-time applicants...is this true?!

 

Thanks.

[TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

In general, unless you have taken a full courseload for at least two or three of your undergraduate years, you are going to find gaining admission to medical school very difficult in Canada, as most schools require you to take a full courseload to be considered for admission. Why? Because medical school covers a ton of material, much more than a full courseload in undergrad, and if you've only been taking 3.0 or 2.5 courses a year, then that is not sufficient proof that you can handle the sheer volume of material that is covered in a year of medical school. You will definitely get lost and do poorly if this is the case.

[scrubbed]

Hi there,

 

To address your specific situation, you should probably be okay at most schools because you do have three full time years. You could post specifics about which schools you would want to apply to if you'd like.

 

A full courseload may come into play where:

 

Some schools would only take your full-time years as part of their GPA calculation, though they would acknowledge your prerequisites taken part-time.

 

Some schools allow you to remove some of your weaker courses if you have taken a full courseload throughout your studies.

 

Other schools consider all courses that an applicant takes, including those taken part-time.

 

If your first three years are competitive, you shouldn't have too many problems with applying.

 

Best of luck.

[trustwomen]

medical school covers a ton of material, much more than a full courseload in undergrad, and if you've only been taking 3.0 or 2.5 courses a year, then that is not sufficient proof that you can handle the sheer volume of material that is covered in a year of medical school. You will definitely get lost and do poorly if this is the case.

Respectfully disagree here. I did three semesters of undergrad with three science courses/semester plus a full-time job, and it was not less difficult than a full course load (with no job) would have been. I think more schools should take into consideration what people are doing as well as school, such as full-time work. So few Canadian schools do so - most just refuse to count those grades, and reject you.

 

I only did one year of undergrad with a full course load (it was 40 hours work/week + 3 courses, then 30 hours/week + 4 courses, and in my last year 30 hours/week + 5 courses), and by comparison, med school feels kind of easy to me. I'm doing well, and am not "lost".

 

Besides, the OP has three years with a full course load and only one that is lighter. She'll be fine.

[ploughboy]

Some generic good advice for you. If you're really serious about applying to medical school, which is a huge decision and a massive life-committment, you owe it to yourself to research the schools that you might be interested in. They all have comprehensive websites listing their admissions requirements. Many people find it helpful to make a big spreadsheet with all the schools and all of their requirements.

 

Regarding Western, which is the school I'm most familiar with -- not to mention being a great medical school! --- you require two full-time (5.0 course load) years above a determined-yearly GPA cut-off. That cut-off has been around 3.70 for the last couple of years. That's it (aside from meeting UWO's MCAT requirements), your other years can be full-time, part-time, overtime (did anybody else read about that maniac in the States who completed his undergrad in one year? Somebody's missing the point of university...), or whatever.

 

Best of luck!

[Citan]

-Dalhousie is requiring the two best years over 3.7 for OOP applicants.

-Ottawa looks at your last three years.

-McGill looks at your latest degree. Meaning that if you have a second degree, they will look at that one. It could be a solution.

 

I think Saskatchewan looks at your last two years.

[muchdutch]

For Alberta and Calgary you onlyl have to have one full-time year of studies.

[muchdutch]

Respectfully disagree here. I did three semesters of undergrad with three science courses/semester plus a full-time job, and it was not less difficult than a full course load (with no job) would have been. I think more schools should take into consideration what people are doing as well as school, such as full-time work. So few Canadian schools do so - most just refuse to count those grades, and reject you.

 

I only did one year of undergrad with a full course load (it was 40 hours work/week + 3 courses, then 30 hours/week + 4 courses, and in my last year 30 hours/week + 5 courses), and by comparison, med school feels kind of easy to me. I'm doing well, and am not "lost".

 

Besides, the OP has three years with a full course load and only one that is lighter. She'll be fine.

 

I as well have had to work and only have one year that's full-time. I've always wondered if med school is indeed harder than working full-time and going to school - many of the med students I know (in 1st and 2nd year) have much more time on their hands than I do! It's nice to hear someone in the same circumstance that made it in the end and is doing fine with the demands of med school.

[Satsuma]

Have a look at the schools you are interested in...you will generally find that with 3 full-time years under your belt you aren`t disqualified from applying anywhere.

 

Different schools will count your marks differently though based on their requirements which are described on their websites. For instance, MAC will look at all your marks and just take the average. Ottawa will look at your last 3 full-time years...so in your case your first 3 years (the marks from your 4th year won`t count).

 

[Citan]

Toronton also takes your cumulative average, however you will not be eligible for their special calculation.

[haiku_guy]

I know from personal experience that Calgary will still interview you if you have part-time years.

 

I would guess, and may be wrong (since I am applying for the 3rd time) that if you have a valid reason for part-time, and still meet the pre-recs then you will still be able to apply.

[nsgirl22]

I guess it depends on the school, but do they make exceptions for less than full courseloads in the event of documented illness (ie. mono)??

[Jochi1543]

I know from personal experience that Calgary will still interview you if you have part-time years.

 

I would guess, and may be wrong (since I am applying for the 3rd time) that if you have a valid reason for part-time, and still meet the pre-recs then you will still be able to apply.

Actually, a friend's brother took 4 courses/semester for one year and they rejected him for the interview based solely on that. He was OOP, I believe. But he got into Queens.

[Jochi1543]

I guess it depends on the school, but do they make exceptions for less than full courseloads in the event of documented illness (ie. mono)??

I e-mailed Calgary about this last year, they said no (I had depression). It was in regards to whether that year (I took 12 credits instead of 16) could be counted for the last 2 years weighting. I don't know about other schools though...and I bet if you had like a leg amputated or something, they would. I bet it's because you CAN fake a mental illness (though not sure why anyone would), but not so much a physical one where there are fairly definitive tests.