dr_2020 Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 Dear All - Like most people in this forum I also have a deep desire to become a Doctor/Physician, particularly in CANADA! I made my decision 5 months ago, and simply said to myself 'go for it'! I've read in many posts in this forum that gaining admission into Canadian Medical School is very very very competitive. Just some background on myself .... I am 37 years of age, originally from New Zealand, I moved to Canada in 1998, worked several years with one company, I loved Canada so much I then became a canadian citizen. It was in Canada I decided to switch career paths into healthcare (specifically, medicine). I left my old job, I am in school now to pursue my dream. Ok, here is the situation: I am in New Zealand now (for other reasons) and currently enrolled in some 'bridging' courses, Chemistry, Biology and Calculus (all intro. papers). I am taking these senior high school equivalent courses at a NZ university since I had never taken any of the above in high school. If I satisfactory pass the above courses, I can apply for admission at University of Waterloo and take science-based courses through distance education. It is my understanding that most medical schools will consider a a batchelors degree of any discipline, but ideally prefer a heavy science course load. Yes/No? My questions are: 1. To be atleast considered for admission to a canadian medical school, what 'minimum' grade per course should I aim for? What xtra-curricular activities could I do in NZ that will count towards producing an attractive resume / and a future interview with Canadian Schools? 2. Do I need to complete a full Batchelors Degree, before I apply to medical school in Canada. Or could I be part of the way through? 3. Would medical schools consider applicants who take only a couple of courses per semester, or preferably a full load. Which schools do/don't? Keep your dreams alive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 My questions are: 1. To be atleast considered for admission to a canadian medical school, what 'minimum' grade per course should I aim for? What xtra-curricular activities could I do in NZ that will count towards producing an attractive resume / and a future interview with Canadian Schools? 2. Do I need to complete a full Batchelors Degree, before I apply to medical school in Canada. Or could I be part of the way through? 3. Would medical schools consider applicants who take only a couple of courses per semester, or preferably a full load. Which schools do/don't? To answer you questions: 1. Minimum grades can be different for the various schools that you apply to. I believe the lowest minimum GPA cutoff is 3.0 out of 4.0. But, my advice would be to strive for the best possible GPA that you can attain, because as you said, med schools are very competitive. As far as extracurricular activities go, I don't think that you should limit yourself to what others typically do. Admissions committees will look at your specific activities (whatever they may be) and form specific questions at interviews as to why you chose to engage in these particular activities. So I would say to pick ANY extracurricular activity that you find particular interesting and worth contributing your time to. 2. Once again, the answer here varies from school to school. Some schools ask that you have a bachelors degree before admission is granted (NOSM), whereas others will let you apply after 2-3 of years in your undergrad (Mac, Ottawa, Calgary, U of A, etc.). You should look at the particular schools that you're interested in applying to and find out their specific admissions criteria. 3. With regards to your 3rd question, what do you think my answer is going to be? You guessed it....once again, it varies from school to school. Some schools want you to take full course loads and will not count years where you have taken less (Ottawa, U of T, Western, Calgary, etc.) and some count part-time course loads as well (Mac, NOSM). Hope that this gives you some kind of a general overview. You've definitely got the right attitude for success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 When planning, also keep in mind that some schools will not count summer courses or distance education courses in the calculation of your GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_2020 Posted December 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Many thanks TonesRN ! That helps me tremendously! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustwomen Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Many thanks TonesRN ! That helps me tremendously! I would recommend that you also check out the websites of the schools you are interested in (there are only 17 in the country, of which only 14 are english, it wouldn't take that long). Figure out what school you want to shoot for, and where you would prefer to live. If you do research at this stage, you can plan accordingly and you can't go wrong. Also figure out in what province you are considered a resident (and double-check residency status criteria). That will affect which admissions pool you have access to. Alternatively, you could take your premed courses here in Canada and establish residency wherever you wish. One thing I would recommend is to avoid having too many "interesting" aspects of your resume. Canadian schools are conservative in their admissions and I suspect some would look askew at distance education, especially when combined with an older age... (I'm a Canadian non-trad myself, and I know other non-trads in Canada and the consensus is that it's harder here than in the US for non-trads). Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttobedoc Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 I think that you probably already know this, but you will have a much higher chance of getting into a university in a province that you have previously lived in. Maybe I missed that detail in your post, but, out of province applicants are assessed much more "critically" than in-provincers. I'm non-traditional myself, and think that the extra experiences such as travelling, work and family are great things to showcase when you are applying. That way you can sell qualities and experiences that may give you an edge over a younger applicant. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_2020 Posted February 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 I would recommend that you also check out the websites of the schools you are interested in (there are only 17 in the country, of which only 14 are english, it wouldn't take that long). Figure out what school you want to shoot for, and where you would prefer to live. If you do research at this stage, you can plan accordingly and you can't go wrong. Also figure out in what province you are considered a resident (and double-check residency status criteria). That will affect which admissions pool you have access to. Alternatively, you could take your premed courses here in Canada and establish residency wherever you wish. One thing I would recommend is to avoid having too many "interesting" aspects of your resume. Canadian schools are conservative in their admissions and I suspect some would look askew at distance education, especially when combined with an older age... (I'm a Canadian non-trad myself, and I know other non-trads in Canada and the consensus is that it's harder here than in the US for non-trads). Good luck! I was living in Ontario. I have looked into McMaster. They've been really helpful. Probably be my first preference. I've just recieved an e-mail from the admission officer at Mac, this is what they had to say w.r.t Distance Learning (u/grad): ".....distance education is ok as long as you are registered as an undergraduate student and are taking undergraduate courses which will appear on an UG transcript. You need to be careful with these, as most distance education is offered at many levels." Friends I have spoken to in the medical profession recommended Mac for adult learners. I am researching why that is the case, perhaps any of you could shed some insight. Unfortunately, I cannot enrol in an undergraduate Batchelor of Health Science degree at McMaster: See weblink below: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/EXTERNAL/other_mature.htm Therefore, I've opted to go the Univ. of Waterloo (distance ed. route) to complete a BSc. online (I'll have a degree from a accredited Canadian University). Which I believe is worthy of working towards and achieving! Folks, like most people I really really really want to become a physician. It is in my heart to do this, whatever it takes. I must add this forum is really cool and I cannot tell you how much I love Canada! Wish you all good luck always ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustwomen Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 I was living in Ontario. I have looked into McMaster. They've been really helpful. Probably be my first preference. I've just recieved an e-mail from the admission officer at Mac, this is what they had to say w.r.t Distance Learning (u/grad): ".....distance education is ok as long as you are registered as an undergraduate student and are taking undergraduate courses which will appear on an UG transcript. You need to be careful with these, as most distance education is offered at many levels." Friends I have spoken to in the medical profession recommended Mac for adult learners. I am researching why that is the case, perhaps any of you could shed some insight. Unfortunately, I cannot enrol in an undergraduate Batchelor of Health Science degree at McMaster: See weblink below: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/EXTERNAL/other_mature.htm Therefore, I've opted to go the Univ. of Waterloo (distance ed. route) to complete a BSc. online (I'll have a degree from a accredited Canadian University). Which I believe is worthy of working towards and achieving! Folks, like most people I really really really want to become a physician. It is in my heart to do this, whatever it takes. I must add this forum is really cool and I cannot tell you how much I love Canada! Wish you all good luck always ... Mac has really, really high GPA cutoffs. Average accepted GPA was what, 3.9 last year? I'd recommend not putting all your eggs into one school's basket, especially combined with the risk of distance education... Why not come back to Canada and pursue your undergrad here? I honestly believe it would give you the best chance. If this is your first university degree, and you do well, being "adult" won't be that much of a setback. It's only those (like me) who had old academic baggage who face challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_2020 Posted February 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Mac has really, really high GPA cutoffs. Average accepted GPA was what, 3.9 last year? I'd recommend not putting all your eggs into one school's basket, especially combined with the risk of distance education... Why not come back to Canada and pursue your undergrad here? I honestly believe it would give you the best chance. If this is your first university degree, and you do well, being "adult" won't be that much of a setback. It's only those (like me) who had old academic baggage who face challenges. I am not putting my eggs in one basket. I have been researching the other canadian medical schools and identifying their admission criteria. I appreciate your opinions, however, I respectfully disagree with you about distance education (DE). I don't perceive it as a risk to qualify for medical school. A degree is a degree. If you get the grades, you got a good shot! I've noticed that canadian medical schools favour a degree completed through a recognised canadian university, hence the reason I have chosen UW because of the option to study via DE. Prior to joining this forum, I contacted the many medical schools to ask if a degree taken by DE (through an accredited canadian university) is deemed acceptable? The optimistic response I got was 'yes'. Anyhow, I've checked out UW website w.r.t distance education and the final transcript. You'll see (in the URL) below: Q&A 10, states that courses taking via DE will not be indicated on my transcript. http://de.uwaterloo.ca/FAQs.html#answer10 Why pursue the u/grad in Canada when I could complete the entire degree from NZ, it saves me on living expenses, i.e. paying rent. As you can see, I do my research well. Best wishes .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brut33 Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 One thing I would recommend is to avoid having too many "interesting" aspects of your resume. Canadian schools are conservative in their admissions and I suspect some would look askew at distance education, especially when combined with an older age... (I'm a Canadian non-trad myself, and I know other non-trads in Canada and the consensus is that it's harder here than in the US for non-trads). What do you mean by "interesting"? What would you say is an "interesting" aspect to the resume of someone with a typical undergrad but also a non-trad applicant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustwomen Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 What do you mean by "interesting"? What would you say is an "interesting" aspect to the resume of someone with a typical undergrad but also a non-trad applicant? I actually meant an "interesting" academic profile, i.e. atypical - sorry to have been unclear! Things like: more than one ugrad degree, or part-time study due to work or family responsibilities, or any bad grades. From my experience, Canadian med schools don't like to have to evaluate special/different circumstances (for that matter, I'm unconvinced that they put much weight to actual "resume" items like work or volunteering - academics trump all). There are some schools that are more non-trad friendly (in various ways), namely UBC, McGill, and Mac. UBC is willing to disregard any grades obtained over 10 years ago upon request; McGill only looks at your most recent degree when calculating GPA and is willing to accept part-time studies when you have a good reason for them; and Mac (claiming to like non-trads) counts part-time studies (though you still have to make their academic cutoffs). In my experience, the following schools do not accept/consider applicants with part-time ugrad status (for example) no matter the circumstance: UofOttawa, Queens, Western, Sherbrooke, Laval, UMontreal, Dal, Memorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 In my experience, the following schools do not accept/consider applicants with part-time ugrad status (for example) no matter the circumstance: UofOttawa, Queens, Western, Sherbrooke, Laval, UMontreal, Dal, Memorial. Clarification - UWO will not consider any part-time (< 5.0 credits) years toward the two that you need above their GPA cutoff (currently 3.70). You could have two full-time years and three part-time years, and they wouldn't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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