lizabei Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 i have completed a science and a nursing degree. Now i am thinking about applying for med school. In order to have a higher chance of getting in, i would like to improve my GPA. The question is should i retake some of the pre-reqs or should i go for the 400's science courses. I can only go back to school as a part time student because i have to work full time. Would it affect my chance of getting accepted for being a part time student? any suggestion would be appreciated. liza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucy98 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Hi Lizabei, It really depends on which schools you want to apply to. For example, McMaster looks your cumulative GPA of all undergraduate courses ever taken, so doing some extra courses part-time could help you boost your GPA for Mac (however, given you've already done two degrees, it may take more than a few good grades to really make a difference). Other schools, such as Western and Queen's look at only your best or most recent FULL-time undergraduate years, and I believe they need to be from the same degree, so doing some extra part-time courses wouldn't help you much there. However, if you have one or two good full-time years from the same degree, you could be set for these schools. So, going back to school as a part-time time student certainly won't hurt your chances, but it probably won't do much to help you either, at least GPA-wise, unless you need to improve your grades for certain pre-reqs. Hope this helps. Lucy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 So I take it your grades in pre-reqs are not to your liking? What are we looking at there? (A- or C+) This may make a difference. I have 2 B+s in my pre-reqs....doesn't thrill me, but this doesn't make a retake worthwhile. However, if your pre-req grades are really low, you really need to look at the schools you'd consider and see their policy in regards to retaking courses. Generally, schools tend to average the 2 grades, though sometimes they won't even look at the retake at all. This may help you make a decision. Taking some 400-level courses in the fields where you didn't do too hot before would be beneficial, BUT - can you really do very well in them if you didn't do as well in the introduction courses? It depends on the reasons why you didn't do so well the first time. If you simply weren't motivated/skipped too much, then you might have a good chance of doing well in the 400 class if you apply yourself this time. However, don't forget that the 400-level classes are based on the info you learned in the introductory courses. If you took the intro courses some 3 years ago or more, this may be a big problem - you simply might not have the foundation necessary to succeed in the 400-level course without doing review first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttobedoc Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 lizabei, I am sort of in the same boat as you are. I have 2 degrees and my overall average from the first degree is not that hot. I have a wide range of marks and most of my prerequisites were done in that first degree. I am an odd duck and got A+s in some classes that others hate like organic chem, and calculus and then did very average in some of the biology (memorization classes) and Biochem 300 level prereq. My overall average with my 2nd degree in OT is 3.8 (that was 3 years worth of coursework with clinical placements as well). I think b/c I showed overall improvement and I have really good non-academic experiences, I got an interview at UBC. You will be at an advantage with all of your work experience... I know at UBC, it was not really worth my while to retake any of the prereqs b/c I think they only count the first time you took it and will only count higher grades in higher level coursework. But, UBC also has that 10 year rule that could help if one wanted to retake coursework. For me I don't have the time to retake everything. I did crappy in Biochem 300 but I doubt at this time (10 years later) I'd be able to do a 400 level class in it (not even sure if it is offered)....anyway, have you tried applying anywhere yet? you may surprise yourself? Have you done the MCAT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizabei Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 thank you all for your suggestions, they definitley helped me to make the decision. I haven't done MCAT yet and one of the reasons i am thinking of retaking some of the pre-reqs is to prepare for the MCAT. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryn Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 It really depends on where you want to apply to. For example, if you want to apply to U of T, the weighting formula really helps (for me at least). But they won't apply it if you don't have a full course load every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizabei Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 can i retake those courses at a different university? how are they going to combine those GPAs from different schools? please help me out here. really appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttobedoc Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Truly the best way to get the most up-to-date information regarding the programs you are interested in, is to go directly to each school's website and contact their admissions for further info if needed. Each university has such different criteria, prerequisites etc... I take it you are in Toronto area? I am in BC, so can not help you out there. But, I personally do not recommend retaking prerequistes for the sole purpose of preparing for the MCAT. I took my prerequisites all over 10 years ago, but took the MCAT (1st time) last summer by just studying the MCAT prep books recommended on this site and others. Unless you did really poorly in the first year physics and chemistry, in my opinion it would not be beneficial. You would get all you need from the exam prep books. On the other hand, if you got like C- or something and totally did not grasp the concepts or whatever then I guess retaking them would help you out and also bring up the GPA. Hope this helps:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CinnamonQueen Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi all, I'm in a pretty similar situation as several previous posters. I have two undergraduate degrees with less than stellar results (GPA 3.4ish). I have since completed a Masters degree and although I did very well, I can't get past a lot of the undergraduate cut-offs for interviews. At this point, do you think it is worthwhile to go back and upgrade my undergrad marks by completing another couple of years of 300-400 level courses, or do you think it would actually work against me going back to undergrad after completing a Masters degree? Any advice/insight would be much appreciated, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttobedoc Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi all,I'm in a pretty similar situation as several previous posters. I have two undergraduate degrees with less than stellar results (GPA 3.4ish). I have since completed a Masters degree and although I did very well, I can't get past a lot of the undergraduate cut-offs for interviews. At this point, do you think it is worthwhile to go back and upgrade my undergrad marks by completing another couple of years of 300-400 level courses, or do you think it would actually work against me going back to undergrad after completing a Masters degree? Any advice/insight would be much appreciated, Thanks I think like other posters have previously stated, it really depends on the school you are applying to. Many schools will look strongly at your last 2 full time years. I think if you go p/t it does not really help. So, if you go back and do 2 solid full-time years of undergrad (300/400 level courses), I'm sure it would help you (at least at the schools out west I think). That along with a stellar MCAT is what Calgary seems to look at.... Your extracurriculars are really important at UBC..... hope this helps... Check out each school individually to see their different criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi all,I'm in a pretty similar situation as several previous posters. I have two undergraduate degrees with less than stellar results (GPA 3.4ish). I have since completed a Masters degree and although I did very well, I can't get past a lot of the undergraduate cut-offs for interviews. At this point, do you think it is worthwhile to go back and upgrade my undergrad marks by completing another couple of years of 300-400 level courses, or do you think it would actually work against me going back to undergrad after completing a Masters degree? Any advice/insight would be much appreciated, Thanks If you can't get past the undergrad cut-offs for interviews, I don't really see that you have much choice but to improve your undergrad marks. Not fun, and probably not what you wanted to hear, but that's my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choti Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Keep in mind that some schools (eg UWO) will not take into account your GPA in academic years in which you have taken courses for which you already have a credit. That is, if you retake the course and do really well in it, schools like UWO won't let you count your GPA in that year for admissions considerations, unless you have at least five other full time courses. Also, some schools (again, UWO for example) require you to carry a full course load for admissions consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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