frustrated with pre-reqs - any advice?

[teacherlady]

I'm starting the process of applying to medical school. I graduated in 2000, did not take any science courses in university and am now trying to catch up. I thought that I could take the courses that I need through Athabsca, but now I'm realizing that this won't be feasible. They don't offer any supervised labs in March, which is the only time that I'm available to fly to Alberta. I could take the labs in the summer (either at Athabasca or at McMaster), but I won't be ready for all of them this summer, and next summer will be too late for a 2009 entry. I would like to apply to McMaster and Ottawa U this year. If I don't get in, then I'll write the MCAT in Summer 2009 and apply to all Ontario universities for 2010 entry.

 

I'm just feeling a bit frustrated because I think that my odds of getting into Ottawa U are much better than my odds of getting into McMaster (first language is French, c/wGPA of only 3.73). I know that if I do well on the MCAT, I'll have a better chance next year (UofT GPA is 3.88, UWO GPA is 3.86), but I'd REALLY like to have a chance for 2009.

 

Here are my questions:

 

Has anyone completed the pre-reqs for Ottawa U through distance ed (aside from Athabsca)? I'd be very happy with any Ontario university that offers distance courses with in-person labs. Labs in Ontario would be MUCH easier for me to get to than in Alberta.

 

I'm already enrolled in Biol 204 at Athabasca and plan on finishing it, even though I realize there's the frustrating possibility that it won't be of use to me. Is there any way that I can still use BIOL 204 from Athabasca as a pre-req? I read a post from a few days ago saying that BIOL 204 could be used, but not 205. Is it possible for me to take a 3-credit biology class with in-person lab, and to combine it with BIOL 204 (with only a home lab) to meet Ottawa U's biology requirements? If so, where? Every first year university biology course that I've seen is a 6 credit course. (I've emailed Ottawa U with this question, and also left a voicemail, but it's been 2 weeks and I haven't heard back from them yet)

 

Are there any Ontario universities that offer a summer session in July/August? Because I'm a teacher, my summers are wide open in July and August, but it seems that every university has a summer session in May and June. I would LOVE to carry 12 or 18 credits in a summer session this year, if only the summer session took place in July and August.

 

(deep breath)

 

Thanks for your help!

[barnickles]

Hey Teacherlady,

 

I know Ottawa U has two semesters in the summer.. one that runs may-june and one that runs july-august. On top of that they also have courses that span all four of those months, and I'm not sure when the science courses will be offered this year, but if you're willing to come to ottawa, it might be an option.

 

I did a little search for you, but they haven't posted the summer schedule yet (sorry!). Other options might be to take a course at night at Mac (if you are in Hamilton?) during the school year each semester? To get a few out of the way.

 

In terms of hearing back from Ottawa U... we are expecting to hear about interview invites this upcoming week from the admissions office... so I'm sure you just haven't heard from them yet because they've been really busy the past couple of weeks trying to sort through 3500 applications to decide which 500 to offer interviews to this week.

 

I'm sure if you give them a couple of weeks for this busy period to pass, and then call, you'll get an answer. They're usually really helpful!

 

Anyway, I hope this helps at least a little!

 

All my best out to you!

[teacherlady]

Thanks for sharing! That's actually quite helpful that Ottawa has a July/August term. I'll look into it and maybe spend a few months in Ottawa this summer. I'm close to Toronto, but York doesn't seem to offer chemistry as a night course.

 

I know that Ottawa's very busy right now. I can't even imagine how many messages they have to respond to every day! But, regardless of the fact that my question is much less urgent than others, it's still the one that I care most about. While it's driving me nuts to wait, I absolutely understand why no one has had a chance to get back to me yet.

 

Thanks again for your reply!

[Satsuma]

It's been awhile since I was there but Guelph used to offer a very good selection of courses in the summer.

 

I believe they have some correspondance courses as well where you would just need to go in and complete the labs in a whole intensive week or 2...I sort of recall a friend doing something like this...but it was eons ago

 

Since you are in the TO area...could be feasible.

 

Good Luck

[teacherlady]

Thank you!