kevmac Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 If anyone could shed some light on my situation it would be greatly appreciated I have always wanted to be a doctor and originally had planned to do a biology degree in university. However the one introductory geology class I took soon turned into a degree. I will be graduating from UBC in a month with an honours degree in earth and environmental sciences with an average of 83-84%. Although I have spent the last four years in a non related field is there any chance for me to get accepted? As well what about my average? I am a very well rounded individual with numerous awards and one publication, but have no hospital volunteer experience. Will this greatly hinder me? Thanks for you time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallguy408 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Your marks, your personality and your extracurricular work is most important. We have a computer scientist, a geophysicist, a fine arts grad, a civil engineer, an electrical engineer, and a theoretical physicist in our class just to name a few. Hospital volunteering means absolutely nothing on your application. To qualify that, it means as much as any other volunteering you have done. The fact that it was in a hospital means zero. That being said, it would be good for you to have a good idea of why you want to do med and why it's right for you, and why you're sure. This is good for the application, the interview and yourself. For marks, I would refer you to various school's websites and email if necessary to get your grades converted to their scoring system. All schools are fairly open in disclosing this information. Best of luck!! Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Haha, yeah, we have people from all different spectrums too. Engineers, nurses, music/drama, physics, etc. Just make sure you know why you want to do medicine and that it really is what you think it is (some volunteering in health care helps). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallguy408 Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I would question your source at Dal...not to say you are wrong, but just confirm it. At UofA, we don't really care what you do, but what you got out of it. I would WAY rather go to school with someone who volunteered at a summer camp and learned how to work in a team setting and interact with tons of different people (ie. lots of transferable skills) than someone who volunteered at a hospital and did nothing more than shelve library books (ie. shows that you know how to file books...who cares?). Hope this clarifies things a bit. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc2B Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 As far as I'm aware Dal is very open to many different types of volunteering experience. I do have hospital volunteering experience but I don't believe that it is an absolute requirement. I've heard of people who have gotten in with no volunteer experience although this is far from the norm. 10. Does it matter if I don't have any medically related volunteer work or experience? The Admissions Committee considers it important that you have some medically related experience. This can be volunteer work or paid work depending on your circumstances. Applications from individuals who do not have such experience are rarely acceptable to the committee. The above paragraph is from their FAQ page as you can see they use the word RARELY acceptable, which means in some cases it is acceptable. And medically related does not mean in-hospital. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallguy408 Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Good point. Medically related does not mean hospital. It could mean first aid etc. Best of luck! Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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