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some help and advice please


Guest copacetic

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Guest copacetic

hey guys, i really need some help and advice. I'm a 4th year student at u of t who has recently become interested in meds. the problem however is that i never really treated my marks as seriously as i should have in the past, so my marks for years 1-4 wont cut it. i have looked at all teha dmissions requirements for the different schools and it seems that the academic components of evaluations are skwed toward your performance in undergrad. the reality it seems is that a graduate degree really only offers you a fresh start at u of t, while at all the other schools you pretty much need in the range of 3.7+ in at least two years to really ahve a shot. marks which i didn't have, but i know i am fully capable of. doing a grad degree doesn't halp much at most schools. i understand that some people go abroad to places like ireland, uk, USA etc, and i would consider these options but i am too poor. neither i or my parents can afford the high tuition, and the bank wont give us one of those line fo credits because we dont have sufficient collateral. i.e. i dont have a house, or a car, or anything of sufficent value to burrow against. i view my only realistic option that would give me the greatest possibility of getting into a school here in ontario is to either do a second degree or to to do 6 years. i have full confidence that i can pull of very good marks because now i feel so much motivation. and really in life, all things come down to questions of motivation. can someone please advise me on my idea of doing 6 years or a second degree. si it a good idea? will the schools look badly on that? i mean i really only decided on what i want to dow ith my life recently. by the way, i did the mcat in the summer of 2006 and scored well on it. cutoffs for that aren't the problem, i also have decent and varied etcs. the problem is basically just marks. also, for anyone who suggest carribean (because its cheap at some schools) i have to say that i really want to practice medicine in canada. i cant handle the fact that so few grads from schools in that area get back to canada. please help!

 

copacetic

 

P.S. sorry for the long splurge.

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You are right in that your chances are maximized from second undergrad because some schools look at your best 2 or last 2 years while others look at your overall performance grade wise (both undergrads). Master's will help you at most schools in the ideal scenario where your cGPA is ~3.5+. UfT will consider your application regardless of not-so-stellar GPA (but 3 is still required) based on your grad work (i.e. productivity, good LORs).

 

What 6 years are you looking at? Master's is 2-3 years. If you plan to do a PhD following your undergrad then apply to med schools, then there is still no guarantee that you will get in. Your undergrad marks still play a role. Besides it'll be hard to convince the committee why you'd do MD after your PhD. IMO either MD or PhD. Doing a MD after PhD requires commitments and seems impractical for many reasons (age, money, LIFE).

 

Good luck

 

ps: Do a search on the forum. I have asked about possibilities following second undergrad and there are many helpful responses.

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Guest copacetic

by 6 years i mean graduating in 6 years instead of 4. i.e. NOT doing a second degree. so basically, my options are

1)graduate in 6 years instead of 4

2)do a second degree

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My bad, I got it all wrong. Your extra 2 years should preferably be from another undergrad. You can do only 1 special year after your 4th to improve your GPA. Taking 2 special years isn't a good idea and neither is taking 6 years to finish your first undergrad if you plan to leave some courses required for graduation. But it's too late for you to do that now. Look around, there's plenty of info on the forum that you'll find helpful.

 

Cheers

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Guest copacetic

"Applicants, who have earned a degree from a recognized university, may elect to continue in full-time undergraduate studies (a so-called special year) so that their academic standing may be improved for application to medical school. Only the first special year taken by the applicant will be considered for determination of GPA. (Applicants must already have one undergraduate year that meets the GPA cutoff.) A special year will only be considered if it contains five full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) with a minimum of four full or equivalent courses at the honors level (which at Western are numbered 200 or higher). Honors level courses at Western numbered 200 are equivalent to third year courses at all other universities. First year courses are not acceptable in the “special year”. "

 

this is fromt he western pdf guidebook. i suppose thats waht you mean by special fifth year. but they say nothing about your special eyar being your fifth year. this special/victory lap year only appies to people who have graduated. i dont intend to graduate. if i dont, the victory lap/special year restrictions wouldn't apply to me. is this true?

 

copacetic

 

once again thanks for all the help

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how about taking 5 yrs to graduate and then doing one special year ...

i'm not sure about western (they are kinda picky about details of a special year & what years they will accept, etc), but for most schools i'd say even if u take 6 yrs to graduate, it shouldn't be a problem...as long as you're not taking all lower level bird courses, i dont think there's anything wrong with essentially taking more electives than you need for your degree.

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I think a second degree sounds good. I am planning to do this, because like, you my undergrad marks are not that great, and I've come to realize that applying over and over again with the same undergrad GPA will not get me interviews (even with a MSc, publications, clinical experience etc etc). I talked to the counsellors at my university, and they said I can do a second undergrad in 2 years. I think most second degrees are fairly short, usually only two years. The new undergrad years are considered part of a different degree, which most schools do require, and it's not a really long extension of the first degree. There are some helpful threads on this in the non-trad applicants section.

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