paramed6191 Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 I am just wondering if someone could help me out. I graduated from Dal in 2005 with my BA(poli sci and IDS). Unfortunately my GPA is not great as I thought my social life should come before my studies. After graduating I went on to paramedic school and have been working in the field for 2 years now. I realize now that I would love to become a doctor, I have taken my high school sciences that I did not have and I plan to apply to take my BSc. My question is will Dal or any other school for that matter even consider me if I take my degree part time? Thanks in advance for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 I am just wondering if someone could help me out. I graduated from Dal in 2005 with my BA(poli sci and IDS). Unfortunately my GPA is not great as I thought my social life should come before my studies. After graduating I went on to paramedic school and have been working in the field for 2 years now. I realize now that I would love to become a doctor, I have taken my high school sciences that I did not have and I plan to apply to take my BSc. My question is will Dal or any other school for that matter even consider me if I take my degree part time? Thanks in advance for any advice. Each school looks at different factors when considering your GPA. A lot of schools take every course you've ever taken. Dalhousie, however, only looks at 2 years. They state on their website that they require 5.0 courses per year. However, when I was applying this year, I contacted the Dean of Admissions who agreed to accept my application with only 3.0 courses, since I was working full time at the time (also as a paramedic). That said, I had one year with 3.0 courses and one year with 7.0 courses. Queen's and Western also only consider two years, meaning that your previous GPA doesn't matter. Queen's requires 3.0 courses per year, while Western requires 5.0 courses per year. Have you considered distance education courses? I found that distance ed and modular courses were more conducive to my shift work. Best wishes to you! Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramed6191 Posted May 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Thanks elaine your advice is encouraging. Distance ed would be ideal for me as the full time shift work will conflict with classes. I have looked at athabasca university which seems to have a good rep with distance ed and a lot of the classes that I would need. Do you know if Dal accepts transfer of credits from this school? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc2B Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Dal does accept transfer credits from Athabasca as long as they are approved (ahead of time) by the faculty for which you are taking the course. It has to correspond with a course at Dal for you to do this. The curriculum has to correspond somewhat not just the course title. Dal also offers some of its own distance ed courses. I've only taken 1 from Dal and 1 from Athabasca (my degree is from Dal) but I'm sure there are more (from Dal I mean). The one I took was Intro to Histology. You might want to do as Elaine did and talk to the admissions office ahead of time to find out if you can take less courses and still be considered, that way you can plan your courses better. If you are from the maritimes it will likely be easier for you to get accepted to Dal than other schools if a lower GPA is a concern. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramed6191 Posted May 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Hey, Thanks for the reply. I am from the Maritimes and living in Saint John, I am hoping to get into UNBSJ to take their science program. I am planning to talk to their academic advisor to see about taking some classes through Athabasca. With my schedule (4 days on 4days off) I can do the full time work load, I just can not be in class 5 days a week. I will definately talk to academic advisor for dal med to see what there thoughts are on this. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramed6191 Posted May 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 Does anybody know what med schools think about taking your science degree online. For example, I know that Athabasca offers these degree courses. It would be easier for me with working full time but I am just wondering if this would ruin my chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Does anybody know what med schools think about taking your science degree online. For example, I know that Athabasca offers these degree courses. It would be easier for me with working full time but I am just wondering if this would ruin my chances. It doesn't matter. Have you looked at the BSc in Human Sciences through Athabasca University? You will get 1-2 years worth of credits for being a paramedic (depending whether you are a PCP or an ACP). In addition, you may be offered up to 50% of your remaining credits as transfer credits, based on the courses you took at Dal. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramed6191 Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks elaine. I did not realize the my paramedic credits would count (I am a pcp). I have been looking at the BSc in Human Sciences for awhile now. I am assuming that the course just counts towards credits and that my marks would not be counted. Is this a route that you took? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks elaine. I did not realize the my paramedic credits would count (I am a pcp). I have looking at the BSc in Human Sciences for awhile now. I am assuming that the course just counts towards credits and that my marks would not be counted. Is this a route that you took? You are correct in your assumption. Actual marks are not given for transfer credits - just credits. As a PCP, you are considered a "technician" by Athabasca, and given a block transfer of 30 credits. No, I didn't do my degree through Athabasca. I went to Ryerson for a Bachelor of Health Administration in Health Services Management, which is also a degree completion program. I also did a BSc in General Science from Waterloo (well, almost done). Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramed6191 Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Sounds like you have been busy as well 2 degrees plus a paramedic. Thanks again for the advice (I am sure that I will have more questions to come). Congrats on Queens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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