My chances?

[Nurse]

Hello

 

I am 39 yrs old. I just completed my Masters in Nursing with a GPA of 4.0. I did a course based masters that had 11 courses in a 2 year program. My undergraduate in Bachelor of Nursing had the following gpa's.

Yr 1. 2.86 with 1 F

Yr 2. 2.54 with 1 F

Yr 3. 3.55

Yr 4. 3.76

 

I wrote my MCAT's this summer and had 10 10 10 and Q

 

What are my chances of getting into medicine. Is it even worth trying with my low gpa's or should I do a Phd and then apply. How would a Phd with a 4.0 gpa look on my application.

 

Thank you for all the input.

 

N

[Dr.Cave]

what are your undergrad marks like? Did you read the to old for medicine thread? You would obviously be a poor investment of taxpayers money. I jest. I'm 37 so 39 is not that far off. 10 courses over 2 years is not a full load and most schools use undergrad marks to calculate your GPA for admissions. Your last 2 years are okay and some schools will weight them higher or only consider your best 2 years. It is absolutely worth applying with your marks all the young premed keeners on here get so caught up in grades and forget that the 3.8ish is an average and people with 3.5 get in all the time, granted fewer of them but it is possible. I don't think a PhD is the best thing to do to get into med school, especially since it is a longer term commitment, I think you probably be better off doing another year of undergrad courses and excelling. What are your prereq marks like? Pulling your MCAT up would help not that there is anything wrong with 30. Where you will probably stand out is your life experience, your marks just have to be good enough to get your foot in the door.

[Nurse]

Thank you Dave for the encouraging words. i agree with you.

 

I talked to faculty of medicine here in Calgary today and she told me that there is a chance for me to get into the MD/Phd program. They told me that my marks are acceptable but the only pre req courses I have are Calculus, Anthropology, Psychology, Stats, Anatomy & Physiology. No chemistry, biology, physics, biochemistry or orgo. So she did say I'll have to do those but then again she said my MCAT's are acceptable without pre reqs. I also told her about some of my Nursing courses and she said they will be looked at i.e. pharmacology and pathophysiology especially the Advanced Pharmacology & Pathology courses I took as part of my Masters.

 

Lets see what happens. I am thinking I should still do atleast 2-3 science pre reqs just to get that extra edge in application because I still have a lot of months before I apply again.

 

Thanks again.

[Nurse]

EDIT..i meant Rob..i.e. Dr.Cave

[leviathan]

Thank you Dave for the encouraging words. i agree with you.

 

I talked to faculty of medicine here in Calgary today and she told me that there is a chance for me to get into the MD/Phd program. They told me that my marks are acceptable but the only pre req courses I have are Calculus, Anthropology, Psychology, Stats, Anatomy & Physiology. No chemistry, biology, physics, biochemistry or orgo. So she did say I'll have to do those but then again she said my MCAT's are acceptable without pre reqs. I also told her about some of my Nursing courses and she said they will be looked at i.e. pharmacology and pathophysiology especially the Advanced Pharmacology & Pathology courses I took as part of my Masters.

 

Lets see what happens. I am thinking I should still do atleast 2-3 science pre reqs just to get that extra edge in application because I still have a lot of months before I apply again.

 

Thanks again.

 

Some schools do not require pre-requsite courses, and are more favourable to applicants with experience such as yourself. I think McMaster is one of them...research into it and I'm sure you will find some schools that are happy to consider you.

[supafield]

Some schools do not require pre-requsite courses, and are more favourable to applicants with experience such as yourself. I think McMaster is one of them...research into it and I'm sure you will find some schools that are happy to consider you.

 

McMaster, Northern, Western and Toronto don't require them

 

Queens requires only 1 full year biological science course, 1 full year physical science course (physics, chem, geology) and 1 art/humanities course.

[supafield]

Queens has a gpa cutoff around 3.76-3.78 traditionally for your final two years.... However, with a Master's you can miss the gpa as long as you meet the MCAT requirement, and then you get considered individually without having the gpa... with the amount of experience you have, that may go well for you?

 

Last year the mcat cutoff was deduced to be 9,9,9, R

however with a 10,10,10 Q it should be worth applying as the R could very well drop.

[monkey799]

I'd say you are borderline in terms of securing interview invites

 

To be honest, it's hard to estimate your chance given (1) your so-so undergrad gpa and (2) your MCAT is right around the cut-offs (3) we don't know much about your EC/CS and refs.

 

I'd suggest that you can only find out by applying as many schools as possible, and see how many interviews you can secure.

 

good luck

[Nurse]

thanks a lot for all the info guys..

 

I will apply and find out what happens. I'll have to apply next year now.

 

As far as my EC's or ref's are concerned I don't think it lacks anything.

 

1. I've over 15yrs of volunteer experience with a Brain Injury Rehab Society in Canada.

 

2. 3 yrs of Canadian Forces Nursing Officer(Reserve) experience and 6 month mission to Afghanistan last year as a Nursing Officer(paid).

 

3. 6 months stint(volunteer) in Angola as a Nurse with Doctors Without Borders.

 

4. 6 Months in Nepal volunteering at a Blood Donor Clinic.

 

5. 6 months as a Research Assistant in the Kids with Disability sportability program in Canada(paid).

 

And I've been a RN for past 13 years in various units in the hospital. And i've been a long distance runner for past 10 years including having finished 4 marathons and 2 half marathons.

 

these are just to name a few which stands out plus lot more like being a member of clubs,sports etc during my undergraduate years.

 

It's just my undergrad marks that worry me cos I do have a 4.0 in my Masters of Nursing. Lets just see what happens.

 

Thanks again for all the help.

[nwhyte3]

You should also consider Ottawa, if you worked with the Canadian Forces I'm pretty sure they consider you in a different group of applicants (a special group). Also, they your higher years will have more weight, i.e 5th year WGPA X5, 4TH WGPA X4, ect... so your first and second year of undergrad will have little effect.

If your and Ontario resident your best chances are:

1. Queens

2. Ottawa

3. Mcmaster

Its unlikely you would get in to Western as they don't really care about grad work and U of T won't take you, because you likely won't meet the cutoff (too competitive).

Apply to those 3. If you don't get in, rewrite the MCAT. PhD won't help much, btw if your not an Ontario Resident you have literally no chance of getting in to any of those schools. Apply in province.

[A-Stark]

That may be true of Ottawa, but people can and certainly do get into Mac (or at least the interview!) from outside Ontario. Queen's doesn't distinguish between IP and OOP.

[123coco]

Nurse.....APPLY....you're volunteer experience is outstanding....and with the exception of your second undergraduate yr. you show an upward trend....you have a lot to offer....do not second guess yourself because you don't have a 3.8 GPA..you would strenghten your application with those extra pre-reqs....the only thing I would tell you is although your MCAT score is more than acceptable....you might want to raise the writting section a bit...because western and queens have had higher cut off...apart from that...please apply

________

YAMAHA SDR 200 SPECIFICATIONS

[engineer2doc]

Nurse,

 

I've just applied to Ottawa, McM and Queens and I'm 45. Sometimes I think I'm certifiable, but if you don't try you will never know. Go for it. I also suggest you research MMTP and MMTP(SI) - the 2009 message is now out and as a reservist you should be eligible. If you want more e-mail me.

 

Get applying - next cycle closes in Ontario in Oct 09 but start planning now. It took me 2 years to get to the application. Let's not pretend it's easy, but it's possible. You have 6 years until you are where I am, but don't make it any harder than it has to be!!

 

Reading the threads shows that yes, the admissions process is unfair, unpredictable and un-everything else, but non-trads do get in. One of my Mentors was on a course with a 53-year old.

 

Cheers and best of luck.

[Jacobe]

Did you apply yet?

 

Your volunteer experiences are awesome.

[silvermen85]

The best way to find out the answer to your question is to apply. Since you have already invested a lot of time and energy (finishing school, EC and writing the MCAT!), might as well try your luck. You only live once, at this point, it's now or probably never.

[Minderbinder]

Please pardon the tangent, but thanks engineer2doc for letting me know the MMTP message was out. Widest possible distribution, yeah right. I had to seriously go digging on the DWAN to find it.

[sparkles3288]

To the OP:

 

I think you honestly have a great chance of getting in. While your undergrad grades may be lower than optimal, you have grad school to combat it plus so much life expierience and amazing EC's that it'll make you shine at schools that especially value that. A few years ago, I heard of a mother/daughter combo being accepted in alberta with the mother being 49, so it's definitely possible.

 

Good luck =).

[rmorelan]

Go for it!