xenobiotic Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Hello all, I've lurked here for a while, but I thought I'd ask for some personal advice. -Undergrad bio cGPA 3.52, 3rd yr: 3.66, 4th yr:3.74 -Coursework Msc somewhere around 3.9 (I don't think the marks matter, so I didn't calculate) -MCAT 30R (3 10's) -Okay EC's, but no med related stuff other than shadowing a doc once. After being rejected once, I did my MSc, thinking I'd go into more research/industry. But I quickly realized this was a mistake and am now further comitted to becoming a CDN doctor. I don't mind taking a few years to get in. Would my best step to be to work for a year in some med related field, redo MCAT, and do some heavy volunteering? Or should I go back to UG (IE do I need new marks)? Or should I pick up orgo and go to the states? Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Hello all, I've lurked here for a while, but I thought I'd ask for some personal advice. -Undergrad bio cGPA 3.52, last 2: 3.74, 3.66 -Coursework Msc somewhere around 3.9 (I don't think the marks matter, so I didn't calculate) -MCAT 30R (3 10's) -Okay EC's, but no med related stuff other than shadowing a doc once. After being rejected once, I did my MSc, thinking I'd go into more research/industry. But I quickly realized this was a mistake and am now further comitted to becoming a CDN doctor. I don't mind taking a few years to get in. Would my best step to be to work for a year in some med related field, redo MCAT, and do some heavy volunteering? Or should I go back to UG (IE do I need new marks)? Or should I pick up orgo and go to the states? Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks. well it seems that your biggest issue will be grades. People will tell you different numbers, but I think it's safe to say at least a 3.75 cGPA would be considered competitive. Thankfully your latest 2 years (there will be a Queens/Western comment by rmorelan or someone similar a few posts down) seem to be your better years, but even still they might not be your strongest suit. That's not to say that people haven't gotten in with lower GPAs -- it happens! W.r.t EC's: Don't worry about having med related EC's. The cookie cutter premed will volunteer at a hospital, thinking that they are getting quality EC time, but really they just walk around and aren't helpful. Unless you can get yourself involved in something meaningful in the medical field, I wouldn't bother. The standard response to these questions is "just do what you find interesting or what you love". And that's a pretty fair statement. I think the adcoms care less about what specifically you did with your spare time, and moreso that you actually committed yourself to something instead of sitting on your ass and watching Grey's Anatomy all day. So it seems like going back to UG may be the best route (i don't know very much about Ontario schools, and Western I think has something called a "special 5th undergrad year" but im not EXACTLY sure how that works so I'll leave that for the pros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi88 Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 going back to UG IMO would be your best choice. Everything about your application is good except for your GPA. Unfortunately since you're several years out of UG, 1 more year of UG is not going to change your cGPA, as your 5th year marks wont count towards your application if you apply during your 5th year. To use your extra years of UG, you would need at least 2 years. However, depending on what province you're from, you might have a good shot with your IP school just the way you are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 ...Unfortunately since you're several years out of UG, 1 more year of UG is not going to change your cGPA, as your 5th year marks wont count towards your application if you apply during your 5th year. To use your extra years of UG, you would need at least 2 years. However, depending on what province you're from, you might have a good shot with your IP school just the way you are now. Sorry, should have been more clear. I'm from ontario and ideally want to go to school here. I'm one year out of UG. Graduated 2008. You lost me on why I would need to do 2 years though... Wouldn't one decent year potentially make me competitive at queens, western, and possibly ottowa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobes74 Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 You lost me on why I would need to do 2 years though... Wouldn't one decent year potentially make me competitive at queens, western, and possibly ottowa? It could, but the point the other person is making is that a school would not see those marks until you were in the 2nd year of your 2nd undergrad. ie. say you began your second undergrad this September, and applied to medical school this round. Whatever marks you got this school year would be too late to be applied to this round of applications. It's only next year that your marks would be complete and show up on your med school apps. And next year, you'd be in your 2nd year. Therefore, you would need to complete at least 2 years of a new undergrad. The one "exception" for this is Western, in that it lets you apply with only one year above their cut-off, with an acceptance pending that you get above the cut-off in the current year as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Sorry, should have been more clear. I'm from ontario and ideally want to go to school here. I'm one year out of UG. Graduated 2008. You lost me on why I would need to do 2 years though... Wouldn't one decent year potentially make me competitive at queens, western, and possibly ottowa? Queens looks at your last 2 years which would mean your 3.74 and 3.66. I'm assuming these are in order so if you did an extra year your last 2 years would be 3.66 and whatever mark you obtained in the 5th year. Western looks at your best 2 years which would mean if you did a 5th year it would be the 3.74 and whatever mark you obtained in the 5th year. However, since you've graduated already.. I'm not really sure if you're allowed to even do a 5th year since all course work must be towards a degree. And should you choose to start a new UG, be aware that Western requires that you complete your degree by the time you apply (ie earliest you can apply is end of 3rd year i thinkkkk). Ottawa just looks at your last 3 years and weighs the more recent years more. Dalhousie also considers last 2 years as does Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has no pre-reqs just the MCAT which you should be fine for. However, being OOP would mean your last 2 years would probably have to be around 3.9 on a 4.0 scale. Anyways, hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 and moreso that you actually committed yourself to something instead of sitting on your ass and watching Grey's Anatomy all day. You think I should take that out of my applications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Queens looks at your last 2 years which would mean your 3.74 and 3.66. I'm assuming these are in order so if you did an extra year your last 2 years would be 3.66 and whatever mark you obtained in the 5th year. Naw, I didn't make that clear originally. 3rd yr: 3.66, 4th yr:3.74. It could, but the point the other person is making is that a school would not see those marks until you were in the 2nd year of your 2nd undergrad. So couldn't I just do 1 extra yr, reapply next fall, and work that year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 So couldn't I just do 1 extra yr, reapply next fall, and work that year? You could but I think the big issue would be whether or not that extra year would be taken into consideration by some schools. Since you've already graduated, technically that extra year is part of "continuing education" and not part of your original degree. As such, some schools may not actually count it in your GPA and/or expect you to be working towards a second undergrad and consequently not consider you as an eligible applicant. Does that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Naw, I didn't make that clear originally. 3rd yr: 3.66, 4th yr:3.74. So couldn't I just do 1 extra yr, reapply next fall, and work that year? If you've already gotten your degree then doing an extra year of UG would be pointless. The best way would be UG all over again. Sounds ridiculous but if you ace your first two years then you won't have to worry too much about throwing away your money. And remember that the average age of an accepted student into med school is around 24, so don't feel like you'd be wasting years of your life for nothing. However, if you want you can always apply to the US. You have competitive marks for a good number of US schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 I'm not doing UG over again. Seems like a colossal waste of time to me. I would go to the states before doing that. Anyway, the western site says: 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) taken between September and April. First year courses, repeat/antirequisite courses, and second-year courses that do not require a first-year prerequisite are not acceptable in the special year. (Revised and approved by the Medicine Admissions Committee, May 2008) http://www.schulich.uwo.ca/education/admissions/medicine/documents/FAQs20080930.pdf I called Queen's and they said that credits after graduation are fine for cGPA. And if taken full time it will count for best 2 years. I called Ottawa and they said only credits leading to a degree count for their wGPA. So if I were to do another year and take organic chems (2nd year courses with a 1st year prerequisite) so I can also apply to the states, I could possibly be in good shape for Western and Queen's right? Also my MSc could help me out at UofT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Anyone have any further thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Apply in the US at either an MD or DO program if you don't want to wait. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going there for your studies and the DO degree is recognized in most provinces without restrictions. Just to give my opinion, I personally think the DO programs is a bit more interesting because you treat the patient as a whole and not simply based on symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Hmm, I've never considered DO before. Is it less competive than MD admissions? I'd still have to wait a year to take organic chem for US admissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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