whystress? Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Are there certain canadian med schools who will not accept students into medicine if they haven't taken a full course load? I know some schools are ok with it and others aren't. Anyone have a list of which schools accept and which out right decline students with 4 courses/semester? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todpose Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Are there certain canadian med schools who will not accept students into medicine if they haven't taken a full course load? I know some schools are ok with it and others aren't. Anyone have a list of which schools accept and which out right decline students with 4 courses/semester? No school rejects students for not taking a full courseload. Some schools only give credit for taking a full courseload by omitting bad grades (ex. U of T). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 No school rejects students for not taking a full courseload. Some schools only give credit for taking a full courseload by omitting bad grades (ex. U of T). Wrong, some schools will not consider your GPA for years in which you have not taken a full course load. I.E Ottawa U. If you don't take a full course load you have to make it up the credits during the preceding summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 UBC has a question on their application about why you didn't take a full course load for any years that are less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Take 5 courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whystress? Posted August 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 yeah, that is the plan. i was just thinking that if I took 4 I would be able to focus on my subjects a bit more by not having to worry about the 5th. There are alot of people at my school who just take 4 each year, one during the summer, and then apply for med Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I read that OttawaU wants you to have 15 courses in 3 years so you can take 4 courses in one year and 6 courses in the next year to also make up for it and wait a sec, did you say "preceding"???????????????? this year i.e. my first year, i took 4 courses during the FW and 1 course during the summer... are you sure its the preceding summer??? So lets say you,re in 2nd year and in the Fall you take 4 courses and Winter you take 5, you're missing 1 0.5 credit course. You have to make up for it during the summer between your 2nd and 3rd year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 So lets say you,re in 2nd year and in the Fall you take 4 courses and Winter you take 5, you're missing 1 0.5 credit course. You have to make up for it during the summer between your 2nd and 3rd year.That would be the following summer, not the preceding summer. I think you may be confusing some people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireWarden Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Depends where you are....med-school wise. Do research. On one end...some only take into consideration full course loads during Regular Session and omit summer entirely....while on the other end...some don't care what you did during university as long as you got your degree (even if it took you 10 yrs). If you want to apply nation-wide (Canada) take a full load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I'd have to agree with AdamP... take a full course load... period Unless there are extenuating circumstances in which a full-course load cannot be managed (ie) you are a parent, you are working a full-time or near full-time job to support yourself/your family, etc. Not taking a full course load just to maximize your chance at high grades is a terrible idea in my opinion, and won't get you seriously considered by any med schools I guess, if you REALLY don't think you could handle 5 courses per semester and get a 3.75+ gpa, and you believe you would be able to by taking 4 courses/semester, then maybe do it?... just so you can at least meet the requirements... but even if you do really well, you won't be competitive, because you will be competing with people who did the same and better with a full course load... there is no reason for a med school to want you over the thousands of students who do well with a full course load, especially considering med school is tons more work than undergrad Sorry to be blunt, but if you are seriously considering med school, and don't have a legitimate reason for not taking an annual full course load besides it being too much work or you think you can do better with 4/semester, then take a full course load Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireWarden Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I'd have to agree with AdamP... take a full course load... period Unless there are extenuating circumstances in which a full-course load cannot be managed (ie) you are a parent, you are working a full-time or near full-time job to support yourself/your family, etc. Not taking a full course load just to maximize your chance at high grades is a terrible idea in my opinion, and won't get you seriously considered by any med schools I guess, if you REALLY don't think you could handle 5 courses per semester and get a 3.75+ gpa, and you believe you would be able to by taking 4 courses/semester, then maybe do it?... just so you can at least meet the requirements... but even if you do really well, you won't be competitive, because you will be competing with people who did the same and better with a full course load... there is no reason for a med school to want you over the thousands of students who do well with a full course load, especially considering med school is tons more work than undergrad Sorry to be blunt, but if you are seriously considering med school, and don't have a legitimate reason for not taking an annual full course load besides it being too much work or you think you can do better with 4/semester, then take a full course load I mostly agree with this post...however..it goes school by school. Some schools do not care how you got the grades....just that you did. Some really do care. However, if you hope to perform well in med school....a full load is a good idea. And you cant put all your med school hopes on one school. Its better to apply Canada-wide, for which you need a full load. Also...consider your backup plan. Taking the proper courses in a timely manner ensures that you are not completely screwed for unemployment if you should not get in right away. Life does not stop while trying to get into Med. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Anyone know if there's a list of schools that state you must have a full course load? I'm studying part-time (married with kids and a fulltime job). I'd like to get an idea of the schools that I should scratch off my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medisforme Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Dal and Ottawa i think are the only ones that require a full course load. You can get away with less in almost any other school in Canada. Here in BC i think this is the first year ubc has even asked the question on its application about what a student has been doing if they don't take a full course load - i have heard several incidences of students only taking 3 courses a semester and still getting in and doing fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Dal and Ottawa i think are the only ones that require a full course load. You can get away with less in almost any other school in Canada. Here in BC i think this is the first year ubc has even asked the question on its application about what a student has been doing if they don't take a full course load - i have heard several incidences of students only taking 3 courses a semester and still getting in and doing fine. That may be true, but most if not all schools will give you a tougher time because of the fact that you only have 4 courses per semester and not 5. Getting a strong GPA with 5 courses looks a lot better than getting a good GPA with only 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Check into UWO's requirements. It used to be they would only use GPAs from years with full course-loads, and they would average those two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryhard Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I think its better to do well in the courses than anything else. If that means taking less classes a year, then of course you should take less. Many schools recommend it. If it was that important, it would be required. I don't think schools are going to say "well this candidate has great grades, ec's and lors, but they only took four (or less) classes a year, we will have to reject them." That wouldn't make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 UBC has stated in the past that if there is tie then the student who took more classes per semester will win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neptune Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I think its better to do well in the courses than anything else. If that means taking less classes a year, then of course you should take less. Many schools recommend it. If it was that important, it would be required. I don't think schools are going to say "well this candidate has great grades, ec's and lors, but they only took four (or less) classes a year, we will have to reject them." That wouldn't make sense. I disagree. Schools want to see that you are capable of performing well under pressure, and if you aren't capable of achieving high marks with a full course load it's a sign that you might not be able to perform well in medical school. It is my understanding that this is why the 'full course load' requirement exists for so many med schools. Lots of people are smart, but not everyone can balance a full course load with EC activities and volunteering and still do well, and these are the type of people they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryhard Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I guess you guys told me wassup! But, still, a 4.0 with four classes vs a 3.8 with five, no tie here (assuming somewhat equal everywhere else). At least in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medisforme Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 UBC has stated in the past that if there is tie then the student who took more classes per semester will win. I thought they used mcat to break ties. Numerous people have stated that on this website. (besides the fact that i don't know how one can have too many ties when they allow 250ish people into school every year - it seems a tie would only be applicable for the 250th and 251st person) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I thought they used mcat to break ties. Numerous people have stated that on this website. (besides the fact that i don't know how one can have too many ties when they allow 250ish people into school every year - it seems a tie would only be applicable for the 250th and 251st person) My info is somewhat old, but since UBC has no transparency whatsoever in their admissions processes it's all speculation anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirop Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Dal and Ottawa i think are the only ones that require a full course load. You can get away with less in almost any other school in Canada. I have to add that McGill requires a full course load as well. I think it's safe to say that one should take a full course load if he/she wants to apply nationwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I have to add that McGill requires a full course load as well. I think it's safe to say that one should take a full course load if he/she wants to apply nationwide. western does at least in the two years they are considering for GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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