2ndChance Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Hey guys, So recently I got accepted into a program (very late!) that I applied to. It was the only program I could get into given that I did very poorly my first time around at undergrad for some personal reasons. I did so poorly in fact that after completing about 2-3 years of my degree I was actually put on probation and suspended at my home institute. My original degree was in Life Sci at UofT. Although I did really terribly (< 2.0 gpa), I actually don't think the course material was that hard. Because of some issues at home and personal reasons, I began to lose drive after doing badly and it just snowballed from there. However a new school has accepted me but in a completely different program (Computer Science). I honestly don't know much about comp sci and I know it involves a lot of math and programming which I know will not nearly be as interesting as life sci was. Even though I have required courses to take in order to graduate, I know that we're actually allowed to take whatever courses we like. So I've been thinking, I could actually take the exact same courses as a student in another program is taking and then re-apply to this school to that program next year and not be a behind at all. I'm just not sure what to do. Unlike many other non-trads, I haven't completed my first degree as such I can't really cut down this new degree to 2 years. And in my first degree I completed pretty every med school pre-req save for Organic Chem part II. One of the big reasons I want to change programs is because I have about 10 or 12 transferable credits in 1st year bio, chem, physics along with some 2nd year courses. But would it be wise to repeat another life sci degree at my age? It'd definitely be easier to get a high GPA... but maybe a professional degree in something like nursing or engineering would be more practical but definitely harder. Maybe I should just stick with Comp Sci? But honestly, I don't think I have much passion for it. Comp Sci job prospects include tech support... In any case, I need to decide within this week! So please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Which school did you get into? I am not sure how well you will do in a program you don't like in the least. That doesn't sound like the sort of thing you can really put your best efforts towards. Plus computer science is often quite hard for some people. It involves a lot of shear time to do, and programming is a quite picky. This is making me lean towards suggesting exploring a program that you would be interested in and do well. It would be terrible for you to graduate in computer science and heaven forbid not get into medical school and be stuck in an entire career you did like You won't be able to repeat courses for a lot of schools, so you have to be careful about that. Western for one won't count them, so be careful! Has the school already given you transfer credits for the courses you have taken? And the software engineer in me has to say Comput Sci grads generally do not even go near tech support Hey guys, So recently I got accepted into a program (very late!) that I applied to. It was the only program I could get into given that I did very poorly my first time around at undergrad for some personal reasons. I did so poorly in fact that after completing about 2-3 years of my degree I was actually put on probation and suspended at my home institute. My original degree was in Life Sci at UofT. Although I did really terribly (< 2.0 gpa), I actually don't think the course material was that hard. Because of some issues at home and personal reasons, I began to lose drive after doing badly and it just snowballed from there. However a new school has accepted me but in a completely different program (Computer Science). I honestly don't know much about comp sci and I know it involves a lot of math and programming which I know will not nearly be as interesting as life sci was. Even though I have required courses to take in order to graduate, I know that we're actually allowed to take whatever courses we like. So I've been thinking, I could actually take the exact same courses as a student in another program is taking and then re-apply to this school to that program next year and not be a behind at all. I'm just not sure what to do. Unlike many other non-trads, I haven't completed my first degree as such I can't really cut down this new degree to 2 years. And in my first degree I completed pretty every med school pre-req save for Organic Chem part II. One of the big reasons I want to change programs is because I have about 10 or 12 transferable credits in 1st year bio, chem, physics along with some 2nd year courses. But would it be wise to repeat another life sci degree at my age? It'd definitely be easier to get a high GPA... but maybe a professional degree in something like nursing or engineering would be more practical but definitely harder. Maybe I should just stick with Comp Sci? But honestly, I don't think I have much passion for it. Comp Sci job prospects include tech support... In any case, I need to decide within this week! So please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 You won't be able to repeat courses for a lot of schools, so you have to be careful about that. Western for one won't count them, so be careful! Has the school already given you transfer credits for the courses you have taken? And the software engineer in me has to say Comput Sci grads generally do not even go near tech support Afaik, Western WILL count repeat courses if it doesn't actually say "Repeat/Retake" on the transcript. I know because I emailed admissions before to ask this exact question however I wasn't as deep into my degree as the OP. ========= Hello again, I understand that you did not complete your first degree, nonetheless, we require a 4-year honours degree or equivalent.In your case, we would only be looking at the transcript from your second university. If this transcript does not indicate 'Cell Bio as' a repeat course, we would not consider it a repeat course. If, on the other hand, the transcript from the second university shows 'Cell Bio' as a repeat course, then we would also consider it a repeat course, in which case that year could not be used for the GPA requirement unless you still had a full course load without the repeat course(s). I hope this clarifies things for you. M Kennard Admissions Medicine Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The University of Western Ontario ========== As far as what degree you should pursue now... that's a tough one. The only degree I can think of that would use the science courses you want to transfer... is another science degree.... But like you've stated, science degrees don't land any jobs straight out of school and since you're a non-trad you have to consider these things a lot more than a traditional premed. That and even if schools don't count them as "repeat" courses, you still have to worry about them thinking it was easier the second time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Afaik, Western WILL count repeat courses if it doesn't actually say "Repeat/Retake" on the transcript. I know because I emailed admissions before to ask this exact question however I wasn't as deep into my degree as the OP. That is pretty cool - I guess if the new school didn't consider the course to be a repeat neither will western. Suggests in some cases people shouldn't push that hard to get transfer credits in some subjects perhaps(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Well, transfer credits don't show up as marks, right? I don't see why you wouldn't push to transfer credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 my sis was always interested in medicine ever since she was a kid but for some reason she decided to do her undergrad in computer science... and she actually started liking it... now, shes got a job in that field and she no longer cares to go to medschool. So sometimes, you might end up liking something that you thought you didn't like. Hey Charmer, just out of curiosity, what does your sister do now? I'm just use to profession degree holders getting jobs right out of undergrad. Comp Sci doesn't seem like a professional degree because it doesn't seem to specialize in anything concrete like engineering. And it seems most high-paying jobs out there look for really specific skills. Jobs which just any undergrad graduate can get are typically low-paying relatively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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