astrogirl Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I've been reading this forum for a few months now, and I've posted a few times. But now let me tell you my background situation, because I'm feeling a bit depressed about it today. I did my undergrad in the States (I'm an Alberta resident) from 2000-2005. I had started out wanting to go to med school, but the super competitive pre-meds in the pre-med seminar class I took my first semester kind of freaked me out and I thought there was no way I would ever get in. So I proceeded to major in physics, which has always been my hardest subject and also the one I found most interesting. Then at some point I decided I was going to double major in math, but the math major turned into a math minor when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pass the insane upper division math classes I was trying to take. And then I changed my physics major to astrophysics because I wanted to take all the astronomy classes anyway and that major didn't have this horrendous 7-hour-a-week advanced physics lab that I had been dreading. I finished my undergrad with an overall GPA of 3.26. 4 out of the 5 years I took summer classes. Today I calculated my GPA for each year, not including the classes I failed (those grades get erased from your overall GPA, but I'm pretty sure most med schools don't ignore them) and not including my summer classes, since most med schools don't seem to care about them. This is what I ended up with for each of the five years: 2.64, 3.13, 2.8, 2.84, 3.42. Meanwhile, the astronomy professors started telling me I should go to grad school. Not really knowing what else to do with my life, I ended up doing a master's degree in physics at the same university where I did my undergrad. Then I came back to Canada to do a Ph.D. in astronomy. I'm in my 3rd year of that. About a year ago, I realized that I really hate research. I don't like what I'm doing, and this is not the career I want to have. I feel well-educated and at the same time completely useless to society. So after looking into all kinds of alternative careers (everything from teaching high school to library science to becoming a chef), I decided about a year ago that I wanted to do medicine. I have experience working with patients, and working 12-hour night shifts in a hospital. I spent a total of 8 months working as a care worker in a home for severely handicapped adults that's part of a hospital in a small town. When I worked there, I felt useful. I felt like I was contributing to society and improving those people's lives, even if all I was doing was hooking up their feeding tubes or changing them. I have a lot of other random and varied ECs. I've been an officer in several organizations. I've had scholarships and awards. I've presented at conferences. I have several publications, and I'll have at least 3 first-author publications by the time I finish my Ph.D. (assuming I don't just quit). My gpa for my grad school years is around 3.7 (and I've done quite a bit of coursework). I'm taking the MCAT in January, and I've been getting over 30 on practice tests. But I'm really depressed about my undergrad GPA at the moment. I would really like to get in to the University of Calgary. At the moment I don't have the prereq courses to apply to a lot of schools. So my plan is to apply next year to the UofC and the few other schools I can apply to. If I don't get in, I'm going to spend a year taking the 8-10 classes I would need to take to apply to other schools, and then reapply. This will also hopefully improve my gpa. On Calgary's website it says that you can count grad school years as your years of full-time study if you took at least a half course, and you need a minimum of 3.2 in your best two full time years, so I do meet that requirement. But I know that they also look at our whole academic record. So I guess these are my questions. Do you think my plan is a good one? Is there anything else I should be doing that will help my chances? Is there any hope for me at all? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Astrogirl, there are posters here, particularly romrelan, who will be helpful to you here. I just want to encourage you to enjoy the journey and go for it - and for the sake of insurance and you have come this far, to carry on and obtain your PhD. I wish you all the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Thanks, future_doc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicMB Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Definitely apply to U of C. You meet the IP GPA cutoff, and U of C is all about diversity. Step 1: Continue your PhD, keep you GPA high. Step 2: Rock the MCAT. You're probably already amazing at the Physical Sciences components. If you're struggling in a particular area, consider buying prep books directed at that area. Step 3: Apply. You have a lot of amazing stuff on your CV. Give yourself lots of time to fill out the app, so that you can do a good job at emphasizing the aspects of your experiences that you feel are most important. Step 4: Get invited for an interview. (You will.) Step 5: Work your butt off to prep for the interview. -read "Doing Right" by Hebert. Used in 1st year Ethics class at U of C, and all all-round good guide to approaching difficult questions. -practice MMI style questions. Lots available online. Best if you can sign up for a mock interview or be interviewed by someone who makes you uncomfortable (eg. sig-o's parents). -PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE Step 6: Get accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123coco Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Astrogirl, Write the MCAT. If you meet the requirements for UofC then invest a lot of effort in preparing a strong application for the next cycle. Pray to God you get in And if things don't work out, I think your best bet would be queens, western and dalhousie. But that being said, you will need two full years of 3.8> to be safe. You might luck out and get an interview after your first year of undergrad from western. That way you won't have a year gap as they're processing your application. Best of Luck! ________ Yamaha royal star tour deluxe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I've been reading this forum for a few months now, and I've posted a few times. But now let me tell you my background situation, because I'm feeling a bit depressed about it today. I did my undergrad in the States (I'm an Alberta resident) from 2000-2005. I had started out wanting to go to med school, but the super competitive pre-meds in the pre-med seminar class I took my first semester kind of freaked me out and I thought there was no way I would ever get in. So I proceeded to major in physics, which has always been my hardest subject and also the one I found most interesting. Then at some point I decided I was going to double major in math, but the math major turned into a math minor when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pass the insane upper division math classes I was trying to take. And then I changed my physics major to astrophysics because I wanted to take all the astronomy classes anyway and that major didn't have this horrendous 7-hour-a-week advanced physics lab that I had been dreading. I finished my undergrad with an overall GPA of 3.26. 4 out of the 5 years I took summer classes. Today I calculated my GPA for each year, not including the classes I failed (those grades get erased from your overall GPA, but I'm pretty sure most med schools don't ignore them) and not including my summer classes, since most med schools don't seem to care about them. This is what I ended up with for each of the five years: 2.64, 3.13, 2.8, 2.84, 3.42. Meanwhile, the astronomy professors started telling me I should go to grad school. Not really knowing what else to do with my life, I ended up doing a master's degree in physics at the same university where I did my undergrad. Then I came back to Canada to do a Ph.D. in astronomy. I'm in my 3rd year of that. About a year ago, I realized that I really hate research. I don't like what I'm doing, and this is not the career I want to have. I feel well-educated and at the same time completely useless to society. So after looking into all kinds of alternative careers (everything from teaching high school to library science to becoming a chef), I decided about a year ago that I wanted to do medicine. I have experience working with patients, and working 12-hour night shifts in a hospital. I spent a total of 8 months working as a care worker in a home for severely handicapped adults that's part of a hospital in a small town. When I worked there, I felt useful. I felt like I was contributing to society and improving those people's lives, even if all I was doing was hooking up their feeding tubes or changing them. I have a lot of other random and varied ECs. I've been an officer in several organizations. I've had scholarships and awards. I've presented at conferences. I have several publications, and I'll have at least 3 first-author publications by the time I finish my Ph.D. (assuming I don't just quit). My gpa for my grad school years is around 3.7 (and I've done quite a bit of coursework). I'm taking the MCAT in January, and I've been getting over 30 on practice tests. But I'm really depressed about my undergrad GPA at the moment. I would really like to get in to the University of Calgary. At the moment I don't have the prereq courses to apply to a lot of schools. So my plan is to apply next year to the UofC and the few other schools I can apply to. If I don't get in, I'm going to spend a year taking the 8-10 classes I would need to take to apply to other schools, and then reapply. This will also hopefully improve my gpa. On Calgary's website it says that you can count grad school years as your years of full-time study if you took at least a half course, and you need a minimum of 3.2 in your best two full time years, so I do meet that requirement. But I know that they also look at our whole academic record. So I guess these are my questions. Do you think my plan is a good one? Is there anything else I should be doing that will help my chances? Is there any hope for me at all? Thanks. I was in AP at SMU--where were you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 NicMB - Thanks, that gives me hope! The MCAT section I'm doing the worst on is biological sciences, so I've ordered some biology and organic chemistry prep books (examkrackers) and I'm just going to really focus on that section, since I'm doing fine in the others. And thanks for the interview advice. 123coco - Thanks for the suggestions of places to apply! Cnussey - I'm at SMU right now, actually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 NicMB - Thanks, that gives me hope! The MCAT section I'm doing the worst on is biological sciences, so I've ordered some biology and organic chemistry prep books (examkrackers) and I'm just going to really focus on that section, since I'm doing fine in the others. And thanks for the interview advice. 123coco - Thanks for the suggestions of places to apply! Cnussey - I'm at SMU right now, actually! SERIOUSLY?! Cool! I was there in 2001 & 2002. Who are you working with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted November 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 SERIOUSLY?! Cool! I was there in 2001 & 2002. Who are you working with? That's so cool!! I PM'ed you who I'm working with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 That's so cool!! I PM'ed you who I'm working with. Oh excellent...and soooo cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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