Guest McGillGrad Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 In a nutshell, for whatever reason I did poorly in my first pass at undergrad. Those 4 years at McGill were wonderful but the results were hardly an impressive transcript when trying to apply to medical school. Since I love university and a 2nd undergrad degree only requires 60 credit hours, I have decided to go for it again. This way, my GPA will be impressive and I will be able to take the MCAT (that I have spent 5 years of preparation on). My question is: Would you go through this in order to guarantee entrance into medical school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Valani9 Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 Your resolve is admirable, and you should certainly shoot for what you want. Just remember that even the best candidates have no guarantees for admissions. Then again, that goes for pretty much everybody who applies to meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Biochem10 Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 Hi. I just thought I'd add my opinion on your decision to try a second undergrad degree. I think you should definetly go for it, especially if there's an area of study you think you would like to know more about. If you like undergrad and you can think of a degree that you would like to do, 2 more years of school will really fly by and you'll have a better shot at med school afterwards. Personally, i feel like i missed out on a lot of arts classes in my degree (I took biochem) and if I had a chance to go back I would take philosophy or sociology. It's not a waste of time and when you do apply to med school, you'll have better marks and a new experience to accompany it. By the way, if you end up liking your new program a lot, don't exclude other careers from your future. And don't stress about the MCAT, undergrad courses were much harder than that test--DO LOTS of practice exams, but don't waste money on expensive courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 Valani9, Thank you for the words of encouragement. Although, I do believe that since I am a resident of Quebec and a graduate of McGill, I may have a better than average chance of being accepted by McGill Med. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 Biochem10, I plan on getting as many MCAT practice problems in before the actual exam. It is also refreshing to hear that you believe that the university courses are less difficult than that actual MCAT. I am also excited about taking some classes that I missed out on during the first swing through McGill:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lola Lee Lolo Posted February 12, 2003 Report Share Posted February 12, 2003 hey mcgillgrad! i, too, think that i should be shooting for a 2nd undergrad degree. i have given it a lot of thought, and am not sure if i am too thrilled with undertaking a Master's...yet, i am not quite sure what i would like to study the second time around. im actually considering a B.Ed, though a BA in Canadian studies might be fun...most of my undergrad electives in that area. anyone who has taken the second undergrad route--i would be interested in finding out what you've decided to study and why! also, does anyone know how med schools (ie mcgill) would look at marks from a second bachelor's? do they take the overall 3 best or 4 best years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maria Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 McGillGrad, I am also planning on doing a second degeree because of my bad marks my first one. However, I am now worried that my marks are not good enough to even get into a second degree program. I was just wondering if you knew what kinds of grades are needed? Also, if I did want to go to med school later, would it better to do a B. SC, or would it be okay to do a B.A.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wassabi101 Posted March 25, 2003 Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 Hey Maria- I say go for the BA if that's what you're interested for- I have tonnes of friends in McGill Med and McGill seems to love diversity (some friends from physiotherapy, some from psych arts, others from music and poli sci)! I myself would have done a Bachelor's in Music 5 years ago if I knew that you can apply to McGill with any bachelor's as long as you have the required pre-requisites, GPA and the whole package.. Good luck! -wassabi101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Lola Lee Lolo, Well, I am into my 2nd degree. I did a BA the first time around, so this time I a doing a B.Sc in Chem. I have spoken to the advisor at McGill Med a few times and she has reassured me that they do not discriminate between any undergrad degrees as long as they come from an accredited university (and as long as you have completed all of the prerequisites). McGill considers your last 90 credits in their admissions criteria. A second degree at McGill only gives you 60 credits. If you complete only 60 credits during your 2nd degree, then the 1/3 of your official GPA will be your final CGPA from your first degree. So, if you get a 4.0 GPA for your 2nd degree and a 3.0 GPA for your first degree, then the GPA that McGill will use will be 3.67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Maria, I would not worry about the GPA from your previous degree as long as you managed to graduate. **This is assuming that you are from Montreal.** If you cannot squeeze into McGill for a 2nd degree, then apply to Concordia for a 2nd degree. They have a decent program and are much more sympathetic to students in your situation. If Concordia is not your cup of tea, then apply to become an independent student at Concordia for a semester (max of 9 credits) and then use those good grades to transfer to McGill. The grades you need for a 2nd degree is usually lower than for a first timer, because they appreciate you more. Like wassabi101 mentioned, you can get any degree and still apply to medical school (with the proper prerequisites). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest biczippome Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Does anyone know the requirements for a second degree applicant to McGill? Specifically, I'd like to find out the following: 1. could someone apply during the 2nd year (also the final year) of their second undergrad degree, assuming that this person already has 60 credits in total (from a combination of transfer credits, summer credits, and regular academic credits)? This person will take 30 credits during this 2nd year and will have a total of 90 credits when he enters med school. 2. would science prerequisites need to be taken during the second degree, or could they be taken from the first degree? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 1. Yes, you can apply as long as you will have all prerequisites and 90 credits completed before attending the next term of medical school. As you know, you will need 90 credits for them to review, your prerequisites (which have to be taken during non-summer terms) and an undergrad degree. 2. The only requirements for perquisites are that they have to be taken in a non-summer semester and that they have had to be completed within the last 6 years (prior to applying to med school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest biczippome Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Thanks McGillGrad. I will be an OOP, will the above still apply to me? or would I need 120 credits from my second degree? (i.e. would I need do a 4 year second degree, or oculd I get away with a 3 year second degree, since I already have a 4-year first degree?) When you said 90 credits completed prior to attending the first term of medical school, do you mean that one could apply in the year when they have already completed 90 credits prior, or when they have completed 60 credits prior? I'm just a little confused about McGill, since some schools take into consideration the marks from the year you apply in, while others require you to have two/three full years prior to applying. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillGrad Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 McGill takes your last 90 credits into consideration in order to determine your GPA (although they might look at your whole transcript). So, if you finish a 60-credit 2nd degree, then the remaining 30 credits will carry the GPA of your 1st degree. For example, let us say you have a 4.0GPA for the 60 credits of your 2nd degree. And let us say that you had a 3.5 for your first undergrad degree (overall). They will base 66% of your grade on your 2nd degree (.66 x 4.0) and 33% on the first undergrad degree (.33 x 3.5). This would give you 3.83 (roughly speaking). You have to apply in the last year before you complete 90 credits. For example, let us say that you want to apply for the Aug-Sept 2004 medical school term. That means that you will have to apply in November of 2003 (even though you probably only have about 60 credits finished thus far). They might see about 75 of your credits before they make a decision (due to the fact that they send out letters around the end of your final semester in undergrad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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