Bad GPA/hopeful from UofO website/Crushed by this board ;P

[Guest aesir]

Ok.

I have a really, really nasty GPA. I had a really bad year where I got alot of E's (incomplete).

 

Now...I am sad about the prospect of not being able to get into med school. I realize I suck but I don't want to get into the reason's why that year was so bad.

 

When I was on the Ottawa U website, things were looking pretty hopeful. I figured I would just either a> do an extra 2 years or b> apply to a new program and take it from there.

 

My logic stemmed from the fact that Ottawa U said they did their weighted grading somewhat like this: year 3 was weighted out of three, year 2 out of two and one out of 1. I figured I could pull up my GPA for two years and apply.

 

Having perused this entire board however, I am now thinking things don't look so good. Ottawa U seems like a really hard school to get into and even though their site had me hopeful, it isn't looking good.

 

Does anyone have any stories/anecdotes or thoughts here? I saw some stats on this board at one point where Ottawa U had a few entrances at the 2.+ mark!?! I want to find these people and see what they did right.

 

The rest of my grades are good but I can't bring up that year. Anyone gone back for a second undergrad? Anyone have experiences with getting in when they had lower gpa's?

 

Also, how do the school's look at E's and F's (both are worth zero according to the GPA calc from the admissions org)?

Does even having one F ruin your chances?

 

(FYI, I only have one more class to do to graduate with a Psych degree from Ottawa U)

[Guest diencephalon]

those who got in w/ a 2.6 GPA were probably classified under a different category, OR that is the simple GPA, not the weighted GPA (where the lowest marks would be in year one)

 

For Ottawa (after hours of reading their admissions - yes I know I am psycho)

 

a) if your undergrade matches the cut-off, then your graduate work is not considered.

 

if it doesnt, you need to get >85% in your grad studies (no exceptions)

 

To answer your questions, one F should NOT hurt you significantly if that is a first year course, AND the rest of your courses are 85's and above.

 

But according to your post, you have "alot of E's (incomplete)." Mind you that isnt a flat out failure since you didnt submit all your work, but for the purposes of admissions, that is a failure.

 

Those E's WILL torpedo your chances (sorry to be blunt), BUT...since you say they are in your 1st year, you can offset them (I dont know how much though) if you kill your courses in 3rd and 4th year..

 

Whats your definition of "The rest of my grades are good " ?

if you mean all 4's in year 3/4 I think it should be okay

 

However, you could always explain why you got those low marks, but you would probably have to show a trend of getting better grades..

 

In any case, I dont know what the best way to put it but regardless of what you may hear, you cannot get into meds with a GPA of less than 3.0 period, even if you get great MCAT marks. And the people who do get in w/ 3.0, have really unique experiences, but be cautious because it is really, really difficult.

 

Doing a grad degree may help, only if you LIKE research (otherwise it could do you more harm than good) AND, you can get great marks (>85%) and have mad publications...

 

I dont know how Western/Queen's operates, but U of T you need a minimum of 3.0 GPA to be considered as a grad, and Ottawa needs >85% in all Master classes..

 

Oh yes, and Ottawa is a hard med school to get into, but so is every other med school

 

If you could give more info about your background and GPA,

 

P.S. the above only applies to Ottawa....I know that Western/Queens/ U of T drops your lowest year (assuming that is not your final year) and perhaps after that, you may have a stellar GPA (Im speculating b/c I dont know the rest of your grades) after all

[Guest shkelo]

Try not to be set on a particular school. The reality is that only 5-10% applicants gain acceptance. Those are not good odds if you want to go to med school, especially with low grades. Do some research on all of the med schools across Canada. You will find that some schools (e.g. Calgary) take your best two years. Many other schools will drop your worst year once you complete a degree. Others take your entire academic record into consideration. There are even separate pools (or cutoffs) at schools for those that have an undergraduate degree. Do your homework. It's an uphill battle, unfortunately, but it just might pay off in the end for you. You will likely need at least an undergraduate degree (i.e. 4 years) and a strong academic performance in your remaining years if you expect to be competitive with other applicants and offset your one "bad" year.

[Guest cheese]

i agree with the above replies...you should research into other schools to get a feel for what's out there and what would be most suitable for you. also, i think that showing improvement in your subsequent undergrad years is important. just out of curiosity, the courses where you got an E, were they science/humanities ? were they prerequisite courses? you might want to consider retaking the courses in which you received low grades... just a thought.

 

cheese

[Guest UofCMeds2005]

Also, Ottawa does drop your first year marks if you do a four year degree... My first year marks were so low that I didn't get an interview last year. Once my first year marks were dropped I not only got an interview, but got in in the first round. For example, the WGPA would be 2 year x 1, 3 year x 2 and 4 year x 3....

 

Don't loose hope... If you are really interested in med school talk to the admissions officers at various school. You will be surprised (especially after hearing some comments from this board) how helpful they are.

 

Also, don't rule out other schools - Calgary for instance looks at an applicants entire package without specific weightings and even looks at two years of GPA...

[Guest aesir]

Well what about going to complete another undergrad? Do they still ream you for your first undergrad?

I think I may call the school today to ask about this, but I am curious as to whether or not it would be worth my while to do two extra years on top of my first undergrad and then apply. Any experiences?

[Guest UofCMeds2005]

I think it would probably look better and maybe even be more beneficial for you to do a master's degree. Then your undergrad marks at Ottawa will not be necessary, as long as you have an A average in your grad courses (which is fairly easy if you work hard). You could do a one year health admin masters at Ottawa. I know someone who did that who was in your situation.

[Guest Melissa13]

Actually, the University of Ottawa is much harder to get into from a Masters route rather than a second undergrad because they have an "unwritten" requirement of publications for Masters students. In a nutshell, you have to have lots (I remember reading something about an average of ten pubs in another thread having to do with Ottawa admissions around the time of interview invites). They actually set a cutoff number of pubs for Masters students each year, from what I understand, and your interview invite is based on this as much as your academic average. I, myself went the second undergrad route because my (ahem) social skills were much more developed after my first degree than my academic skills. I spent two years in the UofO nursing program and applied during my third year, which started me on the path of a health care related field in the case that I didn't ever get accepted to medicine. The UofO weighted average is very kind to "socialites" like myself as it drops all but your MOST RECENT three years if you have more than four years of University. However, I worked very hard during my second degree and maintained an average around 3.9-3.95 over the last three years so don't think that they are an easy touch, but if you really can't live without meds then maybe the long hard (scenic) route will be as easy a choice for you as it was for me. I will be joining the class of 2006 on a first round invite so it is possible but it takes patience and commitment to a goal if you are starting from a bad academic place. I wish you all the best in your endeavors. Melissa

[Guest Ian Wong]

Moved out of the Premed forum into the Ottawa forum...

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Sil]

Hey Aesir:

 

I also chose to go the second undergrad way. So I know that it is possible and I am pretty sure that they disregard grades of anything but your most resent 3 years (while still taking your prerequisites from your first undergrad). I would only recommend that you find a second undergrad in something you really like. I chose to go into nursing at U of O which I may not have chosen if I had to this over again but I guess in the long run it does not matter. I found however that it was increasingly harder to do well in my third year because although I think nursing is an excellent profession it was not something that I wanted to do. I think that people that do a second degree can do better because of all the experience studying, taking tests, time management, and having a clear goal in mind. So I say go for it I am glad that I did.

[Guest aesir]

Thanks everyone! I don't feel so badly now about going back. I think I am going to try the second undergrad route and see where it takes me.

 

You have all been really helpful and I appreciate your advice!