moseymeenah Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 Hi guys, Am a Canadian citizen, graduated with a Bsc degree in Human Anatomy {with a low gpa ie 2.9 in a 5.0 scale, probably 2.3 in a 4.0} from a Nigerian University. Recently moved back to Canada, so I dont know how things work here. 1. Are there courses to take to upgrade the gpa? {like a pre-medical programme or something} 2. In the event that I have to go for a second degree to get into Med school, can I use my first degree to apply for the second degree? or do I have to take pre-requisite courses back in high school? 3. Are medical graduates from Caribbean universities recognized/allowed to practice in Canada? Any sort of useful infomation is highly anticipated and appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medtech Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 If any Mods are around, I think this thread would benifit from being moved to non-traditional section of the fourms. 1. Are there courses to take to upgrade the gpa? {like a pre-medical programme or something} You GPA seems pretty low, unfortunately I think you need to do a second degree, a lot of lovely people on this fourm did just that, so look at the non traditional applicant thread. Usually a second degree can be in 3 or 2 years depending if canadian universities let you transfer over some of your Nigerian courses. This usually involving comparing the course descriptions of your course and the courses currently taught at the canadian institution you decide to apply to. The other thing is, I'd need to know what province you are in, some provinces have very low GPA cutoffs for their IP students... so you might just need to take some more undergrad courses if you don't mind having GPA on the low end. Also be aware, U of T takes off a full course every year with the lowest GPA in their calculations, Queens and Western look at your two best years. Ottawa has a weighted GPA, U of C takes you two best years for before interviews as well I think. So your GPA may not be so bad. 2. In the event that I have to go for a second degree to get into Med school, can I use my first degree to apply for the second degree? or do I have to take pre-requisite courses back in high school? I don't know a lot about this, ask non-traditional students. I would think if Canadian schools recognizes your other degree, most non-competitive degrees (ie. a bachelors of health science, Bsc in Psych) should be easy to get into. I've heard nursing is also a good program for a second bachelors but accelerated nursing (2 years) is competitive. 3. Are medical graduates from Caribbean universities recognized/allowed to practice in Canada? Depends on the school, but NO in most cases. I know a lot of Caribbean schools prepare you for the USMLE, let you do clerkships or residency in the states, but practicing in Canada is different. The Carms (residency matching) give all Canadian med students preference I believe, but if you do residency in Canada, I think it won't be hard to practice here. Again, I'm not saying it's not possible, but very difficult no matter what the Caribbean schools would like to tell you.... NOTE: I'm applying to medical schools and about to finish my first bachlelors, so my answers should be suplimented by the "experts" here at premed 101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moseymeenah Posted January 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 A very big thanks for the swift and comprehensive reply buddy, am really grateful. Am a BC resident, to answer your question. But not necessarily have to study there! Will try the thread you suggested as well. Thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medtech Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 I you are open to moving to other parts of Canada, I know the atlantic provinces and the praries have lower GPA for IP students. Ontario and B.C. are the worst provinces because of their population/med school spot ratio... http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/2010AdBk.pdf This is a great resource to see which schools have very high sucess rates for their IP students Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moseymeenah Posted January 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 Just what I needed! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 Just what I needed! Thanks. I am a non-traditional applicant who has a first undergraduate degree with a similar GPA to yours (2.1). You will absolutely need to do a second degree to enter medical school in Canada, as has been stated previously. You may or may not need to submit transcripts from your Nigerian school to universities to pursue a second undergrad degree. To be honest, the best advice I can give you is to pursue a second degree with a solid backup opportunity. Perhaps try something like nursing. This will provide you with the skills and coursework necessary to go into medicine, but if it's not possible, then you have a solid backup career. If you have any other questions just PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 I am a non-traditional applicant who has a first undergraduate degree with a similar GPA to yours (2.1). You will absolutely need to do a second degree to enter medical school in Canada, as has been stated previously. You may or may not need to submit transcripts from your Nigerian school to universities to pursue a second undergrad degree. To be honest, the best advice I can give you is to pursue a second degree with a solid backup opportunity. Perhaps try something like nursing. This will provide you with the skills and coursework necessary to go into medicine, but if it's not possible, then you have a solid backup career. If you have any other questions just PM me. Except that it's hard to get As in Nursing because there's a lot of subjective evaluations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moseymeenah Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Am so grateful guys. Am really learning about the Canadian system here. 1. So if I do go back for the second Bsc.degree {a 4yr programme}, is it going to be still 4years for me? 2. Government Student loans: Do I have to pay back the first loan for the second degree {assumingly} before getting another one for the MD? {If am eventually successful} Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosuperman Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Am so grateful guys. Am really learning about the Canadian system here. 1. So if I do go back for the second Bsc.degree {a 4yr programme}, is it going to be still 4years for me? 2. Government Student loans: Do I have to pay back the first loan for the second degree {assumingly} before getting another one for the MD? {If am eventually successful} Thanks. Regarding your earlier question: You won't be applying as a high-school student so you'll be using your previous degree to apply for your new one. 1. You can usually do it in 2 or 3 years, depending on how many credits you can transfer over. To figure this out you'll need to check the requirements for the degree you're looking at taking and weigh them against your current transcript. 2. No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moseymeenah Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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