Arts MA... where do I go from here

[powermed]

Hi Everyone,

 

Apologies for a self-centered post. I need a little advise on how best to make myself an attractive applicant to Canadian U's. Pref UBC, but wont be choosy. I realize I may have a long road ahead of me, but would appreciate the help.

 

I have a BA (hons) in Art History grad 2004 83%

MA in the conservation of paintings grad 2007 non graded pass/fail only. I passed. Have published research in this field.

My EC's probably aren't all that strong in a medical sense, I've logged a lot of hours at Tate and the National Gallery but I don't see how these will help.

I volunteer teaching seniors yoga, dementia patient exercise and at triage in a hospital

Trying to get a Chem prof to take me on as a research asst.

 

I have a 1 year old daughter and work part time as a collections manager in a university gallery where I plan to take my prereq's.

 

Here is the big question: Do I have to go back full time (5 courses) to get my prereq's, or can I do them 3 courses at a time while working?

 

Thank you all so much!

[tooty]

First we need to determine how competitive your undergrad GPA is. In the premed general forum, there is a FAQ sticky that explains how you can convert your grades into the GPA. Calculate your cumulative GPA, list for us your average GPA by year, and indicate which years were full-time (10 courses).

 

Having a background in arts does not put you at a disadvantage at all. The only exception is the inconvenience of having to take prereqs. Much of your extracurriculars, if significant, will be looked upon favourably by adcoms.

 

Finally, to answer your question, no, you don't have to do your prereqs full-time. You can take them one at a time if you want. The hype about full-time studies is due to weighing formulas offered by several schools. Schools that require full time studies only want a couple years in full-time.

[powermed]

Thanks for the quick reply tooty!

 

I will do the GPA calc's and reply

[powermed]

First Year 3.5 Full time

Second Year 3.6 Full time

Third Year - exchange program 30 credits no grades

Fourth Year - 3.75 Full time

 

cGPA - 3.6

Last 60 - 3.7

currently my prereq's are - 3.7 but I have only completed the English and First year Chem's

 

So I now have to update the prereq's and I am aiming for UBC. Will they hold it against me if I take the remaining classes 2 or 3 at a time?

[simpy]

First Year 3.5 Full time

Second Year 3.6 Full time

Third Year - exchange program 30 credits no grades

Fourth Year - 3.75 Full time

 

cGPA - 3.6

Last 60 - 3.7

currently my prereq's are - 3.7 but I have only completed the English and First year Chem's

 

So I now have to update the prereq's and I am aiming for UBC. Will they hold it against me if I take the remaining classes 2 or 3 at a time?

 

I don't know much about UBC, but it sounds like if you are in-province, you actually would have a pretty good shot provided your prerequisites are at least as good as the rest of your work so far.

 

A LOT will depend on your MCAT. Without a good MCAT score, you may not have a chance in Canada without doing a full second degree and doing extremely well in it. With a good MCAT score and assuming you meet various requirements (for instance, for Western you would need to take a full courseload) you should have a shot at the following schools:

 

UBC (if you're IP)

University of Calgary

University of Alberta (this is a long shot)

Queen's

Western

McMaster

...possibly university of toronto. Depends on whether you would qualify for the weighting formula (and you only have a shot if your GPA is due to a few really bad marks and you have a lot of 90%+ marks).

 

The best thing to do is consider the MCAT and research each of those schools in detail.

[tooty]

Not sure about UBC, but you may have a shot at UCalgary if you're IP. If you're OOP of alberta, your chances are slim. slim chances at UAlberta because they weigh GPA heavily. Your chances at both alberta schools can be improved dramatically with a really awesome MCAT, however. Or, if you have a decent MCAT, you can do a victory lap year full-time and get a 4.0. That would help a lot too.

 

Will they hold it against me if I take the remaining classes 2 or 3 at a time?

 

no they won't. no schools do. never. zip. nadda. take them one at a time if you want to.

[hking03]

If you do as well as you did in your undergrad while completing your pre reqs for Ubc you have a good shot. The average for those granted an interview was around 84%... This is assuming you are in province. Otherwise you'd need about a 90% average to have a shot.

 

Ubc may be coming out with a new academic score calculation in the next month or so... Check the website and or this forum for updates.

 

The mcat is used as a flag so as long as you score 8's you can apply.

 

Good luck and like tooty said- you can take the pre reqs one at a time... In fact you'll have to take first year bio courses, second year chem and 3rd year biochem so chances are the biochem will be by itself.

[powermed]

Thanks All,

 

I am a BC res. so I will carry on...

Thank you for your info, I hope I can contribute here eventually.

 

Hope the new UBC grade calc's aren't against me!

[medtech]

Just to add on to this. I think that Arts EC can actually help you. There are too many cookie cutter pre-meds out there with the exact ECs. Volunteer at hospitals, alternative spring break (and trying to tell people it changed your life), fundraising or starting a club. All this is good, but typical.

 

Visual arts is something you don't hear of a lot of in the pre-med community and if you make it to the interview stage, elaborating on that can definetly make you stand out from the crowd.