Advice for a career changer

[jeinbalingit]

Hello,

 

I'm doing my undergraduate degree in Engineering and will finish next year. My childhood dream was originally to become a doctor but had been set aside for some reason. I am now considering taking medicine, and the more I think about it the more I realize that I really want to do it! Obviously engineering and medicine don't go quite well together and I haven't taken any of the prerequisites.

 

Question is: how do I prepare to get into med school? I'm planning on going to either McMaster or Western. Should I do a postbaccalaureate and obtain all the necessary courses? How long does that usually take?

 

Any advice would be most appreciated! Thanks for your time.

[jeinbalingit]

My gpa is 3.95 out of 4.33 (I know, weird grading scale). I'm planning to bring it up to a 4.0 on my final year.

 

The reason I chose Mac and Western is because they don't have prereqs. But I figured it's better to take science courses to improve my application and to do better in the MCAT. I'm finishing Industrial Engineering, and I only took General Chemistry and some Physics courses.

 

I have a bit of extracurriculars, i.e. I held office in a couple of Engineering organizations. I have no volunteer and research work though. I'm planning on doing volunteer work for Credit Valley hospital and another organization, would that be competitive enough?

 

Thanks for taking the time answering my questions.

[jeinbalingit]

And thanks for the heads up on the title. Hope this works now.

[hking03]

wow,

you are quite the character.

That's a really good gpa for engineering! I would hope that in some way the adcom committees realize that getting a high gpa in some academic areas is much harder* than others. Make sure you keep the gpa up! The higher the better.

 

Since your gpa is in good shape, the next thing you need to worry about the is the MCAT. I know that the course load in engineering can but brutal, so could you dedicate much of the upcoming summer to studying for the MCAT?

 

That might be the way to go. DON'T let your gpa drop because you are preoccupied with the MCAT.

 

As for extra-currics, try to find an activity in which you show leadership and innovation. This is probably better than a laundry list of activities in which you are told what to do and how to do it.

 

But I just want to iterate for the third time, keep your GPA up. A weak GPA is the hardest thing to overcome. You could dedicate a year of your life after undergrad just to studying for the MCAT, but a bad GPA is harder to fix.

 

 

(*I'm thinking about psychology. I took a couple of psychology classes. I got the highest marks in both of them. They were a joke. Non-cumulative multiple choice tests. I certainly didn't get the highest mark in Z-transforms class.)

[jeinbalingit]

I'm glad I didn't slack off much during my undergrad and got a good GPA. It will be really tough to raise it up even more though. Does Mac really require a 3.8/4.0 GPA?? And Western 3.7? I saw it somewhere, just can't remember where.

 

As for the MCAT, I'm thinking of taking a full (fifth) year taking Science courses, that way the I have a syllabus to follow and I can study more systematically. Would they still look at the GPA for that last non-degree year?

 

My summer would basically be focused on volunteer and research work and doing advance courses for my last year..

 

(This forum is great, I'm starting to get enlightened more and more. Thanks for the reply MickJoe)

[simpy]

I'm glad I didn't slack off much during my undergrad and got a good GPA. It will be really tough to raise it up even more though. Does Mac really require a 3.8/4.0 GPA?? And Western 3.7? I saw it somewhere, just can't remember where.

 

As for the MCAT, I'm thinking of taking a full (fifth) year taking Science courses, that way the I have a syllabus to follow and I can study more systematically. Would they still look at the GPA for that last non-degree year?

 

My summer would basically be focused on volunteer and research work and doing advance courses for my last year..

 

(This forum is great, I'm starting to get enlightened more and more. Thanks for the reply MickJoe)

 

McMaster doesn't require a 3.8 out of 4.0, they require a 3.0. However, your cGPA counts for a certain portion of the application so if your GPA is towards the lower end of the spectrum you must make up these points elsewhere (i.e. through the verbal section of the MCAT).

 

Some schools handle the non-degree year differently, you'll need to look it up by school you're interested in. Most are fine with it.

 

Western requires your best 2 years to EACH be above 3.7.

[kylamonkey]

That's a really good gpa for engineering! I would hope that in some way the adcom committees realize that getting a high gpa in some academic areas is much harder* than others. Make sure you keep the gpa up! The higher the better.

 

 

I just want to note that there are only 2 schools in canada that actually consider program difficulty, those being Uofc and UofT. if you apply thinking that you will get a holistic review ad your program difficulty will be taken into consideration, you will be disappointed.

 

That is a very good GPA for engineering, though, a big congrats to you.

[jeinbalingit]

McMaster doesn't require a 3.8 out of 4.0, they require a 3.0. However, your cGPA counts for a certain portion of the application so if your GPA is towards the lower end of the spectrum you must make up these points elsewhere (i.e. through the verbal section of the MCAT).

 

Some schools handle the non-degree year differently, you'll need to look it up by school you're interested in. Most are fine with it.

 

Western requires your best 2 years to EACH be above 3.7.

That's great then, I've been stressing lately thinking that I have to get A+'s in all of my remaining courses.

 

Speaking of Western, I saw this in the OMSAS brochure:

 

"Applicants must have a four-year Honours degree or equivalent from a recognized university."

 

I have no idea what an Honours degree is, and as far as I know my university offers no special designations such as this. Does that mean I'm not eligible to apply given that I only have my undergrad?

[jeinbalingit]

I just want to note that there are only 2 schools in canada that actually consider program difficulty, those being Uofc and UofT. if you apply thinking that you will get a holistic review ad your program difficulty will be taken into consideration, you will be disappointed.

 

That is a very good GPA for engineering, though, a big congrats to you.

I don't mind I guess. I got into engineering without any idea that I would actually aspire to be a doctor. Thanks for the congrats.

[thatonekid]

That's great then, I've been stressing lately thinking that I have to get A+'s in all of my remaining courses.

 

Speaking of Western, I saw this in the OMSAS brochure:

 

"Applicants must have a four-year Honours degree or equivalent from a recognized university."

 

I have no idea what an Honours degree is, and as far as I know my university offers no special designations such as this. Does that mean I'm not eligible to apply given that I only have my undergrad?

It's fine if you don't have an Honours degree. Is your degree 4 years and does it allow you to pursue a Masters? Because that's basically what they mean by "or equivalent".

[jeinbalingit]

Yes mine is a 4-year degree with an option for Masteral studies. That's great then, thanks for the info.

 

Any ideas on what the most useful prerequisite courses to take? Since I'm taking a full time year taking only Science courses, I'd like to cover as much as possible for preparation.

[jeinbalingit]

Thanks for the reply, Para D. I wonder if it matters which university I take these courses from?

 

Also, can anyone advise as to what can be considered as strong extracurriculars/volunteer work (just as a basis of comparison)? Do they look at the number of years one dedicates? If so, I would be at a disadvantage given that I have just started engaging in volunteer work. :/

[hking03]

Thanks for the reply, Para D. I wonder if it matters which university I take these courses from?

 

Also, can anyone advise as to what can be considered as strong extracurriculars/volunteer work (just as a basis of comparison)? Do they look at the number of years one dedicates? If so, I would be at a disadvantage given that I have just started engaging in volunteer work. :/

 

it depends upon what school you are applying to... if they have pre-requisite courses you will need to check their sites and ensure they are equivalent to the ones you are taking. if the school does not have pre-reqs then it won't matter because all you are doing is studying for the mcat... generally speaking, any school should be able to prepare you for that provided it isn't some mickey mouse club.

 

length of involvement is a factor, so is type of activity and what you were able to draw from it... the best advice i can give you is to do volunteer activities that you enjoy... think of what you would want to help out with if you weren't applying to medical school and do that. if you are concerned about exposure to medicine in your volunteer activities then you can always hit up your local hospital, clinic, blood bank or whatever else you can think of to clean or guide people.

[jeinbalingit]

All right, here goes. Pardon for venting but I’m so full of despair that any insights would be helpful.

 

I feel that my credentials are not even close to being competitive for med school. Like I said, I was already intent on taking a career in engineering and had no preparations for getting into med school. In fact, I'm currently doing my internship in engineering and I feel no passion for what I'm doing, as if everything lacks substance. I just can't see myself doing this for the next few decades of my life. On the other hand, the idea of taking medicine was rekindled just the past week (from a long-term hiatus dating back from high school years), and I can’t get it out of my head. I realized that I can’t see myself doing anything else but this. I’m willing to devote time and effort to make my application more competitive but would need frank advice on what needs work and if I do have a chance.

 

I have my final year left for Engineering and here’s a breakdown of my GPA:

 

1st year: 3.89/4.33

2nd year: 4.0/4.33

3rd year: 4.07/4.33

 

As for Extracurriculars, that’s where I’m very weak. I held office as VP Administration for an Engineering organization twice and was the Vice Chair of our local Engineering Competition. I received a couple of awards for academic excellence, other than that, it’s nil. I’m looking into volunteering for the ROM and a hospital and also child mentoring. The thing is, I will be very hard-pressed to do volunteer work since it’s difficult to maintain a high GPA especially with 5 major projects in one semester (plus thesis/capstone project).

 

I’m still thinking if I should continue with a fifth non-degree year taking Science courses or just doing a second degree. That way I have a fallback of having a second degree instead of a string of non-degree courses. This will serve as my MCAT review as well. Is it worth it to take the extra year to do volunteer work or would 2 years worth of volunteering suffice?

 

I have no one to turn to for advice since I don’t know anyone even close to the healthcare industry. Please help! And thank you in advance.

[jeinbalingit]

Thank you for such an informative reply, I really appreciate it. My GPA might be good for engineering, but I'm worried that it's still not competitive enough. It seems to pale in comparison with the 3.8's and 3.9's that a number of applicants seem to have (I get this notion that there are hundreds of students applying with GPAs of 3.8 and higher, is this accurate?). I do love Biology and Chemistry and a healthy dose of Physics so I think I'd enjoy studying them for the MCAT and hopefully get good marks.

 

It's interesting that you point out the CEC, I actually went to the one last year held at UofT, as an observer though and not as a competitor. To be able to get to that level, I'd have to win first place at the university level and provincial level. Unfortunately, it will be very hard for me to devote the time and effort since I would be finishing my final year = tons of projects and a major thesis. And as you said, GPA is “more important”. But you're right, it is fun.

 

I wish your sister all the best and hope that she will finally get accepted. Thanks for sharing her experience, I’ll definitely etch this on my skin: GPA is king. Haha. You did say that she was able to get pretty good ec’s, do you know what kind she participated in? Also, is it really frowned upon to take maybe a year break to actually build solid ec’s and prepare for the MCAT?

 

I spend most of my time thinking about my application and how much improvement it needs. I’m so full of anxious energy that it keeps me up at night and I can’t even set the thought aside even at work. I’ve read a number of threads about ec’s and they do stress that volunteering is important, if not very. Personally, I think I’d have to draw more on ec’s to stand out as an applicant in the interview (if I happen to get one). I’m afraid that without much to elaborate on, I would seem like a lackluster applicant and would of course lead to rejection.

 

I know someone who finished her degree in engineering, had a GPA of 4.0/4.33 and did clinical volunteering and some other ec's but got rejected after the interview process. Does the interview either make or break an application even with "impressive credentials" (I understand this is subjective) on paper?

[jeinbalingit]

Yes I'm in co-op right now, that's why all my energy is focused on this burning idea of med school. But I do realize that I have to chill out, no use worrying. Now that I'm more enlightened and a bit more calm, I'll just work towards more solid ec's and maintain my GPA when I come back to school.

 

Thanks so much to the very helpful people who answered my questions, and an extra to you MickJoe. This forum is great.