3 questions, advice appreciated!

[Momto2]

I am looking for a little guidance.

 

I am a stay-at-home mom taking 4 prereqs (Bio, Chem, Calc, and AF) through correspondence and finishing my BA part time. I am just shy of completing an ug in theatre at YorkU and will most likely wind up with a 3.4 cgpa. (recent marks are great, earlier not as great) I am set to go back to school full-time for a second ug in science, prove my ability as a full-time student and raise my gpa.

 

so my questions: a) should I complete my final 2 courses needed for my BA this summer, or do you think I can have courses from next year count toward my degree (I only need electives)? A summer off before a busy year would be nice.

 

I have been accepted into 2 universities, UofT and Ryerson and am having trouble deciding between them. I need a great gpa and I can probably do a bit better at Ryerson, but UofT offers more interesting courses come 2nd year and maybe a better future shoud I not get into med school.

 

c) If I can pull off A's, which I really think I can given my recent courses, do you think I stand a chance at med school given my earlier gpa? I have recent volunteer work, I have 7 years as a 911 operator for the police service, student exchange abroad, academic awards when I was younger, etc.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice. Decisions were tough when I was younger but now with 2 kids it's so much more difficult!

[Mashmetoo]

I am looking for a little guidance.

 

I have been accepted into 2 universities, UofT and Ryerson and am having trouble deciding between them. I need a great gpa and I can probably do a bit better at Ryerson, but UofT offers more interesting courses come 2nd year and maybe a better future shoud I not get into med school.

 

 

UofT is a VERY unforgiving place. Everything happens in ONE schedule - UofT's schedule. Especially as a mom, life happens, kids get sick, you have to be away from school, etc etc - but not at UofT! Its rigid system and icy frozen hallways are completely incompatible with flexibility. If your dad was dying and only had 1 week left to live, and you had 3 exams coming up at the same time - well, you'd better prepare to fail those 3 exams cuz they ain't gonna try to reschedule it (true story). UofT is enough to make even a full grown man cry - and it has! Having been to both Ryerson AND UofT myself, I can safely say that Ryerson is a much warmer and humane institution. As for med school in Canada, it's a numbers game. There is some "prestige" in going to UofT - this is true, but I'd throw it all away if I can get all As in Ryerson (which is MUCH easier than UofT). 5 years I spent at UofT - never broke a single 90 - the moment I took some Ryerson courses - 90s came easily... and I studied less than UofT. Once I forgot to bring a calculator.. A CALCULATOR of all things .. to a general chemistry FINAL EXAM! Needless to say, I got panicked and thought I was going to fail that Ryerson final exam. Fortunately, it still was much easier than UofT's gen chem. I still managed to break an 85 with only paper and pencil calculations and guestimates. Ironically, I probably did better on that Ryerson final with no calculator than I did on my UofT gen chem with calculator....

[thehumanmacbook]

UofT is a VERY unforgiving place. Everything happens in ONE schedule - UofT's schedule. Especially as a mom, life happens, kids get sick, you have to be away from school, etc etc - but not at UofT! Its rigid system and icy frozen hallways are completely incompatible with flexibility. If your dad was dying and only had 1 week left to live, and you had 3 exams coming up at the same time - well, you'd better prepare to fail those 3 exams cuz they ain't gonna try to reschedule it (true story). UofT is enough to make even a full grown man cry - and it has! Having been to both Ryerson AND UofT myself, I can safely say that Ryerson is a much warmer and humane institution. As for med school in Canada, it's a numbers game. There is some "prestige" in going to UofT - this is true, but I'd throw it all away if I can get all As in Ryerson (which is MUCH easier than UofT). 5 years I spent at UofT - never broke a single 90 - the moment I took some Ryerson courses - 90s came easily... and I studied less than UofT. Once I forgot to bring a calculator.. A CALCULATOR of all things .. to a general chemistry FINAL EXAM! Needless to say, I got panicked and thought I was going to fail that Ryerson final exam. Fortunately, it still was much easier than UofT's gen chem. I still managed to break an 85 with only paper and pencil calculations and guestimates. Ironically, I probably did better on that Ryerson final with no calculator than I did on my UofT gen chem with calculator....

 

There's a saying that my friends at U of T tell me.

 

U of T = University of Torture

 

Still, the kids there are some of the brightest I've ever known. Their work ethic and ability to crunch when time comes down is unprecedented.

[DOC_Ma]

UofT doesn't even give us med students a break let alone the undergrads. I can sorta imagine how cruel the school is to their students. BUT..... having said all that, I suppose its a very good way to separate the bright from the brightest and the average from the bright. That's how uoft maintains its prestige.

[thehumanmacbook]

UofT doesn't even give us med students a break let alone the undergrads. I can sorta imagine how cruel the school is to their students. BUT..... having said all that, I suppose its a very good way to separate the bright from the brightest and the average from the bright. That's how uoft maintains its prestige.

 

Now I'm kinda scared if I ever get accepted there.

[Momto2]

post your GPAs by year, some schools only care about the most recent two or three years so you might be able to apply sooner than you think.

 

Good point and thank you for the advice. I think making life comfortable is something I need to focus on for the sake of my children and my own sanity!

 

I only have 1 year with a full course load because I switched majors after my first year so I had extra courses, anyway here it is:

 

1st year - 4 courses gpa 3.1

2nd year - 3 courses gpa 3.4

3rd year - 5 courses gpa 3.1

4th year - 4.5 courses gpa 3.2

Then I started taking 1 course/year while working f/t and I received A's in all of those subsequent courses. According to the OMSAS conversion chart I'm just shy of a 3.4. and is it true that an A at York is only a 3.8 compared to other uni's 3.9???? wow.

 

I spoke to UofT admissions and was advised they would look at my ug marks individually and not calculate a traditional cgpa. I'm not sure about other universities though, what do you think? After reading these boards I'm assuming McMaster will just calculate a cgpa for all courses ever taken?

 

Thank you all for your help, I'm so much closer to making a decision, biting the bullet and most likely going to Ryerson. It just seems like they want their students to succeed and offer so much in the way of guidance and support. I don't think I can pass it up given my main reason for going back full-time.

[Momto2]

There is some "prestige" in going to UofT - this is true, but I'd throw it all away if I can get all As in Ryerson (which is MUCH easier than UofT). 5 years I spent at UofT - never broke a single 90 - the moment I took some Ryerson courses - 90s came easily... and I studied less than UofT. Once I forgot to bring a calculator.. A CALCULATOR of all things .. to a general chemistry FINAL EXAM! Needless to say, I got panicked and thought I was going to fail that Ryerson final exam. Fortunately, it still was much easier than UofT's gen chem. I still managed to break an 85 with only paper and pencil calculations and guestimates. Ironically, I probably did better on that Ryerson final with no calculator than I did on my UofT gen chem with calculator....

 

You gave me a concrete example of what I have read and heard more than once, thank you. I have a friend who is incredibly gifted academically said she was only able to pull a 90 in chem her 1st year. She told me that the chem exams were unnecessarily difficult in order to weed out. I believe her now

[Addy K]

Good point and thank you for the advice. I think making life comfortable is something I need to focus on for the sake of my children and my own sanity!

 

I only have 1 year with a full course load because I switched majors after my first year so I had extra courses, anyway here it is:

 

1st year - 4 courses gpa 3.1

2nd year - 3 courses gpa 3.4

3rd year - 5 courses gpa 3.1

4th year - 4.5 courses gpa 3.2

Then I started taking 1 course/year while working f/t and I received A's in all of those subsequent courses. According to the OMSAS conversion chart I'm just shy of a 3.4. and is it true that an A at York is only a 3.8 compared to other uni's 3.9???? wow.

 

I spoke to UofT admissions and was advised they would look at my ug marks individually and not calculate a traditional cgpa. I'm not sure about other universities though, what do you think? After reading these boards I'm assuming McMaster will just calculate a cgpa for all courses ever taken?

 

Thank you all for your help, I'm so much closer to making a decision, biting the bullet and most likely going to Ryerson. It just seems like they want their students to succeed and offer so much in the way of guidance and support. I don't think I can pass it up given my main reason for going back full-time.

 

Most schools will only look at your most recent degree, McMaster is an exception in that they look at every course you have ever taken in your undergraduate career. So as long you do well in your new degree, you should be fine for most schools.

 

And yes, as indicated by others, there is no point in doing your undergrad at UofT unless there is a specific program that interests you that you can't find at another school. Other than, I can't see a legitimate reason for going there, it just makes your life harder. I had several classes where the highest mark was a 85, which isn't even a 4.0 on the OMSAS scale :\ Not to mention you have to work harder and compete with students from all across Canada who are also smart.