Catalina Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 hi, i'm new to the forum and i think it's a great community! i have a question about my situation. i started my undergrad studies 9 years ago but after my first year, i had to stop going to university for personal/family reasons. i re-enrolled this year and i'm now in the 2nd year of my program, after taking 8 years off from school. am i at a considerable disadvantage compared to applicants who did their four years of study consecutively? what are the admissions policies on this, especially the ontario universities? my gpa in first year was 3.8 but i didn't have a full course load (only 4 courses in the year, 0.5 in summer). i'm hoping to have a full course load from now on. thanks for the help! any ideas are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 hi, i'm new to the forum and i think it's a great community! i have a question about my situation. i started my undergrad studies 9 years ago but after my first year, i had to stop going to university for personal/family reasons. i re-enrolled this year and i'm now in the 2nd year of my program, after taking 8 years off from school. am i at a considerable disadvantage compared to applicants who did their four years of study consecutively? what are the admissions policies on this, especially the ontario universities? my gpa in first year was 3.8 but i didn't have a full course load (only 4 courses in the year, 0.5 in summer). i'm hoping to have a full course load from now on. thanks for the help! any ideas are appreciated. That is amazing that you're returning after all of this time! I think the best thing for you to do is maintain a full course load, and to do your best in your courses I'm not sure about specific rules for ontario schools about this, but I wish you the best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalina Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 thanks does anyone else have any insight into this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 thanks does anyone else have any insight into this? Basically, there is no problem as long as you have completed an undergraduate degree. I'm sure that more people in the non-trad thread will have better insight into this. I do know that a not having a full course load means that you will not be elligible for certain weighting policies at U of T and Western. Mod, move this to non-trad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genemo Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Work really hard on your current degree, take full course load and get high GPA. Write a high MCAT. I think you'll have a decent chance if you could achieve all these. The only concern that I can think of now is your age. I'm not sure about your age so I'll bring this up. I think people younger than 35 would have no problem but I've heard rumors about med schools raise questions about the age on interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Work really hard on your current degree, take full course load and get high GPA. Write a high MCAT.I think you'll have a decent chance if you could achieve all these. The only concern that I can think of now is your age. I'm not sure about your age so I'll bring this up. I think people younger than 35 would have no problem but I've heard rumors about med schools raise questions about the age on interview. Very true, but somehow they got a 50-something-year old into mac med. There is still hope, but yes there is internal discussion about potential practice years (this is what I've heard, not my opinion). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRE Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Very true, but somehow they got a 50-something-year old into mac med. There is still hope, but yes there is internal discussion about potential practice years (this is what I've heard, not my opinion). I am 36 and just interviewed at Mac last weekend. I spoke with more than one first year student about what they thought of my age as a possible impediment to admission. I was reassured, by more than one person, that my age would not work against me during the selection process and that there is someone currently enrolled who is 48. Also, there are some stat on Mac's website as to the last 3 years of admitted applicants and although they of course don't make up the majority, there have been folks admitted who are over 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I am 36 and just interviewed at Mac last weekend. I spoke with more than one first year student about what they thought of my age as a possible impediment to admission. I was reassured, by more than one person, that my age would not work against me during the selection process and that there is someone currently enrolled who is 48. Also, there are some stat on Mac's website as to the last 3 years of admitted applicants and although they of course don't make up the majority, there have been folks admitted who are over 30. Congrats on the interview! Yes, there shouldn't be any discrimination towards age. I think when the talk happens is when you have a 55 year old, for instance, who is applying and received an interview. I don't think historically this has happened more than twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRE Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Congrats on the interview! Yes, there shouldn't be any discrimination towards age. I think when the talk happens is when you have a 55 year old, for instance, who is applying and received an interview. I don't think historically this has happened more than twice. Thank you! After my nerves settled I found the entire experience very interesting, and well, I could talk forever about CASPER, it was the most fun I'd had in a long time. I forgot to add in my earlier post that while standing around after registration, prior to interview, I wondered about how well I might fit in if I were to be accepted. I felt like the only 36 year old in a sea of 21 year olds (who were lovely, bright, helpful people). An interesting coversation with a Student Host (who also did a great job at leading many of the Lecture Hall presentations to the entire group) put me right at ease. He brought around a different perspective about non-trads: that some students who are in their younger years appreciate the presence of those of us who are a bit older because of the perspective and experience we can sometimes share. It helped to hear this and I went forward with my interview with that little bit of self-doubt long gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRE Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Thank you! After my nerves settled I found the entire experience very interesting, and well, I could talk forever about CASPER, it was the most fun I'd had in a long time. Oops! I meant the most fun I'd had in a school application in a long time! LOL the original version is much too sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Thank you! After my nerves settled I found the entire experience very interesting, and well, I could talk forever about CASPER, it was the most fun I'd had in a long time. Oops! I meant the most fun I'd had in a school application in a long time! LOL the original version is much too sad To you the truth, I enjoy the perspectives that older applicants have on life. I think that having different experiences and age provides a realism to younger students and I definitely learn much from my 26 year old colleagues. Mac med has a good reflection of that in their student body - in my opinion they are very friendly to non-trads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 To the OP- I don't think your disconnected schooling will put you at a disadvantage. The fact that you have a 3.8GPA from your first year is actually really great- because many of us who took time off have poor grades from before we knew what we were doing. I THINK the only school that gives any sort of consideration to "consecutive" years of study is Dalhousie. Try to be as "traditional" as possible over the next few years- do 10 courses per year, etc. You should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalina Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 great, thanks guys! I'm 28 by the way, so i'll be around 31 when i apply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev01 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 wow!! 21 yr olds in medschool... the average age for canadian med students admitted is 25-27...iam sure that trend will rise to 30 in 5-10 years time i feel old at 27!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 it is VERY RARE for 21 year olds to be in med school. They make up a very small percentage. Most individuals are at around 22-26. But at the end of the day, don't worry about it. I remember someone saying to me that MD is the new PhD...there MAY be a trend to accomplish more (masters degree, publications, build three hospitals in Africa, etc) but being older will not really be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyK Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Congrats on the interview! Yes, there shouldn't be any discrimination towards age. I think when the talk happens is when you have a 55 year old, for instance, who is applying and received an interview. I don't think historically this has happened more than twice. I imagine not too many 55 year olds apply so their acceptance rate is probably right up there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogopogo Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I'm in my 30s, took 7 years off to do nothing academic (worked and started a family). So, yeah, you can do it. A little extra "life marination" was just what I needed to be successful in school and I told them as much during my interviews. Don't hide from it, embrace all the great parts about your life you wouldn't have had if starting fresh out of high school. Experience matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.