Concerned

[Astute]

Hi everyone!

 

First of all, great forum and website, thank you administrators .

 

Secondly, I am a life sciences undergrad. student and going on to my 3rd year. I haven't been giving my 100% when it came to studies, as I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I liked sciences, no one pressured me or anything else.

 

So my GPA for first year was B and then 2nd year I got C+ because of girl-related issue =\. I didn't have a full course load, more specifically, first year i had 3 full year course, 18 credits. And 2nd year i had about 26 credits, so not a full course load. Things have changed and I am determined to apply to medical school. So my question is this, I know I am capable of getting very high marks, I will be doing an extra year plus summer school courses to boost my GPA.

 

Question is then, I feel a bit hopeless due to screwing up my 2nd year pretty badly. I mean, doing good on upper years, is that really advantageous ? I know U f T i won't be applying there, but excluding that, I have met and completed all schools pre-requisites in Canada, except atlantic, where i won't be applying.

 

 

Thank you.

[ellorie]

There are some schools (Ottawa) that calculate your GPA by giving more weight to later years of study, so that could bump you.

 

There are also schools (UWO) that assess you for their GPA cutoff by considering your best two years (including the year you are in when you're applying).

 

And many schools don't require that you take a full load every year.

 

So you're not toasted, by any means. Look more closely at the school websites and look into how different schools a) calculate your GPA and decide whether you have enough full course years to qualify.

 

About summer courses - most schools that I applied to exclude them from your cGPA anyway, so if it's just to boost your GPA, it's probably not worth it.

[shikimate]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe you still have a shot at Sask, UWO, Queens and Dal because they count 2 years. Now the important thing is your MCAT will determine if you can apply at all because UWO and Queens and Dal all have MCAT requirements. Also note the 2 year average for OOP at Sask have been around 90% so I am not sure if that's workable for you. Therefore it seems your best chances are UWO, Queens and Dal, provided your MCAT is good.

[future_doc]

Well, you are becoming astute . There is life after a g/f friend screwing you over. You have gained in maturity. Now the rest is up to you. As you do now realize that GPA stays with you forever, you understand what it means to have no distractions, to prioritize and you are about to learn self-sacrifice and a hard work ethic dedicating yourself efficiently to your goal, while managing your stress and time. GL!