fifth undergrad year?

[Guest applicant]

hi,

 

This has probably already been posted somewhere else before, but just to get some new opinions, I was wondering about the option of doing a fifth year in undergraduate, while applying. This is not to start a completely new degree, but just to pull up the GPA, and wait it out. I guess, this is for those who don't really want to do research in the meanwhile...and would benefit from an extra year to pull up the GPA. I mean, does this reflect badly on the applicant given that everyone else seems ot have finished in the normal four years except 'you'. Specifically, what are the opinions of those who have already gone through the application process before; successfully or unsuccessfully, I would be especially interesed in your opinions! Anyone else's opinions are welcomed too of course! ~ It's just that I don't know of too many people who have gone through with this route, and for those who did and were unable to get in that year, I'm not sure if in retrospect, they felf that extra year in undergrad 'worth it'.

 

thanx all!

[Guest not rex morgan]

Hello there. I know of a few people who did the fifth year to pull up their grades. It worked out well for them. If you don't want to do research, don't sign up for a masters. I commend you for realizing that about yourself. As for those that do a masters to pull up their grades, I know several people this did not work out for. The reason is that med schools tend to have a preconception that grad school will not give you low grades. In some grad programs, grades below 80% will get you kicked out. Some say it's easier to get good marks in grad school. I don't know how much I buy that, but that's what the med school thinks. I know of people who have been rejected after a masters with fabulous grad school grades and decent undergrad grades. They were told that their grad school grades do not count in the numbers (or at least as much as the undergrad grades). They were told that they would have been better off taking more undergrad courses to pull up their marks. Of course, if you are interested in the scientific process, grad school is very valuable. It all depends on what you want to do with your time while applying again for med.