First Semester at UofT, Irish Med School still a possibility for me?

[kisndh.f94]

Well the end of my first semester at UofT is winding down and I can't honestly

say that I've completely ruined my marks. I won't make excuses; I wasn't prepared and had was in and out of the hospital for medical reasons so I didm;t attend all my lectures and barely went to tutorials. These are my probable marks by the end of this semester:

Biology:56%

Chemistry:53%

Physics:Completely below failed and have to retake it this summer.

Math: 65%

 

Yes, I know, I completely ****ed up. And no, I'm not the smartest kid either. But I do want to be a doctor. I'm half irish and have relatives that are part of the alumni in a handful of medical schools in souther ireland. (All my 8 uncles are irish doctors….yeah i know). They told me that I should do TWO years in UofT and take the MCAT and apply to an irish medical school as they will cut down my 5-6-year course down by a little bit. All my uncles agreed that ireland is really keen on getting international students in right now because of the economy, etc.

 

So. Heres my question (sorry for the long explanation). Is it still possible for me to do this? Or will these marks really affect my next two years? I would appreciated any advice on the MCAT, ways to prepare, how to do better in UofT courses, and anything else you guys have to say.

 

THANK YOU

[missmathematics]

I'm applying to the Irish schools now so maybe I can give feedback.

 

The issue is, those marks are not anywhere near o.k. for the irish schools.

 

If you apply to the 5 or 6 year programs based on these 1st year marks and your 2nd year marks (whatever they may be), you really do not have a good shot at all.

 

I would call Atlantic Bridge (they are very informative) and see if it is possible to apply to the 6 year programs with only your high school marks. Even if you have to send the 1st year marks perhaps they will only consider your high school marks.

[Slashsev]

dude...u can barely pass 1st yr undergrad...

and you are looking to go into med?

 

you honestly think your ready for this??

[leviathan]

^^ That's the thing that always puzzles me...these people go abroad after performing dismally and somehow think they'll be able to handle an academic program which is significantly more difficult, while undergoing a huge risky investment of time and money.

 

I ended up doing very well in medical school despite a poor undergrad. Having said that, I had a lot of valid reasons to reassure me I would do well, but despite that I was still scared ****less to take that risk. Maybe some of you pre-meds can fill us in on how you think things will change once in med school?

[advair250]

If you get your act together, and fix your study habits you can do much better and still have a shot.

[jnuts]

I've heard of similar things happening to other students and they've recovered. Usually grades like that are due to something happening outside of academic life.

 

I'd keep going at UoT. Prove to the application committee that you're able to handle the workload by recovering from those grades an doing well from here forward. If you do a complete 180 even a Canadian med school is still a possibility as they drop your lowest grades.

 

Good Luck.

[medigeek]

OP, do you have the ability to attain high marks? You don't need to be a superstar with the books to become a very average doctor, but if you cannot pass 1st semester courses which are typically just high school review... how are you going to even pass medical school (just hypothetically speaking)?

 

Unless you didn't even care at all and didn't do anything in 1st semester, then I'd stop here and look for a realistic path which doesn't waste your time and money. If you truly believe you can at minimum get 80s, then go further.

 

With that being said, there's a crucial point.

 

You will be taking out about $250,000 from the bank to finance a medical school in Ireland. This loan WILL require a co-signer.

By going to Ireland you will have VIRTUALLY NO CHANCE of becoming a physician in Canada by the year 2019? 2020?

Attaining a residency spot has become extremely difficult for IMGs and continues to get more difficult.

 

A medical degree is useless when you don't get into a residency, and you'll have 250,000$ in debt + interest of which your cosigner is now liable for to pay fully.

 

Essentially, by going international from this point forward... you are wasting big money and prime lifetime. Just the truth.