What about an MBA to enter medical school in Quebec ?

[fonky]

Hi, here is my situation :

 

I have an electrical engineering degree from Polythechinque, I've been working as an engineer full-time for about 5 years now.

 

I would like to get into medicine. My engineering grades were good but not amazing.

 

I also have three children so whatever I need to do cannot be very long.

 

I"m thinking about the 1 year intesive MBA at the HEC.

 

If I do not get accepted at least this diploma would be helpful for my engineering career.

 

I guess my question is : did anyone ever get accepted into med scholl with an MBA ?

 

 

Thank you very much in advance.

[future_doc]

I don't think this will help you in your pursuit of med.

 

I believe for McGill you will need another undergraduate degree. Contact the French speaking medical schools directly to see what, if anything, might make you a competitive candidate. Also, post in the Quebec Forum. For non Quebec med schools, MCAT is required for all but Ottawa and NOSM, for Ottawa you will need a 2nd degree with 3.87/4.0 GPA with lots of ECs and for NOSM, you have French which they value but they do prefer candidates from rural areas; you may need another undergraduate degree there too.

[Drogba]

I think your best bet would be to take the minimum 45 credits in another undergrad program that McGill requires in order for your 2nd undergrad marks to be used. You will still need to complete (if you haven't already completed in the past 8 years) the pre-reqs. If your pre-reqs are below par, a strong MCAT can replace them.

 

I would also look into whether or not you qualify for the non-traditional stream, as a lower GPA can be overlooked (should still be greater than 3.2) in favour of strong extra-curriculars and health related work experience.

 

http://www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions/admissions/categories/roq/ntp

 

The french schools do take strength of program into account, and engineering is rated as one of the most difficult so that will help depending on how well you did. (a GPA of 3.7-3.8 A- in engineering would probably get you an interview).

 

I would apply to the french schools so that you can see what your cote R is and where you stand. If you are only slightly below the cutoff, extra courses with A+ will help, if you are far from the cutoff, you will never really become competitive at a french med school in Canada.

 

Overall, I think McGill is your best shot if you are a Quebec resident. They focus more on the holistic application (value research, extra-curriculars, personal statement, references, what made you decide to pursue medicine, interview etc.) and have more application streams to help applicants from various backgrounds.

 

In short, there are more ways to make yourself competitive at McGill vs. the french schools (heavy focus on marks)

[future_doc]

^ You have given sound advice. A person whose first language is French may have difficulty with the MCAT due to language. I know engineers who after several years took a MBA to leave the field and go for management with an engineering firm.

[Drogba]

I would also like to add that I agree with future_doc that an MBA is not the best route to recover and make yourself a good candidate in the eyes of adcoms. I think you need to do some soul searching and evaluate the risks and whether or not you are willing to take on those risks.

 

If medicine is something you truly want, then you need to prove it. The system is pretty good at weeding out the pretenders. You need to embrace the idea of medicine and the qualities that a good physician must possess. Work on those qualities and prove it to the powers that be, that you will make a good contribution to the field of medicine.

 

You already have an engineering degree which offers a unique perspective and now you must build on it. So you didn't take your studies that seriously in the past, the past is the past, kill a second undergrad with a high GPA. In the minds of the adcoms, you've just proven that you are serious about medicine and can compete academically and are a different person than you were before. (check 1: academics)

 

Build your CV, ECs and volunteerism around the qualities of a good physician. Take on leadership roles in the community (another check), volunteer with patients, disadvantaged people etc. (demonstrate empathy, caring etc., another check), work on communication skills (will help with interview), possibly add medically related research (shows interest in the field, another check)

 

These are just examples of things you can do to make yourself a better candidate. You don't need everything, but the more you improve every aspect of your application, the stronger applicant you become.

 

I know your situation is more difficult b/c you have kids and a family that is dependent on you, however, it is important that you understand the sacrifices that may be required to make yourself the best possible candidate that you can become.

 

Even if you do everything, there is still a possibility that you won't get accepted and that's where the idea of risk comes into play. An MBA would probably be best for career advancement in your current field, but not for medicine. Applying with an MBA and a lower first undergrad is like playing the lottery every year, whereas a high second undergrad would put you on even kilter with other applicants (higher odds) but won't really add that much to your career advancement.

 

And that's where the soul searching comes into play.

[fonky]

Thank you very much guys for your answers.

 

Indeed, lots of reflections to do !

 

Best Regards!