Independent Student? Second Undergrad?

[nomesayin]

Hey guys - new to the forum and I'm looking for some advice. I finished my undergrad degree in Cognitive Science last May and started on my planned year off (saving some money/travelling). At my time of graduation I had been planning to go into research - I currently work in a lab, and it's what I've spent the past few summers doing as well. Over the course of this year, however, I've started to realize it's not what I want do as a career, and I'm considering medicine as a serious option.

 

The first problem is my undergrad grades - my final year GPA was 3.72, but due to mediocre philosophy minor in which I failed 2 classes (mostly just lack of effort), my CGPA is only 3.2. Having said that, I've taken quite a few first and second year basic science classes (e.g. chem, bio, orgo) and aced them. I know quite a few people who have done well on the MCAT and who did similarly to me in these classes, and so I have some confidence that with preparation, I can get a competitive score. I will obviously need to go back to school to raise my grades - I'm considering doing an additional 1-2 years full time, which would make me competitive for schools that consider only more recent years (e.g. Queens, Ottawa etc) and also possibly for schools that drop your lowest year (as the majority of my bad grades are concentrated in my 3rd year).

 

My initial idea was to take courses as an independent/non-degree student, but I haven't been able to find an answer as to whether universities will take full time years not towards a degree program into account? For example, if I took a full course load next year as an independent and applied to Queens, would they count that year and my last year undergrad for my 2YGPA? If not, would I be better off trying to get into a second bachelors program and just leaving after 1-2 years?

 

Finally, am I even being realistic? Through my undergrad, I had a pattern of only really trying in classes that I actually cared about/was interested in, and as a result I ended up doing badly in quite a few classes by not handing in assignments etc. I know that if I put in the effort (and I’m willing to), I can get pretty close to straight A’s . However I’m also realistic about the grade’s I have right now and I don’t want to go back to doing undergrad classes for two years only to still be uncompetitive for med school. A few other things to note – I have a couple good ECs, but obviously this is something I would be working on over the next two years. I will also likely have middle authorship on one or two decent papers by my time of application, though I’m not sure how much this will help me.

 

Thanks in advance for your responses!

[Rwethereyet]

Off their site:

 

General Information:

Only undergraduate university credit courses from member institutions of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) will be considered

Both GPA calculations will use only grades from courses completed by the application deadline

There is no requirement for full time study, however only the cumulative GPA will be calculated for those not enrolled in full time study

Full time study is defined as a minimum of three courses per semester

Full time study must be completed during the academic year, from September to April

Degree programs or individual courses are not considered a factor in the calculation of GPAs

Calculations include grades from all courses included on the transcript, including repeated courses

Courses with Pass/Fail grades or transfer credits (including International Baccalaureate, Advance Placement and CEGEP programs) are not included

No adjustments are made based on course load or course levels

 

To me, this says that a year of "unclassified, breadth" study will be included regardless of whether it's a part of a degree program or not. Just my interpretation, and I haven't asked admissions at Queens.

 

Interestingly, courses that are part of a diploma program (there are many at my university) are not counted according to this:

 

NOTE: The following courses of study will not be included in the GPA: naturopathic and chiropractic medicine, consecutive bachelor of education programs, challenge for credit courses, diploma or certificate programs, graduate courses, and undergraduate courses taken as part of a graduate program.

 

I hope this helps.