Guest SarahL Posted December 14, 2002 Report Share Posted December 14, 2002 Hi All, I've read through a bunch of threads and it seems like people here are really great with advice, so I guess I will share my sorted situation and if any one has any advice it would be much appreciated. Okay...so right now I am at UNew Brunswick, and am in my second year of Arts, for the past couple years I have been thinking a lot about wanting to be a docter but had resigned myself to entering the second level nursing (starts in 3rd/ program here at UNB, because of financial fears and general pessimism as far as my academic potential. Last year I took 24 cr at a college and finished with 3.5 average,...this year was my first year taking science courses, and am taking first year Biol, Chem, and introductory Microbiology, Stats, and a Dev.Psych, I just finished writing exams and it looks like I will get between 3.8-4.00+ , and I have talked with both my chem and Biol profs and they both told me that I have great potential to do well in upper level courses(Organic, and Biochem) I really think that I have what it takes and am thinking about moving back to BC (my home) and finishing my BA and premed @ UBC , rather than a nursing degree here, however I have some fears regarding my chances because,.... after highschool I went into a college music program, transferring to another school and didn't finish and left with a poor average,(music wasn't for me) So overall if I go to UBC next year that will mean I have attended 5 schools in my life (i am 21) to me this might seem sketchy to the powers that be in admissions,... and will the music marks be counted, even if they are not part of my degree? What do you all think ....whenever I try and talk to my friends about this they just tell me I am being paranoid , but I don't think they realize just how tough it is to get into med school,.... I am just scared of finishing with a BA (begin again) degree and a lot of debt and not being accepted to meds. Any and all insight will be appreciated Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ceds Posted December 14, 2002 Report Share Posted December 14, 2002 Hi there, One thing to look into are the admissions requirements for each school. Some schools look at all the post-secondary courses you've ever taken (only university courses used towards GPA calculations) whereas some other schools only look at recent courses for GPA calculations. Yeah, maybe you have attended many institutions in a short time but that's all part of finding what you want to do, and basically if medicine is seriously what you want to do (this is a harder question than it sounds), you should go for it. I think a common theme on these boards is that you shouldn't second-guess yourself. As for finishing your BA, one thing that you'll read many times over on previous posts is that you should make sure that what you study is something you enjoy because 1) it's easier to do well in what you like and 2) you wouldn't want to do something in a field you don't like anyways, just in case because it is very competitive. That being said, you don't know unless you try for it. The way I see it, if you really do want it, it is worth the debt and the work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted December 14, 2002 Report Share Posted December 14, 2002 Western will only look at the best two full time years of your most recent degree program....they will require that you submit transcripts from every school/program you have been enrolled in but they will not use these to calculate your GPA....as long as you have two full-time undergrad years in your BA that are above the UWO cut-off, you have as good a shot as anybody else. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted December 14, 2002 Report Share Posted December 14, 2002 Assuming it hasn't changed, at least on the OMSAS applications there's a spot to make excuses for yourself if there's something "weird" about your transcript. In addition, everyone has a story about how they "decided on medicine". A late decision is by no means less of a decision. What did you learn about yourself, and how are you sure that you mean it? Write that down in your personal statements, OMSAS answers, whatever. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mirrille Posted December 14, 2002 Report Share Posted December 14, 2002 You sound like you have an interesting story, so try to use it to your advantage. Be able to say why you have reached the decision that you have. You may actually have an advantage in this regard because you have tried other things first. So when it comes to your personal statements and interviews, make a good story out of it. Now, because your post secondary history jumps all over the place, and your average wasn't as good earlier on, the first concern is actually making the interview cutoffs. Research individual schools to see how they count courses towards your gpa. Every school is a little different. Some just want your grades in certain key courses (your good orgo and biochem marks might be weighted more, for example) , some will drops your worst years, some might have funny ways of evaluating transfer credits, etc. Have a look and see which schemes will give you the best result, if you are concerned about your academics. And the most important thing is not to be as pessimistic as you are now, although anxiety is perfectly understandable. Provided you can keep the improvement that you have and you can keep the determination, you sound like you have as much chance as anybody else. If you think you are not worthy, then that's what is going to come through on your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SarahL Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 thanks guys, it is reassuring to hear that from people who know the score,...UBC ,my first choice, does calculate the overall average based on all undergraduate level courses,...but I am pretty sure that my overall average will still beat the cutoff when including my music marks. Mirelle,...the last thing you said about thinking I am not worthy,...that is really something I have to work on, I am brutally hard on myself, and I think that although it is good to be tough with yourself and make realistic goals, I think that it hinders me, and what I think I am capable of could easily become a self fulfilling prophecy... thanks again, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bcdentalgirl Posted December 19, 2002 Report Share Posted December 19, 2002 I have something to pass on. This is pure opinion here so don't just take my word for it. I am majoring in biology at UBC and probably 90% of my classmates are "premed" (whatever that means...). If you are the kind of person who is in any way affected by being a small fish in a big sea and a (sometimes evil) competitive atmosphere, but you still want to apply to UBC for medschool, why not go to Simon Fraser? It's smaller which (may) mean a higher quality of instruction. I don't know what the situation is out there, but check it out - it can't be worse than here. As far as I know, UBC makes no distinction between a BSc from one or the other. Once again, this is MY OPINION. If anyone is offended by my interpretation, go easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted December 19, 2002 Report Share Posted December 19, 2002 Why not SFU? b/c they bell curve the marks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driedcaribou Posted December 20, 2002 Report Share Posted December 20, 2002 I had no idea SFU bell curved the marks.... Does that mean one should avoid SFU? It seemed to me at UBC (when I was there) that many profs and departments intentionally manipulated exams and marks for the class in order to alter the 'average' mark. I can think of several instances where the prof had to bump up the class marks or lower the class marks because it was either too low or too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted December 20, 2002 Report Share Posted December 20, 2002 heard of bumping up marks eg: organic chemistry but have not heard of downgrading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MUNMED2006 Posted December 20, 2002 Report Share Posted December 20, 2002 Hi Sarah, Your situation sounds a bit like mine. I am in my first year at Memorial and just graduated with a BSc Biology from UNB last May. I had attended another university my first year and didn't like it so I switched to UNB for my second year. I flipped flopped back and forth as to what I wanted to do during that year because the ASP Nursing program looked very promising. I applied to the program, got accepted, then eventually decided to stick with Biology and pursue acceptance to medical school. I was hard on myself also, because I thought that my curriculum vitae made it look like I couldn't stick to anything for a while ( I also had a string of different jobs.) However, it wasn't even brought up at my interview. I focused on the diversity of my experiences and it went fine. I can't comment on UBC because I don't know what their admissions requirements are like, but I just want to tell you not to be so hard on yourself. You have great marks and if you want wonderful volunteer experience, the volunteer office at the DECH in Fredericton is great help. The ladies that work there are excellent and can help you get the experience that is tailored to your goals. I was in your position and now I'm extremely happy at medical school, I hope things work out for you and you have a wonderful holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SarahL Posted December 23, 2002 Report Share Posted December 23, 2002 MUNMED2006, thanks for the encouragement, I have pretty much decided to stick with my degree program, I know that whether I am accepted to medical school or not, nursing isn't right for me, I love what I am learning and don't want it to end, if I am already dreading the idea of taking all nursing class next year, I doubt I will ever be happy in the job, and will likely not do very well at it. What is DECH? I haven't heard of it? I did apply to volunteer at Dr. Everett Chalmers hospital, but haven't heard back yet. Oh and about UBC dental girl, I have always wanted to go there, and I am not a science major so maybe the competitive atmosphere wouldn't get to me as much as I would only be in a few classes with all the premeds, besides that kind of stuff doesn't get to me(so far), I try not to compare myself to tohers and just do the best that I can(its my own expectations that can get me down) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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