Guest jk995 Posted February 14, 2003 Report Share Posted February 14, 2003 Hi everyone, I am hoping that you guys will be able to help me out.... I have completed an undergraduate engineering degree (with a 2.8 GPA) and a Masters Degree in engineering (with a 4.0 GPA). I have always taken an interest to medicine but thought that engineering was the safer route and now I wonder if I've ruined my chances of getting in to med school with the low GPA. By looking at several universities admission sites ie. uoft, mac, queens, western, uofo... I realize that my graduate gpa does little to help me out (ie. uoft needs a MIN 3.0 undergrad gpa if you have a graduate degree, university of ottawa needs >3.3 gpa...). Please tell me if you know of a school otherwise... So, I have decided to take some undergraduate courses to help my gpa. Now I am wondering which is better...if I enrol as a degree student for a second undergraduate degree or if i simply take courses as a special student (take courses for credit but not towards a second degree). Do any universities have a preference? -Also any ideas on schools (in canada or the US) that will disregard your first undergrad degree if you do another one? -One last question is that has UofT ever accepted grad students with an undergrad GPA of 3.0? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sil Posted February 14, 2003 Report Share Posted February 14, 2003 I would register for a second degree (you don't have to finish it). The advantages are that some schools like to see some sense as to why you are taking the courses you are taking. They like to see some logic behind the courses. Western, for example, will not consider your new degree GPA until you are on your third year of the new degree. There are schools that will only look at your second degree (read advice to Tea). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sally2001 Posted February 14, 2003 Report Share Posted February 14, 2003 jk995, nice to see another engineer on the boards. from what i have gathered, even if you have a 3.0 and a grad degree, to get into u of t, you need to have a stellar application with lots of research productivity. my cumulative undergrad gpa is above 3.0, but i've been warned so many times about "putting all my eggs in one basket" wrt applying to mac, that i wouldn't even consider it. you're right, a grad degree doesn't really buy you very much, it's the undergrad degree that carries most of the weight. it seems that if you do 2-3 years in another degree with great marks (like your grad degree), you'll have a great chance. plus, most schools require the mcat and for that, you typically need inorganic, physics, organic and biology anyway. ottawa u doesn't need the mcat but you need some of those specific classes. unless you're undergrad is chemical or environmental, you'll need to do some courses through correspondence or whatever just to meet that requirement. good luck to you, i'm sure you can do it, given time and perseverance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jk995 Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Thanks for your responses guys. Sally, do you have a Masters degree already? are you planning to med school right away or take some courses? I think that the US is even worse for people who have done graduate studies because you still have to meet the same undergraduate cutoffs as everyone else. For western I heard that if you do an extra year after having an undergraduate degree, that year won't count towards your best two years... I am just seeing which schools would be possible if I don't want to sit an undergraduate class again for 3 years ie. schools that would maybe look at just 2nd degree if you do 2 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sally2001 Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 jk995, i'm working on my thesis right now.. still have a long way to go. and i don't have a 4.0 grad gpa but i still have hope... edit - jk, to answer your 2nd question, i'm focussing on my thesis and clearing the mcat.. i'm hoping to get a patent on my top-secret invention so if that goes well, i'd be so happy once i'm done, i might consider more courses or another degree, but i think i'll try my luck at one round of applications. you never know, i just might get lucky... i also wanted to point out that all schools calculate gpa differently. if you calculated your undergrad gpa as cumulative (as mac requires it), you might be able to raise it with u of t's weighting formula where you can drop you 3 worst full-year grades if you've done three full years, and 4 grades if you've done four years. that's as i understand it. for me, it raised my gpa by 0.25, which is significant. maybe you'll clear the 3.0 for grad degree consideration. one never knows.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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