What did you people do to push your GPA's in undergrad? more

[Guest kylle345]

I'm sorry if this topic has already been posted but I would like to ask some more questions on this topic. I believe the GPA is probably the most important thing for admissions into medical school. Some of you may disagree with this statement but for some of us, making the "cut line" is the biggest challenge.

 

What did you guys/girls do to boost your GPA's up? We all know everyone has different study habits but there is probably a couple thing that everyone here does that is exactly the same in each course. Did choosing a course matter for any of you people (did you choose courses down your alley or was it just pure interest?)? ........if you went to U of T undergrad, it would be great if you stated some of the "easy" or higher class average courses. Thanks

 

Another question that has been asked a lot about is time....how much time do you put in (if that matters)?

 

Right now my GPA is cutline for most ontario med schools but i feel that my study time is not effective. I honestly feel that im missing bits and pieces in my head and if they get filled in, my chances at 4.0 OMSAS could be a possibility.

 

Thanks to all who reply

 

 

It would be great if you could fill me in on more information

[Guest EMHC]

I've got the same question for courses. I'm at UBC, does anybody have any such courses that they would recommend?

 

EMHC

[Guest Chieka]

I recognize the importance of having a competitive GPA, however, I would be careful about basing your choices of courses on how "easy" you think it may be.

 

Firstly, some medical schools consider the "breadth and depth" of undergraduate studies. I think this is the case with U of T. They are particularly keen on students who take higher level courses and have established their weighting system to encourage such choices.

 

But even if schools didn't care about course levels, there is something else of concern here. While undergraduate studies (and any level of university studies for that matter) can be very draining, I think it is possible to enjoy that experience. So, I recommend taking courses that spark your interest, and not courses that look easy. There are two reasons for this: firstly, you will find that if you are interested in something, you will probably be more willing to do the work required to do well and get the competitive mark in the course. Secondly, as medical school is HIGHLY competitive and many students don't get in after their first time applying (not to mention the fact that many don't get in at all), I think it's important to keep your options open. The courses that you take are instrumental in determining what options (picking up an MSc, or an M.A., for example) you have while waiting to get into medical school. So, I suggest that you choose carefully with all that in mind.

 

That noted, if you do think that an "easy course" would make things easier for you or give you the encouragement that you need to get things under control, go for it. But I do hope that you make room for courses that cater to your particular interests.

 

Best,

 

C.

[Guest Akane200]

Work hard and keep up, study for courses, plan courses a little strategicly (don't take more than 4 heavy courses at once). Doing 5 heavy full courses does make you "look" really brave (but do you need the vain glory so much?). However, don't do it if you can't really hack it (I've seen quite a few people do this), or if you really can avoid it (why make things harder?). It doesn't have to be difficult if you don't make it. Write tests, study from previous ones (very very useful). U of T undergrad is large and foreboding and uncaring at times, but if you can find a way to succeed, then I suggest you stick to it. It was fun, and we can say we survived, and did well at the same time too.

 

Everyone has a slighty different view on what is and isn't easy. I found certain humanities courses (such as classics and english) for science students extremely easy, but then my classmates went to take the same courses, and didn't find it so. I took those courses out of interest, and I did very well in them.

 

Although I hear "rocks for jocks" (geology) is pretty consistent, and certain geography courses and that miscellaneous symbolic logic very popular. But still, why would you want to pad your degree with a bunch of misc. courses like those? Does it really make such a large difference? Probably not.

 

Study stuff you like: you'll do better because it's stuff that you're interested in. Study stuff that will get you a job: because not everyone will get into med school. Study stuff that you're good at: always high marks if you concentrate on things that you've done well in (for me these were math, chem, physics, etc). So, how do you push your GPA? I guess you just work hard and study. It works, I think.

[Guest kylle345]

that was a great reply. It really helped!

 

 

 

Thanks

[Guest Hazey313]

Set this limit for yourself, and stick to it... and you will have a high GPA. It's worked for me, and everyone I know who has tried.

 

Set the number of hours work/study time into everything you do, to be equal to the percent it is worth.

 

ie.

5% of your mark warrants 5 hours work, 40% of your mark warrants 40 hours, etc etc...

 

Of course there are going to be some differences between people, as some learn faster/slower.. but honestly I see lots people, at varying levels of intelligence, getting higher marks than ever using this strategy.

 

Ian

[Guest ssup]

EMHC,

 

I agree with everyone above who have argued that you should try to take courses that spark your interest etc.

 

However, being an undergrad student myself, sometimes it's nice to take courses that also lighten the courseload so you have enough time to enjoy the other courses that do in fact interest you. So over my few years at UBC here are some courses that I would say require "less work" ( I realize that this is sujective but I think it's fair to say that the following require less work than most of your science courses and therefore will definitely free up your schedule a little):

 

Phil 120/125/220

Classical Studies 301

Family studies 316

FNH 255/350 ( I think those are the right #s)

 

Also, I find that some beginner levels psyc courses may be a lot of work but they are definitely interesting and if memorization is your strength, then they may be your cup of tea!

 

Good luck!

[Guest kylle345]

That is a very interesting strategy!

 

I would consider trying it, but I guess my original study technique spends almost the same amount of time. Next time I will pay attention to the time i spend on each test preparation/assignment.

 

Thanks

 

Kyle

[Guest fox]

i don't know if you said what year you are in, but for me, i learned HOW to study as the undergrad years went by. first year i pulled a lot of all nighters, but by fourth year i realized i should start studying at least a week before the exam, no matter what it was worth. i think to get really good marks it's important to study for all quizzes/lab tests/small exams as well. 10% for an exam may not seem worth your time, but it can make the difference between an 80 and a 90 in a course (and if you think about this, if you get 5 or 10% higher in every course then your gpa would be a lot higher). the other thing i found useful was to make study notes. study notes and re-copying lecture notes (and adding in stuff from textbooks to clarify things) made a huge difference for me in third and fourth year. but, in the end, i guess everyone has their own unique way of succeeding!

[Guest kylle345]

I am currently in second year. So far its been ok but I wanna know how to get over the top consistantly. Consistency is the key for me!

 

The problem with me is that i spend too much time on my school work. Well at least that is what i think! Most of the times, what you think is actually the opposite.

 

Thanks to everyone who posted. Its great to learn how med and med potential students work. You guys are what I wanna be in a couple years!

 

My goal is to pull 90 + in every course I take. Its possible and im trying to reach that height!

[Guest Carolyn]

At UofT both Embryology and Anatomy (Wylie and Taylor) were great, very interesting courses which are very possible to get high marks in if you work your arse off... they will both be extremely helpful if you get into Med school..

 

 

 

hope that helps.

[Guest kylle345]

Thank you carolyn!!

 

 

Im going into third year and I will keep a note of that when i choose my courses

 

What is the course code for those two courses? I know there is human embryogy ANA301. But what is the other one?

 

Kyle

[Guest Carolyn]

I took them >3 years ago but I think it was ANA 300 and ANA 301 - They may have changed and others may have different views on them. If I remember correctly they both filled up very quickly...

 

I wouldn't say they are easy as they have a lot of information to learn/memorize (i.e. take a lot of time) -- especially anatomy... However, they are both so interesting (and well taught) that I found them easy to sit down and study - and therefore did quite well.

[Guest EMHC]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm in first year right now, and yes I just pulled an all nighter finishing a report. I see a key issue with interest here. Picking something of interest is important and I see that everyone is advocating this. Oh, and thank you SSUP for the courses, I'll look into them and see if they'll interest me.

 

Any more studying tips from anyone? Right now I've set my goal on an 85% average for this year. Hopefully I'll get there.

 

Thanks

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Here's another tip: don't worry about your average/percentage. Worry about your GPA - that is what the med schools look at. There's a conversion chart on the OMSAS website for you. I've heard too many Ontario school grads get caught caught up in the average and end up with an 82 (which is a more than solid average) but then find out because it's made up of 79s and 84s it works out to only a 3.5 GPA. It's much more important to get over 80% (which is a 3.7) in as many courses as possible to keep that GPA over 3.7 (good enough for many/most med schools) than to worry about the specific percentage you get. . . the med schools don't even see that.

 

Hope this helps.

[Guest mandm]

UWO2005:

 

Can you please clarify:

Are you talking about watching marks specific to every course vs. an overall percentage? I am not seeing the difference b/w the two examples.

 

BTW: I am from UC so this may be due to my relative unfamiliarity w. the OMSAS/ ontario undergrad scoring system

 

Thanks:

 

M & M

[Guest Carolyn]

I believe what UWO is speaking of is that when OMSAS calculates the GPA they don't directly translate an average into a GPA rather they calculate the GPA for each course and average that. There doesn't seem to be a linear relationship between the GPA and the averages (i.e. as soon as you get above a certain mark you get a 4.0 -- can't remember what that number is and of course it depends on the school)...

 

So if you get a 70 and a 90 your avg is 80 but the calculated GPA will be the GPA of 70 (low) + the GPA of 90 divided by 2 and this may be very different than the GPA that corresponds to 80.

 

It is a good idea to look at the OMSAS website to test out the marks that you have already to get a better idea of where you stand.

 

Hope that is clear!

 

Carolyn

[Guest UWOMED2005]

That is exactly what I was referring to - thanks Carolyn. I've seen a couple premeds figure they were fine with marks in the low to mid 80s, but then get shocked to find out their GPA isn't what they'd hoped it was.

 

This knowledge might also come of use when deciding when to direct energies. I knew people in high school who would let some courses slide as they directed their efforts to get a few super impressive marks in high 90s. As an extreme example, marks of 99, 99, 99, 99 and 63 would add up to a 92%, which sounds really impressive. But I think the GPA conversion for that is 3.6 (if a 63 is a C,) which would miss many of the cutoffs. It's much better to consistently score over 80% than to have some high and some low.

 

Hope this makes some sense. . .

[Guest Sil]

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[Guest kylle345]

Im only in second year and I agree with this. In high school it was averaged based. Some people I know in different high schools had a very high average but their marks were all over the map. If their marks were translated to a GPA then I would be much lower than expected, but they still got accepted by just about every university. Other people may not as high an average, but are consistent with every course they take. They may have been rejected by a couple of universities based on average. However, if GPA was used, the story may be the other way around!

 

I guess this is just a repeat of what was written earliar!

 

 

In U of T, I noticed that some courses only allow a few A's. I guess I should avoid those courses!

 

Anyone here in U of T take a course where 90 + was common?

 

80+??

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Kyle

[Guest BoA BoA]

Hi all...

similar question to kyle's

I'm a student at Uvic..

anyone know courses which 90+ is common?

if u can give me a professor's name... it would be very helpful

thanx ^^

[Guest UWOMED2005]

You don't NEED 90. If you had 90 in every course, that would be a 4.0 overall average - that is the highest possible!! You should be able to get interviews (and get in) to many/most schools with just over a 3.7. . . which in each individual course is 80%. But of course getting 90 does boost the gpa, and a higher gpa certainly doesn't hurt!!

[Guest fox]

i don't know if taking courses that people typically get 90 in is necessarily the best way to boost your gpa. i found that the arts/humanities courses i took actually dropped my gpa since they were so subjective..... even though these courses were supposed to be "easy". they were, in fact, easy in terms of course load and content, but it was hard to get a really high mark because of this subjectivity. i really think it is important to determine where your interests lie and what you are good at. funny enough, my highest marks were in chem/biochem/organic chem and i took those as ELECTIVES. for me they were easy, and with there being clearly right and wrong answers, it made it easy to do well if you tried. just a thought....

[Guest peachy]

Yeah. I agree with fox. I'd also point out that I don't know specifically about U of T or UBC, but I would be shocked if there were courses where "people generally get 90's". I mean, regardless of whether you mark on a curve or not, only a small number of people in any class are going to get 90's.

 

At York, if a course has greater than 30% or so getting A's/A+'s, then the grade distribution has to be reviewed before a committee, and a good justification has to be made for having such high grades. It is likely that similar checks and balances are in place at most institutions. And our courses are very rarely marked on curves.

[Guest EMHC]

Hi all,

 

So consistency must be the key here.

 

About course selections (the ones with a lot of 90's) I think that courses that are interesting are definately important. But if a course at first seems interesting and then that first mid-term comes back with a mark much lower than expected and you really studied hard for it, it's really demoralizing:( . I hope I'll never have to run into one of those courses ever again. Courses that initially seem boring but produce high grades seems to give a boost in confidence and then suddenly you become interested. That's just my humble opinion.

 

About these "easy courses". Is it true that UBC MED weeds out the "mark padding" courses when calculating your average? I read that on another thread but wasn't sure if it was a fact or was it a making of a troll?

 

EMHC

 

PS: and thanks for the tip about keeping a steady average:D