Lf Advice On Chances/improvement !

[Procrastinator]

Hi everyone! I was just hoping to look for some advice from others who are more familiar with the Med app process than i am as to what my realistic options were after i complete my undergrad. Currently my stats are: 

 

Year 1 : 3.14 

Spring/Summer: 3.35

Year 2 : 3.07

Spring/Summer: 4.0

Year 3 : 3.59

Year 4 : X.XX

Year 5 : X.XX

 

* All full course load years with 6 credits taken during every SPRING/SUMMER (i know these don't count at most schools lol just thought i'd be thorough)

 

ECs:

Hospital Volunteering in the ER for 1 year ( roughly 100 hours ) 

International Supervised Research Project in Europe for 6 weeks ( no publications ) + reference letter

Student Group related to health awareness Involvement: 1 year as an ambassador and now have Executive Position but not VP/P 

Shadowed Family Doctor for 200 hours + reference letter 

Entrepreneurial start up that will probably not launch for another year but have been working on it for roughly over a year part time ( i think this makes me a little different from the average applicant but can still be proven to be an unsuccessful product launch haha)

*unemployed since high school since i took courses spring/summer every year

 

Basically, i messed around in 1st and 2nd year a lot since i had no idea what i wanted to do and had little motivation. Everything i added to my ECs started at the beginning of my 3rd year, except for the Company start up, and i feel like i could have had a 4.0 if i didn't bite off more than i could chew but its out of my hands now. I know i have a long way to go to even be considered but right now i am leaning towards finishing 4th year and take an extra year 5 to specialise in Biochem to boost GPA a bit (aiming for 4.0 in both years of course) . I will be writing the MCAT in August as well and would appreciate any advice anyone could offer me on what to improve on and if my chances at UofA/UofC IP would be even realistic. Thanks in advance for any feedback !

[matureapp]

Slim to none with those stats 

 

Edit:

same hopelessness with US Med schools

I say go IMG as it is your only shot. you might get residency maybe not

[Friendly Magpie]

Hi procrastinator,

 

It's not impossible but you definitely have to do better in your last years and may have to do a second degree (2 more years).

 

You have a good start on your ECs. Keep building on them. Starting your own business is certainly unique.

 

Personally, I would avoid the international route unless you have a lot of money and don't mind taking the risk of not being able to practice in Canada again.

 

Both U of A and U of C drop your worst year. Your chances are better at U of C with a GPA lower than the average med student GPA. There are also a number of schools (Queens, Western, and Dalhousie off the top of my head) that will only look at your last two years (Western takes best two I think), so if you can kick ass over the next couple of years and rock the MCAT, then you can do it.

 

I hope that helps. ????

[3change]

...

[Procrastinator]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Would a second degree really take me an extra 2 years?

 

I am entering my 4th year and when i spoke to the department they told me that the number of courses i would have to complete could be done in 1 year for BIOCHEM specialisation anyhow since I've completed a lot of their classes. I would stretch it to two years if i could but i am not too sure if this would be a good idea as i would have less than full course loads for years 5/6. 

 

And sorry but i would have to retake courses to apply for DO ? Could you elaborate a little further on that as I am assuming then that they take grades from specific science courses and not your overall GPA? 

[3change]

...

[sjc2]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Would a second degree really take me an extra 2 years?

 

I am entering my 4th year and when i spoke to the department they told me that the number of courses i would have to complete could be done in 1 year for BIOCHEM specialisation anyhow since I've completed a lot of their classes. I would stretch it to two years if i could but i am not too sure if this would be a good idea as i would have less than full course loads for years 5/6. 

I used to work in admissions for universities, and the general rule of thumb is that to complete a degree from a university, you need to have at least 60 credits from that university. That means that if you did three years at the UofA and transferred to the UofC, you would still need to do 2 years at the UofC in order to graduate from the UofC.

 

The same general rule usually applies when you are doing an after degree, but sometimes it can take longer than 2 years because of the amount of required courses for that degree. Having said that, I did a second undergrad after graduating from the UofA and I did it in 2 years (60 credits).

 

And here's my two cents about your "chances." While your grades don't make you a shoe-in, the road is not over! I came out of my first undergrad with something like a 3.3 GPA. I worked for a couple of years then decided to go back to school to pursue a role in Canadian health care. I completed a BSc with a 4.0, and am about to finish my MSc in Genetics from the UofT. My GPA for Calgary is now a 3.88. Did it take me a long time to get to a competitive point? Yes. When I was 25, did I feel like time was running out for me? Yes. But I can say with complete confidence that you are young and you have time. Of course it would be nice to get in to med school when you're 22, but that doesn't happen for many people. (To be honest, I think it's good to have some time away from school to mature in the real world!). I am hoping to get into medical school at the young age of 31, and I am ok with that. All this to say, if you really want to practice medicine, then dedicate your life to what you are passionate about and the rest will fall into place. Work hard, don't give up!

[Procrastinator]

Hi Sjc2 sorry for the late reply and thanks for the words of inspiration from your own personal experiences! It really makes me dwell a little bit less on my slacking during undergrad. 

 

When you mean you completed a BSc with a 4.0 were you referring to the after degree you completed when you decided to go back into school after a few years of working? And do you feel that the years of work experience strengthened your application at all? 

 

Also with that being said does your 3.88 at UofC mean that they take your after degree instead of your 1st undergrad degree or that the GPA is weighed in a different manner compared to someone with with just one undergraduate degree and a Masters/PHD ? 

[sjc2]

Hi Sjc2 sorry for the late reply and thanks for the words of inspiration from your own personal experiences! It really makes me dwell a little bit less on my slacking during undergrad. 

 

When you mean you completed a BSc with a 4.0 were you referring to the after degree you completed when you decided to go back into school after a few years of working? And do you feel that the years of work experience strengthened your application at all? 

 

Also with that being said does your 3.88 at UofC mean that they take your after degree instead of your 1st undergrad degree or that the GPA is weighed in a different manner compared to someone with with just one undergraduate degree and a Masters/PHD ? 

Hello!

 

Yes, my BSc was my after-degree that I completed with 60 credits at the University of British Columbia. It took me two years. 

As for my work experience, it absolutely strengthened my application. I was very good at my job and was lucky enough to be trusted with a lot of responsibility. I tend to score very high in the Management/Communication aspects of applications.

 

My 3.88 at the UofC is because they look at all of the courses I have taken, from both of my degrees. My first year of University is dropped, and because of the 10-year rule, I can have my second year dropped as well. That brings my GPA for Calgary to 3.88. The UofC doesn't give MSc or PhD students a break on any undergraduate courses, so both of my degrees apply. My MSc will help my application in that I will have a first author paper, and I have had the opportunity to participate in some amazing extracurriculars at the UofT. Unfortunately I won't have my courses from my MSc applied to my GPA calculation because I won't have graduated by the application deadline.

 

I hope that helps!