Guest Gedz1 Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hi all Im a 4th year mechanical engineer at Queen's whos strongly considering applying for med school. In my program were allowed very little choice in regards to our courses so i would need to take an extra year to get all the prereq's that most schools require. My average is just under 80% which is quite good for my program but is probably pretty low compared to most other applicants. Im from Ottawa and have a step parent who is part of the ottawa U med school faculty, and is also an alumni. Im not sure if that helps much but maybe its a bit of an advantage. Anyways, i understand how difficult it is to get accepted, and im wondering if spending an extra year taking the required bio and chem courses is a good descion with such low acceptance percentages. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hi, I guess one of the first things you should delve down and ask yourself is how badly you'd like to get onto a medic's career path. If it's badly, then sure, taking an extra year of courses may be worth it. Having survived engineering, you'd probably find the pre-requisite science courses to be a bit of a breeze, so the extra year would only serve to boost your average, potentially. As to the Ottawa U. wrinkle, the status that you describe above may work to your advantage. It's probably worth having a closer look at how Ottawa U. defines their Ottawa-area applicants. Cheers and good luck with your decision, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UTMed07 Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 Anyways, i understand how difficult it is to get accepted, and im wondering if spending an extra year taking the required bio and chem courses is a good descion with such low acceptance percentages.Yup. The odds seriously suck. Is it worth it? I think it depends on how much you want it and if it works-out. My average is just under 80% which is quite good for my program but is probably pretty low compared to most other applicants.GPA is a big thing for many schools and it sucks because the med schools generally do not have an understanding of the fact that if you're getting high 70s in engineering you could probably get high 80s or even 90s in other majors. I'm a UT mech eng ( yay mech! ) and took a bunch of undergrad life sci courses at U of T (during a master's degree in biomed eng/mech eng)--my take on it is: there are very bright people in the life sciences, but on average you're looking at a pool of people with less talent vis-a-vis the people you generally see in engineering classes. Take a look at McMaster; you can apply to McMaster without any prereqs. Also, they aren't (high) GPA obsessed (in relation to other medical schools). The bad news is the odds are probably the worst in the country (if you exclude looking at the odds of applicants applying to out-of-province schools). Im from Ottawa and have a step parent who is part of the ottawa U med school faculty, and is also an alumni. Im not sure if that helps much but maybe its a bit of an advantage.Whether it is an advantage depends on how that person is perceived by the people on the admissions committee. I know of a similar situation where it actually worked against the applicant. That said, knowing someone on the inside is usually a good thing. One final thing: if you happen to speak french fluently Ottawa will probably like you a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danish Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 Wow!!! You sound exactly like me! I did mech eng at Queen's and graduated in 2001. I've spent the last two years doing pre-reqs and the MCAT. I agree with Kirsteen, you really need to decide if meds is what you want to do, caus those pre-reqs can seem somewhat redundant, especially if you've been busting you butt in eng for four years (well, that's how I felt at least). However, that being said, if med is what you really really want to do, most of the time you won't even care that it's taking the extra year or so. As far as grades and averages, my overall 4 yr GPA was also just under 80% (I had a rotten 1st year, damn phys 114). Yes, admission is competitive but if meds is what you want, don't let it discourage you. I applied this year, and was accepted at Western, Queen's, UBC(waitlist), and Dalhousie(waitlist) (I'm not trying to brag in anyway, I just mention this to let you know it is possible to get in with an 4 yr GPA that may be a little lower ). Anyways, schools like Western and Queen's only look at your best two years so if you meet their cutoffs you don't need to worry that much about your GPA. Infact, during my Queen's interview I talked about how I got a couple of 50's in first year! Anyways, good luck, and I second what UTMed07 says, "Yay Mech Eng!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ploughboy Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi Gedz1, This is a pretty redundant post, I agree with what's been said so far. Just wanted to add my name to the list of engineers posting to this thread (Waterloo EE '96, with a cumulative GPA that won't get me the time of day at most schools (3.3/78%/B+)). If you're serious about meds you really have to do something about your GPA (just like I'm doing something about mine). Probably the first thing you ought to do is familiarize yourself with the requirements of the schools you're interested in. Some schools consider only your two best years, some ignore x of your lowest marks, some weigh upper years more heavily than lower years. Depending on how your marks are distributed, you may be pleasantly surprised. As you've mentioned, you'll also have to pick up those pesky pre-reqs. Tough to do during an engineering undergrad, I know. So what you're really looking at is time, which leads to your original question - is spending an/several extra year(s) worth it? Since I'm not in med school yet I can't really answer that. All I can tell you is why *for me*, just making the attempt is worth it. Personally I don't want to be 80 years old and looking back on my life saying "coulda, shoulda, woulda". That's why (at significant personal and financial cost) I'm getting my pre-reqs, doing something about my GPA etc. I may never get into med school, but it ain't gonna be for lack of trying. Stubborn German... ;-) So here's my advice(1): take the long-term view. Picture yourself looking back on your life when you're 80 years old (or do the Stephen Covey thing and imagine what you want people to say about you at your funeral - personally I always find that exercise a little morbid) What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to be remembered for? How does practicing as a physician fit in with this view of your future self? If you choose *not* to pursue medicine right now, how will you be spending the next few years of your life? How will those alternate pursuits contribute to your long-term happiness? Serious, philosophical questions for a beautiful summer afternoon... Regards, pb (1) Remember - free advice is only worth what you paid for it. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (FreeBSD) iD8DBQE/NAPh/HNgbK3bC2wRAtwIAJ0cbTOxcA//WHcMEh3aGNU5XLsTlgCgk573 lYsbyOHDqDRpMfCpDJX6YfQ= =Expx -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gedz1 Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 Just wanted to thank everyone for their replies. You've given me some things to think about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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