Guest MikeR101 Posted August 17, 2003 Report Share Posted August 17, 2003 Hello everyone, first of all i would like to say how great the people on these boards are and i would like to thank you all beforehand for advise you can give me. and by the way there is a lot of jibberish in the second paragraph but i need to tell all about me so that you understand exactly what i am trying to ask. I am currently entering my final year of high school, with only a few weeks left of summer. I am taking all the courses required to get into most universities(that one can out of high school) but i have a few questions. first off i am very interested in the path of becoming a doctor, surgeon or an engineer in researching such things as cancer or aids. all this fascinates me to the point where i realize i could have a future in a medical area. the problem is im only 17 and i don't know where the heck to start. I am very dedicated and am willing to work hard to attain a profession which i am proud of. At the moment i work at a golf course and I bust my @#$ working for rich people and get no respect. This is somewhere i do not want to be in 10 years, heck i dont wanna be there for 10 more days. The point is that i want to make something of myself and do not want to get left behind. I want to get the edge before i finish high school and want to know which path leads me to the direction of where i have the most( i hear this so much from my mom and dad) open doors. I will list my questions in order and appreciate any help you can give 1. I have a friend that just graduated high school with about an 83% average and she said that one of the things many universities were interested were her extra curricular activities ie. yearbook. is this true, should i spend more time getting involved with school projects or will simply having high marks get me where i need to go? 2. If one of the prereqs. for a university is english30 and i am taking it in the second semester how will i apply for that school. many people i have spoken to say that it is best to apply before spring when school ends and application deadlines are met, how will i do this if i am not finished the courses? 3. Are certain universities better for getting in to a medical school later on? 4. Which courses does one take in Premed to get into a med school? I looked at a chart of information about eastern canadian med schools and how they accept applicants. I have 2 questions on this 5. If only 14% of the people who apply are accepted what happens to those whom are not. I would not like to spend all my time and effort to achieve a goal only to learn that i didn't even make it into the school. What happens when you are not accepted into any schools? 6. The prices for first year are higher than i would have guestimated. Are there financial plans to help students pay for the courses, what 22 year old has $45000 laying around? I know that i won't especially if i have to move away from home. Although my dad says i have a college fund already set aside and that when i graduate i will recieve a certain amount of money to buy a home or something along those lines, i would rather spend that money on school. 7. I live in calgary, Alberta are there places where information is organized and there are people to talk to about a path that leads to medschool? I know some of the things i said may sound very intelligible but i know very little about going on past high school, thanks again for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Hey, I'll give a shot answering your questions sequentially... 1. Unfortunately, most university programs do not consider your ECs (some do, don't get me wrong) at all in making their decision- most offers are based strictly on marks. So yes, marks are very important. But, that being said, so are ECs, IMHO, so the challenge is to balance your ECs with academics such that you can still maintain a high academic standing while being an active member of your community- you can use this experience down the road when you are applying for medical school as material for your exams and interviews! 2. If you are taking a prereq for university during the year as you have indicated, schools will consider this and will probably ask that you provide them with a transcript to prove that you completed the course successfully. I doubt that they would disqualify you for not taking English in first semester or before the application deadline, provided that you do end up taking it. They will probably offer you an acceptance conditional on successful completion of the required courses. 3. Absolutely not! All accredited undergraduate institutions are regarded as equal by all Canadian medical schools unless explicitly stated otherwise. So don't choose an undergrad school because you feel that it will give you a better chance of getting into medical school. I did, and it was the worst decision I ever made! 4. Each school has its own set of prerequisite courses required for admission. Check these out for the schools that you might be interested in attending and be sure to take them at some point in your undergraduate education. Failure to do so is grounds for a school to dismiss an application. 5. Beats me, but most people who are serious about getting in won't let being rejected one year discourage them from applying the next. A significant proportion of current medical students had to apply more than once before they were accepted, so I'd hazard to guess that a popular course of action for those who are rejected one year is to reapply the next. Others may enter their respective industries, go into research, pursue advanced degrees, go into other professional programs (ie: law) or even take the year off to travel, work, volunteer, etc. I really don't know what happens to the majority of rejected applicants. 6. Not gonna lie to ya- post-secondary education is an expensive enterprise! The good news is that there are lots of student loans, bursaries, scholarships and lines of credit to be had. My advice is to look into and apply for as many of these forms of financial aid as possible because it all helps, no matter what the sum may be! 7. No idea about Calgary. Maybe this is something that you may want to look into setting up yourself! Hope that this helps! Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GrdInquisitor Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Hi Mike, I think that you're exactly the kind of person that forums like this one are meant to help. I for one can sympathize with your plight as I also spent a summer catering to the whims of fat cat country club members. It's good to see that you know what you are interested in and I hope that I can address at least some of your concerns and questions. So, in the order that you posed them: 1) Universities, in large part, decide entrance based on your high school average. I know that when I applied there wasn't even room on the application form to fill in my extra-curricular activies, even if I had them. However, if you aim to attain a scholarship then this may not be the case. Several universities, in the case, look specifically at the activities that you were involved in so it pays off to do some research before you apply. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to get involved in areas that you are interested i.e. if you're curious about medicine, do some volunteer work at a local hospital etc. 2) Don't worry about taking English in your second semester. I know in Ontario, our final semester grades were mailed to Universities upon our completion, but by then nearly everyone who applied had heard back about their status. However, this particular question is best answered by your high school guidance councillor who would best know the particulars of the Albertan curriculum. 3) The resounding answer you will hear in response to this question will be that it does not matter which university you go to if you want to go to medical school. Go to a university that fits your particular taste, that offers classes you like or whatever. Aim to achieve the highest grades possible and to stand out as a future applicant. In most cases this can best be done while in a program that you sincerely enjoy and are interested in, rather than one that you are in simply because you think some admissions committee will approve of. 4) Each medical school will have it's own unique pre-requisites. Although there are no specific '-pre-med' programs (at least at Ontario schools), that safe bet classes include at least two years of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, a humanities course, and perhaps physics. This is where researching the medical schools you're interested in comes in really handy. Don't do more than you necessarily have to when it comes to pre-requisities, it really pays to know before hand exactly what classes you need. A quick visit to each medical school's website should clear this question up for you. 5) Nothing happens if you don't get in. It's ridiculous to believe your life is over or that the appocalypse is nigh. The most brilliant people I know didn't get in their first time applying, and who knows why? There are millions of reasons. The truth is, the people that apply, in large part, are all smart and capable. If you don't get in this year, you can apply next year, and the year after that. Bottom line, it's not the end of the world. 6) College funds are a great start but there are many options for financing medical school. There are lines of credit at banks, provinical and federal loans, bank loans, bursaries, scholarships, etc. Many medical schools would be more than happy to connect you with organizations and institutions that will help you figure out how to finance your education. 7) I'm afraid someone from Alberta will have to address this one. I hope that I helped scratch some thing off of your list, but the truth is you have lots of time to figure all of this stuff out. I would suggest, however, to go out and make sure that medicine is what you want to do. Shadow a physician and see what a day in the life of a doctor involves, and as I already mentioned, get some volunteer experience under your belt, you can never have too much of that. In any case, whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phantom8 Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 1. ECs don't really matter if you just want to be admitted to a particular university -- it's your marks that count. However, if you want scholarship dollars (especially the bigger scholarships), then good marks AND EC's are important. If I was to prioritize, make sure you get decent marks before going crazy on the EC's. 6. Hate to say it (especially because it sounds so unglamorous for the high school grad who wants to see the world), but staying in your home town makes university much cheaper, which is the easiest way to cut down on your other costs. Otherwise, it's the usual ways of getting money... student loans, scholarships, bursaries, summer job, etc. 7. You might want to try SIMS (which is the undergraduate pre-med student group at the University of Calgary). I don't know if they actually do things with high school students, but no harm finding out. Their website is: www.ucalgary.ca/~simsclub/ Otherwise, I'm not familiar with any sort of "pre-med" club targeted directly at high school students. These things tend to be more common at the undergraduate level. Some other things that might interest you: If you're interested in medical research, the University of Calgary has a brand-new undergraduate program that will get you a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. It's something a little different than a biology degree (which is the typical pre-med degree), heavily focuses on research, and has really small classes for an undergraduate program. Plus, the program seems pretty well-funded. This is something you can look up when you're applying for university. With all this said, however, I don't believe this program is meant to be a direct ticket into medical school, but it certain seems like something different that would be good for the motivated student interested in biomedical research. I know this is too late for you, but the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research has a "summer researcher" program in which a Grade 11 high school student gets to work in a medical lab for the summer. This is something that would probably interest high school students interested in medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spencer Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Hey Mike ...My name is Spencer (obviously)...and I'm a Gr.11 student in some Toronto high school...and i am also interested in a career in medicine (obviously)...your's is a story I am very familiar with...the high school student working at the golf course getting hit in the head by golf balls and getting attitude from rich people who treat you like trash...sounds very familiar...although I don't bust my @$$ working at a golf course, I do in fact hold a job making stickers...STICKERS?!?! like wtf??...anyway...I can only offer advice from what I've learned from the very intelligible and friendly people here in these boards and I hope I can be of assistance to you as I will attempt to answer all of your questions... Words of Encouragement: Just cuz you're 17 doesn't mean that you can't think ahead and dream of a profession you can be proud of, you're already halfway there by being hardworking and being determined to get there, and don't let anyone tell you that it's too early to decide...sure you might change your mind...but its your mind to change, not anybody elses...ive dreamt of going to med school since i was in Gr.7...haha:eek 1. Contrary to what everyone here has said so far...there are an increasing number of universities who require you to have participated in at least some extracurriculars...although this ultimately depends on the undergraduate program you want to do, having extracurriculars is a BIG bonus...but if it interferes with the marks...than u gotta drop it. Alot of undergrad programs now like to pick well-rounded applicants who may not have the best marks...but are actively involved in other non-academic subject matter...this is certainly the case for the undergrad program i wish to attend...there were a few people with high 90-averages who didn't make it into the program cause all they did was study...its a balance like timmy says... 2. In Ontario, if you have not completed your Gr.12 ENG credit in first sem, they take your Gr.11 ENG mark for reference, and if you did alrite...they will give you a conditional offer like timmy said...and once you've successfully completed your Gr.12 ENG credit...they will most likely solidify your offer to join them in undergrad...for the rest of the courses i'm not too sure what universities do...but for ENG, im pretty sure they do take your previous year's mark into consideration 3. No! No! No!...I asked the same question in a previous thread: pub125.ezboard.com/fpreme...=373.topic and the overwhelming response is no...all accredited Canadian universities are regarded in the same manner...and the major that you complete doesn't really matter either...so to sum it up...Marks are most important...so take a undergrad major that you are interested in and that you are confident you can do well in 4. Reiteration of previous replies...this is dependent on the med school you r applying to...check out their websites! 5. Erm...people who are not accepted to medical school can do anything else BUT go to medical school...although alot of people return to school to do advanced degrees like timmy said...others go out to find work...and still others who are really bent on getting into med school fix up their applications for the next admissions cycle 6. Erm...I'm sure Alberta has some form of bursaries, scholarships and other financial aid open to students...student loans are also a great help to students although the down side is that you have to pay it back once you're out in the workforce...there's a program in Ontario called OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) which helps students out with tuition...im not sure if Alberta has something similar...talk to your guidance counsellors...they are the best human resources when it comes to things like financial assistance 7. Just like the rest of the replies...I have no info on that...since I'm from Ontario...and like timmy said...you might be interested in starting something like that yourself...i am in the process of starting a pre-med club at my school and i'd be happy to give you any advice So that's that I guess...Sorry if i didn't anwser all of the questions properly...mainly because I'm not an Albertan and I don't know much about the Albertan system...but yah, like i said before...never too early to think about these things just continue working hard toward your goals and im sure u'll succeed From fellow high school pre-med, Spencer :b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ibraheem Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 very nice questions....:smokin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purine5 Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 For Ontario, *yes this yr's double cohort drived me mad:evil Queens' Univeristy and Waterloo asked me EC info when I applied last year Queens has their internet-based form, which was quite convenient. Waterloo requested me one page essay that includes EC and other stuff. My friend who applied Waterloo Engineering, had to write 4~5 pages long EC form. I think EC doesn't boost your chance of acceptance that much but, it's good if u have some EC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HP Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Hey Mike, after reading some of your post I decided that you and I are very very similar and wanted to share some of my experiences with this 'pre-med' journey with you. I'm 17 and work at a golf course too, so I know exactly where you're coming from. I also just graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School this past year, going to UofC in a few weeks, and I'm volunteering at the Foothills Medical Centre (which as you may or may not know, is the location of Calgary's Medical School and Health Sciences Centre). I'll tell you everything I know about things in Calgary (as some other people couldn't answer them) 2.) All I know about is the admissions process for undergraduates at the University of Calgary, so that's what I will answer. If you're talking about another school, I don't know. However, if you have an 80% or higher average in five high school core subjects, you will qualify for the UofC's Scholars Advantage program and will be able to apply for early admission - this is early in the new year. If not, you can still apply with the normal deadlines, and do is as soon as you can. The UofC will look at the marks you tell them from your first semester of high school (probably two or three core subjects), and may or may not grant you CONDITIONAL admission. As for your second semester courses, Alberta Learning will send out your transcripts after the June Diploma Exams are marked (make damn sure you request those transcripts though), and they will have all your high school marks on them. THAT is what the UofC will use to determine your FORMAL admission. Bottom line: Apply early and get the paperwork filled out - if you get the right forms to the right people before the final deadlines it doesn't matter when you apply; everything else will be taken care of. 3.) The only way it could matter is if you lived in a province with more than one medical school (Alberta, Ontario, Quebec), because then you are an 'In Province' applicant and will be competing for more seats. I have never heard of any applicant anywhere being ranked higher because of what bloody school they attended, so long as it is an accredited Canadian school. 4.) It isn't hard to find Calgary specific information; a list of recommended courses is at the site www.med.ucalgary.ca 5.) I read a story on this site about a guy who applied something like four years in a row at Calgary and didn't get in, then on the fifth try got the Nat Christie scholarship for the Top Entering Student. Go figure. Like everyone has said though, if you're bent on it, keep trying. 6.) I've been worrying about this one quite a bit myself. Work during the summers (as evil as these golf courses can be ), and do your best to cover as much as you can. The truth is though, unless you're loaded you'll probably have to take out a loan at some point. However, the good news is that if you've been accepted to a medical school, banks aren't too shy about giving the money out - they assume you'll be rolling in it once you graduate (which is a myth IMHO, but that's another story). 7.) The section I'm sure I could be the most help with. phantom8 already hit two big things square on the head - the BHSc program and the HYRS program. If you're entering your final year of high school, you're too late for HYRS. It MUST be the summer in between 11 and 12. The BHSc is still an option though - I applied for it and was rejected (now I defaulted into Sciences), but knew a couple who were accepted. The minimum competetive average this year was 85.0%, and I didn't get in with 89.6%. It should be said though that the BHSc is NOT NOT NOT a premed program; it is designed to train people in other health science disciplines. A 3.7 GPA with a BHSc is no more attractive than a 3.7 GPA with a BSc or a BA. The only real centralized source of med school information in Calgary would be straight from the horse's mouth - http://www.med.ucalgary.ca I'm a year ahead of you in this process though, and have probably asked most of the questions you'll be asking in the next ten or so months, so if you want to talk about anything I've mentioned or ask another question (especially regarding things here in Cowtown), please feel free to e-mail me at toddleaman@hotmail.com Best wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blinknoodle Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Hey Mike, When I was in high school I had the opportunity to do co-op. Since I did three terms, I was able to work at a research lab, an environmental engineering firm and at Nortel (computer programming and such). It helped make my decision to enter health sciences in university much easier, and I have returned to my same lab for the past 4 summers (having earlier lab experience would definitely be an asset if you are looking into that as an option). I'm not sure how great the co-op program is in Alberta high schools, but I was able to do this in Ontario when we still had 5 years for high school. Just thought I'd throw that option into the mix. Cheers, blinknoodle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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