Temporary Alternative to Medicine

[Guest Docmira]

Hey guys,

I just found this board..i've been on a US board for the past couple years...so glad to see there's a canadian version

 

Anyways, i'm very confussed right now bc I want to do medicine so much, and i want to stay in canada. I dont' see my chances this year as too positive. I graduate this year, and i have no idea what to do next year.

(my GPA and MCAT arent stellar)

I didn't do well in my first year and a half, but since then my marks have picked up and i'm getting mostly B+'s and A's.

I still want to do medicine, so what are some things i can do for next year that will make my application better?

Should i go a grad program, redo courses....?

I dont' want to spend much time doing alternative things since med school takes soo long...

 

Ahh i'm confussed, please help:o

 

PS: i'm not keen on research :S

[Guest jackiedirks]

I think it depends on the school you are applying to. Some schools take into account the grades you've received during graduate schools, and some don't. McMaster weighs extra-curriculars very heavily, so if you were to do something fantastic in the next year in health care you might have a shot. If it were me I would take the year off to travel and volunteer: but I'm very interested in travelling. If you are really interested in medicine but don't have the grades there are a couple avenues you could pursue. If you are rich (or willing to go into MASSIVE amounts of debt) you could look at schools overseas. Australia and Ireland both have some very reputable schools that accept international students. However the tuition is something like 40 grand a year, before living expenses. There are some less-reputable schools in the Carribbean, which are a little less expensive- but you might have trouble getting your degree recognized in Canada. Here at the U of M, there is a special program for individuals with health care training to enter the program with a slightly different scaled admission scheme. People who get in this way are generally nurses who have worked for two years within the field, but I think there are other programs in which this can be applied. The bottom line is if you want it bad enough you can do it, you may just have to do it later in life. My class is filled with students who have graduate degrees or professional degrees, and decided in their late twenties or early thirties to switch careers. They are a huge asset to the class. Good luck!

[Guest aneliz]

UWO will only count your BEST two full-time years as part of your GPA. So you definitely have a shot there! However, they will not count any repeated courses as part of your GPA...so DON'T redo anything!

 

Good luck!