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Quite Possibly The Worst Academic History That This Sub-Forum May Have Ever Seen. Come And Look. A New Non-Trad Story Emerges.


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Hi Non-Trad Forum,

 

As a long-time creeper of this forum and pre-med deliberator, it is time for me to share my story.

 

I am 25 years old, and completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Energy Management Major) at the University of Calgary from 2008-2013. My cGPA for this degree was a whopping 2.562. The degree is rife with 8 withdrawals, 4 D's, 1 F, course retakes, and other miscellaenous blunders. I didn't study enough, didn't attend class regularly, and had no idea why I was in business school, to be honest. I just signed up for it after high school (where I scored 80's-90's, thankfully) and the rest is history. In short - I was completely unmotivated and lackadaisical.

 

Long story short, and pardon my french here - I didn't have my shit together.

 

Fast forward to today. In the last 2 years, I worked for a large Canadian Corporation, first as a Co-op, and then in a permanent role. I then worked at a Startup company (currently there). Throughout this time, I have really gotten ahold of my bearings. I am a whole new person in terms of habits and drive, and knowing what I do in-fact want to do with my life. I know that sounds ludicrous based on the aforementioned track record, but I really have done a full 180.

 

Which brings us to today...

 

After two years of heavy research and deliberation, I have decided that I would like to be a Doctor. I have had an amazing network to learn from, as my sister is a GP (she went to the University of Calgary). I have spent the last 2 years exploring, researching and networking in order to learn of MANY career options aside from Medicine as well (Business to Business sales, management consulting, accounting, law, other careers in medicine) but after exhaustive exploration, I want to be a Doctor.

 

My large concern is how much my past will haunt me. I will do a completely fresh second degree. But will this really be a fresh start? I will have to submit all of my transcripts at the end including the past degree. I have read all of the second degree policies in detail and I am unclear on whether my past degree will count towards my cGPA or overall standing in certain schools. At the University of Calgary for example, it is stated that the cGPA will only drop one year of schooling. Can I really get a completely new and fresh start with my second degree? Or is there no hope? I want to attend the University of Calgary again, but I am wondering if I am better off attending a different school so that when I submit my transcripts, my first degree won't be a factor. I am unsure of policies however, perhaps I would need to disclose all of my academic history regardless? I am of course going to remain honest and ethical with whatever rules there are regarding whether my original first degree has to be disclosed or not at the end of the day. I am still looking into how this works, but I will likely be attending the University of Calgary again anyways due to cost reasons. 

 

Thank you and I look forward to your assessment!

 

TL;DR version - I did a Business degree at U of C, cGPA of 2.562. I have now gotten my habits and drive together and truly believe that I can kill it this time around. I want to do a second undergrad degree and am wondering if I can truly get a fresh start, or if I am doomed by my past. I look forward to your assessment.

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Do a second degree, and apply to school appropriately. It will be at least 2-4 years of work before you are ready to apply. 

Prove to yourself first that you can get a 4.0 year with full course load, then worry about the rest.

If you can do that, then come back in 1 year and ask the same questions. Asking anything right now is premature, and a complete waste of time.

 

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Gohan - I can definitely see the merit in your post. I just want to try and gain as much affirmation as I can that my past will not completely destroy my hopes prematurely. I know that I am about to embark on a road with little guarantees, but I felt that this was a question that might have been worth 'throwing out there' for information gathering purposes. I have ready many of your posts during my times creeping here and appreciate your response. That feedback is valuable and I lookforward to receiving more such feedback from the forum.

 

And 命运的羽毛 - Yes! I am a massive Dragonball fan and felt compelled to join on in the Dragonball moniker fun.

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Gohan - I can definitely see the merit in your post. I just want to try and gain as much affirmation as I can that my past will not completely destroy my hopes prematurely. I know that I am about to embark on a road with little guarantees, but I felt that this was a question that might have been worth 'throwing out there' for information gathering purposes. I have ready many of your posts during my times creeping here and appreciate your response.

 

And 命运的羽毛 - Yes! I am a massive Dragonball fan and felt compelled to join in the Dragonball moniker fun.

Most definitely! 

 

I mean to just say, first take 1 year to see if your academics can fall in line. If you try to think of too many things, scenarios, tasks and the big picture - i fear it may become too overwhelming. Stick with small goals and give them your full, undivided attention :)  If you can buckle down and do 3.8+ on a full-time year, then you WILL be able to get to your goal with time and patience. 

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Unfortunately, some schools, such as Calgary, are not as forgiving of past poor performance as others. If medical school is the goal, you'll need to work at getting the best GPA possible in your second degree and accept that, while you may want to attend UofC again, you'll need to focus your efforts on more forgiving schools with most recent years/best 2 years policies (such as those in Ontario, etc). At this point, you are not doomed, but you really won't know until you do 2 years of a new degree. Best of luck to you!

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To clarify a portion of your post, when you apply to medical school, you must submit transcripts from all post-secondary institutions that you have attended. You will have to submit your transcript from UofC, unfortunately. There are a couple of options that you have the way I see your academic history:

 

(1) Do a second degree in a few years after working, volunteering, and seeing if medicine is the right fit for you. Then,  invoke the 10-year rule at Calgary and apply broadly to other schools if your second degree gpa is strong. This is a long haul option, but allows you to figure out what and how you need to fix your study and life habits to get an strong gpa in your second year. This also allows you to build experiences and grow as a person, demonstrating that you've matured and are a strong applicant.

(2) Do a second degree immediately and apply to schools that consider best 2-year/most recent 2-year/best 3-year GPA and hope for the best with a strong MCAT.

(3) Start a second degree, up your gpa as best you can, and go to an overseas school. Much easier to get into, but the career prospects are more dire and the financial cost is significant.

 

Personally, I would lean towards the first option unless you're absolutely certain you can turn things around from the start. Having a mediocre or even somewhat decent gpa if you do a second degree won't demonstrate that you're a strong candidate. You will need to be quite stellar with your academics if you jump right into a second degree immediately. My two cents. Best of luck.

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Really depends on the schools. McMaster looks at all of it, but most Ontario schools look at one degree, or a cross between two when its like best two years, or so I understood from emailing adcoms ( correct me if I'm wrong, also using the one forum resource for second degrees, http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/46230-medical-school-second-undergrad-degree-policies-updated-aug-8-2012/) That will help you the most. 

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I think I hold the honour of the worst academic history My math degree GPA was 1.97 and I failed 1 class with at least 10 Ds. 

 

I have a 3.9 OMSAS GPA over two years in my second degree, so you can definitely make it happen. I don't have any advice atm. Good luck!

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Great turnaround in mindset and drive! 

 

Echoing the other user's I think you should try and take one year of full-time courses to see if you can manage it. 

 

I will say however, that I think the dubious honour of worst academic history falls to me: 

 

I have 21 Fs on my transcript....

 

Last 2 years however I've managed to get a 3.87 which hopefully makes me eligible for some schools  ;)

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Great turnaround in mindset and drive!

 

Echoing the other user's I think you should try and take one year of full-time courses to see if you can manage it.

 

I will say however, that I think the dubious honour of worst academic history falls to me:

 

I have 21 Fs on my transcript....

 

Last 2 years however I've managed to get a 3.87 which hopefully makes me eligible for some schools ;)

Well done in the turn around

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This level of feedbcak is really fantastic everybody. Thank you all.

 

I think I hold the honour of the worst academic history My math degree GPA was 1.97 and I failed 1 class with at least 10 Ds. 

 

I have a 3.9 OMSAS GPA over two years in my second degree, so you can definitely make it happen. I don't have any advice atm. Good luck!

 

Falling - are you attending the same institution for the second degree that you did for the first?

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Do a second degree, and apply to school appropriately. It will be at least 2-4 years of work before you are ready to apply. 

 

Prove to yourself first that you can get a 4.0 year with full course load, then worry about the rest.

 

If you can do that, then come back in 1 year and ask the same questions. Asking anything right now is premature, and a complete waste of time.

 

 

 

This is fantastic advice, and currently reflects the path that I'm on. I can't emphasize this enough: take your time. A 4-year goal is likely realistic. 

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This level of feedbcak is really fantastic everybody. Thank you all.

 

 

Falling - are you attending the same institution for the second degree that you did for the first?

 

Nope. I wish I could have attended that institution since it is close to where I live, but they do not allow a person to do the same type of degree in a second undergrad. I wanted to do my second undergrad in bio, and my first in math was considered a bsc. 

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I think I hold the honour of the worst academic history My math degree GPA was 1.97 and I failed 1 class with at least 10 Ds. 

 

I have a 3.9 OMSAS GPA over two years in my second degree, so you can definitely make it happen. I don't have any advice atm. Good luck!

 

OP this is definitely not as uncommon as you might think. 2.6 in my first degree, finishing up second-degree with a 3.93. Everyone has pretty much said everything already, but I just wanted to add something from my own experiences. Before you jump right into your second degree do your research! Not just about medical school requirements, but about the second degree program you are looking into, the professors, what kinds of grades they give out. When you think you have a reasonable plan of attack, deliberate on it, and then plan some more. I feel like this stage is where a lot of people go wrong. They jump into a second degree without much of a cohesive strategy and thus don't end up with the kind of results they were hoping for. With a second degree your margin for error is a lot smaller.

 

As many others have said, take your time. Reflect, and ask yourself what motivates you, where you went wrong the first time, and what strategies will you put in place to help you succeed. Good luck, message me if you have any questions.

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Thank you all for this amazing insight. Each one of you has helped me form a better picture of my chances at having a go at this. Sometimes in life, we are gripped by paralysis by analysis, and require that nod of assurance to help us push ourselves to set foot on our next journey. I look forward to posting more as a part of this wonderful and supportive community of dedicated and visionary individuals! Please message me if you have any questions at all relating to U of C Business School path to different careers, oil and gas industry in Alberta, etc. Sounds like many of you are really turning things around and I am excited to really get the ball rolling. Cheers to all!

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  • 2 months later...

This advice is right on.

 

Make sure you're comfortably getting 85%+ over a full courseload. If it doesn't pan out, take a break and figure out what you're doing wrong. Get help instead of digging yourself in further.

 

I studied for the MCAT before going back, just to make I had the study skills. But in retrospect that was overkill..

I have been told by many GPs and specialists that the MCAT is overkill as well. They said that so much of what is on the MCAT will never be used in a medical career. They cringe when they see what I am studying. While I would like not to have to write it, so many schools require it. As a mature student, I need to try everything to get noticed. Last year, when I applied for the first time and only to non MCAT schools, I didn't get an interview. So MCAT it is..last minute decision...got the last seat in my province and I have 9 days to prepare. Let's hope I've learned something over the years and that it has stayed with me. 

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