Contingency Planning Advice

[Med_new]

Hey guys ... looking for advice here ...

 

Stats:

- Computing Sci undergrad from UofA - 2004

- Business after deg from UofA - 2005

- GPA after dropping worst year 3.53 (not hot at all)

- MCAT .. waiting, wrote a few days ago.

 

I will be applying this cycle but that GPA is making me nervous and even the MCAT, hard to say how it went. I have varied business / technology / entrepreneurial experiences and several personal life experiences to mention (care for disabled brother, cared for brother with psychiatric illness who passed away recently, cared for parents old age etc), a few other things. Other athletic interests and activities etc. So ECs and work experience should be good, I think.

 

All of GPA + MCAT + General academics is 40% of the app. So it's a chunk.

 

While I will be applying this year, I want to be prepared for the worst case and think about upping my GPA + MCAT.

 

What would be the fastest/easiest way to pump that GPA? I am thinking of taking a year and hoping to nail a 3.8 or a 3.9 depending on what I take. I just want bird courses with a good probability to get a 4.0 and I am thinking of going through Athabasca. I am wondering if there is a *list* of sorts for Athabasca bird courses. Easiest stuff, little work, etc. y'all know what I mean. I will also be working so I really have to have this down to the T.

 

Any other contingency planning advice you may have ...

[Alphalima]

Hi,

 

First of all I am sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how hard that must be.

 

I noticed that you graduated your after-degree in 2005. Have you looked at the 10 year exclusion rule at all and if that applies to you?

Check page 13 of the applicant manual on the link here: http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/applicant-manual-2015-2016-june-16.pdf 

 

It might help your GPA out if you can get rid of some years that might not have had the greatest grades. I don't know much about athabasca though so I can't help you out there. Hopefully others will know more

 

Best of luck!

[Alphalima]

Weird...I just clicked the link and it doesn't seem to work. The applicant manual is on the UofC Medicine website!

[Fresh fry]

I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not but you mentioned that you will be working while taking these extra courses; any additional courses you do will have to be full time to help with your GPA. Also if you are applying mainly to U of A and U of C, at U of A the ECs don't mean all that much and are usually scored with a tight distribution, U of C is your better focus.

[Med_new]

Hi,

 

First of all I am sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how hard that must be.

 

I noticed that you graduated your after-degree in 2005. Have you looked at the 10 year exclusion rule at all and if that applies to you?

Check page 13 of the applicant manual on the link here: http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/applicant-manual-2015-2016-june-16.pdf 

 

It might help your GPA out if you can get rid of some years that might not have had the greatest grades. I don't know much about athabasca though so I can't help you out there. Hopefully others will know more

 

Best of luck!

 

yea I looked at that, I won't have any schooling if I take that 10-year exclusion rule. I'll have to take 2 full years and apply again.

[Med_new]

I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not but you mentioned that you will be working while taking these extra courses; any additional courses you do will have to be full time to help with your GPA. Also if you are applying mainly to U of A and U of C, at U of A the ECs don't mean all that much and are usually scored with a tight distribution, U of C is your better focus.

 

Yea I am aware of it. It says Sept - Apr, 24 credits. I am not sure (may have missed), I don't think it says 12 and 12 credits (Fall / Winter). From what I know for as long as you finish them by Apr 30 and have proof that you did so, you should be fine.