Eccmed Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Hey everyone, I've sort of hit a bit of a roadblock in terms of decision-making moving forward. After a very poor first UG (2.8 GPA), I decided to do a 2nd UG in order to pursue my dream of becoming a physician. I did reasonably well (GPA = 3.7) but I realize that for med school GPAs, this may definitely not be competitive enough. My second undergrad was a full BA in Psychology completed in 2 years with full 30-credit course loads at UBC. Currently, my MCAT scores are (I am registered for a re-write in May and am absolutely confident I can do better than this): CPFBS: 126 CARS: 128 BBFLS: 125 PSBFB: 128 Total: 507 My ECs include: Volunteering/working as a Research Assistant (2 years: 1 abstract, 1 poster, 1 second author publication, another publication in the works) clinical: Hospital Patient Visiting for 2 years Hospital short term care assistant (6 months) community: Peer Counselling/Mental Health Wellness Service (2 years) Alumni Coordinator for my undergraduate society (1 year) Worked as a legal assistant for 1 year Volunteered as a admin assistant for the Cancer Society for 1 year Manager for a contracting firm (work) (1 year) athletics: Captain and Coaching Soccer for 3 years indoor soccer, outdoor soccer, etc. At this point, I was hoping for some advice. I could apply to some schools and take my (slim) chances getting an interview. Or I could go into grad school and complete my MSc in Neuroscience. I already have an amazing supervisor lined up who is begging me to do my grad degree with the lab, but I really want to go into medicine. I enjoy research, but I really miss being able to interact with patients when I'm doing the desk work. Based on my stats, can anyone provide me any insight? Would I be better off doing my Masters and then applying or should I just try my hand at applications with my current background. Any tips are appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0ny Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 I think that realistically, since your 2nd UG isn't up to the competitive averages of most schools, you would be better off doing grad school and trying to get in based on your graduate work. Your GPA is not bad by any means, but it will not be viewed as a plus on your application. Keep working at it, you'll get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccmed Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 I think that realistically, since your 2nd UG isn't up to the competitive averages of most schools, you would be better off doing grad school and trying to get in based on your graduate work. Your GPA is not bad by any means, but it will not be viewed as a plus on your application. Keep working at it, you'll get in. Thank you very much for this bit of encouragement, really makes all the difference. I've been debating about applying this year anyways just to test the waters, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with my expectations. I think at this point, grad school seems like the most practical pathway, for many reasons than just my GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisenberg Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Thank you very much for this bit of encouragement, really makes all the difference. I've been debating about applying this year anyways just to test the waters, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with my expectations. I think at this point, grad school seems like the most practical pathway, for many reasons than just my GPA. Can you break down your last 2 year GPA better? For example like this: year 1: 10 courses (3.92) year 2 10 courses (3.62) Also have you calculated your UBC AQ using their rule to drop your lowest year? If so, what is it? if that is above 80% you may have a shot at getting an interview. I think we could help you if you provide more information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccmed Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Can you break down your last 2 year GPA better? For example like this: year 1: 10 courses (3.92) year 2 10 courses (3.62) Also have you calculated your UBC AQ using their rule to drop your lowest year? If so, what is it? if that is above 80% you may have a shot at getting an interview. I think we could help you if you provide more information Sure: year 2 (w/ summer - 12 courses): 3.65 year 1 (w/ summer - 12 courses): 3.76 year 2 (w/o summer - 10 courses): 3.68 year 1 (w/o summer - 10 courses): 3.77 Sadly I made very misguided choice of taking a difficult neuropharm course in the second year. My aGPA is 77.63% (That's with 30 credits dropped), which I believe cuts me off from getting interviews at UBC. Again, I really appreciate all the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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