Kpu For Undergraduate

[Medhopefulatubc]

Hi everyone,

 

I wanted to ask how much will going to KPU for undergrad hurt my chances of getting accepted to UBC Med?

[papasmurf13]

It doesn't matter where you do your undergrad. KPU is just fine. Medical schools in Canada don't take into account school prestige etc. What matters to med schools is your grades, MCAT, and extracurricular activities 

[Pterygoid]

I would say that you might be at a disadvantage in terms of the opportunities available to you -- comes with going to a smaller school/less resources etc.

However, that can easily be compensated for in off-campus activities or founding your own initiatives on-campus.

 

 

Medical schools do not care what major you're enrolled in or where you enrolled in. Just get good grades!

[JohnGrisham]

It doesn't matter where you do your undergrad. KPU is just fine. Medical schools in Canada don't take into account school prestige etc. What matters to med schools is your grades, MCAT, and extracurricular activities 

One thing - I don't know if KPU is actually considered a university now, or still a college - but most medical schools in Canada do NOT consider college classes towards GPA calculations. UBC has historically been okay with this, but its something to keep in mind if you want to apply to other schools.  I know this to be fact for other colleges in the Lower Mainland i.e. langara college, douglas college etc.   The classes are all fine, and not any different than university counterparts, the typical 2 years at college and then transfer for last 2 years at university is usually fine still(and you save a lot of money!).   

 

Again, I don't know if KPU is considered a university by the standards of other out of province medical schools(I don't think it would count for Calgary med for example because of their stipulation that courses be fully transferrable to a medical degree granting institution...or something like that? Look into this, vaguely recall that), just something to look into yourself.

 

Again, PERFECTLY FINE for UBC MED, they are great about this, but something to look into for other medical schools in Canada.

I'd also say, that you may actually have MORE opportunities by virtue of being at a small school- smaller class sizes, less competition, i.e. "big fish in a small sea" rather than "small fish in a big sea" etc. It's what you make of it really, there are always opportunities - remember that your school is only one place you can get involved, being involved in your community at large is also always open to you regardless of the school you attend. 

[Medhopefulatubc]

One thing - I don't know if KPU is actually considered a university now, or still a college - but most medical schools in Canada do NOT consider college classes towards GPA calculations. UBC has historically been okay with this, but its something to keep in mind if you want to apply to other schools. I know this to be fact for other colleges in the Lower Mainland i.e. langara college, douglas college etc. The classes are all fine, and not any different than university counterparts, the typical 2 years at college and then transfer for last 2 years at university is usually fine still(and you save a lot of money!).

 

Again, I don't know if KPU is considered a university by the standards of other out of province medical schools(I don't think it would count for Calgary med for example because of their stipulation that courses be fully transferrable to a medical degree granting institution...or something like that? Look into this, vaguely recall that), just something to look into yourself.

 

Again, PERFECTLY FINE for UBC MED, they are great about this, but something to look into for other medical schools in Canada.

I'd also say, that you may actually have MORE opportunities by virtue of being at a small school- smaller class sizes, less competition, i.e. "big fish in a small sea" rather than "small fish in a big sea" etc. It's what you make of it really, there are always opportunities - remember that your school is only one place you can get involved, being involved in your community at large is also always open to you regardless of the school you attend.

Hi I believe that KPU is a university. For the criteria that you talked about for Calgary medical school. I wanted to add that almost all KPU courses are transferrable to UBC (I checked the BC transfer guide) so does that mean Calgary would be okay right since UBC is a medical degree granting institution?

[JohnGrisham]

Hi I believe that KPU is a university. For the criteria that you talked about for Calgary medical school. I wanted to add that almost all KPU courses are transferrable to UBC (I checked the BC transfer guide) so does that mean Calgary would be okay right since UBC is a medical degree granting institution?

This is something you'll want to confirm directly with OMSAS. It wasn't long ago that it was a college(2009ish?), and to be frank many of the other local colleges also transfer credits over no problem to UBC - but its just a matter of technicalities on what is considered "university" or "college". Ontario schools can be picky - but if it is considered a university in the same sense as other local universities, then you are Perfectly Fine

 

This is a minor detail anyways, and even more so minor if you ultimately decide to transfer after 2 years from KPU to SFU/UBC etc.  I can't imagine KPU has very many degree programs for the full 4 years, though my information is outdated by a few years( I recall they were starting to offer some 4 year science degrees).

 

Just don't want you to be left holding the bag so to speak, should you want to eventually apply OOP.