Why would someone spend more than 3 years in undergrad?

[Guest Dockrh]

Question...

 

Is the main reason people don't apply with with just 3 years undergrad because their GPA is too low. What other motives would a person have to stay longer and delay the process.

 

dockrh

[Guest aneliz]

Some schools prefer/require a four year degree... Also, many people prefer to stay and actually finish their undergrad degree... it is nice to complete the degree and have something to hang on the wall for the time that you put in. This also allows you to do an MSc or PhD as part of your residency too... which you can't do if you don't have a completed undergrad degree...

[Guest 0T6]

not getting in after 3 years might make some people stay a bit longer.

 

Wanting that degree that they've already worked 3 years for is another reason.

[Guest 0T6]

aneliz are you sure about the MSc part??

 

When I was deciding whether to defer or not, one of the pushing factors to not defer was that the MD is an undergraduate degree in itself and I can still do a masters during residency without an HBSc (according to the docs I talked to about it). Maybe that's just a MEpi or MEd? Not an MSc?

[Guest aneliz]

Our class was told that you would have real difficulty doing an MSc with just an MD because an MD is not an 'honours' level degree... and thus would not qualify you to do a grad degree in general. This was a real issue for some people at UWO... to the point of returning to their undergrad school in the summers to finish their BSc.

[Guest 0T6]

That's true and good to know! Yayyy something else to look into

 

thanks for the heads up!

[Guest satsumargirl]

And there are also people who choose to pursue their interests "of the time" and become interested in medicine down the road.

[Guest GundamDX]

What's the rush? Besides, not everyone's got what it takes to get in when they're in third year. I also like to get a BSc. Moreover, I rather get in with 1 or 2 tries than apply "pre-maturely" and get rejected, but that's just me

[Guest quebecboy]

Here in Quebec, there is absolutely no problem doing an MSc during your MD, without having a bachelor's degree. After you've done 90 credits (equivalent of 120 in the rest of Canada), it's considered the equivalent to a bacc and you can do all the research you want...

[Guest 007]

I decided to stick around and do my 4th year so I could relax a bit and spend more time with my friends - do graduation, formal, etc with them before starting medicine. I also wanted to complete my honours degree that I'd worked so hard for for 3 years.

[Guest treehuggingbiologist]

Also, you're much more competitive after 4 years than 3. Look at how much you can accomplish in a year, and you get the idea.

 

Personally, I was still weighing up my options in third year, and fourth year helped me decide whether or not to do research (joys of an honours thesis).

[Guest no wai]

Another reason to apply in 4th year as opposed to 3rd year is since it's easier to get in as a 4th year candidate than a 3rd year candidate. As other people have said, the extra year gives you opportunities collect more accomplishments, get to know more references, participate in more ECs, etc.

[Guest moo]

For everyone outside of Ontario, there's no such thing as a three year degree (unless you physically finish everything in three years). All degrees are four years. You can get in after only 90 credits, but most people choose to finish their degree, not because of low GPAs but because they want to finish what they started.

[Guest GundamDX]

to add to the "harder to get in as 3rd year" theory, I think that's very true for UBC. Unless you have very good marks and ECs, it's very hard to get in as 3rd year students (roughly 25 to 35).

[Guest peachy]

A couple more reasons for taking four years:

 

The attraction of getting to take senior level courses, not just for the sake of getting the degree, but because you worked hard to be able to get to the really fun, interesting fourth year courses that are available! They can also really pull together what you've learned in earlier courses.

 

Getting to spend one more year involved in the extracurriculars that you've put a lot of time and energy into. If I had left before my fourth year I would have felt like I hadn't finished the things I had set out to do in this respect.

[Guest tigerlily]

I took 6 years, LOL! And I am *so* glad I did. In high school I thought I would apply for after 3rd year, but wow. Take some time - travel, do volunteer work, pursue your interests. You have the rest of your life to get your MD and (gasp!) work. This is a time when you can be free of the responsibilities and pressures of med school/family/work, and you may just find yourself in a much better place to be entering from. Not to mention, I was surprised how much a year "off" (from school) refreshed me. I am now really looking forward to returning to the academic end of med school, instead of feeling like it's just "part of the process" to becoming a doctor.

There is no rush! You only get one life - pursue your dreams, and enjoy yourself Get a glimpse of the "real world" - go overseas, immerse yourself in people, see exotic things. Just my $0.02

[Guest DancingDoc]

Hi,

I know I applied out of third year to Dal and calgary, got my interview at Dal.... and didn't get in. I was really disappointed at the time, but in retrospect I'm glad I didn't get in. I was not as ready as I am now. A year makes a huge difference in your maturity level. It's another year to teach you more about yourself, more about your coping skills, your priorities, how to handle yourself socially, how to be more independent, etc, etc.... Seriously, a year is worth the wait. I thought I was very mature in third year, and I was compared to many within my year. But really, why rush it? Why not take that extra time to actually graduate? It wasn't about marks for me, or extra curricular, or volunteer.... nothing more than being about me maturing into myself and truly without a doubt being ready. And I think that that is something that can come across in an interview. So imo for many of you third years who didn't get in, it may just be what I said above: that a year more to mature could make all the difference in the world for your application and for your own enjoyment of the experience of medical school. It's about knowing yourself and being honest about whether you are ready for the challenge (and you may be in third year, but you also may not be). It's going to be individual for everyone.

[Guest muchdutch]

Although after 18 we are all considered 'adults', in my experience (in seeing others and myself mature) there is A LOT of maturation difference in each and every single year between 18 and 25. So if you are a mature 20 year old hoping to get into med after 3rd year, imagine how much more mature and ready you wil be as a 21 year old fourth year student (or even a 22 year old worldly-wise individual, or even a 23 year old work-weary individual!!)

[Guest kellyl20]

My neighbour got in after 3 years in university and he said no regrets. He graduated this year at age 24 (actually 23, late birthday) and going into pediatrics. He will be 27 when he finishes unless he wants to subspecialize for a couple of years more. If he was not mature when he got in, he certainly will be at 27 or 29. No need to delay if have a choice he said, medicine is a long road and one will be mature when finished.

Think you can do a MSc at UT after your Dr. without the BSc first.

[Guest akinf]

Please explain how the earth circling the sun one more time will all-of-a-sudden make one more "wordly".

[Guest DancingDoc]

It won't make one "all-of-the-sudden" more wordly, it will gradually change someone. No different than how you can be more wordly (tho I prefer the word mature, it's more general) as a 4th year student versus a frosh.... it just is an even bigger difference because there's a four year difference rather than one. Plus university age is a big age for maturing in general imo, so yes I think a year does make a difference

[Guest akinf]

I still don't full agree that one year will make a difference. I can understand if one wants to finish a degree that they have almost completed, or that there are specific courses during 4th year they want to take, or that they don't see the point of entering after third year, however, I cannot see how one will be more mature between 3rd and 4th year. 1st and 2nd year is understandable because that's typically a time of transition, increased responsibility, and growing independence. But, the idea that one would want to wait a year because they feel they are not entirely mature enough doesn't really sell me.

 

Personally, i am now considering whether I should wait because there are courses (especially the honours thesis) that I might want to do. However, I don't know how much it is worth it. Also, I don't even know if I will get in after three years, so I have planned to do a 4-year. I am really interested in research (basic science right now because i have not had exposure to clinicial), but I recently found out that one can transition to a MD/Ph.D program after a year of med. school even if they are admitted after 3 years.

 

So, the idea that a whole year will make one more mature for med. school (without some sort of moment-of-clarity experience) doesn't make all that much sense.

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

If you manage to live a whole year of life and haven't learned or acomplished something more than you were the year before, you should be probably re-evalute what you're doing with your time. That doesn't mean your not going to be a good candidate after 3 years, but it should mean than that every year (or even month, day) of you're life you are developing in some way or another - what most people call maturity or life experience. It's gradual, so you might not notice it in a year, but over a few you certainly should.

 

The word maturity doesn't just mean that your less likely to through a tantrum in the mall, or more savy in the ways of the world - it refers to a whole collection of life experiences that should leave you understanding both yourself and others better than you did in the past. It's true the simple passage of time doesn't guarantee that to happen, and some people actually tend to regress from time to time. But I think the point is, if you use your time and resources wisely, a whole year can change you (and ergo you CV if that's the focus) by a significant amount. Some people may very well choose to take that extra time for that reason.

 

It took me a few years after I finished undergrad to finally decide to pursue medicine at all - it was always an option, but so are a lot of other things, and once you're committed to med, it's not the sort of thing to easily back out of. Everyone's different, and if someone has always known that's what they'd do, then they could go for it as soon as possible - but not everyone is going to be that way. It doesn't make one way better than the other - different people will do things in different ways, that's just the way life is.

[Guest akinf]

That seems reasonable.

[Guest muchdutch]

Lurker and Dancingdoc - you both hit the nail on the head as to what I was alluding to: the subtle shifts from year to year.

 

And to the inquisitive akinf: yes, circling the sun once more can make many people much more worldly (aka mature, experienced, etc.). For myself, a drastic event changed every aspect of my life and future between my 19th and 20th birthdays. So unexpected events can obviously shift things for you (or anyone), as well as the more subtle changes that lurker and dancingdoc were referring to.