Originally Posted by Vuci

Yeah, but what I'm worried about is whether they also take summer courses. I don't think Queen's does. Do they only take the school year courses, excluding the summer courses then?


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Also, really appreciate the replies guys! I still feel a bit worrisome... it's a bit late but will change my study habits and work smarter now and that'll hopefully give out a better GPA.

You can do prereqs during the summer, but GPA for a lot of schools is during the year only. But since you've only had 1 bad year just make sure your next two are good and you shouldn't need the summer courses to get good enough grades for Queens or Western.

I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that the only med schools in Ontario that consider summer marks are McMaster and Northern Ontario.

But like other people said, you still have a shot. It'll obviously be tough, but if you work at improving your study habits and yourself as a student then the grades you want will hopefully come naturally. I'm in somewhat of a similar situation, as my first year grades weren't as high as I wanted them to be, but I'm learning to focus more on learning rather than just getting high marks.

So in short, don't give up, but do have a backup plan or two just in case. And remember, it's not over. Always keep that in mind.

Originally Posted by oranges

I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that the only med schools in Ontario that consider summer marks are McMaster and Northern Ontario.

But like other people said, you still have a shot. It'll obviously be tough, but if you work at improving your study habits and yourself as a student then the grades you want will hopefully come naturally. I'm in somewhat of a similar situation, as my first year grades weren't as high as I wanted them to be, but I'm learning to focus more on learning rather than just getting high marks.

So in short, don't give up, but do have a backup plan or two just in case. And remember, it's not over. Always keep that in mind.

I believe Queen's does as well.

Just keep working on your marks. I would also highly suggest that you apply for EFRT if you want experience--but that is also extremely difficult to get on. You'll have to work hard for the next few years--good grades and experience don't come easily.

Don't worry about your first year marks so much. Each university calculates ur GPA a little differently. Queens takes your final 2 years, Western takes your best 2 years, Toronto drops 2 credits a year (if you have a full course load), UBC drops 30 credits as long as you have 90 credits. Also University of Ottawa weighs your upper years more. They multiply your first year marks by 1, and your 2nd year marks by 2 and your 3rd year marks by three and then add them up and divide by a total of 6.

Make sure you do really well then next couple of years, and have your MCAT score be a 30R and above. Also, when you apply, work really hard on your application forms. You're likely to get an interview if your cumulative or weighted GPA is a 3.7 and above. They might also give interviews to individuals with less than a 3.7 if they did really well on the MCAT and had stellar application, vitae etc.

Don't lose hope! There's always a way and you still have time.

p.s. med schools do not consider your summer school marks.

Originally Posted by albalks

Don't worry about your first year marks so much. Each university calculates ur GPA a little differently. Queens takes your final 2 years, Western takes your best 2 years, Toronto drops 2 credits a year (if you have a full course load), UBC drops 30 credits as long as you have 90 credits. Also University of Ottawa weighs your upper years more. They multiply your first year marks by 1, and your 2nd year marks by 2 and your 3rd year marks by three and then add them up and divide by a total of 6.

Make sure you do really well then next couple of years, and have your MCAT score be a 30R and above. Also, when you apply, work really hard on your application forms. You're likely to get an interview if your cumulative or weighted GPA is a 3.7 and above. They might also give interviews to individuals with less than a 3.7 if they did really well on the MCAT and had stellar application, vitae etc.

Don't lose hope! There's always a way and you still have time.

p.s. med schools do not consider your summer school marks.

Great post and all true.

Other than Mac, most Ontario universities give you a chance to recover from a weak first year.

The only thing is, some med schools do consider summer school marks. In Ontario Mac, Queen's and Northern do. Ottawa, Western and Toronto don't.

I'm just like you, always calculating my marks if not on paper, then in my head. Don't worry about it though, you have a long way to go and now you've gotten used to university and know what to improve on.

Your drive and determination to go to med school will ultimately fuel whether or not you may actually get in. Sure, your marks may not have been up to par with what you feel is a good representation of yourself, but that doesn't mean you cannot make up for it in the next two years.

You have to actually sit down (may be not literally) and think of the reasons why you want to go to med school. If those reasons are important enough, they'll push you to study when you need to and help you do what you need to do to do well in your courses (/awkwardly-phrased sentence).

Wise words I've heard from med students: there is no single path to med school. If you don't get in the first time, do not let that be a deterrent. My friend finished her bachelor of health sci here at mac, applied to med school and didn't get in. She's doing graduate studies right now and plans to reapply again.

Nonetheless, I wish you all the best! I'm sure good things will come out of your experiences at Mac, either way.

Random side note @ RememberTwice: I just realized who you are, Sukhpreet... can you believe we went to elementary school together?

Remember that a bad first year is not entirely indicative of the marks you will receive in upper years. The fact is that most high school students come into university with the attitude that they can do minimal work and still maintain the high averages they had in high school, which just isn't the case. I personally know a lot of people who are otherwise academically brilliant, but suffered a bad first year because they didn't take the time to actually sit down and focus on their school work. Instead, they spent more time focusing on the social aspects of university, learning how to make new friends and experimenting with new found pleasures and freedom. I also think most people will agree that first year is a time to make mistakes, and really learn what works for you in terms of how you study best. Just remember to learn from your first year mistakes, and hit the ground running next year, and you should have no problem at all. Apart from that, I agree that you should really consider what a career in medicine is to you, and whether it is worth it before jumping on the bandwagon and pursuing it for the wrong reasons. Remember that if you don't get in, it is not the end of the world. you could take a year off and gain more life experience, travel, volunteer, and have fun.

Originally Posted by tatski-p

Your drive and determination to go to med school will ultimately fuel whether or not you may actually get in. Sure, your marks may not have been up to par with what you feel is a good representation of yourself, but that doesn't mean you cannot make up for it in the next two years.

You have to actually sit down (may be not literally) and think of the reasons why you want to go to med school. If those reasons are important enough, they'll push you to study when you need to and help you do what you need to do to do well in your courses (/awkwardly-phrased sentence).

Wise words I've heard from med students: there is no single path to med school. If you don't get in the first time, do not let that be a deterrent. My friend finished her bachelor of health sci here at mac, applied to med school and didn't get in. She's doing graduate studies right now and plans to reapply again.

Nonetheless, I wish you all the best! I'm sure good things will come out of your experiences at Mac, either way.

Random side note @ RememberTwice: I just realized who you are, Sukhpreet... can you believe we went to elementary school together?

Hahaha. Much simpler days :(

Thank you * infinity for all the info, encouragement and suggestions! I feel so much more motivated right now.

Originally Posted by arathbon

You can do prereqs during the summer, but GPA for a lot of schools is during the year only. But since you've only had 1 bad year just make sure your next two are good and you shouldn't need the summer courses to get good enough grades for Queens or Western.

Question: So say for example for Ottawa, they don’t look at summer school and to apply to their medschool, one of their pre-reqs is organic chem. So for them to look at my mark, that means I can’t take it during summer right?

Originally Posted by Manley

Just keep working on your marks. I would also highly suggest that you apply for EFRT if you want experience--but that is also extremely difficult to get on.

This looks interesting. I haven’t heard of it before though. They run in the summer too! Probably won’t admit me right now though… haaa….
It’s not like I haven’t done any volunteering. I’m actually volunteering at a hospital at the moment (been volunteering since beginning of first year

Originally Posted by albalks

Don't worry about your first year marks so much. Each university calculates ur GPA a little differently. Queens takes your final 2 years, Western takes your best 2 years, Toronto drops 2 credits a year (if you have a full course load), UBC drops 30 credits as long as you have 90 credits. Also University of Ottawa weighs your upper years more. They multiply your first year marks by 1, and your 2nd year marks by 2 and your 3rd year marks by three and then add them up and divide by a total of 6.

Make sure you do really well then next couple of years, and have your MCAT score be a 30R and above. Also, when you apply, work really hard on your application forms. You're likely to get an interview if your cumulative or weighted GPA is a 3.7 and above. They might also give interviews to individuals with less than a 3.7 if they did really well on the MCAT and had stellar application, vitae etc.

Don't lose hope! There's always a way and you still have time.

p.s. med schools do not consider your summer school marks.

Originally Posted by RememberTwce

Great post and all true.

Other than Mac, most Ontario universities give you a chance to recover from a weak first year.

The only thing is, some med schools do consider summer school marks. In Ontario Mac, Queen's and Northern do. Ottawa, Western and Toronto don't.

I'm just like you, always calculating my marks if not on paper, then in my head. Don't worry about it though, you have a long way to go and now you've gotten used to university and know what to improve on.

Thank you for all the info and guidance!!! I feel like I should make a personal booklet with all this in there

Originally Posted by exuberant888

The fact is that most high school students come into university with the attitude that they can do minimal work and still maintain the high averages they had in high school, which just isn't the case.

Originally Posted by tatski-p

You have to actually sit down (may be not literally) and think of the reasons why you want to go to med school. If those reasons are important enough, they'll push you to study when you need to and help you do what you need to do to do well in your courses (/awkwardly-phrased sentence).

Yeah, that sounds like me. Honestly, when I saw that failing mark… I was like why am trying again? Oh yeah, medschool. $%^$.
I’m just kidding. I like human physiology and I want to be doing things with that and treating …not necessarily in a hospital. But I need to go to medschool to be able to do that so I feel like I’m gonna go crazy with studying this coming second year. But now I can choose courses I actually want (and hopefully do well in)

Originally Posted by Vuci

Thank you * infinity for all the info, encouragement and suggestions! I feel so much more motivated right now.

Question: So say for example for Ottawa, they don’t look at summer school and to apply to their medschool, one of their pre-reqs is organic chem. So for them to look at my mark, that means I can’t take it during summer right?

You're very welcome. Just make sure you know that you're not alone and that's what MacInsiders is for. Also, about your question, from what I know, your pre-requisites will count even if you took them in the summer. But it'll be just a check that you completed them and they wouldn't be counted in your admission GPA.

Ottawa is very confusing with what they count or don't count for marks. BUT, unless they say otherwise, prerequisite courses taken during the summer do count towards your completion of term. (however note you can't complete them the summer before you go to medical school for Ottawa)

Hmm, so it wouldn't matter either way if its summer or fall. Okay.

Also, I was just wondering, would it be worth it to redo a course that I've got a low mark in and do better in it (my lowest being a 6)?

Originally Posted by exuberant888

Remember that a bad first year is not entirely indicative of the marks you will receive in upper years. The fact is that most high school students come into university with the attitude that they can do minimal work and still maintain the high averages they had in high school, which just isn't the case. I personally know a lot of people who are otherwise academically brilliant, but suffered a bad first year because they didn't take the time to actually sit down and focus on their school work. Instead, they spent more time focusing on the social aspects of university, learning how to make new friends and experimenting with new found pleasures and freedom. I also think most people will agree that first year is a time to make mistakes, and really learn what works for you in terms of how you study best. Just remember to learn from your first year mistakes, and hit the ground running next year, and you should have no problem at all. Apart from that, I agree that you should really consider what a career in medicine is to you, and whether it is worth it before jumping on the bandwagon and pursuing it for the wrong reasons. Remember that if you don't get in, it is not the end of the world. you could take a year off and gain more life experience, travel, volunteer, and have fun.

I'm glad you said most high school students and not all.

Originally Posted by Vuci

Hmm, so it wouldn't matter either way if its summer or fall. Okay.

Also, I was just wondering, would it be worth it to redo a course that I've got a low mark in and do better in it (my lowest being a 6)?

Only if you need a better mark in it for a prerequisite, if you want to relearn the material or if you don't have anything better to do.