Originally Posted by Bigmacfatpack

Just to be clear, I am not extending my undergrad because I have mundane grades/bad marks. I'm also not planning on taking Med school (you just made a false assumption right there!)


And folks, I was simply asking what the process of taking an extra year as an undergraduate Kin student was like. And as I have stated before, everyone has their different reasons for being in university, what they want to get out of their experiences, and we all have different goals, aspirations, and plans for post-grad. My decisions are still being made, but I think I'm leaning towards a M.Sc degree, or a "gap year" for employment, not sure as of yet. I have been doing some research for the different grad/professional school requirements/talking to profs/talking to Academic Dean of Science to try to gain more insight.

I never said you were doing it because of bad grades. And I was just using med school as an example, since it's easier than typing out every option. I believe you only referenced professional schools? Not sure which ones you're looking at.

The actual process for extending the year is simple. You don't take the courses you need to graduate in four years, and leave at least one required course (or your last 3 units) until fifth year. It's extremely easy to do; it's the repercussions that are more complex.

If you do end up doing grad school, this whole thing is likely a non-issue, ESPECIALLY if you spend that extra year doing research. Grad schools for science tend to care far more about research experience; if you take five years but come out with more research experience than you would have in four years, that's a bonus.

It's professional schools that I would be concerned about, especially given the competition. I don't know of a single second-entry professional school that isn't ridiculously competitive (if anyone knows of one, I'd love to hear about it!).

So, is your plan to extend your degree to five years, take another year off after that, and then do grad school?

Originally Posted by starfish

I never said you were doing it because of bad grades. And I was just using med school as an example, since it's easier than typing out every option. I believe you only referenced professional schools? Not sure which ones you're looking at.

The actual process for extending the year is simple. You don't take the courses you need to graduate in four years, and leave at least one required course (or your last 3 units) until fifth year. It's extremely easy to do; it's the repercussions that are more complex.

If you do end up doing grad school, this whole thing is likely a non-issue, ESPECIALLY if you spend that extra year doing research. Grad schools for science tend to care far more about research experience; if you take five years but come out with more research experience than you would have in four years, that's a bonus.

It's professional schools that I would be concerned about, especially given the competition. I don't know of a single second-entry professional school that isn't ridiculously competitive (if anyone knows of one, I'd love to hear about it!).

So, is your plan to extend your degree to five years, take another year off after that, and then do grad school?

Thank you! Finally, someone who tries to answer a simple question.
Yeah, thinking of doing 5 years, then grad school for M.Sc. program. Not sure about the "gap year" yet, but it's highly likely.

Originally Posted by Bigmacfatpack

Thank you! Finally, someone who tries to answer a simple question.
Yeah, thinking of doing 5 years, then grad school for M.Sc. program. Not sure about the "gap year" yet, but it's highly likely.

You're kidding, right?

You could have simply asked what you need to do to be allowed to take a 5th year, but oh no you went on and wrote a speech outlining your reasons just to make yourself feel better.

Sigh...this thread.