Hey guys,

New member here. I just graduated McMaster in 2015 and now I'm thinking about going back in fall 2016 to do a second degree in biochemistry. I graduated with a HBSc in Life Science with a crummy Gpa (3.1) and want to pursue medicine here in Canada but realize I need to do a second undergrad in order to have any chance. I had a 2.6 my first year followed by a 3.0 , 3.6 and 3.62 in respective years. Mosaic claims I need to do 48 more units to achieve a general biochemistry degree.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or any suggestions?

My dilemma being is that I hear that since I already have one bachelors of science can I even do another one ? Or would I have to aim for a different degree title all together ; a bachelor of kinesiology etc ?

I guess this question is targeted at people who have been in my shoes and in particular used a second degree formed school .

I scored very well on my MCAT ttis summer and I feel my gpa is the only thing holding me back.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Macgrad2015

Hey guys,

New member here. I just graduated McMaster in 2015 and now I'm thinking about going back in fall 2016 to do a second degree in biochemistry. I graduated with a HBSc in Life Science with a crummy Gpa (3.1) and want to pursue medicine here in Canada but realize I need to do a second undergrad in order to have any chance. I had a 2.6 my first year followed by a 3.0 , 3.6 and 3.62 in respective years. Mosaic claims I need to do 48 more units to achieve a general biochemistry degree.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or any suggestions?

My dilemma being is that I hear that since I already have one bachelors of science can I even do another one ? Or would I have to aim for a different degree title all together ; a bachelor of kinesiology etc ?

I guess this question is targeted at people who have been in my shoes and in particular used a second degree formed school .

I scored very well on my MCAT ttis summer and I feel my gpa is the only thing holding me back.

Cheers

If I were you, i would do an undergrad at another university (maybe Western, York or Guelph, somewhere easy). Clearly, GPA is holding you back, so it would make sense to do another degree somewhere easier.

I think you can do two BSc degrees in different majors, but it can't hurt to contact the school (either registrar or SCCE) to check.

Why not just accept the fact that you can't get into med and do something else with your life?

Originally Posted by topkek

Why not just accept the fact that you can't get into med and do something else with your life?

You could try looking into something else but if your that desperate to go into med school, look to apply abroad (UK, Australia, Caribbean). Your GPA can get you into some of these places (provided you have a decent MCAT score) and you wouldn't have to waste time doing another undergrad degree.

If Canada is your only option for med, I'd recommend doing a masters instead. You'll get bonus points in the admissions process for pursuing a masters program and you can bring up your GPA there by working hard.

Queens and western are very forgiving in terms of gpa!

So to anyone who find themselves in my shoes I contacted queens and western and they said if you have a full degree you can take an additional year or two of essentially pointless courses and it will count towards their best two years / last two years gpa. So I'll be going back next year to Mac and just taking random 3rd year science courses that I can enjoy and do well in!


I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't do well on mymmcat this summer.
As for overseas medicine I find it way to risky as he number of IMG residency spots decreases every year .

Cheers !