Applying to Medical School without a Full Course-load?

[Zahra.sh]

Hello everyone.

I am posting this question, hoping to get some answers because I feel really lost at this point and I have no idea where to go to get some help with this issue ...
I am in the forth year of my undergraduate program with a GPA of almost 3.7. I am planing on graduating this year since I'm done with all my course requirements. I realized I wanted to go to medical school only a month ago! I know that might be too late. My grades are pretty good, I have done volunteer work, some shadowing, some research experience and I am planing on taking the MCAT. I did all of that because I have always been very interested in health care, but I never knew I wanted to become a doctor.
I was feeling pretty good about all of this until I found out that medical schools in Canada require a full course load and you shouldn't be taking 2nd or first year courses in your last 2 years.
And here's my problem: I have always taken a full course load, but not from September to April. My full course load included the summer courses. And I now know that summer courses don't count. Also, I have taken more than 40% of 2nd year psychology courses in my last 2 years. I have done this mainly because I am planing on getting a second bachelor's degree in psychology. I have been taking courses to satisfy the prerequisites of the second degree, while I was finishing up my first degree.
Does this mean I am disqualified to apply to Canadian medical schools? can I compensate for this somehow when I start completing my second degree?

I would really appreciate any answers. And I'm sorry for the long question.

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[ConfusedChemist]

Depends on the school-you will need to go through the website for each school individually and compare their criteria to your courseload/course history. There isn't any shortcut to it

 

[CurveballfromCanada]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm in a similar situation. Basically, I'm a nursing student in my second year of school. Last year I took 7 courses first semester and 6 in second, so that's a full course load. For this year, I took a few courses over the summer, and now from September to April I'm in 4 courses (each one is a full year course), and my clinical placements are considered a part of one of those courses (it's not like other schools where the clinical placements are their own pass/fail component). What I'm wondering is, can my clinical placements be used to reach a full course load? My placements for this year consist of 8 hours each week in first semester, and 12 hours each week in second. That's on top of our class component: in first semester we'd have 6 hours of class each week, and now in second semester we have 4 hours of class every other week (to offset the time difference due to the clinical time being 4 hours longer each week). So that class is basically 12-16 hours each week, not just 3 hours like the rest of my classes, and it's not pass-fail either; if you fail the class component, you fail the course (and entire year, by extension), regardless of excellence during your placements.

If I hurt my chances by only taking 4 courses this year, I get it; that's on me. I should have thought of this beforehand, and I'm not trying to make excuses for myself. But in the 4th year of my program, in the first semester students are only scheduled to take 4 courses, and in second semester, students are only scheduled to take 2 courses: the clinical practice class, and another professional elective. The reason for this reduced amount of classes is that the placements are now 36 hours each week (at least in 2nd semester). So if that's not going to be considered a full course load, does that mean that going to nursing school automatically diminishes your chances of getting into medical school by way of course load?

Again, I'm not trying to commandeer this thread with my sad little life story, but I figured I'd be better off posting in something similar to my problem than starting a whole new one.

 

[s5260205]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm in a similar situation. Basically, I'm a nursing student in my second year of school. Last year I took 7 courses first semester and 6 in second, so that's a full course load. For this year, I took a few courses over the summer, and now from September to April I'm in 4 courses (each one is a full year course), and my clinical placements are considered a part of one of those courses (it's not like other schools where the clinical placements are their own pass/fail component). What I'm wondering is, can my clinical placements be used to reach a full course load? My placements for this year consist of 8 hours each week in first semester, and 12 hours each week in second. That's on top of our class component: in first semester we'd have 6 hours of class each week, and now in second semester we have 4 hours of class every other week (to offset the time difference due to the clinical time being 4 hours longer each week). So that class is basically 12-16 hours each week, not just 3 hours like the rest of my classes, and it's not pass-fail either; if you fail the class component, you fail the course (and entire year, by extension), regardless of excellence during your placements.

If I hurt my chances by only taking 4 courses this year, I get it; that's on me. I should have thought of this beforehand, and I'm not trying to make excuses for myself. But in the 4th year of my program, in the first semester students are only scheduled to take 4 courses, and in second semester, students are only scheduled to take 2 courses: the clinical practice class, and another professional elective. The reason for this reduced amount of classes is that the placements are now 36 hours each week (at least in 2nd semester). So if that's not going to be considered a full course load, does that mean that going to nursing school automatically diminishes your chances of getting into medical school by way of course load?

Again, I'm not trying to commandeer this thread with my sad little life story, but I figured I'd be better off posting in something similar to my problem than starting a whole new one.

Better ask the admissions about specific questions like this. If you don't have courseload requirement, you are only really penalised for schools with weighted GPA calculation (UofT, Queen's, Western come to mind). If you did well throughout, that won't be an issue. But you should definitely email them about your situation.

 

[CurveballfromCanada]

(UofT, Queen's, Western come to mind)

Actually, just as an FYI, Queen's' full course load requirement is only 3 courses.
Frequently Asked Questions | School of Medicine | Queen's University
It's the third question.

I've emailed few places, and will continue to do so, but it can be frustrating because some places take weeks to get back to you.