Hi all,
I am currently in a bind (in my opinion), and I am seeking some fellow guidance.
I just entered my last semester of my Bachelor of Science (Medical Sciences) degree while working on completing my honours thesis (wahoo, it was a crazy 4 years). I have always wanted to become a doctor, but some personal issues (which they arise for all of us) prevented me from taking the MCAT on time. Unfortunately, I am waiting until the next cycle to apply due to this, but I have also applied to five advanced 15 month nursing school programs just in case (for a back up plan). I have gotten accepted to all of the schools I have applied to thus far, but I still want to apply/go to medical school eventually. So my question is... would getting a second bachelor degree in nursing (in 15 months and working for several months to gain valuable patient experience) boost any odds of getting into medical school or should I just wait it out, take the MCAT, and spend some time beefing up my resume.
Quick run down of my background-
Male, resident of Maine in the United States, went to a private high school in the states before going to a top 10 ranked University in Canada where I will be graduating with first class honours.
My current stats/highlights of some accomplishments are-
Grades:
1. Cumulative GPA: 3.77
2. BCPM GPA: 3.66
3. Graduating with highest (first class honours)--long story short, I had to repeat Organic Chemistry 2, got an A the second time around and my school drops the repeated class, so I ended up with a 3.9+ GPA at my University; however, I included both marks in the cumulative and BCPM GPA for medical schools (that was my only issue in my GPA, how significant is this problem?)
4. In general, a solid upward trend in my GPA over the years (Sophomore year was slightly lower than Freshman year, mainly due to that repeated course mentioned above, but then my Junior and Senior years rise sharply with all grades A and above)
Research:
5. 700+ hours in a physiology and biophysics lab
6. 25+ hours in a pharmacology lab
7. Honours research thesis/defence in a physiology and biophysics department regarding the internal regulation of a channel and its implications in autophagy and cancer (a potential to be published later)
EC:
8. 200+ hours - volunteer hours at a hospital (spread out in many departments from patient transport, working on hospital grants, helping at physiotherapy sessions)
9. 25+ hours - observing doctors or nurses and volunteering at a foot care clinic (recent)
10. 250+ hours - Helped created an organization at my University that was the first of its kind at a campus in our province (was a social media representative and then a vice president that lead this group of people)
11. Peer mentor
.....I think I need to beef up this part of my application (probably going to travel for a mission trip as well)
What are your thoughts about obtaining a second bachelor of science degree in nursing? What areas am I weak in, if I get a satisfactory mark on the MCAT.
Furthermore, does anyone have any suggested schools for my stats?
Thanks in advance and greatly appreciated (def. helping a brother out who can't get sleep at 3am...)
I am currently in a bind (in my opinion), and I am seeking some fellow guidance.
I just entered my last semester of my Bachelor of Science (Medical Sciences) degree while working on completing my honours thesis (wahoo, it was a crazy 4 years). I have always wanted to become a doctor, but some personal issues (which they arise for all of us) prevented me from taking the MCAT on time. Unfortunately, I am waiting until the next cycle to apply due to this, but I have also applied to five advanced 15 month nursing school programs just in case (for a back up plan). I have gotten accepted to all of the schools I have applied to thus far, but I still want to apply/go to medical school eventually. So my question is... would getting a second bachelor degree in nursing (in 15 months and working for several months to gain valuable patient experience) boost any odds of getting into medical school or should I just wait it out, take the MCAT, and spend some time beefing up my resume.
Quick run down of my background-
Male, resident of Maine in the United States, went to a private high school in the states before going to a top 10 ranked University in Canada where I will be graduating with first class honours.
My current stats/highlights of some accomplishments are-
Grades:
1. Cumulative GPA: 3.77
2. BCPM GPA: 3.66
3. Graduating with highest (first class honours)--long story short, I had to repeat Organic Chemistry 2, got an A the second time around and my school drops the repeated class, so I ended up with a 3.9+ GPA at my University; however, I included both marks in the cumulative and BCPM GPA for medical schools (that was my only issue in my GPA, how significant is this problem?)
4. In general, a solid upward trend in my GPA over the years (Sophomore year was slightly lower than Freshman year, mainly due to that repeated course mentioned above, but then my Junior and Senior years rise sharply with all grades A and above)
Research:
5. 700+ hours in a physiology and biophysics lab
6. 25+ hours in a pharmacology lab
7. Honours research thesis/defence in a physiology and biophysics department regarding the internal regulation of a channel and its implications in autophagy and cancer (a potential to be published later)
EC:
8. 200+ hours - volunteer hours at a hospital (spread out in many departments from patient transport, working on hospital grants, helping at physiotherapy sessions)
9. 25+ hours - observing doctors or nurses and volunteering at a foot care clinic (recent)
10. 250+ hours - Helped created an organization at my University that was the first of its kind at a campus in our province (was a social media representative and then a vice president that lead this group of people)
11. Peer mentor
.....I think I need to beef up this part of my application (probably going to travel for a mission trip as well)
What are your thoughts about obtaining a second bachelor of science degree in nursing? What areas am I weak in, if I get a satisfactory mark on the MCAT.
Furthermore, does anyone have any suggested schools for my stats?
Thanks in advance and greatly appreciated (def. helping a brother out who can't get sleep at 3am...)
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