taking harder courses in undergrad

[jacksonchan85]

hey everyone,

need an opinion - will adcoms be a bit more forgiving regarding GPA if they see that you've taken lots of upper-div science courses (micro, imm, genetics, virology etc...) and basically really challenged yourself in undergrad?

just want to hear some opinions..

thanks,
take care everyone

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[LP1CW]

Ideally, we'd all like to think that this is true, however, how can they be? I mean, some schools have 6,000 applicants. I think they must just start cutting it quickly and they can't really dig through all of our applications and access every think about each one. It's not a fair process, but it's what we're stuck with. Some of it is luck, but some of it is just preparing ourselves when it comes to GPA, MCAT, EC

 

[jbish]

I'd say depends on the school...you're in Ontario...it's really really hard to get into med school in canada..basically they want to see the 3.7 or higher gpa and that's with those difficult classes. Out of my class, I'd say a majority were biochem/ anatomy and cell bio/ biology majors and of course, if you major in it, you have to take upper division classes. So, if everyone else has taken the same class as you and managed to get high marks, it won't be that impressive if you are mediocre. There's something to be said for trying, however.

 

[Spidey]

Yeah, if you're applying in Canada, especially if you're an Ontario resident, the most important thing is your GPA. You want 3.6+. I'd say don't take a course if you don't think you will do well in it.

 

[ZekeMD]

Originally posted by Spidey
Yeah, if you're applying in Canada, especially if you're an Ontario resident, the most important thing is your GPA. You want 3.6+. I'd say don't take a course if you don't think you will do well in it.

I've heard of schools adjusting your GPA based on a difficult major (ie engineering etc), but never for distinct courses. I think you're outta luck, sorry.

 

[tautomer]

Originally posted by ZekeMD
I've heard of schools adjusting your GPA based on a difficult major (ie engineering etc), but never for distinct courses. I think you're outta luck, sorry.

It's true. I'm pretty sure they weigh the difficulty of the major as a factor, but as far as individual courses, I'm not sure they really spend the time looking at it. Which, in the end is kind of a shame: on one side you can have a complete "slacker," who takes basketweaving and geology, while you have another guy who's interested in taking physiology and advanced organic chemistry XIII or whatever, and ends up getting screwed GPAwise, but in the end, the "slacker" has the GPA and gets the acceptances. So forget the tough classes, take the easiest crap you can find, and boost that GPA (even better if the course sounds tough AND gets factored in the BCPM! )