Took 5 years to graduate (Pre-Med)

[Natalie 26]

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Hello,

I just wanted to see what people think about this. I chose to transfer from one university to another and therefore, had to take alot of different courses in second year to qualify for my major at the new school. In addition, I have only taken 5 courses/semester for 2 semesters. This is my semester breakdown. (GPA out of 4.0)

Year 1 School 1 - 7 courses, GPA 2.98
Summer School 1 - 1 course, GPA 4.0

Year 2 School 1 - 7 courses, GPA 3.49
Year 2 School 2 - 8 courses, GPA 3.7
Summer School 2 - 2 courses, GPA 4.0

Year 3 School 2 - 9 courses, GPA 3.6
Year 4 School 2 - 5 courses for 1st semester, GPA 3.9

My MCAT was 32R.

Will I be heavily penalized for having to use an extra year to finish Year 2? And the fact that I have only studied 30 credits/term two times? I am only interested in studying medicine in Canada.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Slowpoke]

Though I plan on matriculating into a U.S. med school, I did 5 years of undergrad.

2 years at a community college
3 years at a public university

I don't think it would hurt your chances of taking longer than the norm, as long as you have some legit reasons. The average here, at least for transfers to UCI is to stay 3 years.

 

[liveoak]

of course not. most engineering majors at my school take five years.

 

[Morzh]

Many people graduate in 5 years or 4.5 years. It's more the rule, actually, and the guy who zips through 8 straight semesters without any speed bumps is the exception.

Basically if you change majors or do a double major or a heavy minor there's no way to do it in four years. I changed majors after about 45 credits, am doing a double major, and have worked ~25 hours/week (so I never took more than 13-15 cred/semester). I've taken 4.5 years, but had to take summer classes to accomplish that. I've enjoyed my undergrad years and don't regret taking a little longer than others. Sure it would have been nice to have known what I wanted to do as a brand new freshman, but the period of self-discovery that led me to this path was an irreplaceable experience. Also my work experience (hospital setting) has been hugely beneficial and saved me from a lot of student loan debt.

Now some people sit around indecisively in undergrad for 6, 7, 8 years... that's a completely different deal. But if you have a plan and are working diligently towards it, don't worry about how long it takes. I know life seems like a rat race right now, but 30 years down the road nobody will care one whit about whether you graduated medical school at 26 vs 28 or 30.

 

[deleted245139]

I did UG in 5 yrs and bridged the 5th yr into a graduate program that I did for 2 yrs. Wasn't an issue at all

 

[Noah Capurso]

You will be fine. Your grades are strong, as is your MCAT. However, you very well may be asked about what happened year 1 school 1. So address it in your AMCAS and also prepare a good answer before you head out for interviews why your GPA is so low. What happened and what have you learned from it? With grades like yours, which are solid but not stellar, extracurriculars will be very important. The extra undergrad year isn't anything to worry about in your case, it will be your activities that make your application.

 

[centrigeugle]

I was in undergrad for seven years. I'm not particularly worried about it.

Will let you know if it ends up pwnzoring me.

 

[GS Mikami]

Though I plan on matriculating into a U.S. med school, I did 5 years of undergrad.

2 years at a community college
3 years at a public university

I don't think it would hurt your chances of taking longer than the norm, as long as you have some legit reasons.

I did the same exact thing and it hasn't hurted me one bit. Nobody asked me about this in my interviews or anything like that.