What do I need to apply?

[sweetart115]

Hi! I am currently applying for a formal post-bacc program for my Bio,CHem,Physics classes. I recently discovered the wonderful opportunity of going to a medical school in Ireland!

I have a Bachelors Degree in Education with a Major in Special Education and have a GPA of 3.15 (I recalculated ALL my grades, previous showed 2.95 which did not have all) I have no science background at all.

I was wondering if there were any programs (5 or 6 year Medical Programs) I could apply to?

Any info would be helpful. I am currently reading up on the programs in forums and websites! Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Handsome88]

Hi! I am currently applying for a formal post-bacc program for my Bio,CHem,Physics classes. I recently discovered the wonderful opportunity of going to a medical school in Ireland!

I have a Bachelors Degree in Education with a Major in Special Education and have a GPA of 3.15 (I recalculated ALL my grades, previous showed 2.95 which did not have all) I have no science background at all.

I was wondering if there were any programs (5 or 6 year Medical Programs) I could apply to?

Any info would be helpful. I am currently reading up on the programs in forums and websites! Thanks!

I believe you need at least a 3.5 for Ireland.

 

[IamSuperDoctor]

There have been people with low gpas being accepted... 3.1 being the bare minimum that ive heard of. the lack of science background does not help. Still worth a shot though, as long as you have some good research and EC's.

 

[Handsome88]

There have been people with low gpas being accepted... 3.1 being the bare minimum that ive heard of. the lack of science background does not help. Still worth a shot though, as long as you have some good research and EC's.

3.1?? Where did you read that and what year was that in? I was rejected from 3 schools and I had a 3.6+!

 

[IamSuperDoctor]

Check the stats of applicants to irish medical schools (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=268232), theres a bunch of em in there (although extremely rare). Start with page 1 and progress through it. For most of these cases a high MCAT made up for the GPA.

Yes I would agree with you that sweetart115 doesnt have the best chances of being accepted, but if he/she puts everything into the app there still is some chance.

 

[IamSuperDoctor]

I just realized that for 5 year programs its mostly about the gpa, while the 4 year programs focused more on the MCAT. So a 3.1 for a 5 year program is a longshot, but the 6 year one is a possiblity, IMO. sweetart needs to do some research on this.

 

[cattree]

assuming that OP did general biology chemistry and physics, will her degree not being a B.S. and her major not being one of the sciences disqualify her to TCD and Galway?

 

[sweetart115]

assuming that OP did general biology chemistry and physics, will her degree not being a B.S. and her major not being one of the sciences disqualify her to TCD and Galway?

I have been doing some research and found some people who like me have no science bachelors degree but took the prerequisites in a formal post-bacc and sat their MCATs who got into some of the schools. Maybe I could do that. =)

At least doing my formal PB here in the states can reduce my debt (not paying for housing) than going to (if ever I get accepted into a 6 year program) Ireland.

Although I have heard of someone who graduated with a law degree and got into the 6 year med. prolly had higher scores than me. but its worth a shot. im still going for the PB here, that is first priority.

 

[cattree]

oh good news for you. If they do allow you to apply with a non B.S. degree, you do NOT have to sit MCAT to apply to TCD and Galway (they do not have 4 year programs tho) but you NEED to complete your prereqs.

MCAT or GAMSAT (your choice) for the rest of the irish med schools BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE PREREQS (wont really help yo uhere as your GPA is 3.1) so for your unique situation, going for the prereqs is def better

 

[beatenupcase]

oh good news for you. If they do allow you to apply with a non B.S. degree, you do NOT have to sit MCAT to apply to TCD and Galway (they do not have 4 year programs tho) but you NEED to complete your prereqs.

MCAT or GAMSAT (your choice) for the rest of the irish med schools BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE PREREQS (wont really help yo uhere as your GPA is 3.1) so for your unique situation, going for the prereqs is def better

What are you saying? That Irish colleges need you to have specific prerequisites, or that a higher MCAT can't compensate for a lower GPA?

 

[Der Kaiser]

oh good news for you. If they do allow you to apply with a non B.S. degree, you do NOT have to sit MCAT to apply to TCD and Galway (they do not have 4 year programs tho) but you NEED to complete your prereqs.

MCAT or GAMSAT (your choice) for the rest of the irish med schools BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE PREREQS (wont really help yo uhere as your GPA is 3.1) so for your unique situation, going for the prereqs is def better

Did you write ABP about this? Because when I asked them about pre-reqs they said math/physics, chem, bio (1 year each). I just assumed they meant the 5 year programs, but I am starting to wonder. I am doing the pre-reqs right now anyway, but not having them complete might hinder my app.

 

[IamSuperDoctor]

MCAT or GAMSAT (your choice) for the rest of the irish med schools BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE PREREQS (wont really help yo uhere as your GPA is 3.1) so for your unique situation, going for the prereqs is def better

This is not what I was told by ABP:

US and Canadian students who will have completed (i) a bachelor's degree and (ii) one or more college-level courses in biology, chemistry and either physics or mathematics by September 1, 2011 and (iii) written the MCAT in or before April, 2011 are eligible to apply for Fall 2011 entry to the courses listed below. These are the minimum application requirements and there are no further specifications for North American candidates.
4-year medical degree courses at:
University College Cork www.ucc.ie
University College Dublin www.ucd.ie
University of Limerick www.ul.ie
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland www.rcsi.ie

 

[Der Kaiser]

This is not what I was told by ABP:

US and Canadian students who will have completed (i) a bachelor's degree and (ii) one or more college-level courses in biology, chemistry and either physics or mathematics by September 1, 2011 and (iii) written the MCAT in or before April, 2011 are eligible to apply for Fall 2011 entry to the courses listed below. These are the minimum application requirements and there are no further specifications for North American candidates.
4-year medical degree courses at:
University College Cork www.ucc.ie
University College Dublin www.ucd.ie
University of Limerick www.ul.ie
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland www.rcsi.ie

Yet on the website they make no mention of the prereqs. I wish they were a little more clear in their requirements.

 

[sweetart115]

oh good news for you. If they do allow you to apply with a non B.S. degree, you do NOT have to sit MCAT to apply to TCD and Galway (they do not have 4 year programs tho) but you NEED to complete your prereqs.

MCAT or GAMSAT (your choice) for the rest of the irish med schools BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE PREREQS (wont really help yo uhere as your GPA is 3.1) so for your unique situation, going for the prereqs is def better

Yes, prolly better to do prereqs here in US (get my GPA up as well), then try applying to a lot of schools, not just Ireland, US MD, US DO, Carrib etc. I have years of volunteer and some research despite my non-science background maybe I could continue with it to be consistent with my EC's.

Thank you for all the replies.

I wrote ABP about this but it was last friday so I will prolly get a reply during the work week. Very excited to find out about the different options. Thats a huge part of why Ireland appeals to me.

 

[cattree]

so what did they say about your degree not being a B.S. ?