My strategy for getting into competitive programs..

[Syne]

OK, so after much deliberation I think I've come up with a strategy for getting into programs with nasty GPA requirements.

As you may know, most professional programs don't require a 4yr degree for admission. This includes most med schools, dentistry, nursing, PA, education, pharmacy, etc. The cutoffs however are very high, due to an extraordinary amount of people competing for seats every year.

So here's what I've done. I've dropped my 4yr degree down to a 3yr degree. In my 4th year (this upcoming year), I'm going to take a full course load. 40% of my load will be my nursing pre-reqs (2.0 courses) and for the other 3.0 will be the easiest courses offered at the university (6.0 half credits total)

So if nursing considers my last 10 credits, they will see that I aced them and it will improve my chances of admission considerably. I will be competing in grades with people who are doing very difficult upper year courses, whereas all of my courses will be from the 2xxx level and aside from my pre-reqs, 'easy A's'

What do you think? Genius, rite?

[ishfish]

Genius, rite?

Write rite right.

[blzn]

Wouldn't they see your transcript and question why 60% of your courses aren't nursing related?

[Ryougo]

I can tell you med, dentistry and pharmacy definitely look at your record as a whole with only a single exception or two. Some med schools even have specific rules about taking appropriate level courses to avoid slumming like this.

There are a number of reasons this is a bad plan:

1) If you don't get into nursing you're either delayed graduating with a 4 year degree for another year, or you're going to graduate with a 3 year degree which will close a few doors for you whether you believe it or not.
2) Nursing or any of the other programs you mentioned are not easy, if you can't keep that GPA up with 4th year courses you'll have a rough time keeping up with your classmates that do if you were to get in
3) I've gotten A+s at the first year and fourth year level, it really wasn't that different in that in both cases it was about work ethic and committing to doing my very best even though it would have been so easy to give up and hand in something mediocre, if you're having trouble getting As and you're looking to game the system I suspect your habits are going to hold you back from those As whatever you do.

[samm]

If all things fail, you can always go into a college RPN program and bridge into the RN (if time isn't a concern). There are more jobs out there for a RPN anyways.

[mastercool]

Even if you take all joke courses, it's still going to be a tough up-hill battle getting into any of these programs.

Most of the people who are getting into these kinds of programs off the bat are what I call "ringers". They can enrol in basically any class and score A/A+ with significantly less work ethic than the average person. So even if they're taking all those hard upper year courses, most of them will be able to "ring" up the required material with ease while the average joe schmoe won't stand a chance...

It sucks but that's been my post-secondary experience in a nut shell...Why not just find a job with the government and demand they pay your OSAP bill? Wasn't that your old plan?

[Syne]

If all things fail, you can always go into a college RPN program and bridge into the RN (if time isn't a concern). There are more jobs out there for a RPN anyways.

Time is a concern unfortunately. After this year, I got maybe 2 more years of OSAP so gotta make the best of it.

[Syne]

Even if you take all joke courses, it's still going to be a tough up-hill battle getting into any of these programs.

Most of the people who are getting into these kinds of programs off the bat are what I call "ringers". They can enrol in basically any class and score A/A+ with significantly less work ethic than the average person. So even if they're taking all those hard upper year courses, most of them will be able to "ring" up the required material with ease while the average joe schmoe won't stand a chance...

It sucks but that's been my post-secondary experience in a nut shell...Why not just find a job with the government and demand they pay your OSAP bill? Wasn't that your old plan?

No, my plan was to list my OSAP debt on my resume, to lure government employers into hiring me in order to help pay off a significant portion of the country's debt.

It turns out I was "stupid" for suggesting this, and I was "entitled" for feeling like this was a valid course of action, so I switched tactics. I'm sure the peanut gallery will find something wrong with this too.

[Syne]

I can tell you med, dentistry and pharmacy definitely look at your record as a whole with only a single exception or two. Some med schools even have specific rules about taking appropriate level courses to avoid slumming like this.

If that's the case then this is the first I've heard of it. Do you have a source for this? I'll accept any..

1) If you don't get into nursing you're either delayed graduating with a 4 year degree for another year, or you're going to graduate with a 3 year degree which will close a few doors for you whether you believe it or not.

Well I can graduate with a 3yr degree and find a job, at the same time upgrade a couple marks and try again the following year. I also have a college diploma and two certifications. If I can sort of Voltron all of my paper credentials together, they should transform into a beast to be reckoned with.

2) Nursing or any of the other programs you mentioned are not easy, if you can't keep that GPA up with 4th year courses you'll have a rough time keeping up with your classmates that do if you were to get in

They might not be easy, but what they are is pass/fail. If I can rock a 4.0 GPA this upcoming year, then I'm sure I can pass a pass/fail program with similar effort.

3) I've gotten A+s at the first year and fourth year level, it really wasn't that different in that in both cases it was about work ethic and committing to doing my very best even though it would have been so easy to give up and hand in something mediocre, if you're having trouble getting As and you're looking to game the system I suspect your habits are going to hold you back from those As whatever you do.

This is true. The year of the course is often not a good indicator of difficulty. What is though, is whether that course is tied to an honours module or not. If you pick courses that are usually taken as elective credits, they are significantly easier than any course tied to a degree. My strategy is to do a handful of these courses all at once to boost my GPA.

[wirebound]

If that's the case then this is the first I've heard of it. Do you have a source for this? I'll accept any...

"he ideal candidate will have completed a rigourous and coherent course of study, which will provide evidence of an independent, self directed, and mature learning style." http://www.md.utoronto.ca/admissions/selection.htm

[Ryougo]

If that's the case then this is the first I've heard of it. Do you have a source for this? I'll accept any..



Well I can graduate with a 3yr degree and find a job, at the same time upgrade a couple marks and try again the following year. I also have a college diploma and two certifications. If I can sort of Voltron all of my paper credentials together, they should transform into a beast to be reckoned with.

They might not be easy, but what they are is pass/fail. If I can rock a 4.0 GPA this upcoming year, then I'm sure I can pass a pass/fail program with similar effort.

This is true. The year of the course is often not a good indicator of difficulty. What is though, is whether that course is tied to an honours module or not. If you pick courses that are usually taken as elective credits, they are significantly easier than any course tied to a degree. My strategy is to do a handful of these courses all at once to boost my GPA.

https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/admissio...viewfaq/#FAQ_4 Western will state it officially, it's a unspoken rule for most of the other schools with the exception of Mac that judges heavily on GPA and their MMIs.

If you graduate with a 3 year degree I don't think you can go back and take a year's worth of courses and reconvocate with a 4 year degree.

I can't speak for all programs but only the practicums are pass/fail, yes you literally need to pass all your courses but you're expected to keep a C+ to B average.

A lot of people say they're going to rock a 4.0 GPA in the next year, the very few that actually change that much from a 3.0 before are the ones that accepted they had to change their study habits immensely.

[spike1128]

Even if you take all joke courses, it's still going to be a tough up-hill battle getting into any of these programs.

Most of the people who are getting into these kinds of programs off the bat are what I call "ringers". They can enrol in basically any class and score A/A+ with significantly less work ethic than the average person. So even if they're taking all those hard upper year courses, most of them will be able to "ring" up the required material with ease while the average joe schmoe won't stand a chance...

It sucks but that's been my post-secondary experience in a nut shell...Why not just find a job with the government and demand they pay your OSAP bill? Wasn't that your old plan?

Mastercool. I complete agree with you. I know many "ringers". They don't do much, but they score A/A+ with significant less work than the average person. The only way one can keep up with them it's to stay indoors all day long and work 3 to 4 times as hard = aka no life. Even if you use the no life approach, they still might beat you.

I don't think you know why Syne is trying to get into a professional program, because he is not likely to find a good job at this economy. I forgot what Syne studied, but he is a career student on RFD.