What happens to you undergrad degree if you go onto med school in your 3rd year?

[nerv12]

This might be a dumb question but I have to ask, what happens to your undergrad degree when you apply to med school at the end of your third year? Lets say you get accepted so you'll be attending the following year. You will have 1 year left towards you undergrad degree which takes 4 years to complete. What happens to that degree? Does it like combine with your MD degree or does it go to waste after you get accepted to med school? Keeping in mind that your ultimate goal during the undergrad years was to get accepted to med school..

and the degree could be a BSc in biology or a BA in psychology..

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[Depakote]

Med school applications are a year long process. Most people spend their senior year applying and plan to attend medical school after graduation.

If someone managed to complete the medical school requirements and successfully applied to a medical school that did not have an undergraduate degree as one of its requirements. The student would simply move on to get their MD degree without graduating college and not receive a BA or BS (strange but possible). An undergraduate degree is not a requirement to practice medicine.

It really isn't a big deal b/c the undergraduate degree rarely has an impact on the practice of medicine.

 

[Algophiliac]

This might be a dumb question but I have to ask, what happens to your undergrad degree when you apply to med school at the end of your third year? Lets say you get accepted so you'll be attending the following year. You will have 1 year left towards you undergrad degree which takes 4 years to complete. What happens to that degree? Does it like combine with your MD degree or does it go to waste after you get accepted to med school? Keeping in mind that your ultimate goal during the undergrad years was to get accepted to med school..

and the degree could be a BSc in biology or a BA in psychology..

I do not think you will use it much after getting an MD, but the degree is required for some medical schools. This is true of most higher education anyway, right? I doubt anyone will care about your BS/BA after you receive an MS or PhD, just like no one cares you graduated from high school if you also graduated from college. These are still steps in the process that you have to take. And anyway, nowadays, there are very few major-relevant jobs one can do with a BS/BA degree, lacking any further education.

 

[Depakote]

Med school applications are a year long process. Most people spend their senior year applying and plan to attend medical school after graduation.

If someone managed to complete the medical school requirements and successfully applied to a medical school that did not have an undergraduate degree as one of its requirements. The student would simply move on to get their MD degree without graduating college and not receive a BA or BS (strange but possible). An undergraduate degree is not a requirement to practice medicine.

It really isn't a big deal b/c the undergraduate degree rarely has an impact on the practice of medicine.

I should point out that while possible, it is absolutely the exception for the above to happen. I wouldn't count on this by any stretch.

 

[tennisball80]

This might be a dumb question but I have to ask, what happens to your undergrad degree when you apply to med school at the end of your third year? Lets say you get accepted so you'll be attending the following year. You will have 1 year left towards you undergrad degree which takes 4 years to complete. What happens to that degree? Does it like combine with your MD degree or does it go to waste after you get accepted to med school? Keeping in mind that your ultimate goal during the undergrad years was to get accepted to med school..

and the degree could be a BSc in biology or a BA in psychology..

Also, check out the Premed101 forum. Some med schools in Canada, however, take students from 2nd and 3rd year.

 

[nerv12]

yes tennis thats what I was trying to say. Sorry I didn't mention Canadian schools but isn't it the same for American schools? You can apply to both at the same time...from what I've read..

Let me rephrase, schools in Canada (and in the US too I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) require at least 3 years of undergraduate education. So, at the end of your 2nd year, you take the MCAT and are ready to apply to schools at the end of your 3rd year, meaning you have your MCAT scores, you've completed 3 years of undergraduate work with the pre-reqs and are eligible to apply.

Ahhh so its a year long process lol well university acedemic year usually starts in september here so I guess you will HAVE to attend your last year at university while dealing with med school interviews and stuff right?

I thought you just bail out at the end of your 3rd year if you get accepted...but still wouldn't it affect your last years' gpa? I mean you'll be travelling/under stress half the time while still completeing your last year of university?? how did that work out for you guys?

 

[tennisball80]

yes tennis thats what I was trying to say. Sorry I didn't mention Canadian schools but isn't it the same for American schools? You can apply to both at the same time...from what I've read..

Let me rephrase, schools in Canada (and in the US too I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) require at least 3 years of undergraduate education. So, at the end of your 2nd year, you take the MCAT and are ready to apply to schools at the end of your 3rd year, meaning you have your MCAT scores, you've completed 3 years of undergraduate work with the pre-reqs and are eligible to apply.

Ahhh so its a year long process lol well university acedemic year usually starts in september here so I guess you will HAVE to attend your last year at university while dealing with med school interviews and stuff right?

I thought you just bail out at the end of your 3rd year if you get accepted...but still wouldn't it affect your last years' gpa? I mean you'll be travelling/under stress half the time while still completeing your last year of university?? how did that work out for you guys?

I guess you try for UBC and other schools that take 2nd or 3rd year students. Then, if you don't get in, you apply to American schools. There is a section on Premed 101 called "Applying to American Schools." Check it out.

 

[Maygyver]

Not sure if this will help. Here is a sample timeline:

You apply early summer(right after, or during, your Junior year).
You get interviews around the Autumn of your Senior year.
You get accepted Senior year (around the beginning of the yearish)
You start medical school the following Autumn.

I know these are really general dates but I made this just to show you the general time it takes for the process to occur. As Depakote said, it is a year long process.

 

[nerv12]

ohhh ok thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Maygyver]

ohhh ok thanks for clearing that up.

No problem. Even for college students it is pretty confusing at times.

 

[1CellNtheSea]

Not sure about medical school, but for veterinary students, your first year of veterinary school is counted towards your undergraduate degree. So for example, if you get accepted and spend what would be your last year of undergrad in your first year of vet school, you would get your undergrad degree at the end of your first year in vet school. There are lots of people in my veterinary class that got in prior to receiving their undergrad degree and will get it this May.

 

[JJMrK]

Many med schools actually do require a bachelor's degree before matriculation.

 

[mathlegend]

Many med schools actually do require a bachelor's degree before matriculation.

But I think podiatry schools don't?

 

[JJMrK]

But I think podiatry schools don't?

Could be, I'm not sure. Something to look into.

 

[mathlegend]

When hospitals are hiring, do they care if you have a bachelors degree or they just care about your medical degree?

 

[Bacchus]

When hospitals are hiring, do they care if you have a bachelors degree or they just care about your medical degree?

They won't look at your undergrad degree more than likely. If you have an MBA, MPH, etc and it is pertinent to the field of practice you want to go into it can always help, but definitely won't hurt you.