The Dalhousie Strategy — Moving to NS + Second Degree

SpaceCat has a BA from Dalhousie. This document explores whether moving to Nova Scotia and taking additional courses at Dal could unlock both the residency advantage and improve her GPA for Dal’s nursing and OT programs.

The Three Advantages of This Strategy

1. Nova Scotia Residency

Both Dal nursing (Semester 3) and Dal OT have strong NS residency preferences:

Nursing: “This program primarily serves permanent residents of Nova Scotia.” Out-of-province seats are “very limited.” Source
OT: Atlantic Canada residents get priority. Only ~4-5 out-of-province seats out of ~68.

How to establish NS residency:

“The principal residence of the applicant’s parent(s) or guardian is located in Nova Scotia; or If the applicant is independent of his/her parent(s) or guardian, he/she must have lived and worked on a full-time basis in Nova Scotia (not attending school on a full-time basis) for a minimum of one full year.”

⚠️ Critical: “not attending school on a full-time basis.” If SpaceCat moves to NS and enrolls full-time at Dal to take upgrading courses, she may NOT qualify as an NS resident. The residency definition requires living and working full-time, NOT studying full-time. She would need to work full-time in NS for a year BEFORE enrolling in courses, or take courses part-time while working full-time.

2. GPA Upgrading at Dalhousie

For Nursing (Semester 3 Entry):

The nursing GPA is calculated on:

“A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 based on overall Post-Secondary career or most recent year of studies (30 credit hours)”

The “most recent year of studies (30 credit hours)” option means SpaceCat can take 10 courses and have those be her evaluated GPA. These courses don’t need to be part of a degree — they just need to be her most recent 30 credit hours.

For OT (MSc(OT) Entry Level):

The OT GPA is calculated on the “last 60 credit hours of the undergraduate degree” with a specific upgrading provision:

“To be included in the GPA calculation, upgraded courses must be 3rd and 4th year university level courses. A maximum of 5 courses (15 credit hours) can be used for upgrading. The remaining 45 credit hours will be taken from the student’s bachelor’s degree. Grades obtained from courses taken after your four-year degree will replace your earliest grades (typically those from the first term of 3rd year).”

So for OT: SpaceCat can take 5 upper-level courses (15 credits) that replace her weakest 15 credits in the 60-credit window. This is capped — only 15 of 60 credits are replaceable (25%). The remaining 45 credits are locked to her BA.

3. Second Degree at Dalhousie (BA → BSc)

Dalhousie allows students with a BA to pursue a second BSc degree. The rules:

“Students who have received a degree from Dalhousie and who wish to gain a second undergraduate degree must fulfill the requirements of the second degree and meet the following stipulations: Only credit hours that are applicable to the program for the second degree may be counted for credit. Each credit hour carried forward must have a grade of C or higher.”

“For the major (120 credit hour) BSc degree, a minimum of 60 new credit hours, or the equivalent, must be taken. At least 42 of these are to be beyond the 1000 level in a new major subject, and at least 24 of the 42 must be beyond the 2000 level.”%20BSc%20degree)

What this means: - SpaceCat needs 60 new credit hours (20 courses) for a BSc - Her BA credits with C or higher can be carried forward (satisfying electives/breadth) - At least 42 of the new credits must be beyond 1000-level in the new major - She’d choose a science major (Biology? Kinesiology?) that includes the nursing/OT prereqs (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, stats)

The strategic question: Does a second degree change the GPA calculation?

For nursing: The “most recent 30 credit hours” option already works without a second degree. Taking 10 courses (whether as a second degree or standalone) resets the nursing GPA window.

For OT: The “last 60 credit hours of the undergraduate degree” is the key phrase. If SpaceCat completes a second BSc, the “undergraduate degree” would be the BSc, not the BA. The 60-credit window would be calculated on the BSc transcript, which would be entirely new courses with (presumably) strong grades. This could effectively reset the entire 60-credit OT GPA window.

⚠️ UNCONFIRMED: This interpretation needs to be confirmed with Dal OT admissions (otadmissions@dal.ca). The question is: if SpaceCat has both a BA and a BSc from Dal, does “the undergraduate degree” refer to the most recent degree (BSc) or the first degree (BA)? If the BSc, this strategy fully resets the OT GPA.

The Combined Timeline

Year	Activity	Residency	GPA Impact
Year 1	Work full-time in NS (e.g., shelter work in Halifax). Take courses part-time if desired.	Establishing NS residency	Minimal — part-time only
Year 2	Enroll in Dal BSc (Biology/Kinesiology). Take prereq courses (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, stats) + upper-level science courses.	NS resident (qualified after Year 1)	Building new transcript
Year 3	Continue BSc. Complete 60 new credit hours. Apply to Dal nursing (Semester 3) and/or Dal OT.	NS resident	60 new credits complete
Year 4+	Enter nursing or OT program.	NS resident	—

Total time: ~3 years before entering the professional program (1 year residency + 2 years BSc courses), then 2 years for the nursing/OT program = ~5 years total.

Comparison to Other Strategies

Strategy	Time to Program Entry	Time to Practice	GPA Reset?	Residency Advantage?
Dal strategy (BSc + residency)	~3 years	~5 years	Full reset (if BSc counts for OT)	Yes — NS resident
UBC nursing (upgrading + apply)	~1 year	~2.5 years	Full reset (last 30 credits)	No — but no restriction
Laurier MSW (online)	~0.5 years (prereqs)	~3 years	Full reset (last 10 half-courses)	N/A — online program
McMaster MD	~0 (apply now)	~3+ years + residency	No reset (cumulative) but CASPer offsets	Ontario 95% seats

Key Unknowns to Confirm with Dalhousie

Does a second BSc change the “undergraduate degree” for OT GPA purposes? Contact: otadmissions@dal.ca
Can SpaceCat establish NS residency while taking part-time courses? The rule says “not attending school on a full-time basis” — does part-time study disqualify residency? Contact: Dal Registrar’s Office
Would the BSc courses appear on the same Dal transcript as the BA? If so, programs see a unified transcript. If separate, the BSc stands alone.
Which BSc major maximizes prereq overlap? Biology or Kinesiology would include anatomy, physiology, and microbiology as core courses.
Can SpaceCat work at a Halifax shelter during Year 1? This would build both residency and additional experience for applications.

Bottom Line

This is a viable but long-term strategy. The key advantage is unlocking NS residency (~90% of nursing seats, strong OT preference) while simultaneously building a new science transcript. The critical unconfirmed question is whether a second BSc resets the OT GPA window. For nursing, the “most recent 30 credit hours” option already works without a full second degree.

If SpaceCat is willing to invest 3 years before entering a professional program, the Dal strategy provides the strongest combination of residency advantage + GPA reset + familiar institution. If she wants to start sooner, UBC nursing (1 year upgrading + apply) or Laurier MSW (start immediately) are faster paths.