Why You Should Choose Western!

[ellorie]

This is the year one and two schedule for next year.

 

http://www.schulich.uwo.ca/medicine/undergraduate/years1and2/files/Unfiled/2014_15_course_dates_yr1_2.pdf

[late_newbie]

^^^ ralk, ^^ Matti, ^ellorie thanks guys !

[late_newbie]

Can someone comment on realistically how many ECs one could participate in during the school year? - I see Western's long list of student interest groups and really feel torn about which ones to be a part of

 

also, is working 4-5 hours/week feasible? Anyone ever do work-study during med school? Any research assistant type work?

 

thanks

[ldnk]

Can someone comment on realistically how many ECs one could participate in during the school year? - I see Western's long list of student interest groups and really feel torn about which ones to be a part of

 

also, is working 4-5 hours/week feasible? Anyone ever do work-study during med school? Any research assistant type work?

 

thanks

 

There is absoultely no right answer to this: In theory you can join every single extracurricular group. The events usually are more lunch-time talks than evening socials (aside from the ones that explicitly talk about being focused on that).

 

There were people who took on prominent roles in Tachy all four years, were in the Schulich band were active in sports activities and still are now in their program of choice through CARMs.

 

As for working, only do it if it is something you are doing for a specific reason. Don't do it for the money. As much as taking on debt from Medical school can seem daunting, enjoy these four years. Don't make decisions based on money. Go on vacation in the summer, tour Europe if it is something you want.

 

If you are however doing it as a foot in the door for research, fine I guess, but a lot of the research assistant jobs at Western have 9-5 type of hours where you do a few odd hours during the week and to be honest I can't think of any Meds who did work study itself.

[late_newbie]

There is absoultely no right answer to this: In theory you can join every single extracurricular group. The events usually are more lunch-time talks than evening socials (aside from the ones that explicitly talk about being focused on that).

 

There were people who took on prominent roles in Tachy all four years, were in the Schulich band were active in sports activities and still are now in their program of choice through CARMs.

 

As for working, only do it if it is something you are doing for a specific reason. Don't do it for the money. As much as taking on debt from Medical school can seem daunting, enjoy these four years. Don't make decisions based on money. Go on vacation in the summer, tour Europe if it is something you want.

 

If you are however doing it as a foot in the door for research, fine I guess, but a lot of the research assistant jobs at Western have 9-5 type of hours where you do a few odd hours during the week and to be honest I can't think of any Meds who did work study itself.

 

I am not really theatrical, musical or athletic in any way.. lol so I doubt the first three would work for me. In terms of ECs thanks for pointing out about the lunch time information sessions for special interest groups, but I was also considering being a part of the teddy bear clinic thing where you show kids about physical exams and going to a doctor's office what happens.

 

In terms of work - I wanted to do a bit of tutoring on the side because one I enjoy it immensely, and have been doing it for >4 years now, and feel weird giving it up, and two yes it's a little for having a very small cash flow coming in $50-$100/month- it would just give me some peace of mind.

 

For the research part - I am not sure how many labs take on research assistants who only come in 5 hrs/wk so I am guessing that won't be too likely .. probably have to wait to do summer research or something like that.

 

I guess I was asking in general after you remove hours for class, studying, sleeping, cooking/eating, general house-stuff, what's the estimate for how many hours do you have 'free' on a weekly basis that could go towards something like - socializing, observerships, ECs, and possibly work.

 

thanks again

[CharmingHedgehog]

I am not really theatrical, musical or athletic in any way.. lol so I doubt the first three would work for me. In terms of ECs thanks for pointing out about the lunch time information sessions for special interest groups, but I was also considering being a part of the teddy bear clinic thing where you show kids about physical exams and going to a doctor's office what happens.

 

In terms of work - I wanted to do a bit of tutoring on the side because one I enjoy it immensely, and have been doing it for >4 years now, and feel weird giving it up, and two yes it's a little for having a very small cash flow coming in $50-$100/month- it would just give me some peace of mind.

 

For the research part - I am not sure how many labs take on research assistants who only come in 5 hrs/wk so I am guessing that won't be too likely .. probably have to wait to do summer research or something like that.

 

I guess I was asking in general after you remove hours for class, studying, sleeping, cooking/eating, general house-stuff, what's the estimate for how many hours do you have 'free' on a weekly basis that could go towards something like - socializing, observerships, ECs, and possibly work.

 

thanks again

 

I can answer the piece about work -- I worked through first and second year, and still am picking up some (very few) hours during clerkship (psychiatry, but you know, still clerkship). I don't have the most impressive EC activities, but still managed to have some solid research work, attended a lot of conferences, involved in the CFMS etc etc. So, definitely doable. I also haven't failed yet, and it's almost the end of 3rd year!

 

But, it's also important to say that I make way more than minimum wage at my job, and I can probably spin it in interviews to show how the nature of my work was potentially more valuable than some EC activities I could conceivably participate in, so for me it was worth it to give up some EC/entertainment time, and get extra cash. My job was also flexible enough that I can schedule around exams and other stuff that comes up. On average, I worked 4-12 hours a week, sometimes 16 (if the whole weekend). I also ended up stopping working regularly at the very end of 2nd year so I could attend my last conference and prepare for the OSCEs... but that was also because work stopped being flexible with my hours.... So definitely consider that before committing to a job.

 

In terms of time remaining for socializing etc etc, it completely depends on how much you study. The amount of studying varies so much from person to person that it's really impossible to say how much time you'd have left. Overall, I think as long as you are able to manage your time well, you can have a lot of stuff on the go.

[Gob]

Wow, time flies. Can't believe this thread is 7 years old...

 

I hope it continues to give future applicants lots of reasons to consider making UWO their future med school.

 

G

[rmorelan]

Wow, time flies. Can't believe this thread is 7 years old...

 

I hope it continues to give future applicants lots of reasons to consider making UWO their future med school.

 

G

 

hopefully - if anyone of course has any questions etc I can try to answer or encourage more recent students to do the same. Still think it is a fantastic school

[rosiecreek]

I’ve been reading a lot about how an unspecified campus offer is highly likely that you will get London campus, but have you ever heard of anyone that didn’t get their first campus preference? I have a main campus offer at Mac and an unspecified offer at Western. I really think Western is my top choice but this unspecified offer is making me doubt it a little!

[rmorelan]

On 5/10/2018 at 5:47 PM, rosiecreek said:

I’ve been reading a lot about how an unspecified campus offer is highly likely that you will get London campus, but have you ever heard of anyone that didn’t get their first campus preference? I have a main campus offer at Mac and an unspecified offer at Western. I really think Western is my top choice but this unspecified offer is making me doubt it a little!

It probably has happened to be honest but it is rather unlikely. I don't think it happened last year at all.