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Mcmaster Or Western Ot?


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I am extremely torn between these 2 schools! I am drawn towards Hamilton because of its location (it has a great catchment area) and I had a great experience speaking to some current students at the MMI. However I am terrified of PBL offered at Mac. I think in the long run it would be very beneficial but I've heard some pretty scary things about it. Western draws me in because of its incentives in Year 2 and the ability to specialize.

 

Any help at all would be appreciated!

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I am extremely torn between these 2 schools! I am drawn towards Hamilton because of its location (it has a great catchment area) and I had a great experience speaking to some current students at the MMI. However I am terrified of PBL offered at Mac. I think in the long run it would be very beneficial but I've heard some pretty scary things about it. Western draws me in because of its incentives in Year 2 and the ability to specialize.

 

Any help at all would be appreciated!

 

Congrats on getting accepted! Did my undergrad at McMaster and was hoping to be accepted into OT there, but I wasn't. I loved Mac; the campus, student body and profs are all amazing. I think the PBL is something that's useful in your career and life, in general. It might be scary at first, but you'd likely get used to it eventually (as with most things).

 

I personally would have chosen Mac over Western (if I had the choice) because:

 

1) I don't like sitting through lectures and I heard most of Mac's coursework is online and group or independent work. In undergrad, I purposely chose courses that were like that and succeeded (plus I feel like I have a deeper understanding of the material from those courses). This was surprising for me, at first, because I thought I'd be the lecture type in uni

 

2) I like that the placements start earlier at Mac and that they offer the Northern Studies Stream--this would probably look impressive when applying for jobs, especially in rural areas where the pay is higher

 

3) From what I can see on the curriculum designs posted, it seems like Mac has a bit of a summer break (a couple weeks) and Western does not

 

4) I lived in Hamilton during undergrad and it's actually a great city if you avoid the downtown area late at night--although I did work there pretty late and nothing happened to me (can't really say much about London because I've never been)

 

Of course, both are great schools (Canada has no bad OT schools, after all), but I can't say much about Western because I haven't had any experience with it. It all depends on what your learning style is, what you're comfortable with doing and what your goals are.

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I also did my undergrad at Mac and I've accepted my offer for Mac OT. I did many PBL projects in my undergrad and they were actually one of the highlights of my undergrad. I think group work gets a bad wrap but in a professional degree like OT where everyone is motivated to do well and succeed you really shouldn't have those bad seeds who don't pull their weight. Mac profs are very understanding when it comes to PBL work as well - if someone isn't pulling their weight it is addressed usually right away. I have to agree with MacGrad2019 Hamilton is an awesome city. I took a year off between applying and graduating and I really miss it. I hope to see you in September!! :)

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  • 11 months later...
On 5/25/2017 at 7:23 AM, futureOT2017 said:

I also did my undergrad at Mac and I've accepted my offer for Mac OT. I did many PBL projects in my undergrad and they were actually one of the highlights of my undergrad. I think group work gets a bad wrap but in a professional degree like OT where everyone is motivated to do well and succeed you really shouldn't have those bad seeds who don't pull their weight. Mac profs are very understanding when it comes to PBL work as well - if someone isn't pulling their weight it is addressed usually right away. I have to agree with MacGrad2019 Hamilton is an awesome city. I took a year off between applying and graduating and I really miss it. I hope to see you in September!! :)

Hi futureOT2017!

I was wondering what you think of the OT program at Mac now that you've been there for a year? I have been accepted to Western and Mac for OT and am having a hard time deciding where I want to go. I'm a little weary of PBL and was hoping you could provide a little bit of insight into that? You still have traditional lectures don't you?

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4 hours ago, LaurenOT said:

Hi futureOT2017!

I was wondering what you think of the OT program at Mac now that you've been there for a year? I have been accepted to Western and Mac for OT and am having a hard time deciding where I want to go. I'm a little weary of PBL and was hoping you could provide a little bit of insight into that? You still have traditional lectures don't you?

I'm currently in the same boat as you deciding between the two schools. I'm wondering what your pros and cons are for both! I'm trying to gather a bunch of peoples thoughts on both programs. As someone going through the same decision as me, I'm curious what factors about each school you are considering

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