BHSc vs BMSc

[AwesomeDino]

So recently I applied to the BHSc program to Western. I wasn't really giving Western any thought when I was applying to it as I was mainly gunning for McMaster and U of T. But fortunately, I received an offer from Western. It was my first offer so I decided to look into Western and it's "pre med" program. After a bit of research, I learnt that it's quite reputable and I'm giving the offer some serious thought. But I've noticed that BMSc is the mainstream pre med program and not BHSc. Will this choice decrease my chances of getting into med school? And is it ok to add a second program and will it do anything to my current offer?

It was a big mistake on my end to not do enough research beforehand but I can't really do anything about it now.

 

Thanks.

[IMislove]

No school cares if your program is “reputable”, GPA is king and you can get it from Guelph, to BC, to Dalhousie, doesn’t matter. Can be arts, music, science, whatever. Just do what you think you’ll enjoy and get highest grades in. Good luck. 

Can’t answer your second question unfortunately, sorry! 

[1D7]

BHsc isn't the "premed program" and is completely different from BMsc.

[Anon-e-mous]

On 2/23/2019 at 2:37 PM, AwesomeDino said:

So recently I applied to the BHSc program to Western. I wasn't really giving Western any thought when I was applying to it as I was mainly gunning for McMaster and U of T. But fortunately, I received an offer from Western. It was my first offer so I decided to look into Western and it's "pre med" program. After a bit of research, I learnt that it's quite reputable and I'm giving the offer some serious thought. But I've noticed that BMSc is the mainstream pre med program and not BHSc. Will this choice decrease my chances of getting into med school? And is it ok to add a second program and will it do anything to my current offer?

It was a big mistake on my end to not do enough research beforehand but I can't really do anything about it now.

 

Thanks.

Both BMSc and BHSc are good. Anecdotally, I know quite a few people who were successful with BHSc getting into med and other competitive professional programs. From what I've heard, the BHSc program is easier GPA wise. BMSc is more of the lab sciences and BHSc is more of the social determinants of health so it depends what you are interested in. 

[Edict]

5 hours ago, AwesomeDino said:

So recently I applied to the BHSc program to Western. I wasn't really giving Western any thought when I was applying to it as I was mainly gunning for McMaster and U of T. But fortunately, I received an offer from Western. It was my first offer so I decided to look into Western and it's "pre med" program. After a bit of research, I learnt that it's quite reputable and I'm giving the offer some serious thought. But I've noticed that BMSc is the mainstream pre med program and not BHSc. Will this choice decrease my chances of getting into med school? And is it ok to add a second program and will it do anything to my current offer?

It was a big mistake on my end to not do enough research beforehand but I can't really do anything about it now.

 

Thanks.

If you get into McMaster's BHSc, choose that, but otherwise Western's BMSc is pretty good as well. Truth be told, apart from Mac BHSc the other programs are all relatively similar, except for UofT's life sci which is harder. 

 

 

 

[Jon Snow]

7 hours ago, AwesomeDino said:

So recently I applied to the BHSc program to Western. I wasn't really giving Western any thought when I was applying to it as I was mainly gunning for McMaster and U of T. But fortunately, I received an offer from Western. It was my first offer so I decided to look into Western and it's "pre med" program. After a bit of research, I learnt that it's quite reputable and I'm giving the offer some serious thought. But I've noticed that BMSc is the mainstream pre med program and not BHSc. Will this choice decrease my chances of getting into med school? And is it ok to add a second program and will it do anything to my current offer?

It was a big mistake on my end to not do enough research beforehand but I can't really do anything about it now.

 

Thanks.

GPA is king so that should really be how you decide your undergrad school, wherever you see yourself getting the best marks (places like Toronto make it very hard to get exceptionally high grades you need these days, or so I've heard). Another plus for Western is if you are applying to/considering medical school in the US, they are very generous in their GPA conversion (e.g. 80+ is a 4.0, then drops to 3.9 in the 70s) which can give you a real boost. BHSc is a very different program, and I can't comment much on it, but happy to talk about BMSc if you want to consider that. Can always do BSc first two years and then transfer to BMSc it 3rd year (it officially starts in 3rd year anyway, so at no disadvantage if you start in "BSc") 

[isitlunchtimeyet]

You can do an undergrad in literally anything, be it BMSc to philosophy to opera performance. Please decide what you do your undergrad in purely based on interest, not what will look best to medical schools. Rather, I imagine taking an unconventional route makes you stand out more during the application process, making you more competitive. I agree with the above posters that difficulty of the program is also something to consider so you can get the highest GPA possible. 

[Hypercalcemia]

On 2/24/2019 at 12:13 AM, isitlunchtimeyet said:

You can do an undergrad in literally anything, be it BMSc to philosophy to opera performance. Please decide what you do your undergrad in purely based on interest, not what will look best to medical schools.

This is completely true. Medical schools don't care what your undergrad is in, so you should pick something you're passionate about and will do well in. There are really only "premed" programs in the sense that they will teach you a lot of the background content that may make your preclerkship years in medicine easier, but they do not guarantee you a place in med school or make you any more competitive than someone who has a different background.

[Zuk]

While any program of study is accepted by medical schools, some programs will prepare you more than others and that is an important consideration.  BHsc and BMsc are both good choices and there is a lot of variation in the modules within those programs, so there is a lot of opportunity to balance both considerations (there will be things you are both interested in and that will prepare you for your chosen career). 

[aray623]

I would agree with the above. There are no "premed" programs in Canada. You can get accepted with a music degree. However, I did BMSc at Western and I feel like it prepared me EXCEPTIONALLY well for medical school. There are people in my class who didn't go the same route (engineers for example) and they often mention that they struggle with some concepts or even full courses that I have already learned about while I was in undergrad