Help choose please - uOttawa Biomed or Guelph Science Biology

[KarinaM]

Hello, 

Need advice to choose between uOttawa Biomedical Sciences and Guelph Science Biology. Unfortunately did not get accepted to Guelph Biomed, but it sounds like it is possible to switch to Biomed after the first year, providing the grades are good. So now trying to decide between those two, any insights and advice would be extremely helpful. 

Also accepted to UTM Life Sciences, but heard many times about unhealthy competition which may affect GPA...

Thanks!  

[kingmaker]

I had to pick between the two this year as well. I ultimately ending up choosing U of Guelph. I personally picked it because of the following factors: location, access to academic support, research/volunteer opportunities, student satisfaction/rankings. In my opinion, these factors play a pivotal role in the likeliness of getting a higher GPA.

Location: I live in the GTA and don't want to live in Ottawa. I won't be able to come home from Ottawa every weekend.

Access to Academic Support: For some reason, U of Guelph puts a higher emphasis on helping students than other schools. They have something called SLGs, which are supported learning groups. They are basically tutoring sessions outside of school for specific first year classes (specifically chem, bio, physics and math). They give out practice tests and quizzes. From what I've heard, there is a strong correlation between participating in these groups and high grades. The faulty is apparently supposed to be amazing and super nice. They are always willing to help you.

Research/Volunteer Opportunities: If you do good in SLGs, you could volunteer as a peer helper. I've heard that it is easier to get TAing positions at smaller schools as well. Moreover, it is completely possible to get a undergraduate research assistantship during the summer.  Guelph, as a city, is also very easy to find volunteer work in.

Student Satisfaction/Rankings: Comes in at second in Maclean's Canada’s Top School by Student Satisfaction 2019. Only second to Laurier, which is a notorious party school. Also, ranks fifth in Maclean's best biology universities in Canada list; it's just above McMaster.

https://www.macleans.ca/education/university-rankings/canadas-top-school-by-student-satisfaction-2019/

https://www.macleans.ca/education/best-biology-universities-in-canada-2019-ranking/

These are the main reasons why I chose U of Guelph. Make an informed decision. Thanks for listening to my TED Talk.