Anyone go to UOttawa Health Sciences?

[happychapter]

HI, I'm in Grade 12 deciding between going to Western MedSci and UOttawa HealthSci and UOttawa BioMed. Has anyone been to either of the programs? And if so, which one would you recommend if the goal was to be prepared and enter med school? Pros and Cons of each program? 

[poorpremed]

Hi! I am a student from uOttawa and I have had friends who have successfully gotten into medical school who have both taken Health Science and biomed at uOttawa. It really depends on which medical school you want to go to. uOttawa has certain requirements in which biomed helps you complete whereas health sciences the course sequence does not require you to take the prerequisites but you still have time to take them. It also depends on if you're better in pure sciences or more on the health policy/paper writing side and group projects. Biomed has a very small to no group projects and minimal essays but has a lot of lab reports whereas health sciences has many group projects and essays. I personally enjoyed biomed because it exposed me to many different fields of science and I got involved in a lot of research opportunities through the diversity of the honours projects.

[happychapter]

2 hours ago, poorpremed said:

Hi! I am a student from uOttawa and I have had friends who have successfully gotten into medical school who have both taken Health Science and biomed at uOttawa. It really depends on which medical school you want to go to. uOttawa has certain requirements in which biomed helps you complete whereas health sciences the course sequence does not require you to take the prerequisites but you still have time to take them. It also depends on if you're better in pure sciences or more on the health policy/paper writing side and group projects. Biomed has a very small to no group projects and minimal essays but has a lot of lab reports whereas health sciences has many group projects and essays. I personally enjoyed biomed because it exposed me to many different fields of science and I got involved in a lot of research opportunities through the diversity of the honours projects.

Thanks, how much essay writing is there in health science? English isn't my strongest subject which is why I'm asking. Which is easier to switch between? From health sci to biomed, or from biomed to health science?

[poorpremed]

56 minutes ago, happychapter said:

Thanks, how much essay writing is there in health science? English isn't my strongest subject which is why I'm asking. Which is easier to switch between? From health sci to biomed, or from biomed to health science?

So I know they changed the regulations recently that almost every upper year Health Science course (HSS) has to have a paper and group project or something like that. There is not much overlap between the programs except for first year but I have a friend who switched into health science from biomed after second year and graduated on time. I would personally choose a program in which you enjoy the content being taught. Getting into medical school is not always a straight line so there is no shame in switching programs and taking a little more time than the 4 years. 

[Fun_Mushroom1998]

I second poorpremed. I am a fourth year student in Health Sci at uOttawa. I had friends from both programs get accepted to medical schools. I was able to take all of the science prerequisites for medical school. However, like poorpremed said, it depends on your interests. Health Sciences will expose you to the big picture of health. You will be taking a mix of science courses and more sociology based courses. In third and fourth year, each Health Science course has a paper component. 

[happychapter]

2 hours ago, Fun_Mushroom1998 said:

I second poorpremed. I am a fourth year student in Health Sci at uOttawa. I had friends from both programs get accepted to medical schools. I was able to take all of the science prerequisites for medical school. However, like poorpremed said, it depends on your interests. Health Sciences will expose you to the big picture of health. You will be taking a mix of science courses and more sociology based courses. In third and fourth year, each Health Science course has a paper component. 

Is one easier to switch into than the other? I don't know which one I will honestly enjoy more so I'm thinking of entering the one that is easier to switch out of just in case, unless both of them are pretty rigid. Also, do you know how many students are in each of those programs?

[Fun_Mushroom1998]

1 hour ago, happychapter said:

Is one easier to switch into than the other? I don't know which one I will honestly enjoy more so I'm thinking of entering the one that is easier to switch out of just in case, unless both of them are pretty rigid. Also, do you know how many students are in each of those programs?

I do not know exactly, but each year a bunch of students switch from biomed to health sci and vice versa. First year in both programs is really similar. The major difference between the two programs in first year is that in Biomed, you will do two calculus courses and organismal biology whereas in Health Sci, you will do microbiology, sociology and determinants of health. 

[happychapter]

7 minutes ago, Fun_Mushroom1998 said:

I do not know exactly, but each year a bunch of students switch from biomed to health sci and vice versa. First year in both programs is really similar. The major difference between the two programs in first year is that in Biomed, you will do two calculus courses and organismal biology whereas in Health Sci, you will do microbiology, sociology and determinants of health. 

Aww ok. I'm probably overworrying myself, its just that not many alumni from my high school go to Uottawa, so its a pretty unknown university to me. Do you know how many students per year in the typical health sci/biomed program?

[poorpremed]

14 hours ago, happychapter said:

Aww ok. I'm probably overworrying myself, its just that not many alumni from my high school go to Uottawa, so its a pretty unknown university to me. Do you know how many students per year in the typical health sci/biomed program?

I went to uOttawa with only knowing 2 people from my high school but I ended up making a lot of friends from different programs like engineering and psychology, and also a bunch of people in my program. It is a little harder to make friends if you don't live in residence because you are not forced to interact, but just talking to people in class is a great way. I would say do a program in which you are interested in the content. Even if the program is a little harder, you will find it easier to study for interesting classes and you will enjoy yourself a lot more.