How do marks differ in different universities?

[madlad12]

Since professors have to maintain their class average around 60%, would programs with a high cut-off from high school be harder since the professor's will need to make assessments more difficult because all of the students will be high achievers. I'm asking this because I want to go to medical school and need a high GPA which is why I am conflicted between a program like western med sci which is full of keeners vs something like York Kinesiology. I know you probably see many annoying people like me on this website but please bear with me.

[Psych]

I can't speak to Western med sci, but I'm in a "premed" program with mostly people who want to go to medical school, and it is definitely still possible to maintain a high GPA. If you are willing to work hard, I wouldn't let the number of "keeners" in a program deter you- if fact it will be nice to have like-minded people with you who will motivate you to work hard vs a program where people don't care as much about their grades

[madlad12]

5 minutes ago, Psych said:

I can't speak to Western med sci, but I'm in a "premed" program with mostly people who want to go to medical school, and it is definitely still possible to maintain a high GPA. If you are willing to work hard, I wouldn't let the number of "keeners" in a program deter you- if fact it will be nice to have like-minded people with you who will motivate you to work hard vs a program where people don't care as much about their grades

I see, btw what program are you in?

[Psych]

I'm in QU life sci- and obviously this is just my opinion and every program is different, but when it comes down to it I would choose the program that you're most interested in and feel is the best fit for you, which depends on many factors including what courses you can take, program structure, the school itself and the EC opportunities it has, etc. In my opinion, those things are more important than the "difficulty" of a program. I actually was choosing between Western med sci and Queen's life sci when I went to undergrad, and it was very hard to choose as they were both pretty equal in terms of pros and cons for me. I'm happy with my choice, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed western as well.

If all other factors are equal, in that case it may be good to consider how hard a program is, but I would consider other things first. I hope this helps!

 

[zxcccxz]

I graduated from UofT life science (a notoriously “difficult” program) this year with a 3.9+ GPA and got multiple interviews. Don’t sweat too much about doing well. You have the opportunity to do well in any program. Most of the time, people who do poorly don’t work hard enough or prepare enough and it’s not anything to do with “one of the smartest” being a requirement. Going into a dedicated life sciences or medical sciences program also gives you access to a lot of opportunities in volunteering, ECs, and research that you may not get otherwise, and these are important. A more rigorous program also does a great job of preparing you for future success. Remember, GPA is just one aspect of the application. If you have a 4.0 GPA and a poor portfolio, you won't be competitive at most schools.

The medical profession is a marathon and you need endurance to run it. If you are only concerned about getting ahead by "running an easy race" and not working hard to make yourself capable of succeeding under tough cirumstances, you may make it into medical schools, but you won't have the fortitude to succeed there or in residency (or beyond). Don't choose an easy program for the sake of it.