Waterloo Health Studies

[vpv]

Hello, I've posted several times before. I just needed some advice. I am a senior in high school with hopes of attending a North-American medical school. With december slowly approaching, we will be making up our minds about the universities to apply to and attend.

 

If there is someone who has finished their undergrad at Waterloo or in the health studies program, can you please give me some feedback? Is co-op really useful when applying to medical schools? Is the Waterloo Health studies program like the U of T programs where you work your behinds off and end up with a 75? Or is it easier in comparison to that?

 

Your help is highly appreciated.

 

vpv

[Qamber]

I am in my last year in Honors Biology and right now applying to med schools. If you are certain that you want to go to med school i would recommend going into Bio-med program. It is straight forward and you can finish with a decent GPA. You get a lot of electives (for some of which you have to pick upper year bio courses but still you get to decide what you want).

 

If you want a little more then take Biology. It is more specialized but in my experience a little harder than bio-med (some first year courses for biology are second year courses for bio-med)

 

If you want even more harder and you are crazy take Biochemistry. I have not known anybody who has an average more than 80 in that program.

[vpv]

I am grateful for both of your responses. I have a few questions.

 

TO Dollie:

When you said you can work your butt off and end up with a mark higher than 75, did u mean like "A"s or just "B+" s and "B"s?

 

I am actually interested in co-op because i can get both the work experience and some money to pay back for my undergrad education so that when I proceed to med school (that is if I do), I can start debt-free and begin taking loans.

 

Also, do they have the courses required for US med schools?? Like English, Bio (lab), Orgo and inorgo? Physics? Calc?? Caz i want to keep my options open.

 

Which minor or option are you taking or planning to take? Gerontology, pre health or informatics?? or Interdisciplinary?

To Qamber:

What did u mean by "you can finish with a decent gpa?" Does putting effort and having a decent work ethic get you 3.7 + ? Caz thats what i want.

 

The negative aspect is definitely no co-op. But I guess the ease of the program substitutes for it.

 

 

So, as waterloo students, which do you think is better in terms of ease and learning? Caz I also want to be ready for the MCAT you kno.

 

Thanks once again.

[Dr.Cave]

I slacked my way to an 85 average in Co-op Biology at UW. Co-op was great; it enabled me to pay for school without any help from my folks (except for them paying for residence in 1st year.) I can't see any advantage to doing a health sci undrgrad, you'll learn about all that crap in med school so why not broaden your horizons a bit while you have the chance.

[bigbuffblackboy]

Yo you don't have to be in co-op to be in Health Studies. You have enough electives to take your orgo, physics, etc. by the end of your four years. If you work hard, you can get a 3.7+ too. It's not too hard of a program.

[cleboman]

I am grateful for both of your responses. I have a few questions.

 

TO Dollie:

When you said you can work your butt off and end up with a mark higher than 75, did u mean like "A"s or just "B+" s and "B"s?

 

I am actually interested in co-op because i can get both the work experience and some money to pay back for my undergrad education so that when I proceed to med school (that is if I do), I can start debt-free and begin taking loans.

 

Also, do they have the courses required for US med schools?? Like English, Bio (lab), Orgo and inorgo? Physics? Calc?? Caz i want to keep my options open.

 

Which minor or option are you taking or planning to take? Gerontology, pre health or informatics?? or Interdisciplinary?

To Qamber:

What did u mean by "you can finish with a decent gpa?" Does putting effort and having a decent work ethic get you 3.7 + ? Caz thats what i want.

 

The negative aspect is definitely no co-op. But I guess the ease of the program substitutes for it.

 

 

So, as waterloo students, which do you think is better in terms of ease and learning? Caz I also want to be ready for the MCAT you kno.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Co-op seems pretty useless to me honestly. Why not get into medschool a year early and earn a doctors salary one year earlier?...takes care of your debt

 

Stay away from Biochem. I would say Honours Bio or Biomed are the best options. Also I wouldnt be aiming for a 3.7+ if you want to really really do med. Theres no guarantees even if you have a 4.0 but it certainly helps having an aim of 3.9+ from the start.

 

I was in biomed and a lot of people I know from waterloo were in Biomed...gives you the chance to take some bird courses..Also a lot of people dont even follow the biomed program to avoid some harder classes and eventually just switch into honours bio.

 

You can get the 3.9+ in biomed or hon bio no problem provided you put a good effort into it.

[Halcyon]

It really doesn't matter what major you take, as long as you have room for pre-reqs. Take what you are interested in.

[Halcyon]

One more thing. Waterloo has some new degree programs that I wish would have been around when I was choosing a program. For example, knowledge integration and international development. Here's a helpful link. http://www.findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/programs/programs.php

Good luck!

[ploughboy]

Co-op seems pretty useless to me honestly. Why not get into medschool a year early and earn a doctors salary one year earlier?...takes care of your debt

 

Opposing viewpoint here - I can't imagine doing a first degree without co-op. Of course I did my degree back when your co-op terms gave you enough money to pay for tuition plus a few toys. Aside from that, it was through my co-op terms that I got my first real job (which I held for ~ 7 yrs before applying to meds). Not everybody makes it into med school, and having two years of co-op work experience makes it *so much* easier to get a job after graduation.

[Qamber]

I am grateful for both of your responses. I have a few questions.

To Qamber:

What did u mean by "you can finish with a decent gpa?" Does putting effort and having a decent work ethic get you 3.7 + ? Caz thats what i want.

 

The negative aspect is definitely no co-op. But I guess the ease of the program substitutes for it.

 

 

So, as waterloo students, which do you think is better in terms of ease and learning? Caz I also want to be ready for the MCAT you kno.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Decent mark i mean 80+...which is 3.7+...honours bio has some particular courses outside the scope of bio that you have to take like computer science and stats...Also you can specialize is special fields like molecular biology and biotech, microbiology etc.

 

For example, i am doing a a minor in biochem and specializing in molecular bio and biotech...its very interesting for me but i had to sacrifice a little bit of my GPA to do this..

 

I mean it all depends on what you want to do and what you want to gain from the studies..

 

But going into biomed and taking the right decision along the way will definitely give you a 3.7+ GPA and will also prepare you for MCAT. (biology does not make you ready for MCAT completely)

 

Good luck..

[seeking1]

As a second-year Biomed student here at UW, I would say that the program is indeed completely worth it and deserves the reputation previous posters are giving it. I know some people in health studies, and they enjoy it a lot, but I always come to the understanding that they get buried in the work at some point or another.

 

And yeah, careful planning of bird courses in this major of mine is sweet.

[Atreides]

Hi,

 

I graduated from Health Studies at UW last year and it was definitely worth it! Actually, I'm really glad because I've found that the program was surprisingly a good prep for medical school, the classes are more personable and you really get to know your professors which is awesome, and they have a lot of really neat courses you can take in fourth year. I never did co-op as at the time I thought it would make it harder to apply for schools that require two terms of school in each school year, but I'm not sure if thats an issue as many of my friends in co-op got into medical school. Even without co-op you can get a lot of experience during the summers, I did lab work during each summer with NSERC and that was amazing. Also there are a lot of health studies jobs with the research institutes associated with the faculty.

 

The program is not like what it sound though so be warned. The third and fourth years are very heavily research oriented, with many classes on statistics, research design, epidemiology, and program evaluation. As well, some of the pre-requisites you need will have to be taken as electives (physics, biochemistry, etc.) I found the pre-health professions option helped me in determining extra courses to take.

 

Good luck and I hope you enjoy whatever program you end up in!

[DOC_Ma]

Hi I am from waterloo too, I think Honours Science is a good choice because you dont have to take labs since second year so that frees up a lot of time for lecture courses and you can manage to get a high GPA with minimal effort compare to other programs. Hope that helps

[japlanet]

As a second-year Biomed student here at UW, I would say that the program is indeed completely worth it and deserves the reputation previous posters are giving it. I know some people in health studies, and they enjoy it a lot, but I always come to the understanding that they get buried in the work at some point or another.

 

And yeah, careful planning of bird courses in this major of mine is sweet.

 

Funny, I always had the opposite opinion of biomed . . .

I'm in biochem, and I TA some of the biomed courses now, and honestly I would have a lower GPA had I done biomed instead - multiple choice orgo?!?!

 

I much preferred biochem as I felt that I was really learning a base of material - now, in fourth year, my bio and chem classes are a breeze because I took the time in 2nd year to really learn and understand the basics of the science, something that, talking to biomed students, they are not forced to do.

 

I think that in the long run, the biochem courses (CHEM 264/265/360, 233/357/333 etc) made my GPA higher because I was never memorizing, those courses forced me to understand.

[DOC_Ma]

Funny, I always had the opposite opinion of biomed . . .

I'm in biochem, and I TA some of the biomed courses now, and honestly I would have a lower GPA had I done biomed instead - multiple choice orgo?!?!

 

I much preferred biochem as I felt that I was really learning a base of material - now, in fourth year, my bio and chem classes are a breeze because I took the time in 2nd year to really learn and understand the basics of the science, something that, talking to biomed students, they are not forced to do.

 

I think that in the long run, the biochem courses (CHEM 264/265/360, 233/357/333 etc) made my GPA higher because I was never memorizing, those courses forced me to understand.

 

wow u must be smart bc 99% of the peopel i met say biochem is very hard and much harder than biomed

[bambam]

bump

 

I know its 2 years old but its a good topic. And I'm actually interested in doing my UG at Waterloo before med school (hopefully:D ). UW BioMed sounds like a good option. But I was looking along more the lines of the biotech/economics program or even just the science and business program in general.

 

What do you guys think about this program in terms of med school in the future? I really like that its a mix of business and science but I worry that the biotechnology part (which I would think is similar to biochem) may kill my gpa.

 

And also co-op is mandatory. Is this a pro or con in terms of med school?

[kittykat]

Hi! My friend is in biomed and loves it. I think you need to do what you are interested in and like as you spend four years doing it. If you really enjoy something you will put more time and effort into it. It should be a possibility to declare your major in second year so spend your first year trying out a few different courses and what not and see where your interests lie and what you do well in.

 

As for co-op it would be seen as a positive (in my opinion). You get experience in a few different areas and help pay for your school. The only problem I can see if doing some terms in the summer as some med schools may not count those courses but I don't know too much about it. Someone else would definitely be a better help in that area than me. It is something to look into for specific med schools you may be interested in!

Good luck!

[bambam]

Thanks for the answer KittyKat!

 

Does anyone else know anything about how medschools see coop. Coop seem great but I wouldn't want it to affect my chances. Also would med school consider coop work experience as extra curricular?