York Vs. UofT?! biomedical science or biochemistry for premed

[xkittens]

Hello all, so here's another classic York Vs UofT thread i'd really appreciate some advice. obviously i want to get into medical school, and i can manage the marks my average in highschools 93 so far.

I applied to both York and UofT and assuming i get into both, which one should i go with?

My marks will be higher at york for sure, and its also 10 minutes away from my house.... but is UofT's reputation going to matter in the eyes of the admissions office of medical schools?

I applied to biomedical science and biochemistry, which one do you guys think is going to be easier to get good marks in and which one will help me the most with med school?

 

Also, how hard is it to get a 3.8 GPA in University?

any advice?

[NLengr]

Hello all, so here's another classic York Vs UofT thread i'd really appreciate some advice. obviously i want to get into medical school, and i can manage the marks my average in highschools 93 so far.

I applied to both York and UofT and assuming i get into both, which one should i go with?

My marks will be higher at york for sure, and its also 10 minutes away from my house.... but is UofT's reputation going to matter in the eyes of the admissions office of medical schools?

I applied to biomedical science and biochemistry, which one do you guys think is going to be easier to get good marks in and which one will help me the most with med school?

 

Also, how hard is it to get a 3.8 GPA in University? i feel like i'm about to voluntarily dive into shark infested icecold water right now and I keep having doubts.

any advice?

 

Nobody cares where you did undergrad in Canada. The quality of undergrad education in this country is pretty much even.

 

A 3.8 difficulty is completely dependent on program and how you set up your courses. 3.8 in engineering = hard. 3.8 in basketweaving = easy. 3.8 in any program with difficult electives = harder. 3.8 in a program where you do all basketweaving electives = easier.

[mattg]

go to York unless:

(a) you would prefer to live away from home

( you would like to expose yourself to a lot of research opportunities in undergrad (although even still, York is probably fine for that for an undergrad)

[xkittens]

any insight on biomed vs biochem?

[preppy038]

to be honest, do what you like.

 

both of those majors are pretty much the same except that you may have more exposure to anatomy and physiology in biomedical science (but you can choose to do these as electives in a biochemistry program or they may make you take these courses as compulsory courses).

 

there's not a big difference between these two programs

[mattg]

whatever you're more interested in... the above poster says they are very similar, and i didn't go to york so he/she may be right, but that sound pretty different to me... if you aren't really interested in biochem, i wouldn't go into it... a lot of science students go into university thinking they want to do biochem, just under the assumption that it's probably a good mix of the sciences, and not knowing much about what it actually entails... reality is 95% of people would find a biochem major extremely boring - it's very molecular and specific... if taking a ton of courses like "the interaction of macromolecules" or "cell membrane proteins" (i made those up, but that's what they're like) interests you, take biochem... if you want something more along the lines of medicine, take biomed... although that said, there are aspects of med that are biochem heavy, so like i said, it depends what interests you

 

i didn't go to york, so i can't comment on the programs specifically... but just do whatever is more interesting to you... believe me, if you do biochem because you think it will be easier and not out of interest, you're going to be wanting to kill yourself for 4 years... same goes for biomed (although if you are interested in meds, i assume biomed courses should probably interest you)

[medhopeful.com]

any insight on biomed vs biochem?

 

I did biomed at York. It is basically the same as the biology program. There's no special exposure to physio/anatomy or anything like that unless you try to enroll in those courses like any other elective.

 

Biochemistry is a lot more restricted in terms of electives because they additional compulsory courses in chemistry.

 

If you want flexibility in choosing electives and are not particular interested in chemistry, I wouldn't take the biochemistry program.

[Leon]

H...and i can manage the marks my average in highschools 93 so far....

 

High school performance doesn't necessarily correlate with university performance. I know people who were in the 85+ range at HS and dropped to 70s here so when you enter uni, be prepared to work hard and don't make too many assumptions too soon!

 

 

 

Commuting is a key factor because it will tire you everyday if its too long. In terms of universities themselves, I wouldn't pick UofT unless I had a specific strong reason to justify the choice. The admission committee does not care where you did your undergrad.

 

In terms of picking majors- you'll see that a major is just the name given to an assembly of courses. Pick your first year courses such that you can enter both Biomed and Biochem (first yr courses usually overlap between majors in any one department). You'll get a real feel for the majors once you're actually in uni and then you can pick.

[PhD_Candidate_2011]

High school performance doesn't necessarily correlate with university performance. I know people who were in the 85+ range at HS and dropped to 70s here so when you enter uni, be prepared to work hard and don't make too many assumptions too soon!

 

Commuting is a key factor because it will tire you everyday if its too long. In terms of universities themselves, I wouldn't pick UofT unless I had a specific strong reason to justify the choice. The admission committee does not care where you did your undergrad.

 

+1 to both points. I graduated high school with the top 10 averages in the city of Toronto (99.3%) and went to UofT St. George....my first year average was 2.7 (70%). It's because I had bad study habits and a 3+ hour commute everyday (rush hour commuting on the TTC in Toronto only tires you that much more). It wasn't until 3rd year of undergrad that I moved closer and developed efficient study habits. Doing well in a demanding university program is more about study habits than intrinsic potential.

[loodogg]

any insight on biomed vs biochem?

 

If you actually like science and see yourself possibly having a career involving science if all else fails, then go into biochemistry. If you are set on meds, pharmacy etc and not too into chemistry(gen chem, phys chem, organic, spectroscopy) all biochemistry will do is hold you back because it could get tough taking so many science courses with little room for electives and all that, possibly hindering your marks(and social life) quite severely if youre not the type of person who can stay on top of everything at all times. It's a great program, but it could be a handful at times

[xkittens]

Not entirely accurate. You can still do research with U of T profs as a York student. I work with two of them

I only say this because I don't think it should be a deciding factor. There's plenty of U of T students doing research at York and vice versa.

 

wow that's really awesome how do you get a chance to do that? also what kind of research work do you yourself do.... i'm so excited to start some kind of medical research when i get to university

[leap87]

Not entirely accurate. You can still do research with U of T profs as a York student. I work with two of them

I only say this because I don't think it should be a deciding factor. There's plenty of U of T students doing research at York and vice versa.

 

+1. I did the same thing while in undergrad at York - collaborated with both Waterloo and UofT profs. There are also MANY opportunities to do research at York with leaders in the field (I don't want to name any names on here but York has some pretty big people).

[mattg]

Not entirely accurate. You can still do research with U of T profs as a York student. I work with two of them

I only say this because I don't think it should be a deciding factor. There's plenty of U of T students doing research at York and vice versa.

 

as part of school courses? or extra-curricular?

 

actually, yea now that i think about it i recall a few people at mac doing their thesis with profs from other universities...

[NewfieMike]

my favorite part of the OP is "another classic UofT vs. York thread", which means you've at least searched some of the previous hundreds of these debates. What more information were you hoping to gain by this one?

[xkittens]

my favorite part of the OP is "another classic UofT vs. York thread", which means you've at least searched some of the previous hundreds of these debates. What more information were you hoping to gain by this one?

 

Just information about biomed vs biochem... and also how hard it is to get high marks in university

[leap87]

yeah...the kin profs at york are definitely more renowned than the psych ones lol

 

Isn't Doug Crawford technically in psychology?

 

Kiarash: I got your PM. I will respond later tonight.

[repede]

Just information about biomed vs biochem... and also how hard it is to get high marks in university

 

Much, much harder. As in, prepare to generally say goodbye to marks over 92 on your transcript unless you're exceptional. Remember that most people who get into these big universities have averages over 85, but class averages for first year courses are in the mid 60s. But how hard it actually is depends on the individual.

 

As for which school, it's already been said but I'll say it again, the name of the school means nothing (as long as it's not a no-name school) for most medical admissions committees. Of you try for grad school or apply for a job outside of Medicine, however, they probably will care.

 

In my opinion, it's way too early to decide Biomed versus Biochem. Take your general first year classes. You usually don't have to declare a major until at least after 1st year.

[leap87]

Is he renowned though? I'd never even heard of him and had to google. Apparently he does vision research- that's probably why lol.

 

I guess Joel Katz and Gord Flett are pretty well-known. Sort of.

 

Yeah. He's pretty huge. He gets tons of money and grants every year. I don't know who Joel Katz and Gord Flett. LOL

[muffin]

Hello all, so here's another classic York Vs UofT thread i'd really appreciate some advice. obviously i want to get into medical school, and i can manage the marks my average in highschools 93 so far.

I applied to both York and UofT and assuming i get into both, which one should i go with?

My marks will be higher at york for sure, and its also 10 minutes away from my house.... but is UofT's reputation going to matter in the eyes of the admissions office of medical schools?

I applied to biomedical science and biochemistry, which one do you guys think is going to be easier to get good marks in and which one will help me the most with med school?

 

Also, how hard is it to get a 3.8 GPA in University?

any advice?

At UofT, very hard to get and keep up that 3.8

 

Go to York and save yourself the pain. For premed, biomed is probably better than biochem (which is way more chem focused that I would like it to be).

 

There are research opportunities at York as well. It doesn't matter where you did your undergrad; it matters where you do your professional/graduate school work.

[bored]

I really dont think its any easier at york.. agreed there are less players playing to get into med school.. but its not easier.

 

at first I was about to go to UT.. just becasue I though its where the 'smart' go.. then i ended up choosing york.. but realized that its not perticulairely any easier.. might be even harder because we dont have A-.... meaning even if I get 89s, they are still A.

 

dont choose a school cause one is easier or harder.. choose the one you truly want to go to.. base your decision on transportation, friends, etc..

[future_doc]

Hello all, so here's another classic York Vs UofT thread i'd really appreciate some advice. obviously i want to get into medical school, and i can manage the marks my average in highschools 93 so far.

I applied to both York and UofT and assuming i get into both, which one should i go with?

My marks will be higher at york for sure, and its also 10 minutes away from my house.... but is UofT's reputation going to matter in the eyes of the admissions office of medical schools?

I applied to biomedical science and biochemistry, which one do you guys think is going to be easier to get good marks in and which one will help me the most with med school?

 

Also, how hard is it to get a 3.8 GPA in University?

any advice?

 

 

It is a no brainer - YORK of course, for so many reasons. You received excellent advice already and you have been warned that your grades in h.s. are no indication of how you will do in undergrad. For undergrad studies, on lhy a fool goes for so-called prestige as it comes at a GPA cost.

 

For your first semester, no ECs or volunteering, stick to academics only until you have your grades under control and only then, spread your wings. So, no distractions, a strong work ethic, prioritize your time and activities and you need good timemanagement skills.

 

How hard is it to get and maintain a 3.8+ GPA? Depends uipon who you are. There are students here who can accomplish tihs by last minute cramming and partying the rest of the time. I am not one of them. I have had to work incredibly hard always to ogtain/maintain a high GPA. I cruised through h.s. with little work and high grades - which did not prepare me for the brutal transition to higher education. I had to sacrifice social life for acaemdic achievement but others here did not. So, we each have our own weaknesses and strengths.

 

I have communicated with many aspiring h.s. students by PM, will try to find and forward to you my advice to others.

[leap87]

I must say one thing and people from York can disagree with me on this. I'll tell you all a little personal story that I don't share with many people but here it goes. I came to Waterloo and in my first semester I wanted to volunteer in a lab of a researcher that is world renown. When I entered his office, he asked me what am I doing now, what did I finish and I told him that I finished York University last summer. He then proceeded to laugh at me and tell me "Soooo... what did you learn at York?!?!?!!?"

 

Most of the time, when I say that I am a graduate of York, unless I follow this up with a whole bunch of profs I've worked with, people don't really regard me as a "good" student. Now that I am at Waterloo, when people hear this, they start to talk with me about Waterloo and how good of a school it is and they look at me differently. I noticed this even with my neighbours.

 

I'm not saying York is worse than Waterloo or other way around. All I am saying is that York's reputation has suffered a lot in the past 5 years (and especially this year when they arrested pedophiles at York). So, pick wisely. That's all I'm going to say.

[xkittens]

I second this. The U of T profs I work with think that all York students are idiots, and that I'm some rare exception.

 

The pedophiles thing definitely didn't help. I knew both of them too (had one as a prof last year, the other was a don in my residence back in first year), which disturbed me a little.

 

 

How'd you manage to collaborate with UofT professors? What kinds of things did you do?

 

And lol i'm sure there are closeted freaks of all sorts at all universities.