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*Choosing a major


Guest Ian Wong

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Jeff S, UG2

Date:***9/5/2000 4:34 pm*PST

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Right now I'm in my second year of studies, and am planning to apply to the 5 Ontario medical schools next October. I was just wondering if the majors I have would affect my application (would med schools frown upon it, etc.). Right now I'm enrolled in the pharmacology specialist program, and on top of that I am also majoring in human biology. I'm following all the course pre-requisites for pharmacology, which (combined with 1 or 2 electives) will also fulfill all the human biology requirements. This means that if I'm accepted after 3 years, I can get a B. Sc. in human biology (and forget about pharmacology), but if I'm not accepted, I can attend 4th year and finish off an Hon. B. Sc. in pharmacology (and dump the human biology major, since it doesn't have any other use). This is allowed by the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T (in fact, some people leave after 3 years without a degree just to find out a couple of years later that they already fulfilled the requirements for a B. Sc., and are then allowed to graduate). My question is, if I did this and told med schools ad-coms my plans (during an interview or whatever), would they look at it in a negative way? Or would they not care at all about what I'm doing? I know that the program you are enrolled in and whether you have a degree or not doesn't affect your chances of getting into an Ontario med school, and I'm not exactly sure why they would care, but I'm asking for other peope's opinions just in case... Thanks a lot.

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Paul

Date:***9/5/2000 5:27 pm*PST

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I don't know how admissions committees think or how Ian wong will give advice but I definitely think you shouldn't bother bringing this up during a interview unless they brought it up and if they do, don't make it sound you love both majors (concentrations) and would do them equally well and not like "well if med school doesn't want me ill take a easier route or something where they will in fact accept me into a professional program(that is if your talking about going to be a pharmacist I assume)" In my opinion it just sounds like it wouldn't give any positiveness to your interview and the only thing it would do is hurt you(probably won't but its a possibility), not help you, and even if they don't care why risk it. Just talk about medicine and get around all that other mumbo jumbo about planning other careers or backups to other careers in your interview UNLESS its brought up. Ian wong might say something different and I would listen to him though over me but if I was a admissions committee I want to hear about people who devote their lives to medicine and not people with back up plans, so thats why I don't think it would help your interview at all and may hurt it(but I doubt it would hurt it). The great thing about interviews is the less you say the better because sometimes saying too much information can hurt you so its better to play the odds and not bring up stuff that doesn't need to be talked about unless brought up by THEM.

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Jeff S, UG2

Date:***9/5/2000 7:28 pm*PST

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Pharmacology isn't the same as pharmacy. I think most students that graduate with a degree do go into grad school (if not med school, dental school, or whatever), though some might end up going into pharmacy. Also, I believe it IS specified on the websites for med schools that you really must enrol in some program that will provide an alternate career path should you not be accepted to medicine, since it is difficult to get into. However, obviously one should not say something like "if I don't get in, I'll apply to dentistry/pharmacy/etc. And yes, I do agree that I don't need to bring it up unless I am asked about it, but I hear it is often asked in an interview. My question was actually whether telling them I would graduate with a B. Sc. in human biology (if I am asked about it) if accepted would be a good thing, or a bad thing (or neither). Or, am I better off just sticking with pharmacology, and if I am accepted, entering without an undergraduate degree (I personally don't think I'd be better off this way)?

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Ian Wong, MS2

Date:***9/5/2000 8:59 pm*PST

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Hi Jeff,

 

My personal opinion is to stick with whatever you'd be proud to call your major. In this case, it sounds like that is Pharmacology. So, stick with Pharm, and call yourself a Pharmacology major. If you are accepted after three years, the knowledge stays the same, you just don't have a degree at the end of it.

 

No biggie, I did Biology for three years before getting in, and it's pretty well accepted that Biology is easier than a "harder" science like Biochemistry or Chemistry. My simple philosophy was that it allowed me more free time to do other stuff that I was interested in, which to me is really the point of university. So I can't call myself a Biochem major. Or say that I have a Bachelors degree.

Big deal. :) Once you get into med school, you're all presumed to be equal, and it's at the med school level that your performance will be evaluated, not on your previous background.

 

As far as the alternate career path goes, med schools say you should look that way because, after all, going by the stats, nearly 1 in 4 applicants per school don't get accepted. I'm being very generous with those numbers, many schools, particularly the Ontario schools have a much worse ratio. But, that isn't a requirement for applying. They won't hold it against you if you did a Bio major even though the job market, outside of biotech, isn't very rosy for biologists.

 

Finally, what good is a Bachelors if you are going to receive an MD? It might be useful in that you can much more easily do research (you can't get a Masters or a PhD without a Bachelors first), but for those people like myself who just want to be clinicians, not having a Bachelors degree isn't a handicap. Your MD pretty much supercedes the BSc. In fact, you might even look at the lack of a BSc as a highlight of sorts. It definitely is atypical, at least out here in the western provinces.

 

Ian

Can, MS2

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*moo

Date:***9/5/2000 9:29 pm*PST

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I agree with Ian. "Stick with whatever you'd be proud to call your major." I'm a physics major and I'm proud to tell people that and see their reaction when I tell them I want to be a doctor. To me, biology, biochem, chemistry and all those other sciences seem like a lot of work to me... physics/math is something I grasp right away and spend a minimal amount of time studying.

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Jeff S, UG2

Date:***9/5/2000 11:00 pm*PST

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Yeah, I see your point. I know the B. Sc. is absolutely meaningless, but it just seems nice to have when I know I have completed all the course requirements for it. I always have the option of picking up the human bio major AFTER I've been accepted (and then graduating, doing it this way is actually pretty common), if you don't think my current plans would sound too good in an interview...

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Guest Ian Wong

Author:*Ian Wong, MS2

Date:***9/7/2000 10:41 am*PST

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My simple opinion is to stick with the Parmacology degree, and tell the admissions committee that. If you are accepted after third year, and hold the requirements for a Bio degree and not the Pharm degree, then yes, cash it in and get your BSc. It's never bad to have more paperwork on the office walls. :)

 

However, you might want to check if other universities will grant you your Bsc should you attend their medical school. For an example, all the people at UBC med who got in after third year undergrad at UBC had the option of using MD credits to finish off their BSc's. However, since I did my three years of undergrad at UVic, I'm disqualified from getting my BSc. There's some transferability issues on UVic's end.

 

Ian

Can, MS2

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