Full Course-Load

[dabitout]

Hi,

 

As I head to university next year, many have advised me to take 4 courses in the first term, and 5 courses in the second term to "gradually adjust to the whole university experience."

 

Since many Canadian medical schools require 5 full-courses or 30 credits, I could maybe take one course over the summer to fulfill this requirement. However, many Canadian med schools require 2 or 3 years of full course-load (from SEPT-APR). Will my course schedule (4-5-1) stop me from applying to certain med schools (ex. Western)?

 

Thanks so much.

[Artier]

I highly recommend you take a full course load during the year if you plan to apply to U of T. If you do, they will drop your 2 lowest courses per year when you apply in your 4th year.

 

I just want to add that there's really no way to "gradually adjust to the whole university experience". It will feel much more difficult than high school and if you are diligent, you will adjust more quickly. A one course difference will likely not have much of an impact. Personally I think it's better to just get used to taking 5 courses earlier rather than later as you will likely be doing that every year and the sooner you learn to handle it and "get into the groove", the better off you will be.

 

Others may feel free to disagree, but this is what worked for me.

[_ _]

I would strongly suggest not doing that. You could end up regretting it very, very much later on. If you are overwhelmed first year, drop a course if you have to in order to prevent failures/50's. But it should be a last resort, not a preventative measure. 

 

Even schools that drop your lowest year won't count any years with less than 10 courses in fall-winter(Dal, Western, others?) so it's effectively making your whole year useless when it comes to those schools, not to mention potentially ruining chances at Toronto unnecessarily 

[bruhh]

I got the exact same advice when I started uni. I was skeptical and went to consult with my program advisor and was still told to not do a full courseload in first year as it would be too hard on me. These people know nothing bout the med school admission process. The only reason I don't qualify for UofT's weighing is because I did not take full courseload in first year, and no, summer credits do not magically turn your year into a full courseload for med schools. All it does, is it will count as a full courseload for your university, which med schools don't care about. 

 

I highly suggest you take a full courseload during the fall winter term to take advantage of all the different med school's weighing system and eligibility. 

[Wartortle]

Taking 5 courses is not required but it makes you eligible for more schools, like Dalhousie, Western, UofT weighting.

[Wasteman]

I got the exact same advice when I started uni. I was skeptical and went to consult with my program advisor and was still told to not do a full courseload in first year as it would be too hard on me. These people know nothing bout the med school admission process. The only reason I don't qualify for UofT's weighing is because I did not take full courseload in first year, and no, summer credits do not magically turn your year into a full courseload for med schools. All it does, is it will count as a full courseload for your university, which med schools don't care about. 

 

I highly suggest you take a full courseload during the fall winter term to take advantage of all the different med school's weighing system and eligibility. 

 

 

Holy crap. Thanks for the information guys. SInce I'm a mature student I don't have an academic adviser. You guys really saved me here.

[JohnLe]

Remember to always be careful when taking advice. I know that some people in UofT tell this sort of stuff to naive students to "eliminate competition". Though they are a small group and there are many more people who are willing to help each other.