Switch To Kinesiology From Biomed?

[MedInspired1254]

Hi all, 

 

So a lot of the 1st year students who were originally in biomed at York are switching to kinesiology for second year so they can get a higher GPA for med school. Is this the right choice? I really need some suggestions. 

 

Some info about me: 

- in biomed going into 2nd year

-my first year GPA was 7.6/9 (not that great) 

 

Knowing that second year is going to be tough, I decided to take a lot of the difficult/time consuming courses during first year summer (currently), including:

- english (prereq for US med)

-organic chem 2020 and 2021

-biol2070

 

+ volunteering at old age home and at a lab

 

so that leaves genetics, cell bio, biochem, and stats for 2nd year major courses, and the rest are electives (i have no idea what electives to choose as gpa boosters, the ones I wanted are already full - some suggestions on this would also be greatly appreciated)

 

I will also be doing a research practicum

and 2nd year summer for mcat prep

 

If I switch to kin, I'd have to do first year kin courses, plus I read in another forum that very little kin students were accepted to med school (although I have to check on this)

 

Any suggestions on whether I should switch to kin or continue in biomed? 

[Bambi]

Not at York, I did kin (exercise science, actually). I found it a great prep for medicine and straight A's were doable with hard work due to the volume of material. Find out if Yor has an intro to act course as an elective.

[_ _]

I think you've got the wrong idea in your last sentence there. Being in kin or biomed will have zero effect on applications, only your GPA will. There's no reason why you can't do well in a biomed program, so I wouldn't switch to kin unless you actually think the courses look interesting. 3 years of things you find boring will not help you find motivation to study/a high GPA. 

 

One thing to consider is that if you need to take multiple first year credits, you might not be able to use this year for Western. You should check OMSAS scales for GPA to see if your last year (not looking at summers) was 3.7+

 

Not a huge deal if it isn't, but it's worth considering that you might be risking things a bit there. Although if you absolutely were sure you could get a 3.7+ in third year and wouldn't be in too many second year courses, you might be able to use that year?

[The 8th Hokage]

By my understanding of the York Grading system:

 

90+ = A+=9

80-89= A = 8

75-79= B+= 7

70-74= B= 6

 

If you convert your gpa according to Omsas, your current York GPA (7.6) probably had a fair share of 70s that do set you back in terms of having a competitive OMSAS GPA for some medical schools. Like you said, if you know 2nd year is harder, and you don't think you will be able to find it in yourself to try harder and increase your GPA significantly to the point where you will be competitive. Then, I would seriously consider switching into York Kin if you feel the courses are simpler, more interesting, etc. Don't switch your program because all the other students are... examine both options make a list of pros and cons and make an educated decision, as only you know your abilities and limitations.

 

Also, the fact that not many York Kin students get into med school shouldn't be a factor. Medical schools don't select individuals based on the program or school. The reason for those stats is because a majority of the brightest and best pre-meds choose to go to schools that are renowned for the science program and alumni. These programs such as UofT (life sci), Mac (Life Sci, Health sci) and Western (Med Sci) attract a majority of the people that are looking to pursue med school and are thus the main feeder schools/programs for med schools in Ontario and Canada.  Therefore, York Kin is not a bad program for entering medicine, just not as many students in that program are gunning towards medicine specifically and so are under-represented in the overall stats. .

 

Lastly, here is the OMSAS scale (York uses column 9)... http://www.ouac.on.ca/docs/omsas/c_omsas_b.pdf

 

Convert your courses individually to the 4.0 scale on the site and add them.. then divide them by the courses you've taken first year (don't include summer courses at all) and that will give you your OMSAS GPA. If you are a 3.8+ I would continue in your current program as you already finished a bunch of the harder courses in the summer for next year, so more electives.

[MedInspired1254]

Hi all, thank you for replying.

Sunny you are right, I had looked at the kin courses for the rest 3 years and did not find an interest in them at all except those that were more biology related. I love the program I am in and the courses it has to offer, but im still getting use to working with a load.

Uwomedsci you are right on the York grading system. My GPA would be a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. I do think I can do better second year, but my first year will be a major setback... Do you know if western drops 3 of your lowest grades in your 4 years?

[_ _]

Hi all, thank you for replying.

Sunny you are right, I had looked at the kin courses for the rest 3 years and did not find an interest in them at all except those that were more biology related. I love the program I am in and the courses it has to offer, but im still getting use to working with a load.

Uwomedsci you are right on the York grading system. My GPA would be a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. I do think I can do better second year, but my first year will be a major setback... Do you know if western drops 3 of your lowest grades in your 4 years?

No, the reason I mentioned course level being an issue with switching, especially since you got a sub 3.7 was that Western uses 2 years, which must have 3/5 courses at your year or higher. I.e. 3 full-year first year courses next year would discount the entire year for you. 

 

You really should take a good look through the websites of schools you want to apply to, and see how your GPA fits. For example, I had a lower GPA than your's first year by ~0.3, but had a >3.9 weighted GPA for Toronto and a 3.89 for Ottawa. A 3.6 in first year is not a big deal at all, as long as you get 3.9+ after this

[MedInspired1254]

No, the reason I mentioned course level being an issue with switching, especially since you got a sub 3.7 was that Western uses 2 years, which must have 3/5 courses at your year or higher. I.e. 3 full-year first year courses next year would discount the entire year for you.

 

You really should take a good look through the websites of schools you want to apply to, and see how your GPA fits. For example, I had a lower GPA than your's first year by ~0.3, but had a >3.9 weighted GPA for Toronto and a 3.89 for Ottawa. A 3.6 in first year is not a big deal at all, as long as you get 3.9+ after this

Thank you for telling me this. Just out of curiosity, what year are you in now?

 

Also, I have decided not to switch to kinesiology, but am considering switching to biology since its more open to choices. For example, in biomed you have to do an honours thesis. But in biology you can choose to do it. I personally want to do it not just to improve my med application, but it might set back my GPA. However, I am fortunate to get a research practicum, and I feel it'll help me prepare for the thesis. Would you recommend doing an honours thesis to improve your med application? Perhaps if your 4th year, you can suggest if it's advisable to fit such a big project.

 

Also, I have done all the first year requirements for biology, so there isn't the whole course level being an issue if I swtich.

[_ _]

Thank you for telling me this. Just out of curiosity, what year are you in now?

 

Also, I have decided not to switch to kinesiology, but am considering switching to biology since its more open to choices. For example, in biomed you have to do an honours thesis. But in biology you can choose to do it. I personally want to do it not just to improve my med application, but it might set back my GPA. However, I am fortunate to get a research practicum, and I feel it'll help me prepare for the thesis. Would you recommend doing an honours thesis to improve your med application? Perhaps if your 4th year, you can suggest if it's advisable to fit such a big project.

 

Also, I have done all the first year requirements for biology, so there isn't the whole course level being an issue if I swtich.

No,because chances are it won't be included on your application. Even if you do include it, you'll be 2ish weeks in at the time you submit your application and likely have not even set foot in the lab yet, so it's not exactly going to improve your application by putting it on. Also some schools (Ottawa) are pretty clear that anything given course credit isn't scored. So sure, you can put it there, but it's not getting any points. 

 

The bio major seems like a happy medium. I actually just graduated from a biology major, which I took for a similar combination of interest and flexibility. My school was a very small school that didn't have a biomed/health/life science type program, so the bio major had a good number of human vs plant/animal courses  so I was able to take things I'm more interested in, and I was also able to count a bunch of psyc courses towards my major, which boosted my GPA. Although again, really look at what your best at. I'm better at essays than math/physics, so taking more psyc courses was best, but for some people it would be doing things like chemistry to fill up degree requirements and get your highest GPA possible

[Neurospora]

I am going into third year in York's Biology program.

Just wanted to clarify that you do not need to do an honours thesis in Biomed. Only Specialized Biology/Biomed streams require honours thesis.

And just to share my experience, I really enjoyed my second year biology courses. The profs are amazing, course contents are also fascinating, and you will meet many many bright and respectable classmates. One downside, however, is that Kin offers many medically relevant courses (i.e., epidemiology, cardiovascular diseases, muscle phys, etc) in fourth year. But you can always take them as electives.

 

Hope you find your second year experience enjoyable as well!