m28 Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 Hello, I got accepted into both programs and I can't decide which offer to accept. My end goal is to apply to medical school. Laurier Pros: a small program and therefore easier for research opportunities and reference letters! - Mostly the social aspect of health so easier to obtain a higher gpa?! Cons: Transportation Guelph Pros: closer to where I live Cons: a larger program(more competitive and difficult to obtain research opportunities?!), I have to take physics first year (I did not take gr.12 physics). Harder to get a high gpa?! I would really appreciate any comments/advice from current students in both programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FingersCrossedPls Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 Hi there! Here are the same 3 pieces of advice I gave my younger brother's friend in a similar situation to you! ( I did biomedical science at Waterloo and I am starting UofT med in the fall, and honestly most premed programs are exactly the same) 1. Pick the degree you think you will enjoy the most- Makes it much easier to have a good GPA when you are taking classes you enjoy and can get involved in your true areas of interest (leads to better letters of rec and ECs ) 2. Make sure that the degree you pick has enough flexibility for you to take any and all prereqs of any and all med schools you want to apply to (med schools have different prereqs, some may not already be necessary in order to complete your degree so you have to make sure you can take them to fulfill the med school requirements) 3. Pick the school you think you will be happiest at. You do your best work when you are happy and healthy and comfortable. Whether this is proximity to home, having friends near by, or being in love with the campus; all of your thoughts on it are important! One thing to note that may be controversial but is unfortunately true, a BSc in Biomed or health sci really only prepares you to apply to professional school. Otherwise, it is very difficult to get a job in most other areas whether that be research, health policy etc; unless of course you get involved in these areas early on in your degree and tailor the rest of your degree toward those areas. Just keep that in mind! All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m28 Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 5 hours ago, FingersCrossedPls said: Hi there! Here are the same 3 pieces of advice I gave my younger brother's friend in a similar situation to you! ( I did biomedical science at Waterloo and I am starting UofT med in the fall, and honestly most premed programs are exactly the same) 1. Pick the degree you think you will enjoy the most- Makes it much easier to have a good GPA when you are taking classes you enjoy and can get involved in your true areas of interest (leads to better letters of rec and ECs ) 2. Make sure that the degree you pick has enough flexibility for you to take any and all prereqs of any and all med schools you want to apply to (med schools have different prereqs, some may not already be necessary in order to complete your degree so you have to make sure you can take them to fulfill the med school requirements) 3. Pick the school you think you will be happiest at. You do your best work when you are happy and healthy and comfortable. Whether this is proximity to home, having friends near by, or being in love with the campus; all of your thoughts on it are important! One thing to note that may be controversial but is unfortunately true, a BSc in Biomed or health sci really only prepares you to apply to professional school. Otherwise, it is very difficult to get a job in most other areas whether that be research, health policy etc; unless of course you get involved in these areas early on in your degree and tailor the rest of your degree toward those areas. Just keep that in mind! All the best! Thank you so much for your thorough answer!. Regarding prerequisites, do courses like "Biological Concepts of Health" and "Discovering Biodiversity considered" suffice for medical schools' Biology prereqs?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FingersCrossedPls Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 6 hours ago, m28 said: Thank you so much for your thorough answer!. Regarding prerequisites, do courses like "Biological Concepts of Health" and "Discovering Biodiversity considered" suffice for medical schools' Biology prereqs?. No problem! Happy to help. In all honesty you would need to check each individual medical school’s requirements. Usually they list their prerequisites and then they have a description of what the course must be like to satisfy the prerequisite requirements. These prerequisites almost always include lab work as well for the foundational sciences (bio+lab, chem+lab, physics+lab) and usually 2 semesters worth of courses (ie. taking biology 101 and 102 + biology lab 101 and biology lab 102 for example. These probably aren’t your real course codes but just an example). More often than not, if you’re unsure if it satisfies the requirement you can contact the medical school and ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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