Guest neddy15 Posted April 13, 2002 Report Share Posted April 13, 2002 Hey I was just wandering if anybody outhere has taken Psychology as their undergrad major or specialist. How is the experience, and is it possible to obtain high marks. I am trying to select my major for next year, and i am having trouble deciding on one that will give me best possible marks for Med. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted April 13, 2002 Report Share Posted April 13, 2002 Choose something your interested in. . . you can get low marks in even the easiest program if you find it so boring you stop going to class. That being said, there are a number of Pysch majors in our class (UWO Meds 2005) so there's nothing wrong with doing Psychology as a major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Retic2002 Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 This is to UWO2005 what seems to be the most popular major in your med class?? I know this does not matter at all but I am kinda curious. Are their many students who chose a NON-science as their undergrad? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest me Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 At my school, there are a tremendous number of people who start out as premed bio majors and then transfer to being premed psych majors as they find out that it's easier... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Well, this is a totally subjective list of premed programs that I've seen as being common in the class. I've never counted exact numbers, but my impression is that there are a lot/a significant number of people from the following programs (in no particular order): Biochemistry (any University) Microbiology & Immunology (any University) Other Biological Sciences (any University) Life Science (Queen's) Human Biology (U of T) Biomedical Sciences? (Quelph) Arts & Science (McMaster) Psychology (Any University) Kinesiology (any University) A lot of people have also done combined degrees (ie Life Sciences & Psych, or Human Bio & Sociology) It really is a diverse class, but most people did bio-science type stuff in undergrad. The majority of the "non-bioscience" people did psych for undergrad (if you count that as "non-bioscience.") But there are also a number of people who did economics, political science, or sociology. I sometimes find them more interesting to talk to. . . they've studied a greater variety of stuff. I do find the people who have the easiest time in med school to be the people who did unofficial "premed" programs in undergrad (ie U of T's "Human Biology," Queen's "Life Science," or Guelph's "Biomedical Sciences.") Most of those programs involve a variety of anatomy, physiology, biochem, embryology/developmental biology, genetics, micro/immunology; so the people who did those programs have already had exposure to the 1st year curriculum. Of course, another way of looking at it is that they wasted 3 or 4 years studying what the rest of us are learning in 1 year. . . and the rest of us have studied other stuff as well. And we're pretty much all on the same level after 1st year - 2nd year is a whole new ball game, and 3rd year (the year that really matters) is far enough removed from UG that it really doesn't matter what you studied. Also, some of those programs really are designed for getting into med school. . . kind of a "med school or bust" situation. Admittedly - that's a bit of exageration, but I wouldn't go into one of those programs JUST to get into medical school. Really, I'd suggest studying what you're interested in, but remember that you will cover human biosciences in med school so it's good to have a background and you do have do reasonably well on the MCAT, so you should have a basic background in science. I'd suggest studying whatever you want, but also taking 1st year courses in Bio, Chem, a few 2nd year biologies, and 2nd year organic chem is kind of a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Actually, there's only one Guelph Biomed Sci grad in our (2005) class. ('cause it's not me). The other popular pre-med program at Guelph is Human Kinetics. (also not me). I definitely agree about the more "generally understood to be premed" programs making one's first year easier, while at the same time the diversity of the non-pre-med people making small group discussions much more educational for everyone. I would also offer that choosing your "major" doesn't lock you out of doing other courses. While some universities do give preference to people of a certain "major" in getting into some class-size restricted courses (ie, human anatomy at Guelph) there is nothing stopping a humanities major from doing a lab course in physiology, provided you have the prerequisites which you would have anyways in order to apply to schools such as Western and prep yourself for the MCAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 I really must second that you should not pick a major because you think it will be easy, but instead because you think you will pour your heart and soul into studying it. Majoring in Molecular Biology & Genetics and Minoring in Sociology, you'd think the sociology courses were easier. They most certainly were not. They required a different kind of thinking and challenged on entirely different levels. My better marks were in Genetics. But I value what I learned in Sociology just as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest me Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 your post begs the question - what undergrad major did you have? you've probably posted this somewhere-or-other, I guess... Also, why is 2nd year organic chem a must?? I am trying to avoid having to take it, since I've already written my mcats without it, and I'd much rather take a course in something fun. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Many med schools, UBC included, require second year Organic Chem as a pre-requisite to applying. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 Ian's right - it's a prereq for many med schools. It's also on the MCAT. As for myself, I did combined honours in Biochem and Microbiology & Immunology. . . but also took a lot of courses in History/Philosophy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest drspd Posted May 8, 2002 Report Share Posted May 8, 2002 I obtained a B.Sc. (specialized honours) in Psychology at York U. Hence, Psych majors can definately get into medical school. I did take all the pre-requisites courses and (since I'm at UWO) wrote the MCAT (cough, twice, cough, cough). Now on the issue of preparation for medical school... NO, I'm definately nowhere near some of my peers from Queens Life-Sci, UofT Human Bio, etc... Although, the material is semi-managable... You need to set limits on your expectations of yourself, i.e. you can't expect to be able to score as well on an immunology exam when you are comparing yourself to individuals who did their entire undergrad in immunology. Unfortunately, if you did an undergrad in straight psych, the areas that you will excel in won't necessarily be the areas that you are going to be tested in (although you'll have an easier time during the psych blocks in first and second year). To use myself as an example, the majority of my education was in visual neuroscience, clinical psychology/counselling and research methodology/design/analysis/statistics. Hence, I'm really comfortable in our clinical methods course, but not necessarily as comfortable in a course such as Biochem or Microbio. Bottom line however is that my undergrad. experiences will help me when I'm on the wards and when I'm participating in research... Considering these are areas that are important to me, I'm more than happy to suffer through painful basic sciences with my eyes set on spending time with patients during clerkship. One of the main reasons I did my undergrad. in psych was because I knew I wouldn't get much of it in medical school. Ya, this set me up to be more challenged by the curriculum, but I would never go back and change a thing. In regards to what your undergrad major should be, pick what you are interested in!!!!! Take a breath of courses and decide on the ones you enjoy the most. If you enjoy something, you'll do well at it and consequently you'll have an easier time getting into medical school! Sure, you'll have to take some courses you won't enjoy, but thems the breaks:) Another benefit of persuing a degree you are enjoying is that it provides you with several options in the event you are not admitted to medical school. You should definately have a back-up plan and this shouldn't simply be, "I'm going to do a masters degree and re-apply"... what happens if you get a masters and don't get in, what happens if you get a PhD and don't get in? will you be happy with that PhD and working in that area? Picking your major is a tough decision and not one you should take lightly. Really weight what you enjoy and have fun with your undergrad. education. It's not all about the light at the end of the tunnel (i.e. medical school), its about how you got there and what you did along the way. DRSPD UWO Meds'05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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