Western undergrad programs

[Guest tina]

I am in high school and applied to the Health Sciences Program at western. Is any one here a gradute or a student in the program? I would love to hear from you about how the program differs from teh Science program and what the benefits of taking it are?

 

I was checking out another topic under General. Some one talking about the Scholar Electives program. I have the marks to apply to this... but I am not sure if it is right for me... I really don't know what courses I'd choose if I were in it. What do you guys think of this program?

 

Thanks for your help.

[Guest Liana]

Hi tina,

 

I'm not a student at Western, but I did peruse some of the programs that you're interested in, so I can tell you some my perspectives on them. Take these with a grain of salt, as they are an outsider's perspective, and the truest advice is that that comes from a current student there.

 

I have a friend who considered applying to the Western health science program, and I counselled her through this decision. Ultimately, she decided to go elsewhere, but I did get a insight into this interesting program regardless. If this is the program offered through one of Western's colleges across the street, then we're talking about the same thing; if there's a new program right at Western, this information may not apply. What I would seriously recommend is doing a little surfing around their website to find the calendar for this program and to take a look at the courses you would be taking throughout your degree. When I was looking for my friend (in 2000, so this may have changed), the program was very much about the social aspects of healthcare. The program seemed to be a lot more about the philosophy and psychology of caregiving, rather than the scientific aspects emphasized at similar programs at schools like Mac or Guelph. Not that this is a bad thing. I think it's great that different schools can carve out unique niches rather than just offering the exact same program; however, you would have to determine if this style of program is truly for you. If you want to do something other than the standard science courses, and gain a different perspective on medicine, then I would recommend checking out this program further, but if you're looking for something more like your standard pre-med program, then this one may not be for you. This is not to say that Western's other science programs wouldn't offer you this option. Just because you want to be a doctor today doesn't mean you have to enter a pre-med program. If you have interests in addition to your love for human biological sciences, I would seriously recommend looking at other science programs as well, because they often give you the opportunity to develop those other areas of interests (ie, more room for minors, wider range of science courses you can take - eg, chemistry, math, physics, geology, etc). If you make it to med school, they'll teach you everything you need to know there. There are only a handful of courses that any school will ask you to have taken, and some schools have no prerequisites whatsoever. There's nothing wrong with taking a premed program, if you're sure that's what you really want to take, but if you have other interests, you could always use this as an opportunity to develop yourself in those areas as well. It may help you to stand out from all of the other bio sci majors at interview time, and if you truly enjoy the program, it will probably be reflected in your marks as well.

 

The Scholar's Electives Program is the other end of the spectrum. You can take more or less whatever you want in this program. However, this is essentially designed for those students who have an area of interest that isn't usually offered by most programs. I considered this program when I was in OAC, because I knew I wanted to study neurochemistry. Since you still seem open to most areas of study, this program may only confuse you. True, it will give you the opportunity to take any courses you wish, with no restrictions which courses you may take, but I think the administration generally likes you to have a well-defined area of interest which you study. Sure, the exclusive program title sounds nice, but ultimately, I'm sure there are a lot of other well-defined programs at Western, or any other school of interest, that would offer you the courses in which you are interested. Bottom line: make the school's undergraduate calendar your best friend. Check out the course requirements for every program of interest; if you like all of the required courses (with the exception of the random first year math or physics, which is a hurdle for a lot of people at any school), great. If there are a few classes in the upper years that sound horribly uninteresting to you, or if there are a lot of labs and you don't like that (or contrarily, if the courses seem to be very essay-based, and you hate writing) then see if there is another program that better suits you.

 

The best advice I can give you is that the description of the program in the Admissions material will fluff up the program, but tells you very little. In order to get a true idea of what is really involved, to see the highlights or the downfalls to a program, check out the calendar and speak to current students.