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Auditing essay courses


Guest Crazyformeds

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Guest Crazyformeds

Hello,

 

Is anyone getting their professors to send letters to UWO to confirm that essays were required? I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to work.

 

Thanks

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Guest PDSP

Crazyformeds:

 

To avoid inconveniencing my professor, I prepared the letter for him in word and e-mailed it to him, complete with the UWO mailing address. All he had to do was sign the letter and mail it.

 

The letter went something like:

 

Ms. Darla McNeil

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Admissions

Medical Sciences Building

The University of Western Ontario

London, Ontario

N6A 5C1

 

Ms. McNeil,

 

I write to you as a result of a request by one of my former students, PD:p , who is currently being considered by the University of Western Ontario for admission to the Doctor of Medicine program. The University of Toronto course HPS284H1 – History of North American Technology has an essay component to the course structure. The students are expected to complete XX short-essays over the course of the term. PD:p successfully completed this course in the spring of 2001.

 

If you have any questions regarding the content or structure of the course, please feel to contact me by phone at X or by e-mail at X .

 

Sincerely,

 

Prof. X

 

cc:        PD:p

 

Hope this helps. PD :\

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Guest Crazyformeds

Hey PDSP!

 

Thanks for the advice. Does this mean that you decided to go to UWO instead of U of T? (I read that thread a while ago).

 

:)

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Guest PDSP

Crazyfromeds:

 

No, I have not made up my mind as of yet. I had prepared this letter a while ago as I wasn't sure if the course would fulfill the essay requirement. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to take a summer course.

 

Still thinking....

 

PD

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Guest Krish

Hey guys,

 

Just sent in my acceptance of UWO's offer and declined Mac's.

 

Excited to meet all of you in September.

 

Timmy and Aneliz: Thanks for all your help!!!

 

Take care,

Krish

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Guest TimmyMax

Hey Krish,

 

No problem, dude, see you at O-Week! In the meantime, for a more UWO-specific discussion, check out the UWOMeds.com forums. Have a great summer and we'll look for you after White Coat! :D

 

Timmy

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Interleukin

Is it correct that the essay course may be ANY NON-SCIENCE Course with at LEAST ONE essay as a part of the course evaluation?

 

Does the essay need to be have to be weighted 50%+ or at least a certain amount for it to be counted?!

 

I HOPE NOT!!!!

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Guest TimmyMax

Hey,

 

As it says on the UWO website: "The validity of essay courses will be audited". If you want to find out if your course is acceptable, then email Admissions and ask.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

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Guest aneliz

An essay course is "any non-science course in which you were required to write at least one full length (as appropriate to course level) essay complete with references" Courses with essay format exams only DO NOT COUNT. I am not sure if there is a specific 'weight' that the essay must have in the overall course evaluation...you can check that directly with the admissions office...they are the most reliable source of answers!

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Guest pilotgrrl

Nur ein Fragen!

 

Err...By the end of third year, all my non-science courses will be German language/lit courses. So if one's essay course (and hence the essay) was conducted entirely in a foreign language, would the admissions committee still accept this?

 

Okay, thanks. 8o

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Guest aneliz

You would have to check with them for sure....but I am pretty sure that the answer is going to be NO.

 

The point of the essay course is to prove that you are literate in English....rather than requiring you to take an English course as a pre-req they will accept any course in which you were required to do and were evaluated on a significant written assignment. I don't think that doing it in German, or French, or Spanish...or whatever other language is quite what they have in mind...but you can always check with them.

 

Good luck!

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Guest IAMTORONTONIAN

Pilotgrrl,

 

Please post the response you get from the admissions office. I am curious to know if they'll accept a foreign language lit course as an essay course. Thanks!

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Guest pilotgrrl

So my email to the admissions people has been sent. I'll post the reply as soon as I hear from them.

 

It's an interesting question because I meet their English requirement with a credit in OAC English. Perhaps what their looking for in the essay course is not English proficiency, then? How well one does in an essay course depends primarily on their critical thinking abilities and communication skills. I personally think that writing an essay in another language is more challenging but hey, maybe it's just me.

 

8o

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Guest aneliz

You make a valid point....but having been on the admissions committee this year, they do use the essay course as proof of your English language skills....

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Guest pilotgrrl

Excellent news! I received the following email today:

 

 

It does not matter what non-science course you use as long as there is an essay component to the course.

 

D. McNeil

Manager

Admissions/Student & Equity Affairs

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

The University of Western Ontario

 

8o

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Guest MDin2006

Hi

 

I'm doing an honours thesis next year....the material that will be covered is acceptable for either arts or science credits. As I am in the faculty of pure and applied science, however, it will count as a science course.....

 

1) Can an honours thesis be counted as an "essay course"?

2) If the honours thesis appears as a science course on my transcript, but I have a prof. state that the material can be counted as arts, will that work?

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Guest TimmyMax

Hey,

 

I don't believe that an honours thesis course counts as an "essay" course, but I am not 100%. Check with Darla to get the official word on this one.

As for arts vs. science, I think that you have to go by UWO's definition of which are arts courses and which are science courses. Again, check with Darla to be sure on that one as well.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

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Guest MDin2006

Just got off the phone with the admissions office and thought I would let everyone know that as long as your supervisor is willing to write a letter stating that your honours thesis involved the writing of an essay, Westen will accept it as an essay course. :D

 

Also, all psych courses are considered non-science courses at Western.......:rollin

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Guest Interleukin

DAMN!!

 

You mean to tell me I spent money on summer school when I didn't have to!? DOH!!!!!

 

Oh well, better safe than sorry....thanks for checking into this for everyone! :)

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