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Premed programs (pls let me know if asking this here is against the rules since I can delete it)


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Hello everyone,

I wanted your honest opinion as a medical student, does the program you take in undergrad matter? Are there notable differences between taking a general science degree across universities? I have thankfully gotten accepted into uOttawa (biomedical science and health science) as well as UofT life science (utsg/utsc) and I wanted some help on deciding between the two. I am really confused and my siblings and I are technically first gens (i'm the middle child and my older brother goes to mcmaster for business) so I could really use the help. 

Most people prefer not to turn down the offer for UofT, but then again, a lot of people still say it is very hard to do well in. Are any of these unis/programs better for networking/opportunities/gpa if I am a student who will put in the effort? For UofT, what makes it considerably harder than any other university (i.e. mcmaster life sciences)? do profs actually curve down, are tests more challenging, or do profs make confusing lectures causing everyone to self-learn the material more, or is it just a vocal minority since uoft accepts people from a wide range of grades? For uOttawa, not many people actually talk about it so I would like to know anything about it. It seems like people have a hard time turning down that uoft offer, but is there an actual good reason for it. Would grad schools/profs I apply to research for during my undergrad/jobs care more if I go to a prestigious university? 

Any guidance on this would be appreciated, thank you so much!

(Also if I cannot post this on this forum, please let me know; I didn't have any luck on the other, so I am giving it my second shot as I could really use the help)

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It's true to that UofT is more prestigious and rigorous. However, undergrad prestige and rigour plays no role in Medical School admissions in Canada. If you were doing engineering or business then the UofT's reputation might help. But you're not doing those things so it doesn't help. In fact, UofT's rigour can work against you by deflating your GPA.

The most important thing is to go wherever you think you'll get the higher GPA and have the best support system. If you have a better support system(family, friends, cost of living, etc.) in Toronto then choose Toronto. If your support system is better in Ottawa, go to Ottawa. Evaluate your support system and the ease of getting a good GPA at each program and then choose.

 

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I went to U of T for undergrad and heard all the same things. To my knowledge, I was never "curved down" in any course. I felt that all of the courses I took were fair in terms of grading and it was definitely possible to get a high GPA by working hard. But I don't know how it compares to other universities.

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41 minutes ago, Artier said:

I went to U of T for undergrad and heard all the same things. To my knowledge, I was never "curved down" in any course. I felt that all of the courses I took were fair in terms of grading and it was definitely possible to get a high GPA by working hard. But I don't know how it compares to other universities.

I honestly think it’s just a myth that UofT is significant harder than other schools. It’s the sort of thing that upperclassmen have passed on to freshmen who take it as gospel and pass it to the next class of students. Not to mention that Ontario high schools (esp. the private schools which are basically “pay to win” at this point) have hyper inflated grades. I think a lot of students come in thinking they’re the shit just because they got a 95% avg and then are shocked when they score 60%on their first ochem midterm after having studied one night like they did in high school.
 

Oh and the whole “curving down” thing is patently false; it’s literally not allowed for classes to be graded on a curve at UofT, check the faculty handbook.

I went to UofT life sciences and most of my friend group got into med school. Won’t advise OP to go to UofT or not. There are many good reasons to go to UofT like having access to the best research opportunities and learning from world-class professors, and many reasons not to go to UofT like being away from family/support networks and the high cost of living. BUT I don’t think anyone should choose to not go to UofT just because of they’ve heard it’s “hard”.

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22 minutes ago, zxcccxz said:

Oh and the whole “curving down” thing is patently false; it’s literally not allowed for classes to be graded on a curve at UofT, check the faculty handbook.

Wish it was like that at my undergrad school. Got a B+ freshman year Gen-Chem with two 88s on the Midterm and 90 on the Final. The Chemistry department had a strict curve to a B/B-.

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Reading the replies here ... you're living on a different planet if you think, for example, that organic chemistry is equally as difficult at Guelph as it is at UofT. Some schools are easier than others. This means some schools are more difficult than others. If a course is expected to have a certain class average, the population of students that are more intelligent (strictly speaking in terms of academic performance) must be given a more difficult test. Therefore two students with equal academic intelligence will perform differently depending on which pool of students they are in. A program with a higher standard of entry will be the more difficult pool (i.e. UofT).

I've seen students post about this time and time again and they inevitable rationalize going to UofT.

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1 hour ago, Ctrlaltdeleteme said:

Would grad schools/profs I apply to research for during my undergrad/jobs care more if I go to a prestigious university? 

The best thing you can do to help this is not choose a general biology or health science program. If you don't get into medical school, you'll look like any one of hundreds of medical school rejects. (This is especially true for those who aren't even interested in medical school but choose a biology degree. It's a shame how much money people pay for these degrees just to graduate and sell insurance or become realtors). Choose something more specialized: biochemistry, biotechnology, etc.

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