Essay Course

[Guest TequilaFire]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but some med schools list one of their prerequisites as a course with an essay component. Which courses at McMaster qualify under this category (since I will be entering their Health Sciences program)? Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially if you've graduated from the program, as I'm having a difficult time choosing my courses:)

[Guest blinknoodle]

Hi TequilaFire,

 

Students in the BHSc program have compiled the pre-reqs for many potential programmes after graduation. I don't think it has been updated relatively recently so it is good to check out the official website, but you can see which courses have been approved by Western for the non-science component with the essay at www.bhss.ca/postgrad/medicine-uwo.html. You will see that all your inquiry courses and 2 second year health sci courses complete this requirement and you don't have to seek out electives. If you are looking for an essay course for another medical school, then you will have to ask them directly (I remember someone mentioning that Manitoba is picky on the English requirement and not all English courses will be sufficient). Most English courses have essay components (although not all) as well as other humanities courses - it is best to check out the course syllabus as it changes from year to year and from prof to prof.

 

Hope this helps and let me know if further questions.

 

Cheers,

-bn

[Guest TequilaFire]

Just what I needed, reallly I have a question, what should I do for my elective(s)? Should I just take anything I like (it seems that the health sciences program covers me for most prerequisites)? Do I really have an opportunity to do a minor/major etc with this program?

 

This seems like an odd question but should I take 2 half year courses or one full year course?... just because it seems as though the half year exams would be a little crowded.

[Guest blinknoodle]

Hey TequilaFire,

 

Yes, it is indeed possible to minor in another subject (your major is health sciences). I minored in biochem and had more than enough spare electives to take even more courses that I liked (ie. not in biochem).

 

This is my advice:

 

1. Check out all the pre-reqs you think you'd need (please be realistic -- you can't get the pre-reqs to every single school for every single program). I just stuck to Ontario med school pre-reqs, so the only additional courses I needed to pick up was organic chem and/or biochem (and both were creditted towards my biochem minor, woohoo!). However, if you are looking at Western Canadian and/or American schools, you may consider taking English, physics, and/or calculus (just off the top of my head). If you are looking at keeping your options open for other professional programs, you're probably looking at the same, although some programs have very specific pre-reqs (ie. optometry).

 

2. Read through the entire course calendar (the one with all the first, second, third and fourth year courses). See if any particular area really interests you. See if any of the courses really interest you, even if they are upper years. If a minor interests you now (you don't have to be), you can figure out if there are certain courses you must take to fulfill the minor.

 

3. Make sure you know what your mandatory courses are for your program.

 

4. Now fit everything together - sorta mapping out your four years in a general sense (fitting in the mandatory courses, pre-reqs and your courses of interest). Some courses have pre-reqs, so you have to make sure you take those beforehand [like calculus (MATH 1A03) is a pre-req for physics (PHYSICS 1B03) and biochem (BIOCHEM 2EE3)].

 

Personally when I was in first year, I was not this detailed AT ALL. I didn't think I wanted to go to medical school, so I picked courses that I liked. I didn't even think of a minor until during second year. You can go with the flow, too, because you have yet to be exposed to many of the courses just yet and your interests may change as the years progress.

 

With regards to two half courses vs a full year course, you can take either combo. If you have a full year course, you will most likely have a midterm at Christmas time which will be equivalent to an exam for a half course (ie. your midterm may only be 30% of your total mark, but since it is worth 2 1/2 courses, then it is like 60%). It really makes no difference; the end result will be the same around exam times (bare in mind that health sci 1E06 doesn't have an exam anyways).

 

To be honest, the grand majority of the students in my year took calculus (MATH 1A03) and psychology (PSYCH 1A03) as their electives. We had to take two 1/2 courses in the first semester back then. It is possible to PSYCH 1AA3 instead in second semester.

 

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I hope this helped (and didn't freak you out).

 

Cheers,

-bn

[Guest TequilaFire]

I just wanted to thank you again! All your information has been VERY helpful, and it didn't make me freak out. I actually calmed down after you posted here. Thank you.

[Guest blinknoodle]

No prob. I always found picking my courses to be really fun.

Let me know if any more questions arise.

 

Cheers,

-bn

[Guest aneliz]

By UWO's definition, an essay course is any course in which you had to write a full-length essay complete with references/foot-notes. An essay exam does not count. You can 'prove' it is an essay coures by submitting the course description, course outline or a letter from the dept/prof stating that you had to complete an essay for credit in the course.