Bachelor of Health Sciences Programme @ McMaster

[Guest McMaster Health]

>>>So the only way to get a 4.0 average is to get entirely all A+s?

 

Let me give you an example:

For example you get the following grades in your first year:

 

Biology 1A03        A        11        3.9

Chemistry 1A03        A        11        3.9

Calculus 1A03        A+        12        4.0

Inquiry 1E06        A+        12        4.0 --- your midterm mark as it is a full year course

PsychoBio 1G03        A-        10        3.7

 

Biology 1AA3        A        11        3.9

Chemistry 1AA3        A+        12        4.0

Inquiry 1E06        A+        12        4.0 --- final grade that you use in your calculations

Physics 1B03        A        11        3.9

BioStats 1F03        A+        12        4.0

 

to calculate your MCMASTER average you would add all you grades (using 0-12 equivalent) (multiplying each grade by the number of units it represent) and divide by the total number of units:

 

(11+11+12+10+11+12+11+12)*3 + 12*6 = 342 / 30 = 11.4

 

to caculate your OMSAS average you would need to do the same but using an OMSAS equivalent (0-4.0)

 

so,there is no way to average 4.0 with getting at least one A

 

correct me if I am wrong

[Guest blinknoodle]

Those descriptions look right, MH.

Although I have never been a student Toronto, the grading system employed by universities are generally similar (on the conversion table, many schools have the "7" scale - Mac and Toronto included). In the end, the Mac system is the same as the Toronto system once crunched by OMSAS (yes, one A will mean not having a 4.0 average). But, who cares? When I was in first year, I was so happy that a 90 meant as much as a 99 in a course and no one knew the difference.

 

I hope this clarifies things a bit.

 

-bn

[Guest notic2]

what does it mean, like out of 12????

i understand gpa. 4.0 is the best possible but what are the other values? - like 8 / 12 etc

[Guest blinknoodle]

MH posted this before:

 

Grade Equivalent Grade Point Equivalent Percentages

A+ 12 90-100

A 11 85-89

A- 10 80-84

B+ 9 77-79

B 8 73-76

B- 7 70-72

C+ 6 67-69

C 5 63-66

C- 4 60-62

D+ 3 57-59

D 2 53-56

D- 1 50-52

F 0 0-49 -- Failure

 

You should probably be familiar with letter grades. The equivalent grade point is just another way of saying what your mark is (A+ means the same as 12) - this is the 12-point grade system which many, but not all schools use. The % tell you exactly what each grade point means and your actual mark can lie anywhere in the given range.

 

-bn

 

Edit: I tried to make things more like columns with lots of spaces, but they don't show up. So I changed the font colour instead to show you the different columns.

[Guest greggreg]

If you receive marks from 5 courses at U of T how do you average them to obtain your OMSAS GPA. For example, say you get a 90, 85, 95, 82, 98. Those percentages average to exactly a 90. Then a 90 gets converted to a 4.0 GPA on the OMSAS sheet? Is this how the gpa conversion is done?

 

Or is it done the following way:

90 = 4.00

85 - 3.90

95 = 4.00

82 = 3.70

98 = 4.00

 

average GPA = 3.92

[Guest McMaster Health]

this way:

90 = 4.00

85 - 3.90

95 = 4.00

82 = 3.70

98 = 4.00

 

average GPA = 3.92

[Guest greggreg]

Does anyone know if any of the first year Health Science courses count as "Life Sciences" courses required for entrance into U of T's med school?

[Guest McMaster Health]

yes...you get more than enough

University of Toronto

Academic Requirements:

 

12 units at any level (2 full courses) in Life Sciences (not Chemistry or Organic Chemistry, but including Biology and Biochemistry)

(e.g. HTH SCI 2K03 (2nd year cell Bio), BIOLOGY 1A03, BIOLOGY 1AA3, HTH SCI 2F03, HTH SCI 2FF3 (2F03+2FF3 are 2nd year anatomy&physio courses)).

6 units at any level (1 full course) in Humanities, Social Sciences, Language or Literature (e.g. HTH SCI 1E06 - inquiry).

 

Recommendation:

12 units (2 full courses) in courses that require expository writing (e.g. HTH SCI 1E06 - inquiry, HTH SCI 2E03 -2nd year inquiry, HTH SCI 2J03 - 2nd year hth psych).

3 units (1/2 course) in Statistics (e.g. HTH SCI 1F03).

 

 

University of Toronto has given approval for these courses.

[Guest greggreg]

Thanks for the info. However, in my original question I was wondering if I will have completed two "Life Science" courses after 1st year?

[Guest blinknoodle]

12 units at any level (2 full courses) in Life Sciences (not Chemistry or Organic Chemistry, but including Biology and Biochemistry)

(e.g. HTH SCI 2K03 (2nd year cell Bio), BIOLOGY 1A03, BIOLOGY 1AA3, HTH SCI 2F03, HTH SCI 2FF3 (2F03+2FF3 are 2nd year anatomy&physio courses)).

You won't get all your life science credits in first year (only 6 credits, bio 1A03 and 1AA3), but you will have all 12 credits through your required courses by second year (hth sci 2F03, 2FF3, 2K03).

 

All the courses MH posted are required through your degree. You don't need to pick up extra courses to fulfill Toronto's med requirements.

 

-bn

[Guest greggreg]

Hello to everyone on this thread. This post began as my first post ever on this forum. I am really impressed with how active and how many responses I have received on this thread!

 

Anyways, if anyone is interested, I finally decided to go to MacMaster instead of U of T. And now I feel really good about the decision and excited to attend the Health Sciences Programme in the fall.

 

I just have one more question:

In first year, if I took Health Sci 1G03 first term, then PSYCH 1AA3 second term, would this count as 1 life science credit (as defined by U of T's medical school admissions board)?

[Guest blinknoodle]

In first year, if I took Health Sci 1G03 first term, then PSYCH 1AA3 second term, would this count as 1 life science credit (as defined by U of T's medical school admissions board)?

Psych 1AA3 is definitely a life science credit. I'm not sure about 1G03 (only because it isn't on the list). But you will definitely get the last of your life science credits in second year (2K03, 2F03, 2FF3 among your choices). You could look for another life science for your second elective if you wanted it all finished in first year. If you really want to check 1G03 out, email Toronto admissions for an official answer, or see if Teresa knows anything. Although I think 1G03 is a fabulous course (you learn a lot about group work), you may be able to substitute psych 1A03 for 1G03 and get your two life science credits in first year.

 

Cheers,

-bn

[Guest Darkfalz]

This is just some background info about what to expect as far as the social aspect of health sci life, because I think at some points, it's almost as important as the schooling. =)

 

I'm going into 3rd year bio-psych at mac, and live with a health sci also going into 3rd year. Having friends in both the health sci program and the science program, its interesting to see how both collectives operate. As said before, Health Sci's can come off as elitest at first, but i think its just a preconception of them that most people have. No matter what program you are in, you may come off as snobbish, when in reality, all it is is shyness.

 

Health Scis, because of their tightly knit group, help each other out in EVERYTHING. A good example is second year organic chem. Big assignment coming up? Around 30-40 healthscis will conglomerate in the health sci lounge to share answers and work out the entire assignment together. Do you think the faculty of science would do this? Never. It's far too huge. My program actually has a cap of 40 people in it, and I only know 2 or 3 other bio-psychs because of poor organization.

 

This close group can have disadvantages though, in that you aren't as encouraged to branch out to all the other types of people at mac.

 

And don't fret too much about your GPA as a health sci. Health sci classes are bell curved so that the class average is always at least an 80% (10). My housemate said he heard it from Del himself (head of health sci, a man you'll get to know all too well.)

 

The real interesting numbers is when health scis take non healthsci classes, ie. organic chem and biochem. Thats when its humourous to see the shocked look on your health sci friend's faces when they find out that a lowly science kid kicked their asses. =)

[Guest McMaster Health]

>>>The real interesting numbers is when health scis take non healthsci classes, ie. organic chem and biochem. Thats when its humourous to see the shocked look on your health sci friend's faces when they find out that a lowly science kid kicked their asses. =)

 

that's not true...

From my experience, most hth scis always perform on the same level or even better in science courses than in most hth sci courses (examples are Orgo, Biochem, Physics)...there are more specific examples that I can talk about but it will start "which program is better" war...