Undergradute school DOES MATTER

[Guest notic2]

thank you everyone for their countless amounts of advice, time, etc.

I have finally decided on a university that i think i will succeed on, not based on reputation or whatsnot. This is based on the amount of First Year Courses Available, etc and the different options.

 

Thanks once again!

[Guest daryn]

That's good to hear.

 

I wish you luck, notic2.

[Guest aneliz]

I agree, nobody hates you.

 

Bottom line is this:

 

There is no 'formula' to get into med school... and contrary to popular belief/pre-med lore, med school admissions committees do not have check-off lists that go like this:

 

1. Science student (+1)

2. 'Hard' medicine related major (+5)

3. Studies at a big university in a major city with a good reputation (+5 points)

4. Studies at a smaller university without a med school (-10 pts)

5. Studies at our university already (+5 points)

6. Takes hardest classes possible to show commitment to academics (1 point)

7. Does hospital volunteer work each week (+10)

8. Varsity athlete (+5)

9. International volunteer work (+5)

10. Has done medical research (+5)

 

The 'check-off lists' (which don't actually exist...) are more something like this:

 

1. Has done undergraduate level work at an accredited university and has done reasonably well with a full work load.

 

2. Participates actively (and shows commitment to) *something* outside of academics - extra-currics, volunteer work, employment, family, etc...and QUALITY counts more than QUANTITY!

 

3. Has made some meaningful contribution to some cause other than themself

 

4. Has maturity, intelligence, insight and adaptability...is able to communicate well with other people and work both independently and together with others to achieve a goal...is able to self-reflect on successes and failures and learn from past experiences.

 

How you chose to achieve the above things is up to you...there is no 'expected' way to do it!

 

Good luck.

[Guest notic2]

now the program i'm going to only requires 4 courses : all kinesiology...the rest I can choose for electives (18 units)

 

Can anyone give me advice on what electives i should take???

 

Particular science courses that are needed, or for the mcat??

 

thanks once again

[Guest 15Sacha]

ok, now I hate you!! j/k.

 

Notic2, what are your choices for electives? If I have taken a course I can tell you a little about it. BTW, which program did you choose?

[Guest CTU24]

LOL too...didn't see that coming 15Sacha (in fact, I'm a little disappointed I didn't think of it myself.)

 

Notic2, please relax...speaking for myself, I can find better reasons to hate someone that an anonymous person looking for help on an altruistic message board.

 

As for electives, are they needed to meet med school requirements or just for interest sake???

 

Also, what schools are you interested in? In-province or out of province, US or overseas? (you don't need a specifc answer to this...a general one or even i don't know would work just to give us an idea of what your objectives are)

 

CTU24

[Guest notic2]

i chose the program: Mcmaster Kinesiology.

 

The four courses that are required are:

 

Kinesiology 1 A06

Human Anatomy and Phsyiology

 

Kinesiology 1E03

Psychmotor Behaviour

 

Kinesiology 1H03

Sport, Human Movement and Culture

 

Kinesiology 1KlO

Introduction to Kinesiology

 

Those are the twelve required Units

 

The rest, Electives are 18 units:

 

 

They have courses ranging from Anthropology to Women's Studies....

 

I can write down the list...but I"m not sure if i should??

I can say for a fact that the whole electives page is only about 4 pages with a Size 12 font....not a lot of choices:)

[Guest notic2]

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[Guest notic2]

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[Guest notic2]

I plan to go to medical school whereout basically.I dont care where, etc just as long as I can become a doctor practicing either in canada, us , etc

 

In that case, should i research most of the schools myself??? Or is there a suggested course list for first year in order to I guess develop good skills and preques for med, becase basically this program allows for many options I am pursuing my own interests (but necessary things come first

Thanks so much once again

[Guest blinknoodle]

Hi notic2,

 

Have a careful look at the program you have chosen and see whether there are requirements for entry into level 2. I know that in first year science at Mac, there are few "required" courses, but for each program in level 2, there are different necessary pre-reqs to continue in the program. I would be surprised if you don't have to take calculus (math 1A03), biology (bio 1A03 and 1AA3) and chemistry (chem 1A03 and 1AA3) for second year entry. As a bonus, many of these are requirements for medical schools, and many are pre-reqs for other courses that are requirements for medical schools (ie. organic chem and biochemistry). Since you have a lot of pre-reqs, I would suggest reading through the entire course calendar (it is online here) and see whether any upper year courses pique your interest that would necessitate any first year pre-reqs (ie. abnormal psych is a popular choice that comes to mind). If you are keeping your options open across the country and the states, you will need to look into taking physics (with calculus as a pre-req), english, humanities, life science, biochem, organic chem, etc. If you are sticking with just Ontario, you don't have to take nearly as many med school pre-reqs. I would personally suggest looking up the pre-reqs for each school yourself - and check them periodically throughout your degree. Since I was in first year, Western changed their pre-reqs considerably. I'm sure kin has counsellors to help you choose your courses wisely - ask them for guidance.

 

Good luck.

 

-bn

[Guest notic2]

Game 6 Tonight!!!!!

[Guest polarbearguy]

There are some systematic differences involved in applying from some schools. For example, if applying to UBC, a UVic applicant may be disadvantaged in ONE area of her or his application. This does not mean that UVic applicants are disadvantaged in general - I cannot speak to that - however, a gpa calculated for a UVic student can be lower than the gpa calculated for equivalent performance at UBC.

 

UBC undergrad student applying to UBC med ==>

40 courses with 89% earned in each course.

GPA = 89%

 

UVic undergrad student applying to UBC med ==>

40 courses with 89% in each course.

GPA = 85%

 

The discrepancy exists because uvic only reports the letter grade on transcripts. The UBC registrar calculates gpa based on the lower bound of each grade earned. Therefore, a UVic applicant cannot earn a GPA of over 90% while a UBC applicant (who's grades are reported in percentage) can potentially earn 100%.

 

UBC attempts to correct for this by offering points based on lower-bound cutoffs. So, the two students outlined above would likely get the same score out of 25. Where there would be a difference is when a UVic student earns a GPA of 78% based on letter grade lower bound (UBC conversion) calculations but who's real percentage average is 80%. This student would be disadvantaged relative to a UBC student.

 

This kept a number of applicants from receiving interviews.

 

Now, of course GPA is not the only factor and there may be other factors that advantage a UVic student over one from UBC. For instance, UVic classes tend to be smaller than their counterparts at UBC. This could offer UVic students more access to profs and thus may help to improve performance in grades if access to profs is your thing.

 

Saying that, student-school fit should be paramount as the schools are all likely relatively similar and the largest gains are usually realized through student preference factors. But, in nature, no two things are ever identical and I have a hard time believing that undergrad institutions would be any different. Although I would like to claim that all schools are identical, and thus reduce the appeal of making choices based on boosting a med application, to do so is to misrepresent the truth. There will be students that will do just as well in two different environments and for these people, school choice will make a difference.

 

This view was substantiated during a conversation I had with a member of one of the Ontario admissions departments. Off the record, she told me that they know full well that some programs are inherently harder to earn higher gpa's than others (irrespective of the student) but, until they could scale for each program at each school, they wouldn't scale for any one of them. Thus, at least at this particular school, they don't scale because there's no need to, rather because they can't universalize the process.

 

The last thing I want to see are med applicants who shy away from challenging programs and experiences. These are not the people whom most of us want to become doctors. However, if we just believe that this is a non-issue, nothing will change and efforts to take on challenges will not be as heavily rewarded as they should be.

 

While many of the application boosters will probably be flagged during interviews, I can only imagine that a significant number of them slip through. I have a hard time disclosing what may be a shortcut; but to me, it's better to air this out than to pretend it doesn't exist.

[Guest marbledust]

But, in nature, no two things are ever identical and I have a hard time believing that undergrad institutions would be any different. Although I would like to claim that all schools are identical, and thus reduce the appeal of making choices based on boosting a med application, to do so is to misrepresent the truth.

 

I don't think anybody here has inferred that all school/programs are equal. They aren't. However, within a program (ie if you are going to study Physics), there is not likely going to be major differences in the quality of education you recieve at any accredited university in Canada. Every school has its strengths and weaknesses there is no denying that, but I think in the end you are going to get a solid education regardless, if you choose to. You get what you put into it.

 

 

There will be students that will do just as well in two different environments and for these people, school choice will make a difference.

 

In what way?

 

 

The last thing I want to see are med applicants who shy away from challenging programs and experiences. These are not the people whom most of us want to become doctors. However, if we just believe that this is a non-issue, nothing will change and efforts to take on challenges will not be as heavily rewarded as they should be.

 

I'm not sure this kind of thinking is particularly beneficial when it comes to the medical school admission process. It's not really fair to catagorize a program in molecular genetics as being more difficult than one in drama - they are different, it's like comparing apples and oranges. A *tougher* program doesn't mean the students in it will make better physicians than those in other programs. This is being reflected in the fact that more people with non-science backgounds are being admitted into medicine. There is value in diversity. Would you want a med class with 100% bio science majors? I don't think admission committees do. I think the trend towards welcoming more those with non-bio science degrees will increase in the future.

 

I'm not sure what you are referring to by not being rewarded for taking on challenging things? Do you mean an interview/acceptance to medical school by virtue of enrolling in a program that is percieved as more difficult than somebody else? Certain programs turn out more worthy candidates?

 

**disclaimer: I have nothing personally against bio science major/grads :lol **

[Guest notic2]

Another thing...is there semesters in University?

 

Like I'm not reallly sure how that goes

[Guest s sadry]

at u of t we have full year and half year courses

[Guest notic2]

So any suggestions about what courses I should take?

[Guest CTU24]

What you need to do is research the prereqs from different med schools...I only know Ontario well, but it is VERY different in others parts of Canada and the US.

 

In general most schools require:

General chem, organic chem, biochem, biology, physics, and at least one arts/social science class (this can all range from 0.5 credit or one semester/half a year to 1 credit or 2 semesters/full year.)

 

Some schools (outside Ontario) require to varying degrees:

English, calculus, statistics (though I would appreciate if this could be verified b/c the resources I am using are 2002.)

 

Ultimately, you should plan first and second year so that you can meet these requirements while also taking courses that interest you. It won't be too much fun to overload yourself w/ premed courses when you could take more intersting courses (like social anthropology, history, and philosophy courses that I was able to fit in). Try not to be overwhelemed...you have lots of time to meet these prereqs, and all it takes is a little planning. Once you get the course calendar lingo down, you'll be flying.

 

Best of luck, and hope that helped,

 

CTU24

[Guest notic2]

Thanks for your info!!