Guest MangoPie1015 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 hello, i was just wondering what the first year of university is like? i hear its really bad because you have to take all these loans, you live away from family and the work is at a much more intense level than high school. how did you guys find your way around the university? was everything really fast ? i keep stressing over these situations constantly :x anyways i have a few questions about first year courses. is it a must that you take first year math and english? i found some interesting courses at UBC that i was considering after the premed prerqes. do these courses require any prereqs in high school? economics philosopy polictical science sociology psycology |I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chowchilla Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 if you're in highschool, don't stress out over life in university. personally, highschool was a blast and now that i'm bogged down with university, i wish that i had taken the time to enjoy it a little more. university is fun in it's own way at times, but highschool is completely different. worry about university life once you get into university. as for first year at univ, it's hell for most students, while for others it's an absolute blast. it all depends really. just get to know a lot of people, don't be intimidated by the huge classes (i was traumatized when i entered con hall for first year bio here at uoft...more students in one class than in my entire highschool), and keep up with the work. a hell lot of work. i have no idea about the higschool courses though. sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 007 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 You may be required to take first-year math depending on what program you get into. For example, at Queen's, you need to take MATH121 if you are in the Life Sciences program. I can't think of any programs that require you to take first year English...except if you want to be an English major. However, some medical schools (UofA for example) require you to have a University English credit. With regards to the other courses you're looking at, I know at Queen's you don't need any high school prerequisites to take them, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to see if you couldn't get the course calendar for the school you're interested in (sometimes you can get this information on the school website). If you look up the course, it should say if any pre-requisites are needed. 007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sn0w0wl Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 I can't say for sure, but my impression is that you don't need certain high school prerequisites to take the courses you listed (certain backgrounds may be recommended or helpful, but just not required). Universities probably like to keep these kinds of 100 level courses open to all, so you can get a taste of what is ahead in upper level courses (most students wouldn't have had a lot of direct exposure to these subject in high school). A lot of students of all kinds of programs will take these courses for interest (as electives). Just make sure you have the high school courses necessary for your program in general (eg. arts vs science), don't worry so much about specific courses. In the sciences there are often a variety of 100-level courses in a subject depending on whether you had Biology or Physics 12, for example. (But it doesn't hurt to have a chat with your high school guidance counsellor about this.) It's up to your major whether you need math or english. I'm in life sciences, and I'm not sure that I ever needed the calculus (first year math) that I had to take, but I think english is good to take regardless; some programs you may wish to apply to later (eg. med, pharmacy, whatever) may need a bit of english. Writing standards in university are much higher, so it is good for your own development to take a composition course. University is both a fun and challenging experience. You have a lot more freedom, and it's up to you to keep on top of your courses--no one will be looking over your shoulder. Don't worry about it now, though, you'll miss high school soon enough. If you end up going to uni away from home, consider living in residence first year. It's a lot of fun, you meet lots of people, and it eases the transition to living on your own, paying bills and doing laundry, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Hey, I don't think any of those courses have high-school pre-reqs. I'd recommend taking Philosophy in your first year. It will give you a REALLY easy and relaxing elective. At UBC, EVERYONE has to take 6-credits of first year english(usually 110 and 112) to graduate. And, some med schools require some writing courses(ie. UBC MED), so you'll need them to fulfill those requirements. As for math, it really depends on your major. If you're a science major, YES. Math 102\103 is the "typical" life science stream math. But if you're in arts, probably not(unless you're studying ECON, which gets very mathy as you go on to upper years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest byjude Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 First year is designed to allow you to adjust, and there are plenty of resources available to help you do that - friends, residence activities, program activities, & other services at university that are there for the sole purpose of making the transition as pleasant as possible. If you're lonely, there are clubs, and other people in your residence (if you opt for residence, which I highly recommend). If you're having trouble keeping up in school, there are often services like academic counselors, tutors, and study groups. If you're willing to make an effort to find them, these services exist. The other thing is that it's pretty much expected that first year is an adjustment year - so a lot of med schools won't hold a bad first year against you. Some med schools only look at your best 2 years, or pay more attention to your last 2 years, etc. Some first year courses are specifically designed as weed-out courses - depending on the school and the professor - while others are completely nurturing experiences. Inevitably, first year is what you make of it. If you spend all of your time with your books, your marks might be good, but you probably won't enjoy the experience, what is made out to be the best years of your life. If you spend all your time with your friends, you may not have the chance to experience all four of those best years . Somewhere between these two extremes lies a balance between work and play, and it's up to you to find it - that's what first year is really for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 I graduated from UBC in 2002 so I can give you some insight into life at The Point. economics--never took it, but I hear it's pretty easy. philosopy--Take Phil 120, and if you enjoy it, 220. These are the logic courses and are extremely easy. If Burkholder is still around, take it with him. Online quizzes are worth the bulk of your grade. polictical science--never took it. sociology--friend was a sociology major. It's pretty interesting stuff, I think. psycology--I really do not like psych, so I stayed away from all psych courses, but it's a really easy course, or so I hear. If you're good at math I strongly encourage you to take Math 120/121 or if you have AP credit take the challenge exam to place out of Calc I and take Math 101/223 or 200 your first year. Remember to have a balanced life as you enter college. It's never too good to study all the time and not do the stuff you enjoy (same goes for med school). It's important to do well in science but it's also important to remember that you should study something you enjoy. I did math and physics at UBC and did not regret one minute of it, except that maybe I wish I would've taken more courses in Asian Studies and French. You'll get all the biomed stuff in med school, no point of learning it twice (unless you really really enjoy it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Hey Moo, you did a degree in math and phys? I'm a Math major at UBC! hahahaha... Do you know of any others in your graduating class that got into medicine? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lactic Folly Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 As for finding my way around the university, I just took a map and wandered around all the buildings to find where everything was.. grabbed all the pamphlets that were available.. explored the university's website. There is an extensive range of services and activities for students out there, and it may be well worth it to familiarize yourself with them. Good luck and have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MangoPie1015 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 thanks for info guy, its a big relief. theres a psycology course at my school in which i was interested in but i couldnt take it because i had to take 3 sciences. should i worry about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 it shouldn't be a problem if you didn't take psyc in high school! Here's how psych100 works at UBC: it's a full-year courses, and you have 6 exams throughout the year. All are non-cumulative, and all M\C. There is no formal "final" for the course. But of course you may have one of those six tests during the exam break. From what I hear, the course is ALL MEMORIZATION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 hey mitchie41, good to see a fellow math major! a UBC student to boot! Yeah, I was in the combined honors math and physics program. I started out as honors physics but sometime during third year I got sick of physics and decided to take more math. I know of one girl who had a super high GPA who got into McGill dent (she wanted to be a dentist in the first place). I know of one other girl who was in biophysics who applied but I don't know where she ended up (last I heard she interviewed at UT, Finch and Georgetown) and one other girl in math who wanted to do med but I don't know where she is now. I go back to UBC once in a while to visit. Anyway, sorry for hijacking this thread, but if you have more questions about how med school is like for a math major, just PM me or email me at ngbe2537@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ADOMNIAPARATUS Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 MangoPie1015, it's different for everyone... most of my friends adjusted quite well and some really loved it! unfortunately it was real tough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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