Guest mitchie41 Posted April 18, 2003 Report Share Posted April 18, 2003 I was reading one of the previous posts(I forgot which one), and it said that UBC counts only for Last 60 credits and overall average as part of your Raw Academic Score out of 25. does this mean that the prerequisite courses are not taken into consideration at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ssup Posted April 18, 2003 Report Share Posted April 18, 2003 mitchie41, I've attended a few seminar/info sessions with the faculty of med admissions director and she's mentioned more than once that they're looking for TRENDS: In other words, they look for how your pre-req average compares to your overall/last 60 credits. If there is a big difference between the two than that could reflect negatively on you...From what I understand, they expect that this average will be somewhat lower (even if you check the website it shows that the pre-req avg is consistently 4-5% lower than the overall avg for those that get in) but if you were getting 70s in your pre-req courses and 95s in your electives then that might be a red flag! Hope that helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vincecarterxv Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 It depends on what you consider prereqs and electives. If the electives contain some core sci courses required for your program (say a genetics course, or cell physiology), then those would carry some weight. Most of your prereqs are from first year courses. To be honest, regardless of how one did in those courses, they were simple compared to some upper level core courses at UBC. Most upper level core courses are probably just as important. Say, if you get 70s in your prereq, and 90's in some core courses (ie those required for a cell bi and gen degree), then that would show them you have much aptitude. If the situation were reversed, 90's in prereq and 70's in core courses in third year, that is MUCH worse. That is also why UBC focuses on the last 60 credits, because those tend to be harder courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest notamedic Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Hey vincecarterrxv, Did you base your reply on some information that's been given to you, or are you basing it purely on what seems logical. I agree with you- many upper level coures, specific to the degree are as challenging, if not more challenging, than medical school prereqs......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted April 23, 2003 Report Share Posted April 23, 2003 Are upper level course A LOT more difficult that the 1st and 2nd year courses? Is so, in what way are they harder? more material? Tricky tests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vincecarterxv Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 sorry about the delay. a mix of logic, primary and secondary info. Trust me, if you do awesome in an upper level problem solving course, for instance genetics or ecology (biol 303/302) that looks pretty good. UBC is not stupid; they don't adjust your GPA, but they still meticulously analyze your courses. First year is about how well you can cram. The concepts are simple, strtforward-just a lot of regurg; they want to see if you can handle a lot of info. Second year is about pattern recognition. Again simple, but tricky. You have to treat o-chem as a game, see the patterns. If you attempt to memorize, then you'd get burnt. Third and fourth year (upper levels) attempts to focuss on the understanding of concepts-they give a tun of info, and you got to make it simple; third and fourth year is a mixture: a tun of info, pattern recognition, and recognizing and formulating simple concepts from seeminlgy complex info is what third and fourth year is all about. It's not what you learn, it's the learning process itself (do you know how to learn? You'd be surprised how many people don't!). Moreover, many upper level biol courses focus on problem solving (biol 302, 303, 334, 335, 350 etc). Problem solving! Isn't that what docs do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 I'd say that second year is A LOT harder than first year. Like Vince Carter said, the emphasis in second year is more understanding. Today, especially in biology, the emphasis is more on the ability to APPLY knowledge. I mean I've taken 4 bio courses at UBC, and two of them allow you to use the textbook and/or a cheat sheet during the exams (final included!) First year is a breeze - especially if you've taken IB or AP courses. I took AP courses so I had a false impression for second year. Also, second year typically requires you to take more courses (esp.if you want to go into an honours program) and therefore the load can be excruciating. I took six courses last term - and it was HELL. I got burned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 Hey physiology, did you take extra courses to get into the Honours Physiology programme? Do you really need to take 38 credits(the number it says on the calendar) in your second year to get in? I heared from someone that you can still get into /w a little over 30...like 30-33 credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Mitchie, I should change my name, I'm actually in pharmacology now. But I know the ins and outs of physiology because the two disciplines are really related. To do an honours PHYL degree, you don't have to take 38 credits (which is 12 courses, two being 4 credit courses), but you'll have to do some summerschool to make up that extra course. Again, if you you summerschool under your belt, take 11 courses. That's the minimum you need. Taking 6 courses is tough work. I wouldn't recommend it for both terms. Again, take what I say with a grain of salt. This is what I was told LAST year. Go to the http://www.physiology.ubc.ca and locate talk to Dr. Pearson. He's really cool and he handles the admissions process. He's the best source of information. Consider pharmacology as well - it has an awesome coop program (physiology doesn't), and pharmacology is definitely more flexible (majors and honours) And...if I go into pharm honours, I'm doing everything that the physiology students are doing in third year. And fourth year, I can do all of thier courses except the 4th year lab (a lot of work) and their honors thesis (I'll be doing a pharmacology related one instead). Anyway, I hope the physiology people don't read this. They'll hate me...but we have deep seeded hatred towards one another anyway...<wink wink, nudge nudge>(Kinda like Science and Arts on Imagine I guess...haha) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Physiology, How competitive is it to get into the Pharmacology programme? Is there A LOT of work in it(similar to other life science Honours programmes)? Thanks for your last reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Mitchie, I think there's an unspoken rule that if you have 80% and above, they'll accept you. It's SOLELY based on your marks. However, they do look for consistency. I had a couple of 60s on my transcripts and that is a red flag for rejection. The advisor told me that they start to worry when there's one mark in the 60s (I have 3 or 4), but then again, all those marks were in one term. I did better in my second term, and that was factor they considered. Anything in the 50s usually means a downright rejection. Again, I ain't no spokesperson for physiology, just relaying information that I was given. In terms of the # of people they take, it varies. Pharmacology and physiology have limits, but they don't have to accept everyone to fill the quota. If you don't make the grade, they don't have to reach down into their waitlist to accept you. Physiology class sizes have ranged from like 11 to over 20. Pharmacology is restricted to 18 students. Geez, I sell pharmacology left, right and center...I'm not even doing it consciously! Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Mitchie, Entrance requirements for pharmacology include an interview (which everyone does well in) and of course, your marks. Pharmacology really watches for trends in grades from year to year. Therefore, to be accepted, aim for an average between 80 and 86. The calendar says a minimum of 75% is needed, but usually the marks need to be higher. Also, consistency in your grades is important. Getting 90s here and there, and then 60s in other "core" courses can pull ya down, despite giving you an 80s average. Although, one or two low marks won't significantly affect you -just turn up the notch on the obsequiousness during the interview The workload depends on whether you choose the majors or honours route, the latter being harder, but much more beneficial in the long run. A concrete example would be that an honours degree can enable you to jump straight to PhD work (thereby, bypassing any time spent as a lowly, tuition-paying Masters student, <grin>). As an honours pharmacology student, I have to take the phyl 303 lab, which is a lot of work. Compared to other life sciences, I'd say that pharm and phyl are on par in terms of difficulty. I'm not in a position to comment as to whether these two are harder than other life science disciplines such as bioc or micb. Although, I think the rigor and thoroughness of pharm and phyl probably make them a notch harder than the others. Also, check out this link, it tells you how many students apply every year on average. I'd say that pharmacology physiology are the most competitive science specialties at UBC right now. www.science.ubc.ca/main/c...ology.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Not taking physiology, I can't comment too much. I think the small class sizes would be a considerable advantage. I did have experience with directed studies students, having worked in a lab. I can tell you that if you find a good supervisor, you're getting a good mark and it's really interesting. I learned tons from working in a lab, so I can offer the advice that even if you don't do phys, you will gain alot from a directed studies, and fair well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hey Rex, I really can't sleep - it's either this or reading Big Brother. I'm already at the computer, so what the heck. Do you know any pharmacology/physiology students in meds? I know that everyone is "brought up to speed" after a couple of months in meds1, but how do they fair initially? A girl form phyl who got in told me that they courses they take are pretty much identical to the physiology components of each organ block. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 I heared from someone that there's some unspoken rule that MOST pharmacology/physiology students get into whatever programs they want to(ie. Dent, Meds, Grad School). But does anyone know if there's any truth to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 I don't know about secret societies, but there are people who did physiology, in med. Yup, we have pharmacists too. I wouldn't say the majority of the class is made up of physiologists or pharmacists. Yes there is some physiology in med. There's a heck of a lot of pharmacy as well. (well you're not taught it that much, but they love to test it). Yeah, there were some times during first year I wished I had taken phys in my undergrad, but right now, I'm kicking myself for not double-majoring in neuroscience and human reproduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mymomthinksimacatch Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 The rate for successful entry into med from pharmacology is high, but far from a sure thing. In my year (2001), several of the (top) students went out of province for med, and some went into research/MSc/PhD. Of Pharmacology UBC applicants I know of, roughly 50% got in. I know of 3 of us who are still trying (3rd go around), although that could be higher... Pharmacology was a pretty good program (at least I liked it). I don't know that honors is necessarily the best way to go. If you're looking at med, taking honors will mean less time to devote to extracurricular activities. I still remember spending 23 hours writing up the first pharmacology lab report. Ahh, the days... Conversely, if you're considering going into research, or trying for a med school more academically focused than UBC (or even just trying to go out of province), honors would seem the better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monksters Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 Hi there, Just wanted to let you know that the unspoken rule is definately a myth. I graduated from pharmacology and this is my second apps to UBC. Just waiting for my result but I can say that I definately didn't get in the first time to meds. I loved pharmacology so I'm glad that I did it but I wouldn't suggest doing it with the expectation that it will give you the ticket to the next step. Many people that I know did chemistry, biology, political science that got into meds first time so I think it really depends on the person and the 'whole package' rather than anything specific like a major. Cheers and Good Luck with what ever you choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 22, 2003 Report Share Posted May 22, 2003 So far, I've talked to many UBC and non-UBC students about getting into pharmacology and here are some common themes: 1) Pharmacy = pharmacology - which is FAR from the truth. I'm gonna get sick of explaining the difference to family members soon. 2) Pharmacology = "farm ecology" - I got that once too from someone, maybe it was the way I said it. I just chuckled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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