Guest Dafunk Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 Hi, I am currently in a course based masters which will not end until the first week of Aug '04. I will be done my Masters before the September start date for UofA Med '04. Will they consider me as a Masters? I hope that they will, but because I did not do a thesis, or finish before the June 15 deadline will they consider me as a regular undergrad graduate? Any insight into this problem would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summervirus Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 I'm a little confused. Are you applying for admission for September 2003 (next month) or for September 2004 (next year)? If you're applying for admission next month, from what I understand, you will not be credited with the bonus points because you did not meet the deadline for completion of your degree. If you're applying for admission for next year, your degree will be recognized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 To clarify what summervirus said, your marks from your graduate degree will be counted into your overall average when they are determining who will be called for an interview. However, if you do not officially finish your degree until after the deadline set by the department of medicine, you will not get the bonus points added to your score when they are deciding who will be admitted. So, basically if you finish before the deadline then you will be at an advantage, but if you don't you will be the same as everyone else who has just done an undergrad degree. This was the case for students this year who were doing an honours degree. In March, when the first set of applications were reviewed and offers of admission were made, those who were in the middle of their honours project did not receive the extra points on their application (but those who had graduated last year with an honours degree had extra points added onto their overall score). However, when the second set of offers were made, those who had finished their honours project this April did receive those extra points (because the second offers were made at the end of May or early June). Hope this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 NO I did the same thing, but when I applied this year (the year I got my masters) they did not count it, and I was merely considered an undergrad. L8er Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cause2003 Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 On the Uof A application it asks if you will be done your masters in November, will you get the extra points if you've defende by that date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Thanks everybody, I guess I'll still considered an Undergrad for the Sept 2004 admissions. Ohwell, that's still cool I guess... :\ :\ :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Dr. Love, What did you do your Masters in? I would love to know. Dafunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hey Dafunk I did my Masters in Biomedical Technology at the University of Calgary. It was a huge waste of time, so I hope thats not what you are plannning to take:( . oh well at least I got the MSc behind my name. Anyways, good luck next year and maybe we'll see you at UofA next year. L8er Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PARTY cal Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Dr. Love, You received a MBT not an MSc, but nice try... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Ya I guess it is an MBT (just like yours PartyCal), but on my resume it says MSc. and it really doesn't matter since it will get burried below my MD. L8er Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hey Dr. Love and PARTYCAL, Yup thats what I am registered in... Uh oh. That really sucks. Whats so bad about the MBT program? Please let me know. I just may do a second undergrad degree then. I'd appreciate any insight. Dafunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 P.S. It just may be to late for me to back out now, because the program starts in less than 3 weeks. I also submitted my acceptance. But maybe I still can. :eek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PARTY cal Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Hey DaFunk, Are you in Calgary? Send me a message to my exInBOX...maybe shoot me your number, and I will tell you all about the MBT, and reasons to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Ya, hook up with Partycal, since he was the student representative on the executive commitee and he will know all the inside dirt (and he was also the one who reviewed your application). But in short: - no respect from other grad students or any of the professors (everyone says its not really a masters program) - feedback from students falls upon deaf ears - the lab experience is a joke - the courses are at a lower level then you would get in 400 level undergrad courses (they had to do this so because there are no pre-req courses and some MBT students have degees in Information Technology or archeology while others, like me, have honors degrees in Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology). as an example, our first five immunology lectures were on what a B-cell and T-cell were. and to make matters worse, about a month later we had four more classes on...... yup you guessed it, what are B-cells and T-cells. - To build on the last comment, you have a different professor for each lecture, and no one knows what anyone else has taught so you will learn some concepts ad noseum and some concepts will be completely skipped. - We had no opportuinity to take business classes (I was actually thrown out of an MBA course that I registered in because there was no communication between the MBT program and the Haskane School of Business. (supposidly this problem has been rectified for your year) - So many others that I could spend the rest of the day typing out problems with the program, but the main thing is.... The program is riddled with INCOMPETANCE. Now that I have vented on my hatred of the MBT program I can go do some work. Be sure to get a hold of PartyCAL and he will fill you in on the rest. L8er P.S. Apparently they have made some positive changes for your year, but i'll believe it when i see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PARTY cal Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I have to agree with all of the above... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Yeah, If I stay in the program (It all depends on what I think after I talk to PARTYcal) Ill definetly give y'all feedback about the program. I hope the program won't be too bad!! Dr. Love, is the program simple enough to get a high GPA? Some people told me that its impossible to get above a 3.3 in the program which I think is insane. But your making it sound so easy, because as you said, you spent almost 6 lectures on the concept of T-cells and B-cells. I hope its as easy as you make it sound. Talk to you later, Dafunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 My one piece of advice to you is Kiss as much ass as possible. Grades are given out based on how much the professors like you, not on how much you know. I found this out the hard way, since I was public enemy #1. Many times I had to argue marks with my professors and in all but one case I was right. On the other hand there were some people (those who really needed to be taught about B and T cells 5 times) who kissed ass and got A+'s. Good luck and let me know how it goes if you decide to stick it out. L8er Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cause2003 Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I had a look at that program the year I finshed my BSc degree because in theory it looked cool. Get a masters in one year, maybe take some business courses on the side. But when I showed the website to my thesis project supervisor he said that I looked like it was a training program for technicians, not that there's anything wrong with that, but it wasn't where I wanted to end up. Also, did you guys that went through the program have to pay tuition? Most medical masters programs at UofC give you some money. LAter, casue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PARTY cal Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Dr. Love and myself were fortunate enough to have received a full scholarship. I would not be too pleased if I had to pay for that program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cause2003 Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 That’s fortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dafunk Posted August 10, 2003 Report Share Posted August 10, 2003 Hey everybody, Yeah a Technician's job is not where I want to end up with in the future. Im looking at it as a way to achieve a Masters in a year, and better myself as an applicant for Med School. Med School is the end result, and this "Masters" (em hum) is only a stepping stone. It might not be a true masters, but Im counting on people in the Admissions committee at various U's to consider it as one. As for the fee, I hope to God that I don't have to pay for it. When did you guys (PARTYcal and Dr.Love) find out about your scholarships? I heard you find out first week. My GPA is not an all stellar 4.0 or 3.9 so, Im not to sure if Ill get it, but I do have some back up cash from other sources. Before I signed the application form, I talked to Denis Anderson. I wanted to know how competitive the program was. She told me that last year's average GPA of acceptance was a 3.8/4.0. She also told me close to 80 people applied for 20 seats. Are these stats true? That was another reason why I applied, ( Since I was told it was so competitive, I thought the program might be worth it). Now Im hearing different stories. Not only from Dr. Love and PARTYcal, but from some of my friends who are doing Masters in the Health Science Building. The're telling me that the program really blows, and that most people they know got in with a 3.4/4.0 . Funny how that works. I personally am starting to dislike the program before I even start it, because having a million different profs teaching a single course sucks. I've experienced that before in undergrad, and some profs teach like the're giving seminars, instead of teaching. They'll flip through powerpoint slides like there's no tommorrow, and then they'll tell you that you don't need to know everything but won't tell you what you need to know. They'll go into all this gory detail using freaky terms you've never heard of and expect you to know it. Let's face it, most researchers are not good profs, just because they've had limited experience teaching. Something more concrete is needed for programs like this, and I hope this year they will structure the program more appropriately. PARTYcal and Dr. Love, are the Prof's real pricks, or are they pretty cool people? As Dr. Love said marks were based on how much you kissed ass and not on the quality and integrity of your work. That kind of worries me, cause Ive never had to kiss ass before, cause I never really got to know some of my profs due to the giant class sizes at the UofC. Coming into smaller groups now, it looks like I just may have to start. Well, Ive blabed long enough. Talk to y'all later. Dafunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summervirus Posted August 10, 2003 Report Share Posted August 10, 2003 Hi. I don't want to sound like a prude, but please, we need to be careful about the language we use. The intention of this board is to be an informative and professional website. Let's not be offensive. But, please, carry on your conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cause2003 Posted August 10, 2003 Report Share Posted August 10, 2003 Hey, I took 2 grad courses at UofC and all of the profs we had were really good. I never had to kiss ass and I did great. One of the advantages of grad courses is that it is a smaller class size, so you get to ask questions you couldn't ask in a class with over 500 people. Also, it shouldn't be a problem to get to know them on a one on one basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cause2003 Posted August 10, 2003 Report Share Posted August 10, 2003 If you want a masters in less than a year check this site out. I get this in my junk mail folder every day and it always gives me a good laugh. www.almedacollege.org/index.shtml Later, Cause:smokin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Love Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Summervirus, I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm just trying to be as blunt as possible. The information that I am giving is the same type that I wish I had before choosing to pursue a one year masters degree. As for the quality of the professors, I agree that for your electives the profs can be great (Dr. Derrick Rancourt who teaches genomics is one of the best profs I've ever had). The courses that I really had a problem with were the 'core courses' (immunology, pharmacology, physiology and microbiology) and the main problems came from the core professors in micro and immuno (who I won't mention the names of in this forum). The variable professors (the ones who only taught one lecture on their field of expertise) did the best they could but no-one was informed of what anyone else had lectured on so they were pretty much flying blind. There are a lot of big terms that all of the professors use, and they tell you not to worry about memorizing them. PartyCAL could give you more information on the quality of applicants (GPA etc.). DaFunk, from what you posted earlier it sounds like you are going to be having flashbacks of your undergrad degree. However, in the end you do get a masters degree in one year, but as I posted before, it won't be considered in your med applications the year that you graduate. As for the full scholarships, I learned of mine in late July, I think PartyCAL was about the same. I don't know how much other advice I can give you, but I will answer any more questions that you have, but not for the next couple of days since I defend my 'thesis' (practicum) tomorrow and I need to put together a 15 minute presentation. L8er PS. Go in with an open mind, don't let our bad experiences sour you opinion of the program before you experience it for yourself. Make the best of the time you have there, and maybe you won't find it as bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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