diifuculty level of major matters to admission committees?

[Guest smooth operater]

Cuz all the med schools hype in my faculty (UBC Science), many ppl I met wanna to do an undergraduated honor degree in physiology cuz they say around 90% physiology undergrads go on med school. The quality of program is excellent. However, they only accept around 20 people each year, and the program itself is really intensive, and leave little room to take other electives. That means my overall GPA will drop abit if I go for physiology curriculum, and also I will be really specialized in one area. And I don't know if that good b/c med schools tend to look for people with broad knowledge. So, my question is...

 

Do medical admission committees (both American and Canadian )actually factor in the level of diffuculty an applicant major in, in general? Or they just look at overall GPA of each applicant to determine who gets the interviews. Would majoring in physiology honor in UBC catch the admission committees, or it's just treated like any degree?

Thank you guys !!!

[Guest summervirus]

I think this question has been asked a number of times in various ways, "Do med schools prefer students from a certain university?" or "Do med schools prefer students from a certain program?"

 

There was a recent discussion about this in the General Premed folder: p084.ezboard.com/fpremed1...=849.topic

 

In short, none of the Canadian schools give preference to students from a particular university or program. For most schools, the province of residence is the only part of the applicants' demographics that makes a difference.

[Guest threeputt]

I think that sort of thing is considered more in the US than in Canada. Many Cdn schools have an official policy that the type of degree doesn't matter to the admissions commitee. I think the most important thing is to do what you will find the most interesting and enjoy - this will be reflected in your grades, and enthusiasm will go a long way when it comes time to seek reference letters. If physiology sounds like it for you, then, by all means, go for it. But don't hesitate to pursue Biochem, Physics, or History if that's what you're passionate about.

 

People from all programs are admitted - I know people from Micro, Family Science, General Biology that have gotten in. Don't let the name of a program decide what you will be doing for the next 3-4 years. University should also be a time you have fun, meet new friends, and get involved!

[Guest Miller]

I truly believe that they LIKE to see other, "non-medical" type majors. If you have a different background and can get the grades on the pre-reqs and the MCAT they take that to mean you are well rounded and can adapt to new enviroments. Threeputt makes a very good point about doing something you love, it does show in your grades and enthusiasm. They let me in with a major in jazz saxophone. I think that it helped me more than hurt me in the end.

[Guest Laadi]

Hey Smooth Operator,

 

As others have mentioned your major by itself makes no difference to the medical school that you are applying,but the courses that you are taking does matter. When I went for my interview to U of T, one of the first years told me that they look at the level of the difficulty of the courses that you are taking. For example if you are a forth year student and you are taking 100 level or 200 level courses as well it would not be a very good idea. She also said that they look at the average of the class. So if you did not get a high grade in one class but did relatively well compared to the average of the class they take that into account.

 

What I have just mentioned above is based on what I heard from a medical student, not written anywhere officially. I am not sure if other schools look at the courses that you take the same way or not.