McMaster Bachelor of Health Sciences Program

[Guest triumph]

I heard this program was insanely hard to get into

 

I kinda want to get accepted into it, you guys got any tips on how to perform well in Grade 12 well enough to get accepted into this program? :smokin

[Guest Avi44]

Well for starters, you must do well in school (88 minimum average). Also, it is EXTREMELY important to have great extra curriculars. I know some people with high 90 averages that didn't get accepted, whereas ones with low 90s did. The supplementary application goes a far way. Also, on a side note, rumors say 94 was the average acceptance grade.

[Guest WooliestPond]

Yeah, I've heard all the same things. I know someone with a 96 average who got rejected, and few others with 89-92 who got accepted.

 

Like Avi said, good EC's help.

 

Also make a really good course selection for grade 12. The people I know who got in with 89-92, had pretty difficult courses that weren't compulsory for admission to the program, such as Geometry & Discrete mathematics, and Physics, and the people who got rejected with 95%+ had far less impressive courses like Travel and Tourism.

[Guest Spencer]

Though unsubstantiated, I've heard that admissions into the program is based on two factors that eac weighted equally. These two things would be your marks and your supplementary application. The big deal here is that the supplementary application...which is something like 5 long-answer questions is weighted THE SAME AS your marks for Gr.12. Therefore, do not underestimate the importance of the supp. app. It will go a long way to determine whether or not you gain acceptance.

 

And...according to OUAC...about 2800 applied to this program...and McMaster released about 300 offers...expecting 140 to decline resulting in an entering class of 160 students.

 

I forgot where I found those stats...but I think they are still in the ballpark.

 

Spencer

[Guest tomparv]

I don't know what the relative weightings are, but having participated in the supplementary app review process, I can tell you that your supp app will be read and rated by three different people - a student in the programme, a faculty member and Del, the Dean of the programme. It's quite important, and if it's no good, you won't get in, no matter what your marks may be...

 

If you write an unsubstantive, mundane, and 'surface' response to the questions, you will not score well. Think about what your experiences have taught you, the way in which they've shaped you as an individual, and why this makes you suitable for BHSc's unique learning environment.

 

Tom

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Hey, I thought you already got in triumph...you said so yourself right here.

 

Anyways, I had a question regarding this program (and others) that *maybe* someone may answer.

 

If I was to apply to a very competative undergraduate program, such as McMaster's Health Sciences, and my Grade 11 marks were not that great (my average was only around 88), would I still have a solid shot?

 

I realize that my average is not something to be concerned about, but my Grade 11 English mark was only 83. This was the highest mark in English at my school during the semester I was taking it, which really surprised me. The thing that worries me is if I were to get at least an 88+ in English next year (which I know I can), would my application be jepordized because of that 83?

 

In short, for these more competative programs, do the schools take a look at Grade 11 marks to determine who has a certain 'edge', especially since the quality of the applicant pool is so high?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

PMD

[Guest blinknoodle]

Funny, triumph also already finished first year university.

 

I don't think they look too closely at your grade 11 marks. I can't be 100% certain, but that is one reason why you don't hear back about admissions until May. Besides there is no use sweating about it, you can't do anything about it now anyways, right?

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Thats true, but I hope that if they do look at my marks, they will also see that I did quite well compared to the others who took English the same semester as I did.

 

I was told by quite a few of my teachers that grade 11 does not really count for anything and that we get acceptances in May due to the high volume of marks that they need to process. Also, schools do not send second semester mid-term marks until late April if I remember correctly.

 

It doesn't really matter now though, as you said. All I have to do is work my tail off starting September...its gonna be fun.:x

[Guest Health Sci]

Hey,

 

I'm an incoming Mac Health Sci and to my knowledge Grade 11 marks are not considered for admission to Health Sci. Wrt to the admission process, all the supplementary applications above a certain cutoff are read by three people and scored out of 7. If you score 7s on your supplementary application you will be offered admission regarless of your grades. However, if you score a 5 or a 6, your marks will then be considered.

 

Cheers

[Guest TequilaFire]

I'm in the program right now, and have been a part of the supplementary application review. I know there are certain things we should look for when we mark. Would this person fit into the program style? Have they researched what this program is about? If you are not a self directed learner, and hate working collaboratively, I don't recommend applying to the program. More than likely you won't like it. I marked applications where the person mentioned multiple times how super competitive they were, and how they already sacrifice their friendships for school. Anyone in the Healthsci program would know this is not a great candidate.

 

My advice would be to study enough that you make the cutoffs, but have a personality. ALL the supplementary applications received by applicants above the cutoff are reviewed. Grade 12 counts...don't worry about grade 11 so much. Extra curriculars may help you when you are writing your application because you'd have experience to draw from, but having a huge EC resume won't be too helpful, since you can't really list all of your EC's outrightly on the application. You can even talk about non-verifiable ECs such as personal hobbies (I talked about my crafting abilities) if you can elaborate on their impact and if they truly meant something to you.

 

I honestly didn't think I had the best chance, but I truly believe an interesting, creative, and non-conformist supplementary application helped me get in. After reading a multiple applications with identical experiences and ECs I felt like I was reading the same application multiple times. I love the program, and HIGHLY recommend it!

[Guest Maltara]

I know the BHSc at Mac was based on the programme I am in: Arts & Science @ McMaster. The two supplementary applications are nearly identical verbatim; in fact I wrote mine for artsci, copied and pasted it into health sci (chaging "art" to "health" of course - I know some people who forgot to do that ) and I was accepted to both.

 

In Artsci the admissions works the following way: each application is read by 2 upper year artsci students and 1 artsci prof; they each give it a rating from -5 to +5; the average of their weighting is taken and applied to the final grade point average. In exceptional circumstances the application alone could decide your status and act as a bye or a veto. If the readers feel that if your grades are "low" (i.e. 88-89) because of exceptional circumstances, or if they feel from the application that the programme is not a good match they might veto it.

 

Keep in mind that is all for artsci but I am quite certain that the formula is similar or identical for healthsci (especially given the identical applications). There is definitely no magic formula for getting in; I would be honest and be yourself, and do not worry about glamorous E/Cs. Not everybody gets the chance to build a village in Africa or spend a year in China before they apply to university

[Guest triumph]

(oh yea about my previous posts they werent done by me but by my bro who used my account >: >: >: )

 

newayz the courses im taking are:

 

English

Biology

Chemistry

Canadian History

World Politics (should i change to ART?)

Philosophy

Calculus

 

wut kind of EC's should i have?

hospital volunteering???

lifeguarding????

[Guest triumph]

wut kind of questions are on the supplementary application

[Guest TequilaFire]

"wut kind of EC's should i have?

hospital volunteering???

lifeguarding???? "

Anything that interests you. Really don't be concerned that your EC's are/are not "medical" enough. It's not a premed program:) Like I said, they don't specifically ask for an EC list, but ECs helped me formulate an answer for some of my supplementary app questions.

 

"wut kind of questions are on the supplementary application"

It changes from year to year. I had some that pertained to my interest in McMaster, and the BHSc program, what current issues am I interested in and how has the issue effected me. The application is offline now, but during the application period you can directly look at the questions from the program's homepage at McMaster.

[Guest Health Sci]

TequilaFire, since you've completed your first year in the BHSc Program, could you tell me how hard it was for you personally? Also, what courses did you pick for your electives?

 

Hope too see you there in Sept.

 

Cheers

[Guest TequilaFire]

I found first year enjoyable. I loved the Health sci courses and received great marks in them. The traditional lecture style courses were a snooze for me...and I think my marks suffered a bit because of this. I think it's easier to do well within the Healthsci program if you are suited to self directed learning, because you have more elective space, and thus it's easier to do well if you choose courses that you'll enjoy (whether you enjoy physical sciences or english essay courses).

 

I took 2 electives that I found really interesting, psychology 1AA3 (which is the second half of 1st year psych) and a video lecture course held in classes of about 20. You have a presentation and 2 group essays, 2 midterms and a final. All fairly marked. The prof (Dr.Day) is interesting and I am taking 2nd year personality psychology because I enjoyed 1AA3.

 

My second elective was gerontology. I know some people took courses that they felt were bird courses for their electives but ended up suffering academically because they had zero interest in the topic. I love elderly people and volunteer at a nursing home, so this class was especially well suited to me since it had a volunteer or tutorial option. Two essays, a reflection, 2 midterms and a final. I had Dr.Campbell and found her to be a very sweet and approachable prof.

 

The rest of my year looked like this:

Bio 1AA3/1A03

Chem 1AA3/1A03

Inquiry 1A06

Psychobiology

Biostats

 

If you have anymore questions, or want more detailed info, I have no problem replying.

[Guest PanjabiMD]

TequilaFire, the Health Sciences program really seems to stress 'self-directed' learning, as do you.

 

I was wondering if you could elaborate on what this actually means with respect to the program.

 

Also how does it really gives you an edge, or rather allows you to be well suited for the program?

 

I understand that Health Science students are required to an Inquiry course each year. What is the focus of this course, and how are you graded?

 

Thanks

 

PMD

[Guest TequilaFire]

"TequilaFire, the Health Sciences program really seems to stress 'self-directed' learning, as do you."

It really is a core component of the course, along with collaboration.

 

"I was wondering if you could elaborate on what this actually means with respect to the program."

You get more elective space than traditional science students, thus you are allowed to dip your foot into many waters for testing. I love that this program allows the more essay driven students to co-exist with their physical science peers and you will experience collaborating with your peers over a broader spectrum.

In the upper year courses there are classes where you choose the topic of interest for a major project/thesis type of work. I've heard some great stories of unique experiences the upper year students created for themselves.

Often, and in all the health sci courses I have experienced thus far, the process is just as important as the product. There are those kids that can pull of an excellent product by pulling an all nighter, but the program wants you to experience the learning on a more intimate level. You are encouraged to track your progress on many levels for all work. It seems really annoying and tedious, but upon reflection I know it has increased my ability to prioritize and complete tasks efficiently and with success. Being a self-directed learner will allow you to effectively assess your strengths and weaknesses, and the program encourages you to address personal issues by acknowledging your changes within courses with appropriate marks (yes, this does require a fairly small faculty) and (again) providing you the leeway in elective space to explore any area of interest.

There are also the infamous inquiry courses, but I'll get to those later.

I'm sure there are more aspects I am forgetting, and I hope other HealthScis will add on or correct me.

 

"Also how does it really gives you an edge, or rather allows you to be well suited for the program?"

I assume the "it" you are referring to is "being self-directed ". A self-directed learner has a goal in sight, and optimizes a balance between their strengths and weaknesses to best achieve their goal. I guess that would be my definition.

This is the underlying theme of many healthsci courses, and you will be asked to clearly identify goals and personal attibutes/habits that hinder or enhance your ability to reach your target. You'll be asked to assess yourself on a variety of levels, individual, group, etc. Anyone who is a self-directed learner would already have the intrapersonal ability to self-evaluate, and that is a core component of success in life, as well as the healthsci program.

 

I understand that Health Science students are required to an Inquiry course each year. What is the focus of this course, and how are you graded?

You don't know how many of us Healthscis would want an answer to this, since the course is so abstract. You get what you want out of the course..how's that for self directed? Literally, the class will build a curriculum for themselves, with their goals in mind. The focus on the course is different for every person, but I believe the general idea is to be more effective at self-evaluation. I can't say what the ultimate focus is, as all of my friends in the same small class of 17 experienced inquiry individually, and you will hear a lot of different ideas on what is the true focus.

You are graded on an individual level. I never felt I was being marked on a comparison basis. Nothing was mandatory, but my class decided to do presentations as a way of tracking our progress for the year. You were evaluated by yourself, your peers and your facilitators ("profs"). I was surprised at how much attention was paid throughout the year to each individual student. When interview periods came, my facilitator noticed many of the same changes I did in myself, although I felt they were not obvious. So you get a chance to discuss your progress in an interview after filiing out reflections. These reflections and interviews are not explicitly marked, but you must then try to assign an appropriate grade to yourself. The facilitators will ask you to justify the mark, and you must use evidence to back your claims. I can't really explain all of this properly.

 

Two interviews in a year, with meetings in between. This is just one class, other classes had different experiences, and my account is just 1st year inquiry. 2nd year inquiry is less abstract, as there is a major group project required at the end of term. First year this was all our own fabrication. Anything I say does not do justice to what the program has done for myself.

 

I know this all looks like cult like jargon and babbling, butI thought the same thing when I heard HealthSci students rave about the program. I think it's truly something you must experience on a personal level to fully appreciate the program.

[Guest blinknoodle]

TF summed up things nicely!

I am glad to hear you are enjoying yourself.

[Guest currentlybored]

I’ll just add my 2 cents to TequilaFire’s thorough explanation. Having recently graduated from BHSc, I might be able to offer a different perspective on the program. Since TequilaFire went through many “facts” associated with the program, my post will mostly be about reflection.

 

The majority of the questions that have been posted focus on self-directed learning. This is really a very broad term. I’ll break it down into a few smaller themes that are cornerstones of self-directed learning.

 

On Life-Long Learning:

Nobody can learn everything that there is to know about their field in university. There is always new research to think about and there are always new things to learn. As a professional you will be required to be up-to-date with developments in your field. Given that each of us only has a finite amount of time to work, it is essential to be able to recognize what you need to know, when you need to learn more, and how to go about revising your understanding of a particular topic. Learning does not stop once you leave school and it critical that you are able to learn without an assigned teacher and a syllabus to guide you. However, even if you are successful in this pursuit, you still won’t necessarily have all the answers.

 

On Problem-Solving:

Sooner or later you are confronted with a problem to which you do not immediately know the solution and it is important that you are proficient in problem-solving. You have to be able to ask the questions whose answers will lead you to the resolution of your original problem. You also have to be able to efficiently and reliably research the answers to those questions. In BHSc we were taught that problem-solving is not an endpoint; it is a process. Developing skills such as critical thinking, investigation, and resourcefulness will be more useful to me in the future than memorizing textbook details like the function of each and every toll-like receptor.

 

On Self-Evaluation

 

As TequilaFire stated, the hallmark of Self-Directed Learning is self-evaluation. Whenever there is learning there are always two actors involved – the material and learner. It is important to be able to evaluate your proficiency at a certain task or your understanding of a certain issue. You should always ask yourself: “What do I need to know? What do I know now? What do I need to learn next? Have I learned enough for now?” To become better at anything it is important to know what you are doing well and what you need to improve upon. I know what you are asking: “Can’t I do that on my own? Why will BHSc help me?” To which I would respond: Yes of course – you are always on your own to some extent; and, BHSc helps because you are exposed to a learning environment that promotes the process of learning, of which self-evaluation is a major component. Regurgitating what others have told you to memorize is one thing, but being able to pick out, given your strengths and weaknesses, both what you must learn in depth, and consequently what can be given less focus is another thing entirely.

 

 

 

On Inquiry:

 

TequilaFire (correct me if I’m wrong) referred mostly to 1st Year Inquiry in his/her post. From what I remember, my experiences in 1st Year were fairly similar. In 2nd Year we had 2 major Inquiry courses: Biochemistry Inquiry and Cell Biology. Both of these courses involved small-group investigation of a problem unique for each. Our task was to investigate this problem as a group and to present our research in the form of a presentation with a final interview with the instructor. Along the way we were to gain an understanding for the fundamental principles of either subject with the help of our tutorial groups and facilitators (TAs essentially). Although each group learned different specific details about their particular problem I’d say that each group did learn the same underlying principles in the end. In 3rd Year our Inquiry experiences were far more varied. We got to pick from several Inquiry courses. Each class would have around 20 students. I chose to do Immunology Inquiry. Other sections included: Communication, Child Development, Vaccines, Body Mind Spirit, and something related to Social Sciences. I think that the 2005/2006 class will have a Creative Writing section as well. I can’t really talk about the other sections but Immunology Inquiry was amazing. Our task was to evaluate, as a group, a research grant proposal to the CIHR from an immunology prof at McMaster. We had to think about quite a bit in order to give a fair evaluation. We had to think about principles of immunology, current research in immunology, the proposed experiments as outlined in the grant, our own personal biases, as well as how to best utilize the resources available to us (i.e. our group members). You can see now the skill set that we’ve developed would be highly relevant in such a setting.

 

I suppose the thing that I liked best about BHSc is that we had the freedom to personalize our educations to some degree. Education was not mass-produced such that everybody had to know the same 100 points by wrote, and only those 100 points. It was our responsibility to identify the core principles of a subject and then to investigate what we felt we needed to understand. While this may make some people nervous, I think that it all goes back to the concept of learning as a process. If you go through the process honestly, then you should be able to pull out the same important concepts from the 100 points that your peers in a traditional didactic have memorized, plus you should be able to learn many other things that are relevant to what you are specifically investigating.

 

In BHSc you will be given a lot of responsibility for your own learning. If you feel that you are the type of person that would want this task then I highly encourage you to enrol in the program.

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Wow, thank you both for giving such detailed and thoughful responses.

 

From what I read, it seems that I have more of a desire to enter this program. I really like the fact that you can personalize your education due to the number of electives that you get.

 

Also, Inquiry courses seem very interesting, and I did not know that there is more than one Inquiry course offered in later years.

 

Once again, thank you both for your help.

 

PMD

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Hey, I hate to bring up an old thread, but I have a couple of questions.

 

From what I understand, the BHSC at McMaster allows you to obtain a minor. What minors are available?

 

Also, after completing a BHSC, what graduate programs are available to you? Could you do a MSc?

 

Thanks,

 

PMD

[Guest blinknoodle]

Hey Panjabi,

 

Just like you can take your electives in any area, your minor can be in any area.. so a good example of all the possibilities for a minor would be here: www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/bhsc/...ctives.htm Otherwise, I would recommend looking in the Course calendar - registrar.mcmaster.ca/calendar/year2005/ - to read up about each of the specific requirements for the minor (some need specific courses and some are more general).

 

As for post-grad stuff, you are really only limited by your goals and dreams. You can certainly go to a masters program after BHSc. One grad from my class pursued an MA in international public health in Australia afterwards. Some students have done oyther masters ranging from physiotherapy and occupational therapy to epidemiology or ethics to clinical psychology to medical sciences (like immunology). Other programs (where grads have successfully gone, although not graduate programs) include medicine, dentistry, midwifery, law, more undergrad, etc. Of course, there is also the option to work afterwards as well. Each program has separate requirements, so as long as you meet those, you are eligible to apply (admission is another hurdle!).

 

Let me know if you have further questions.

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Thanks alot blinknoodle, you are a great help as always! Its great to hear you get so many options post grad.

 

PMD

[Guest blinknoodle]

hey guys,

 

I just checked today and the new supplementary application is already posted for Mac BHSc admissions for Sept 06 entry.. You have many many months it fill it out, though... Enjoy!