PHANTOMPHOENIX Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Stay away from Engineering Science at UofT You will thank me later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satyam Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 What I "truly enjoy" is math. I like physics because physics involves a lot of math and I like math. I like biology because I can memorise a lot of stuff and get good marks in biology. Looking at my interests I should consider a undergradute degree in a program that involves math and there the tons of programs that involve math. BMath of BSc. with a major in math is the most obvious program involving math. If I don't get into med school then I will definitely not be happy with BMath degree (not because I don't like math bust becasue BMath graduates don't earn that much money). I understand that university math and highschool math are different but because I really 'enjoy' math, I should get good marks (hopefully:)). Another option is engineering which involves a considerable amount of math. If I don't get into med school than I will be happy with an engineering degree. Also, humanities is my weakness and I am sure that I will not get a good mark in humanities and social sciencies. The bottom line is that I enjoy math but I will not be happy as BMath if I don't get into med school, however, I will rather be happy as an engineer. But if I get into med school, then BMath is a better choice as I truly enjoy math. Any comments??? Btw, what is a good program for undergradute who really enjoys math? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lola Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 seriously, i think you should take the advice that a number of people have already posted: go get yourself a course calendar for a couple of universities that interest you (these are available online) and just look through the different program descriptions and requirements. see what kind of courses you would have to take with all the different degrees. example, when i was applying to university, i literally read the course calendars of a couple of universities cover to cover. there are all sorts of different programs available out there, and many of the multidisciplinary ones i had never even heard of before. i knew i wanted to do something with biological sciences, and after reading through all the programs, i settled on specializing in Molecular Genetics because it seemed to have the scope of courses that were most interesting to me. another thing to remember is that with most BSc programs, everyone doing a BSc (regardless of what specific program they want to do) is required to take pretty much the same courses in first year. i.e. you can go to university, do your first year science courses (i.e. bio, chem, phys, math, elective), see what you like, talk to students/professors in each program, and then make your decision about what specific program you want to do... and again, no one here can tell you what program you should take. there is no right or wrong. do some soul-searching, and some research about different programs & you will figure it out, i promise!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satyam Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Currently I am in the process of looking at various course calenders. I came across this site: http://www.facmed.utoronto.ca/English/page-13-15974-1.html#eligibility According to that page, I can take my humanities courses in which I get bad marks during summer and they will still count as prerequisites but not in the GPA (hurray!!) Btw, do AP courses count as prerequisites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansunday Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Don't bank on that fact though, since if you plan on doing engineering, you are pretty much forced to take your humanities electives during the regular academic year. Also (I'm not 100% sure on this) I think even if your grades don't count towards your GPA, they'll be able to view it on your transcript (someone correct me on this). So you can't really bomb it entirely. There's quite a bit of important stuff in humanities and social sciences, no matter how much you may loathe them. As far as I know, AP courses don't figure anywhere at UofT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmacgirl Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 About summer marks-UofT and a few others don't count summer marks but I believe that MacMaster and a few others do so be aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Also (I'm not 100% sure on this) I think even if your grades don't count towards your GPA, they'll be able to view it on your transcript (someone correct me on this).Yeah. It's not very impressive to look at a transcript where someone takes the absolute minimum in breadth courses and bombs them, even if they get great marks in the rest of their courses, imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satyam Posted August 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 When do you guys suggest is a good time to start your volunteering. In September, I will be entering grade 12. Should I start it after first year of univeristy or as soon as possible. In your application for medical school, how is volunteering taken into account, meaning how much years do you voluneteer or how many hours you volunteer. Also, on average how much volunteering will a typical applicant do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubbed Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Hi, If you feel that the activity is worthwhile, that is, you feel that you are helping people and benefitting from the activity, it's never to early to start volunteering. The OMSAS application allows you to list activities from 16 years of age. Volunteering is typically considered in the non-academic part of the application, where the number, duration, and breadth of activities, among other things, are considered. You may have to write about your experiences in essays. During the interview, you will have to talk about some of volunteer experiences as well. A successful typical applicant will have done enough volunteer work to satisfy the admissions committee. Looking at the posts of typical applicants on this forum may give you an idea of what the typical applicant is like. I think it's good that you're showing interest, but I think in this and some of your other posts, you are looking for a concrete formula to get into medical school that doesn't exist. Pursue the activities that you enjoy. You still have many years to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansunday Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 I agree with scrubbed. You're not the only one so don't worry - there are thousands of people trying to get into med school who force themselves to do the standard volunteering at a hospital, research, medical-related undergrad courses, etc. Try to do something that interests you to set yourself apart. You are only entering Grade 12 so you have a long time to go before applying - that's good, you have time to seek out different volunteer experiences and commit to something you like. From your posts it sounds like you want to go to med school but see undergrad studies and volunteer activity, etc. as things you 'have' to do to get there. This isn't a race against time and you're going to have a life to lead before med school so relax and pick something you like and stick with it if you enjoy it. It's not a bad idea to start volunteering in grade 12. I started early and I wasn't sure about my med school plans then - but I met some great people and had a lot of fun doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.