Undergrad Education matters?

[deeman101]

LOL biochem was my highest mark at UTSC...i loved it!!! not the boring proteins first half but 2nd half on metabolism.

 

orgo and biochem labs are also worse at UTSC. i know many students that chose to do orgo elsewhere b/c they failed it at UTSC. i also know students that failed calculus at UTSC and got A's at UTSG over the summer.

 

Erm, not to knock your achievements Madz, but I know biochem used to be easier in previous years. The prof (names won't be mentioned) toughened her act up considerably as years went on. 1st part of biochem has a new prof now so its a wild card.

 

Orgo labs are....poorly run. With poor TAs. Chem falls under the "department of physical sciences" banner and I know these TAs personally. I could probably TA chem as well but it seems whoever kisses the most ass are the ones that get the TA positions over there, not necessarily the most competent TAs.

 

If it sounds like I'm bitter against UTSC, its because I am .

[Madz25]

Erm, not to knock your achievements Madz, but I know biochem used to be easier in previous years. The prof (names won't be mentioned) toughened her act up considerably as years went on. 1st part of biochem has a new prof now so its a wild card.

 

 

 

didn't have any female profs for biochem or biochem lab...i forgot the guy's name but class avg was the usual C-.

[bored]

you guys are awesome lol

 

ive heard you can talk to profs to give you that extra 1% boost for the 4.0.. atleast thats what a 4th year friend told me.. he is not in ross med school..

 

OK ive made up my mind.> its gonna be Human BIology at UTSC OR Biomed at YORK.. > this is the exact same thing i had before i made this thread

i might as well just toss a coin

[Madz25]

you guys are awesome lol

 

ive heard you can talk to profs to give you that extra 1% boost for the 4.0.. atleast thats what a 4th year friend told me.. he is not in ross med school..

 

OK ive made up my mind.> its gonna be Human BIology at UTSC OR Biomed at YORK.. > this is the exact same thing i had before i made this thread

i might as well just toss a coin

 

profs will up your 79 to give you the 80. will not do it for 84 to 85 and definitely not for 89 to 90 as far as i know.

[deeman101]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

I'm IN human bio. at UTSC. Why the hell would you do that! There is only 3 people in my year thats left in the program. I'm only in it because I finished all but 2 prereqs to graduate from the program. If you value your soul, pick another program!

 

And bio profs won't do any boosting for you. I've had the best luck with humanities profs. Three 79s to 80s and one 84 to 85 .

[DreamDoc]

Abort

 

I've heard nothing but bad things. >50% of the class (and probably up to 75%) want to do medicine and a LOT of them are capable. I have very bright friends who hated it because the feeling of constant competition is draining.

 

General science at any University that isn't U of T ftw

 

Edit: To provide a suggestion, I really liked U of A and they're making some major improvements (wireless internet across campus, renovating a ton of buildings including the biosci). I'm by no means brilliant and I did well with not a lot of studying. Plus moving to Alberta is a smart idea to get the in-province benefits of 2 schools. U of A >>>>>> U of C > U of L

 

Other than the competition is it actually possible to attain high grades. Would I be better off at UofT-mississauga?

[dnao2]

Don't know if the OP applied to Ryerson. That is another choice if you want less stress than UTSG. I've graduated from UTSG but currently attending Ryerson. One thing that I can tell you is to consider how easy it is to approach professors. From what I remember, UTSG profs can be quite difficult to approach. At Ryerson, they magically (or probably make a real effort) to remember and call you by your first name. Every single prof I had in Ryerson remembers my name.. which is kind of creepy.. in a good sense. The environment can make a real difference to your education (and GPA) too - not just the level of difficulty. In the end, the choice is yours. Overcoming the hurdle of going to a "less prestigious" school is a very hard one - I would agree. If you are attempting medicine, you should maximize your chances of attaining a good GPA.

 

If you don't decide to do medicine, does the school matter anymore in terms of job prospects? I would think very slightly. However, where you do your Masters/PhD matters even more. At that point, I would pick a more prestigious school.

[bored]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

I'm IN human bio. at UTSC. Why the hell would you do that! There is only 3 people in my year thats left in the program. I'm only in it because I finished all but 2 prereqs to graduate from the program. If you value your soul, pick another program!

 

And bio profs won't do any boosting for you. I've had the best luck with humanities profs. Three 79s to 80s and one 84 to 85 .

 

Human Bio sounds like the only good program to study.. The rest is just studying bacteria and cells lol.. by reading the description, Human Bio sounded highly interesting to study.. but u say only 3 perople remain? so that means after your fourth year, only 3 will graduate? WOW that seems so bad.. I though UTSC was easier then UTSG..

[bored]

Don't know if the OP applied to Ryerson. That is another choice if you want less stress than UTSG. I've graduated from UTSG but currently attending Ryerson. One thing that I can tell you is to consider how easy it is to approach professors. From what I remember, UTSG profs can be quite difficult to approach. At Ryerson, they magically (or probably make a real effort) to remember and call you by your first name. Every single prof I had in Ryerson remembers my name.. which is kind of creepy.. in a good sense. The environment can make a real difference to your education (and GPA) too - not just the level of difficulty. In the end, the choice is yours. Overcoming the hurdle of going to a "less prestigious" school is a very hard one - I would agree. If you are attempting medicine, you should maximize your chances of attaining a good GPA.

 

If you don't decide to do medicine, does the school matter anymore in terms of job prospects? I would think very slightly. However, where you do your Masters/PhD matters even more. At that point, I would pick a more prestigious school.

 

I actually did not apply to ryerson becuase they didnt have any science program, and I dont like engineering.. so had to choose

 

Gualph, York, Western, UTSG, UTSC, Waterloo. ALL life/biomed sciences

 

got accepted everywhere today.. so now 3 weeks remain before i have to make my decision.. but like i said its gotta be UTSC or York (dont wanna live away, thats for sure) will flip coin in the end if i have to

 

i believe the level of education at all universities is the same, Its just the methods of marking that sets all of them apert. For example UofT bells down if they have to whereas everyone else will go up. and Profs have to keep the reputation of being "hard" so they mark hard, Correct me if im wrong.. but if the level of education was lower at one and higher at other, then the lower one must increase their level of education. However the marking scheme can change.. and that is what determines the GPA..

[dnao2]

I actually did not apply to ryerson becuase they didnt have any science program, and I dont like engineering.. so had to choose

 

Gualph, York, Western, UTSG, UTSC, Waterloo. ALL life/biomed sciences

 

got accepted everywhere today.. so now 3 weeks remain before i have to make my decision.. but like i said its gotta be UTSC or York (dont wanna live away, thats for sure) will flip coin in the end if i have to

 

i believe the level of education at all universities is the same, Its just the methods of marking that sets all of them apert. For example UofT bells down if they have to whereas everyone else will go up. and Profs have to keep the reputation of being "hard" so they mark hard, Correct me if im wrong.. but if the level of education was lower at one and higher at other, then the lower one must increase their level of education. However the marking scheme can change.. and that is what determines the GPA..

 

 

It seems that many people don't know that Ryerson actually has a science program. In fact I am in fact going to 3rd year there in the biology program. The link is http://ryerson.ca/undergraduate/admission/programs/biology.html

 

I asked some of my other friends and apparently in the past they did not have one. Their science program is definitely not as elaborate as UT, but it is nonetheless expanding at a very rapid pace.

 

Does the level of education vary from school to school? I think everybody tends to say "no" because that would obviously point out flaws and bias in the education system. In my experience, I think UT is harder not because they mark harder. They literally ask questions that bend your mind. They WANT you to think laterally by asking questions that you've never seen and where you need to think one or two steps (in sometimes innovative ways) ahead. You may not have seen the question before, but you can break it into simpler parts that you could then solve - not impossible but can you do that quick enough on a test? Also, remember that some of the brightest students attend UT for the same reasons - prestige. And its' prestige is based on their extensive research facilities/opportunities. Some of the brightest students come here not for medicine but to do research - thus competition is a natural phenomena. My point is that when you have so many bright students going to that university, profs can't afford to make straight forward questions on their exams - or else so many people will nail the test and the average will be high. It's kinda of a cycle, many smart students apply --> prof makes test harder to keep the average down - the rest get screwed --> cream of the crop do wicked research --> school prestige+ --> more smart students apply... etc

[Jamer]

Other than the competition is it actually possible to attain high grades. Would I be better off at UofT-mississauga?

 

My friend switched from life sci to general sci and with 1/3 of the effort maintained his grades. You can do well, but it's a lot of work too

[deeman101]

Here are the pros and cons of humanbio (at UTSC):

 

pros:

 

-the prereqs set you up really well for the MCATs

-the program seems to fall right in line with the requirements for American and Canadian med, but you still have to be careful*

-if you like a challenge, here you go

-if you hate biochem, they you only need 0.5 credit of it, no biochem labs

-if you don't like to hang out with people and prefer solitude in the library, here you go

 

cons:

 

-its probably THE hardest biology POSt in UTSC. Some can make the argument that the biochem POSts are harder in the higher years though

-*1st and 2nd year is FIXED with prereqs. That means NO ELECTIVES IN 1ST AND 2ND YEAR! This means you're screwed if you want to apply to schools like Queens from third year, since you will have to take summer school to free up space to take Humanities / Social Science courses

-you will notice your friends in other programs are having more fun while you`re just busting your ass for the same GPA

-your 1st year courseload looks like this: Bio,Psych,Chem,Physics,Calc for the whole year. Brutal!

-you will turn into a bitter old hag (like me )

-you will burn out if you take too many courses in summer school in an attempt to fit more electives in during the year, since its like going 5 straight semesters

-you will probably burn out by the end of 2nd year regardless

-you won`t necessarily be in the company of elites. The people that stay in this program only do so because they are stupid (this includes me). The actual smart people realize its not worth the effort and bail out to other programs after first year. Hence only 3 people are left that started uni. at the same year as me. None of those 3 have GPAs that are competitive in Canada or the US

 

 

Hope that helps your decision.

[DreamDoc]

My friend switched from life sci to general sci and with 1/3 of the effort maintained his grades. You can do well, but it's a lot of work too

 

I'm planning to major in Biochem or chemistry at Queen's. I also have another question when people say they are going to study Life Science do they mean they are going to specialize in it? Also what's the difference course wise between life science and general science? Thanks

[Madz25]

 

cons:

 

-its probably THE hardest biology POSt in UTSC. Some can make the argument that the biochem POSts are harder in the higher years though

 

i dont think it's THE hardest POSt.

 

anyway, to the original poster:bottom line, if i were you, i wouldn't go to UofT.

[deeman101]

i dont think it's THE hardest POSt.

 

Let me put the qualifiers back in and highlight them:

 

-its probably THE hardest biology POSt in UTSC. Some can make the argument that the biochem POSts are harder in the higher years though

 

There ya go.

 

Hardest program is definitely physics specialist. Quantum mechanics will reduce a layman's brain to the infant babbling stage.

[Jamer]

I'm planning to major in Biochem or chemistry at Queen's. I also have another question when people say they are going to study Life Science do they mean they are going to specialize in it? Also what's the difference course wise between life science and general science? Thanks

 

Life Sci has a lot more required courses. And some of them blow.

 

I think close to every single person who went to get their degree in life sci from Queens dropped out for something else.

[DreamDoc]

Life Sci has a lot more required courses. And some of them blow.

 

I think close to every single person who went to get their degree in life sci from Queens dropped out for something else.

So do you think Biochem is a managable program at Queen's? I know that we pick our majors second year, but I still don't understand why people want to major in Life Science unless they like it :s I'm sorry for all the questions even though you don't attend Queen's. It's just that I have 2.5 weeks to decide on a university and I'm trying to gather as much information I can before I click that accept button.

[Star1234]

haha, why is McGill getting no love? I did biochem at McGill and I absolutely loved the school and my program.

[Retsage]

Go to Western. U of T and York both suck.

[token]

haha, why is McGill getting no love? I did biochem at McGill and I absolutely loved the school and my program.

Yeah I don't get why anyone would turn down McGill...

 

I almost chose UofT over it. That would have been painful.

[bored]

U know what, Ive spent too much hours thinking about this. and its really not worth it.. IF i go to york, ill always wonder "what if i went to UofT"

 

So screw it, im gonna find out the bad things about UTSC the hard way!!

 

thanks again for everyone's help.. it was very confusing with all the different ideas and all but it was still useful. i guess you will hear me regretting in one year?

[Jamer]

No seriously, don't do it.

[Jochi1543]

 

So screw it, im gonna find out the bad things about UTSC the hard way!!

 

Famous last words...

 

 

 

Cue in 2011:

 

"WHAT ARE MY CHANCES!? Bad first and second year!"

[w8kg6]

U know what, Ive spent too much hours thinking about this. and its really not worth it.. IF i go to york, ill always wonder "what if i went to UofT"

 

So screw it, im gonna find out the bad things about UTSC the hard way!!

 

thanks again for everyone's help.. it was very confusing with all the different ideas and all but it was still useful. i guess you will hear me regretting in one year?

 

Your life just took a drastic change. Start looking for possibilities other than medicine.

 

Seriously, why would you disadvantage yourself like this? What's wrong with you?

[ontariostudent]

I've NEVER regretted not going to U of T as an undergrad. Many people have regretted going to U of T as an undergrad. My friends who switched out of U of T after first or second year were all very happy.

 

Going to U of T so you don't wonder later what it would have been like is a bad idea. Undergrad institution doesn't matter, but GPA does. Go where you think you'll flourish. Then go to whatever prestigious school you want to go to for grad/med school.