IMPORTANT questions

[btf1010]

Hi,

I am planning on applying to Western in the future, and I have a question about one of their policies

It says they take your best two years, in which you have to take 5 courses each term, and the year adds up to 30 credits, without any summer classes looked at. Also, 3 of the 5 courses each semester, have to corespond to that year level.

 

a.) I have fulfilled the above mentioned requirments, but in one of my semesters, one of the 5 courses, is a lab. My school splits some science classes, into a grade for lecture, and a grade for lab. Does it still qualify as a 5 course semester?

 

b.) This makes no sense, but i have been hearing that even if you fulfill the above requirments, and take summer courses, then that year will not be counted. Is this actually true?

[Dante]

a) if your credits add up to 5 courses/term (or 4/6 split etc...) you're good to go.

 

no. as long as your sept-may schedule is a full course load, you're golden for that year.

[future_doc]

What is their OOP policy?

[janny_jan]

western doesnt have an Out Of Province policy. There isn't a quota for OOP applicants. The only people who have a different policy are SWOMEN

[future_doc]

western doesnt have an Out Of Province policy. There isn't a quota for OOP applicants. The only people who have a different policy are SWOMEN

 

janny_jan, thank you for your quick response. At the risk of asking incredibly sounding stupid questions (with some background), here goes:

 

I am an OOP and never considered the remotest possibility of applying to Western b/c an honours bachelor program is required. I am not in an Honours Program, so I believed I could not apply and did no research. I accidentally saw somewhere that it is Honours "or equivalent" and this apparently means if my degree is good enough to allow me to study for a Masters, then I would be an acceptable candidate, other things being equal.

 

Both SWOMEN and Western appear to be Schulich. What is the difference (briefly)? Are these two different streams? Do they each have different criteria, their own no. of seats available to fill? And are those accepted in the same class or different classes? I see that SWOMEN relates to rural and regional areas, from which I am excluded. Finally, how many seats are available for Western? In other words, what is the no of seats available for my pool of applicants? Thanks.

[rmorelan]

Hi there!

 

There aren't two streams, just one. However people from SWOMEN (people who did their high school in the area in or around london basically) have advantages though in the application process - lower mcat scores in particular, and possible a bonus given during their review. Hence more people from SWOMEN do wind up in the program but its just one competition.

 

The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is just apart of the University of Western Ontario. They aren't two separate things

 

Originally there were 147 seat for 2009 entry into the program, but that just jumped by 12 so there are 159 I believe. Each year it goes up again by another 12 I believe.

 

 

janny_jan, thank you for your quick response. At the risk of asking incredibly sounding stupid questions (with some background), here goes:

 

I am an OOP and never considered the remotest possibility of applying to Western b/c an honours bachelor program is required. I am not in an Honours Program, so I believed I could not apply and did no research. I accidentally saw somewhere that it is Honours "or equivalent" and this apparently means if my degree is good enough to allow me to study for a Masters, then I would be an acceptable candidate, other things being equal.

 

Both SWOMEN and Western appear to be Schulich. What is the difference (briefly)? Are these two different streams? Do they each have different criteria, their own no. of seats available to fill? And are those accepted in the same class or different classes? I see that SWOMEN relates to rural and regional areas, from which I am excluded. Finally, how many seats are available for Western? In other words, what is the no of seats available for my pool of applicants? Thanks.

[future_doc]

Hi there!

 

There aren't two streams, just one..... more people from SWOMEN do wind up in the program but its just one competition.

 

The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is just apart of the University of Western Ontario. They aren't two separate things

 

Originally there were 147 seat for 2009 entry into the program, but that just jumped by 12 so there are 159 I believe. Each year it goes up again by another 12 I believe.

 

Hi rmorelan,

 

Thanks for explaining it all to me, it's all quite clear 'now'. Assuming there are 159 seats, I have a shot (assuming I am competitive) in the lottery but need to remember that locals are given an advantage at the beginning of the race.

 

You sure know how to be concise and comprehensive!

 

 

And as I am not taking an Honours Progam, I assume that Schulich will determine whether my course of studies was sufficiently rigourous to be considered as equivalent to honours, is this so?

[Dante]

You should contact the admissions office and find out if your degree is acceptable; otherwise applying will be useless. It's better to find out sooner rather than later.

 

Also to clarify the # of spots available, it increased this year to 159 for the class of 2013, and next year will again jump by 12, so that there will be 171 spots for the class of 2014.

[future_doc]

You should contact the admissions office and find out if your degree is acceptable; otherwise applying will be useless. It's better to find out sooner rather than later.

 

Also to clarify the # of spots available, it increased this year to 159 for the class of 2013, and next year will again jump by 12, so that there will be 171 spots for the class of 2014.

 

Agreed and appreciated:p

[Mick]

as far as western's criteria, an honours degree means a 4 year undergrad with 5 full credits each year. no summer courses are counted. you must maintain a full course load (5 credits) in each year that counts for their GPA requirements.

[future_doc]

as far as western's criteria, an honours degree means a 4 year undergrad with 5 full credits each year. no summer courses are counted. you must maintain a full course load (5 credits) in each year that counts for their GPA requirements.

 

Wierd. Than they don't say what they mean or mean what they say. Most undergrads, including me, have what you describe but that has nothing to do with 'honours'. To be safe, I will email admissions with my full academic background.

[janny_jan]

Where I went to undergrad, an honours degree meant you complete an honours thesis project (like a mini masters). To be accepted into the honours program, you had to have 75% or higher in all of your classes leading up to it.

 

Is this the same as western? I know lots of undergrads in health sci do senior projects. Does that lead to an honours degree?

 

Thanks!!

[btf1010]

I really need someone to help me with Honors as well. It is literally driving me nuts.

 

I got to a college where you can do Honors degree, or a non-Honors degree. You have to do so MUCH more for an honors degree(Research, Thesis, random Honors classes, etc)!

 

I am currently doing a 4 years regular(non -honrs) Biology degree, and I am terrified I will get rejected. My degree will allow me to go to any masters program, so I dont know what to do.

[future_doc]

I really need someone to help me with Honors as well. It is literally driving me nuts.

 

I got to a college where you can do Honors degree, or a non-Honors degree. You have to do so MUCH more for an honors degree(Research, Thesis, random Honors classes, etc)!

 

I am currently doing a 4 years regular(non -honrs) Biology degree, and I am terrified I will get rejected. My degree will allow me to go to any masters program, so I dont know what to do.

 

I assume your question relates to your candidacy at Western. First, look at the posts above of Dante & Mick. Email Western admissions and give them a full briefing of your courses, that you are fulltime 4 yr, full credit, no summer, etc. I am even attaching a pdf from my uiniversity describing each of the courses in my major so they know how to judge them. I am giving them my grades, etc. And I am asking if I would be considered as a candidate for med school. They will reply sooner or later, I have 3 months until I work on applications, so I hope to obtain confirmation that all is well.

[Dante]

I think the best criterion to use is: if you can pursue a masters degree, you should be OK. I got an Honours degree from UofT, but my program didn't require a 4th year thesis project (though I chose to do one). Gold standard test remains contacting the office if you are unsure if you qualify. Get it in writing that you're good to go, and you won't have any surprises later on.

[Mick]

In this case, "honours" distinguishes a 4 year program from a 3 year program. A 3 year undergrad is a BSc or BA, whereas a 4 year program is an honours BSc or BA. This definition seems to have fallen by the wayside since a lot of universities don't seem to offer the 3 year programs anymore. Probably email them to be sure is the best bet, but I'm quite confident that you are both eligible.

[btf1010]

as far as western's criteria, an honours degree means a 4 year undergrad with 5 full credits each year. no summer courses are counted. you must maintain a full course load (5 credits) in each year that counts for their GPA requirements.

 

Wait, I need to have 5 full credits throughout the 4 years, or just in the 2 years that will be used, to calculate the GPA?

 

And by the way, by 5 full credits each year, you mean 5 courses in the fall, and winter semesters, correct?

 

What you described is pretty scary, because in my first year(which i will not be using as one of the GPA years), I took less than 5 each term.

[future_doc]

Wait, I need to have 5 full credits throughout the 4 years, or just in the 2 years that will be used, to calculate the GPA?

 

To my understanding, it is the 4 years.

[rmorelan]

To my understanding, it is the 4 years.

 

You could be right, but my understanding is that you have to be fulltime (5 courses per year) on the two years they take your GPA from, and then you simply have to actually have the honour's degree completed before the cut off.

 

So if that involved you taking summer courses in years past that works etc. You need the 2 year GPA above cut off, and you need an honours degree. How you get those is up to you (although the obvious normal way is the best route).