vpv Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hello once again. Need your advice on selecting first year courses at waterloo for Life Sciences Co-op. I am leaning towards American Medical schools. Which courses should I take? I know I have to take first year english but I am more worried about first year Calculus. I hate mathematics with a passion but I know I only have to take it for one year... How hard is first year calculus at waterloo ? Its called Calculus for the Sciences. Thanks. -vpv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I looked for the hardness factor for 'first year Calculus' on my Mohs scale as well as my Rockwell scale, but I couldn't find anything. I can say for certain that it is somewhere in between talc and diamond though. On another note (that is actually helpful and less toungue in cheek), there isn't really a lot of variability in first year calc. First year calc for engineers is almost the exact same as it would be for sciences. It may be a challenge for you, but you can rest assured that your uni will have a lot of resources for you to use, since 1st year calc is something that a lot of ppl struggle with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hello once again. Need your advice on selecting first year courses at waterloo for Life Sciences Co-op. I am leaning towards American Medical schools. Which courses should I take? I know I have to take first year english but I am more worried about first year Calculus. I hate mathematics with a passion but I know I only have to take it for one year... How hard is first year calculus at waterloo ? Its called Calculus for the Sciences. Thanks. -vpv I took both math 127/128, and they were not easy courses - and I am a "math person". They required a lot of studying and review. Are you doing the distance education version or in class one? Some schools have an easier version of calculus for the life sciences, but waterloo doesn't. So that courses you are referring to are normally taking by hard science people, particularly physics majors. It's why they are not required in any of the biology programs. When I took it there wasn't a single truly practical problem in the entire course, which drove me a bit nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Hello once again. Need your advice on selecting first year courses at waterloo for Life Sciences Co-op. I am leaning towards American Medical schools. Which courses should I take? I know I have to take first year english but I am more worried about first year Calculus. I hate mathematics with a passion but I know I only have to take it for one year... How hard is first year calculus at waterloo ? Its called Calculus for the Sciences. Thanks. -vpv Calculus is probably calculus no matter where you take it. Math is pretty universal. Calculus I is the most failed course at my university. Something like 60+% fail. It shouldn't be taken lightly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I looked for the hardness factor for 'first year Calculus' on my Mohs scale as well as my Rockwell scale, but I couldn't find anything. I can say for certain that it is somewhere in between talc and diamond though. Speaking of Mohs scale, Earth 121 at waterloo isn't easy either (at least it isn't by DE). Really fun course though, just takes a lot of studying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpv Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I looked for the hardness factor for 'first year Calculus' on my Mohs scale as well as my Rockwell scale, but I couldn't find anything. I can say for certain that it is somewhere in between talc and diamond though. Super awesome sarcasm. Regarding rmorelan's question, I am planning to take math 127,128 in the classroom since I am gnna be living on campus. I'm totally fried if what you said is true. I get like low to mid 80s .. f**k, my 80 avg in uni is lost before I even start uni... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I get like low to mid 80s .. f**k, my 80 avg in uni is lost before I even start uni... Meh, you can make up for it. just get your 80 in this one and you'll be fine. Overall though, you'll definitely want to set your sights higher than mid 80s, other wise you may find yourself in a bit of a pickle when it comes time to actually apply. A recent post explained how a person can get an 84 in all of their classes in uni and still be rejected pre interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Super awesome sarcasm. Regarding rmorelan's question, I am planning to take math 127,128 in the classroom since I am gnna be living on campus. I'm totally fried if what you said is true. I get like low to mid 80s .. f**k, my 80 avg in uni is lost before I even start uni... Relax You are saying the ship is sinking before you even left port yet. There are many options here. I assume you need to a full year of calculus to qualify for US schools specifically? (out of curiosity, most people consider US schools after not being able to get into a Canadian one. You seem to be going more directly to the US, may I ask why? ) First you can consider postponing calculus for now, and perhaps picking it up as a DE course on your coop terms, where studying wise you are likely to have more time and for some schools it won't be considered in your GPA. You can also take an easier calculus course by DE from another school (guelph for instance has an introductory DE calculus course that is much, much easier than Waterloo's one for sciences. Other examples abound). Doing things like that will get your calculus electives without destroying your GPA if you happen to be weak in math. Also I didn't say you cannot get a good mark in Math 127/128 - I did actually do very well, but it just required the work of multiple other courses. Class average was a C by the way for both when I took it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 First you can consider postponing calculus for now, and perhaps picking it up as a DE course on your coop terms, where studying wise you are likely to have more time and for some schools it won't be considered in your GPA. You can also take an easier calculus course by DE from another school (guelph for instance has an introductory DE calculus course that is much, much easier than Waterloo's one for sciences. Other examples abound). Doing things like that will get your calculus electives without destroying your GPA if you happen to be weak in math. To take a course at another school and get it transfered to your record, I think the policy is that UW doesn't offer that specific course? So, I'm not certain they'd let you take something like MATH 127/128 at another uni. Either way, it's offered by DE almost every term, so you could take it in the summer or on co-op instead, as rmorelan suggested. Which major are you planning on? Biomed? Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 To take a course at another school and get it transfered to your record, I think the policy is that UW doesn't offer that specific course? So, I'm not certain they'd let you take something like MATH 127/128 at another uni. Either way, it's offered by DE almost every term, so you could take it in the summer or on co-op instead, as rmorelan suggested. Which major are you planning on? Biomed? Good luck! Probably can't transfer it in, but I am thinking that really doesn't matter? It isn't requried for the degree at UW, it is only for prereqs for US schools (right?). If so it is kind of a throw away 2 courses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpv Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Relax You are saying the ship is sinking before you even left port yet. There are many options here. I assume you need to a full year of calculus to qualify for US schools specifically? (out of curiosity, most people consider US schools after not being able to get into a Canadian one. You seem to be going more directly to the US, may I ask why? ) I want to live in the States and I feel that I will be able to better find a job if I do my medical school there. I might be wrong. If I do Calc via DE, will the school committee care? How will it affect my GPA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I want to live in the States and I feel that I will be able to better find a job if I do my medical school there. I might be wrong. If I do Calc via DE, will the school committee care? How will it affect my GPA? I'm fairly ignorant of the ins and outs of applying to med in the states, but here's something you might want to look into. In Canada, I think all of the schools that have pre-reqs will allow you to do those required courses in the summer, even though summer courses don' count towards your calculated GPA. If this is the case in the states as well, why not just do calc in the summer? You'll get the credit for it, but the mark won't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I want to live in the States and I feel that I will be able to better find a job if I do my medical school there. I might be wrong. If I do Calc via DE, will the school committee care? How will it affect my GPA? Just curious about the US thing At most schools they won't care, it is just another course really. I think McGill in canada doesn't like them (only one?). As w8kg6 mentioned I would see how they count summer courses, as it is definitely offerred then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpv Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Just curious about the US thing At most schools they won't care, it is just another course really. I think McGill in canada doesn't like them (only one?). As w8kg6 mentioned I would see how they count summer courses, as it is definitely offerred then. Is there any specific place where I can find the prerequisities required for canadian and american med schools? I think I have to pick my courses in a while.. so gnna start checking out what I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyM Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Can a biomed student at Waterloo take a course by DE even if there is an oncampus version available for that term? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi88 Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Is there any specific place where I can find the prerequisities required for canadian and american med schools? I think I have to pick my courses in a while.. so gnna start checking out what I need. Do a search on these forums..or alternatively visit the admissions site for each school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Can a biomed student at Waterloo take a course by DE even if there is an oncampus version available for that term? Depends on the course and from what department. Ask/email your advisor to double check. For the most part though, you should be able to take any Faculty of Arts courses by DE if you are a science student. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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