bored Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 alright so when i was selecting courses for my first year in uni, i was having a hard time getting a full course load.. I just couldnt find a suitable course that i could take. I now have 27 credits and need 3 more (a one semestered course) but its kinda hard, the only thing left is English. But this English course is only open to those entering in the winter of 2010.. do u think they might let me still take it? is English really that bad in university? Ive always feared it because the only way i did good in it was because of sparknotes. and other question is, is 27 credits "ok" will i still be able to apply to Most Universities in USA and Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusnasland Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 From my experience english is the only course in university that no matter how much work you put in it you cant guarantee yourself a good mark... it's just too subjective (still it is a required course for many professional programs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 so full course load is absolutely necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
war485 Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 full course load is required by 95% of the med schools, there's only one exception in my mind in Canada, that Northern Ontario school. English might not be required by some schools, depends on where you are applying. If you don't need it, don't take it. Anyone who takes English will tell you that you will never see an A unless the moon is made of cheeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 full course load is required by 95% of the med schools, there's only one exception in my mind in Canada, that Northern Ontario school. English might not be required by some schools, depends on where you are applying. If you don't need it, don't take it. Anyone who takes English will tell you that you will never see an A unless the moon is made of cheeze. it was my understanding that you can spread your courses around however you want, as long as you have taken 30 courses when you're applying during your 4th. you can take 4 courses in fall, 4 courses in winter, and 2 in the summer each and every year. the only downside is you won't be eligible for special weighing formulas offered by the schools. ie ottawa's 3 year weighing, or ut's drop worst course, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 it was my understanding that you can spread your courses around however you want, as long as you have taken 30 courses when you're applying during your 4th. you can take 4 courses in fall, 4 courses in winter, and 2 in the summer each and every year. the only downside is you won't be eligible for special weighing formulas offered by the schools. ie ottawa's 3 year weighing, or ut's drop worst course, etc. Western won't like that, they need 10 courses over fall and winter. Still some of those weighting formulas are important I think - hard enough getting in with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Western won't like that, they need 10 courses over fall and winter. Still some of those weighting formulas are important I think - hard enough getting in with them okay, i see that western needs 2 years with full, that means 1 of your 3 years can be a 4-4-2 schedule of courses. maybe queen's is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamer Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 How can you possibly not find a suitable course in 1st year? There's probably 100 courses you're elligible to take unless you're super specialized from the start in which case your courses should pretty much already be chosen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 How can you possibly not find a suitable course in 1st year? There's probably 100 courses you're elligible to take unless you're super specialized from the start in which case your courses should pretty much already be chosen. there are courses, its just that they dont fit with the other courses time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi88 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 there are courses, its just that they dont fit with the other courses time. There are tons of first year courses. It is not possible for there not to be an available first year course. I've sat my university's senate before, and when organizing the timetable, they make sure that all first years are able to get into the right courses even if it means upper level stuents get screwed over. Reasoning is simple. If a first year cant get the right courses here, they will go elsewhere. If a 3rd or 4th year cant get into their courses, they are much less inclined to switch universities since they are already 2-3 years in. My point, it is not possible to have no courses that fit. Take a full course load. Very helpful in applications. Furthermore, if you dont take full course load, you have to take summer courses, or delay graduation. Personally, I like my summers course-free. It also lets you do ECs and research in the summer (or MCAT studying), which are very important as well. Think about it this way. If a school didnt require a full course load, consider yourself on the adcom. If two students with the same GPA apply, one with full course load and one without, the one with the full courseload will def look better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamer Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I agree whole-heartedly with xi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 they make sure that all first years are able to get into the right courses even if it means upper level stuents get screwed over. You went to a ****ty school. At Queen's they made sure 4th years got first pick. It's far worse if you can't graduate because some punk 1st year is taking a seat from you. Besides, if you're already registering for classes you aren't going to up and leave for another school on such short notice just because you can't get a certain course. You have 3 more years to take that bird course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi88 Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 You went to a ****ty school. At Queen's they made sure 4th years got first pick. It's far worse if you can't graduate because some punk 1st year is taking a seat from you. Besides, if you're already registering for classes you aren't going to up and leave for another school on such short notice just because you can't get a certain course. You have 3 more years to take that bird course. Economically, it makes more sense for the school to offer first years the best class times. If the first year student cant fill their schedule, they will go to another school. If a 4th year student cant fill their schedule, the worst they can do is take the course elsewhere. They wont transfer to another school because they've done 3 years here already. It makes economic sense for the school. Also, I might have exagerated a bit. The timetables are made so that first year students dont run into trouble, but we try not to disrupt upper level schedulling as much as possible. Only when we run into conflicts do we pick intro courses over advanced ones. Bird courses arent considered as priority, as these are not required. Only 1st year intro courses that are main courses for their respective departments are prioritized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Economically, it makes more sense for the school to offer first years the best class times. If the first year student cant fill their schedule, they will go to another school. If a 4th year student cant fill their schedule, the worst they can do is take the course elsewhere. They wont transfer to another school because they've done 3 years here already. It makes economic sense for the school. Also, I might have exagerated a bit. The timetables are made so that first year students dont run into trouble, but we try not to disrupt upper level schedulling as much as possible. Only when we run into conflicts do we pick intro courses over advanced ones. Bird courses arent considered as priority, as these are not required. Only 1st year intro courses that are main courses for their respective departments are prioritized. Not sure how many first years would actually be able to make that connection. You cannot sign up for courses until you are actually enrolled at that school and by that point you are kind of "stuck" Waterloo also has progressively increasing priority given to students as they continue at the school. I guess they don't want someone being blocked from graduating because they couldn't get a course they needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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