Waterloo people! need help

[Guest duffman1234]

So, for 2nd year here are my course that i picked (im in biomed)

 

First Sem:

Org 1 + lab

STATS

MICRO + lab

Chem 140L (this counts as 0.5, so im assuming it counts as a course??)

Music 140

 

 

Second Sem:

Org 2 + lab

Thermodynamics

Bio chem + lab

Physiology + lab

Elective (probably picking french or rec)

 

1) I'm worried about my second semester, to me it looks like it's going to be tough. What do you guys think?

 

2) should i just switch to honours science and pick and choose my courses, cuz for my schools that i want to go to (med + pharm), i dont need micro lab and physiology, they're just required for degree requirements and probably open up courses for upper years which i guess i'll need. So im not sure.

 

I'm getting frustrated keeping up with all the requirements plus trying to make it a bit easier on my self

 

any opinions are more than appreciated!

[sandmeyer]

Looks fine to me..

 

Org 2 (267/267L): easier than org 1, I didn't find it took much time. Lab is a easy 90+.

 

Thermo (254): Easy if you know and understand calc. Might take some time otherwise.

 

Biochem (237/237L): Lecture is so easy. Lab a decent amount of work.

 

Phys (273/273L): Lecture takes a decent amount of time I though. The lab is pretty fair, only two reports, easy lab final.

 

Pick a easy elective and you should definitely be fine.

[Guest duffman1234]

thanks for the reply

 

I am probably taking REC 280 for second semester elective. I don't want to have too many first year courses because it apparently hinders your application for some Ontario medical schools. Any other relatively easy second year electives that you might know of?

 

I'm just worried that my GPA might go down second year, and at the same time worried about those first year courses.

 

I don't need Micro lab or physiology, but i might need them for courses in third year. I wonder what honours science students take. If anyone is in honours science, would you care to tell me your second/third year courses?

 

Also, are there any waterloo third years or graduates that got accepted to medicine?

 

sorry for the plenty of questions

 

thanks

[sandmeyer]

I just finished bio-med. I copied part of my transcript below to give you an idea what I did. I marked anything I thought was easy. As you can see, you can pretty much take whatever you want.

 

As far as med school, don't worry about taking odd 1st year classes. GPA is king. Until schools get their **** in gear and start evaluating people properly, just take the easy classes. Yes, I am bitter. haha. Good luck, hope this helps.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter 2010 4B Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 331 Advanced Cell Biology 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

BIOL 373L Human Physiology 2 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory (easy)

 

BIOL 442 Virology 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

BIOL 473 Mammalian Reproduction(easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 433 Advanced Biochemistry 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

MATH 106 Applied Linear Algebra 1 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

PHYS 223 Electricity and 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Magnetism 2

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Fall 2009 4A Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 302 Functional Histology 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

BIOL 439 Environmental and 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Natural Products

 

Biochemistry (VERY easy, if it's with Greenberg)

 

CHEM 310 Transition Element 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Compounds and Inorganic

 

Materials

 

CHEM 333 Metabolism 1 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 370 Introduction to Polymer 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Science

 

PHYS 222 Electricity and 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Magnetism 1

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Spring 2009 3B Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 373 Principles of Human 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Physiology 2

 

FR 151 Basic French 1 (easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

GERON 255 The Biology of Aging 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Winter 2009 3A Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 241 Introduction to Applied 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Microbiology

 

BIOL 301 Human Anatomy 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 237 Introductory Biochemistry (easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 237L Introductory 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Biochemistry Laboratory

 

CHEM 267 Basic Organic Chemistry 2 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 267L Organic Chemistry 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory (easy)

 

PSYCH 211 Developmental Psychology (easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Fall 2008 2B Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 140 Fundamentals of 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Microbiology

 

BIOL 140L Microbiology Laboratory 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

BIOL 303 Introductory 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Developmental Biology

 

and Embryology

 

BIOL 308 Principles of Molecular 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Biology

 

CHEM 266 Basic Organic Chemistry 1 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

CHEM 266L Organic Chemistry 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory (easy)

 

STAT 202 Introductory Statistics 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

for Scientists (easy)

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Spring 2008 2B Part-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

PSYCH 101 Introductory Psychology (easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

SCI 270 Nuclear Science (easy) 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Winter 2008 2A Full-Time

 

Program: Biomedical Sciences, Honours

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 139 Genetics 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

BIOL 273 Principles of Human 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Physiology 1

 

BIOL 273L Human Physiology 1 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory (easy)

 

CHEM 123L Chemical Reaction 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory 2 (easy)

 

CHEM 254 Introductory Chemical 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Thermodynamics

 

ENGL 102B The Major Forms of 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

Literature: Novels and

 

Poetry

 

PHYS 122 Mechanics and Waves 2 0.50/0.50 Y Y

 

PHYS 122L Mechanics and Waves 2 0.25/0.25 Y Y

 

Laboratory

 

 

 

Units

 

Course Description Attempt/Earn Grade Credit InGPA Desig DesGrd

 

BIOL 110 Introductory Zoology 0.50/0.50 Y N IXFR

 

BIOL 130 Introductory Cell Biology 0.50/0.50 Y N IXFR

 

BIOL 130L Cell Biology Laboratory 0.25/0.25 Y N IXFR

 

CHEM 120 Physical and Chemical 0.50/0.50 Y N IXFR

 

Properties of Matter (easy)

 

CHEM 120L Chemical Reaction 0.25/0.25 Y N IXFR

 

Laboratory 1 (easy)

 

MATH 128 Calculus 2 for the 0.50/0.50 Y N IXFR

 

Sciences

 

PHYS 111L Physics 1 Laboratory (easy) 0.25/0.25 Y N IXFR

[Guest duffman1234]

thanks for the helpful reply, really appreciate it.

 

So im thinking this for second year.

 

1st semester:

-Organic 1 + lab

-Microbiology + lab

-Statistics

-Chem 140L

-Music 140

 

2nd semester:

-Organic 2 + lab

-Physiology + lab

-Biochem + lab

-Thermodynamics

-REC 280

 

Even if the first year coures in second year matter, i still have 70% second year courses, so i should be safe for UWO and UofT.

 

I was worried about 2nd year difficulty, having 3 labs is never pretty. I also dropped phys 112 2nd semester, so im thinking of taking that in third year or third year summer, is that fine?

 

I wanted to drop micro lab and physiology b/c i dont need them, but i guess i should keep them for third year and fourth year courses.

 

so how do you like my 2nd year?

[RedLily]

I just finished bio-med. I copied part of my transcript below to give you an idea what I did. I marked anything I thought was easy. As you can see, you can pretty much take whatever you want.

 

As far as med school, don't worry about taking odd 1st year classes. GPA is king. Until schools get their **** in gear and start evaluating people properly, just take the easy classes. Yes, I am bitter. haha. Good luck, hope this helps.

 

Thanks so much for posting your transcript, I have to pick my courses for 3A at UW next week (I'm biomed too) and you've given me some ideas for electives. I'm trying to figure out which science courses to take to fill that requirement about selecting 6 additional science credits (5 have to be 300 or 400 level). Any you really recommend? Any to avoid like the plague? And yes, I'm a MEGA believer in GPA first, interest second (though I like most bio courses)

 

This is what I've taken so far

 

1A: BIOL 130/130L, PHYS 111/111L, CHEM 120/120L, PSCI 101, ANTH 101

1B: HLTH 102, RS 121, CHEM 123/123L, PHYS 112/112L, BIOL 139

 

2A: BIOL 140/140L, CHEM 266/266L, ENGL 109, RS 180, HIST 110

2B : BIOL 273/273L, CHEM 267/267L, EARTH 280, PSYCH 101, SOC 101

 

Any tips for science electives (or any other electives) would be greatly appreciated! (I really like bio courses)

 

Thanks

[sandmeyer]

If you can get BIOL 439 with Greenberg, do it. 2-50% midterms (in which he literally gives you half the questions, and there are old midterms online which have the other half), plus a 10% bonus paper. Easiest 300/400 level science class available from what I've seen (It would be a pretty legitimate class if taught properly though).

 

BIOL 473 with Dr. Engelhardt was pretty easy. A decent amount of work, but I found her to be extremely fair. I remember my class was rammed with pre-meds too, so that must mean something.

 

Take BIOL 373 by DE if you can.

 

Like the above poster, I heard REC 280 is ridiculously easy.

 

Any HLTH courses are pretty easy.

 

Other than that, try to ask other friends about specific profs. I wish I had of know in first year how different a class can be with a different prof!

 

Thanks so much for posting your transcript, I have to pick my courses for 3A at UW next week (I'm biomed too) and you've given me some ideas for electives. I'm trying to figure out which science courses to take to fill that requirement about selecting 6 additional science credits (5 have to be 300 or 400 level). Any you really recommend? Any to avoid like the plague? And yes, I'm a MEGA believer in GPA first, interest second (though I like most bio courses)

 

This is what I've taken so far

 

1A: BIOL 130/130L, PHYS 111/111L, CHEM 120/120L, PSCI 101, ANTH 101

1B: HLTH 102, RS 121, CHEM 123/123L, PHYS 112/112L, BIOL 139

 

2A: BIOL 140/140L, CHEM 266/266L, ENGL 109, RS 180, HIST 110

2B : BIOL 273/273L, CHEM 267/267L, EARTH 280, PSYCH 101, SOC 101

 

Any tips for science electives (or any other electives) would be greatly appreciated! (I really like bio courses)

 

Thanks

[Guest duffman1234]

hey, how is biol 273 DE? Im thinking of taking that in the fall, basically swap places with my chem 140L

[sandmeyer]

The only thing I heard about 273 was that it was easiest in the summer with Miskovic (on-campus). Whether it's still available at that time, I'm not too sure. Were I a betting man, I would guess DE would be easier as long as you study your butt off for the heavily-weighted final.

[RedLily]

Thanks Sandmeyer for the info! I'll definitely into those bio courses

 

I had biol 273 last term with Vivian Dayeh. Lots of people love her, I personally found her so-so. I found that many of her MC questions on the midterm and final were really convoluted and time consuming. By the time you got to the end of reading the question you were like "whoa, so WHAT did she just ask?" Just my two cents.

 

Yeah, I'd go with the DE. Final is heavier, but DE always seems to be easier, good luck!

[Guest duffman1234]

thanks for the advice!

 

I still don't know whether or not im gonna do it. As much as i want to like my second semester, i dont.. lol

 

That's why im trying to swap chem 140L and physio, except that physio is only offered by DE during the fall.

 

Any reasons on why DE usually seems easier? How does DE work anyways, i heard you have to work your own schedule out.

[RedLily]

By "create your own schedule" people just mean you have to plan how many hours a day/a week you plan to dedicate to your DE course.

 

You know UW-ACE? Well DE courses are there too, but their sections are usually more expanded than the usual course on ACE, with a "schedule" toolbar that shows you what readings from the textbook and which lectures should be listened to each week.

 

You listen to lectures by either receiving a CD in the mail with the lectures on it, or by listening online from ACE. Maybe 5 lectures a week that are 7 to 15-ish minutes long. Ends up being 40-120 minutes of listening to lectures per week, depending on the course and the material (more listening for psych 101DE than soc 101DE, which didn't even have lectures for last 3 weeks )

 

So it's up to you. Do you feel like skipping a few weeks, then having a killer catch-up session on your DE course? Or will you do the allotted reading and listening each week? That's what people mean by creating your own schedule. Although, some courses kind of force a schedule on you by getting you to write "one minute summaries" on the readings for each week of the term (hate them). So it all depends on the course!

 

DE seems easier because they have to make these courses in such a way that not being on campus won't be a detriment to the student (I think I had too many double negatives there ) With DE there are no tutorial sessions, no going to the prof's office, right? Just emails, which most of the time only reach the TAs. So the course has to be set up to be the easiest possible to understand. Which seems to translate to a simpler outline for the course. Did that make sense? Also, at least for all the DE courses I've taken (ENGL 109, RS 121, PSYCH 101, SOC 101DE, RS 180), at least half the students aren't traditional students (either adult students who have been out of school for 20 years, ESL students, someone getting a degree over an extended period of time or with a family to provide for) so the course tries to put terms and ideas in the simplest context and language, making it easier for the diverse group of students. So DE can be very easy for any students who are in full blown school mode

 

I recommend DE courses without a final. Makes studying for core courses much easier when you finish most DE courses a week earlier.

 

Anyway, I hope this is helpful and not stating the obvious, good luck

[Guest duffman1234]

thanks a lot for the clarification, helped me out

[Guest duffman1234]

one more small thing, CHEM 140L, it counts as 0.5, so it's really a normal course right? So i can take it part of my 5 courses for a full course year?

[sandmeyer]

Yea, it all comes down to credits, not whether it's in the class or lab. Just remember 0.5 labs usually take a lot more time than a quarter credit lab, as you likely assumed. Whether it's a 3-hr lab every week or a 6-hr lab on a regular schedule depends.

 

Btw, I know you need physio, but I "heard" a good mark in 140L was pretty easy to come by. Good luck.

[Guest duffman1234]

Yea, it all comes down to credits, not whether it's in the class or lab. Just remember 0.5 labs usually take a lot more time than a quarter credit lab, as you likely assumed. Whether it's a 3-hr lab every week or a 6-hr lab on a regular schedule depends.

 

Btw, I know you need physio, but I "heard" a good mark in 140L was pretty easy to come by. Good luck.

 

thanks

yeah thats the reason why im taking 140L . Im keeping physio for sure, just unsure whether to take it fall DE or normal winter

[RedLily]

BTW, Sandmeyer, any upper year courses that I should AVOID AT ALL COSTS? What did you think of Chem 237 (biochem) and BIOL 303 (embryology)?

 

Thanks

[sandmeyer]

Like any course, you're going to hear lots of people who contradict what I think. That being said, always remember how many "dumb" people are taking a BSc.

 

I found 237 (w/ Dara Gilbert) incredibly easy. I literally put in 15 hours of work all term for a 90. Then again, 30% of the class will whine about it being hard.

 

On the other hand, I found BIOL 303 incredibly hard. I had it with Christian Jacobson (sp?). It was completely essay based, so it was so hard to gauge how detailed you needed to be (remember the basics, or every single protein name?..). I was pretty happy with the low 80 I got in that class. Luckily for you, I think it is no longer essay based haha (or so I've heard).

 

 

Avoid:

CHEM 433 (E. Daub)

CHEM 432 (E. Daub)

CHEM 370 (M. Gauthier)

GERON/SCI 255 (C. Duxbury - not hard, but lots of work, and hard to get a super high mark)

 

also, you have to take BIOL 301 (anatomy), but DON'T take it with David Spafford if you can at all avoid it. The other guy who teaches it is purely memorization, whereas Spafford is all application. You'll probably end up +10% sans Spafford.

 

Everything else I listed on my transcript I thought was fair.

[RedLily]

Like any course, you're going to hear lots of people who contradict what I think. That being said, always remember how many "dumb" people are taking a BSc.

 

LOL, it's that the truth It's like you've read my mind about the whiners out there. People thought Dupont for BIOL 139 was hard, but she posted her lectures online and would answer questions well (I really liked that class).

 

Thanks for the in-depth reply, I appreciate the input. One more question (I know, sorry!) how is BIOL 308 (I'd be having Bruce Richard Wolff)? I'm thinking of getting that course out of the way this term (3A) rather than waiting until fourth year.

 

Thanks (again)

[sandmeyer]

Haha no problem. I had 308 with Vivian Dayeh. I thought it was pretty fair. I think my friend and I both had a mid to high 80 with out major work involved.

 

I've never had Bruce Wolff as a prof though, so I'm not sure how he'd be. I get the "I don't care about you or teaching" vibe from him, but that's just me! I feel like he would probably be using recycled material. I guess you'll find out haha.

[RedLily]

Haha, I know what you mean. Fingers crossed

 

You posted that CHEM 237 (intro biochem) lecture was easy. Seriously, was it?

I know everyone's def. of easy is different, but still, I appreciate the opinion of a recent grad . I'm still having icky memories from organic chem, so I'm biased against ANYTHING with "chemistry" in it

[sandmeyer]

I suppose it really depends. I'm no genius, but I do like chemistry. Still, the concepts in 237 are so basic. Protein structure, amino acid properties ..

 

In my experience, a class is as only as hard as you THINK it is. I've psyched myself out before in classes thinking it was going to be really difficult, and then halfway through I say, "Wait, this is actually pretty easy". After that point, everything always gets a lot better. That's just me, but I assume other people have the same issue without realizing it.

 

I really don't think you would have any issue with it as long as you don't psych yourself out . It also might be worthwhile noting that I had D. Gilbert, and the tests were all MC. That may have changed.

[RedLily]

I have Gilbert... very promising

 

You're right, I think I have actually psyched myself out before with some of my chem courses. I did kind of have an "Ah ha!" moment with organic chem where I realized i didn't have to fail it

 

Thanks

[nsza]

Hey sandmeyer! I read your post about BIOL 439. I am currently taking this course, and it seems like a pretty good one. But, would you know how to get a hold of the previous midterms?

 

Thanks!

 

If you can get BIOL 439 with Greenberg, do it. 2-50% midterms (in which he literally gives you half the questions, and there are old midterms online which have the other half), plus a 10% bonus paper. Easiest 300/400 level science class available from what I've seen (It would be a pretty legitimate class if taught properly though).

 

BIOL 473 with Dr. Engelhardt was pretty easy. A decent amount of work, but I found her to be extremely fair. I remember my class was rammed with pre-meds too, so that must mean something.

 

Take BIOL 373 by DE if you can.

 

Like the above poster, I heard REC 280 is ridiculously easy.

 

Any HLTH courses are pretty easy.

 

Other than that, try to ask other friends about specific profs. I wish I had of know in first year how different a class can be with a different prof!

[WKim101]

I got a hold of mid terms from the previous 2 yrs from other classmates who were friends with a couple of people the yr above us. They are out there floating around - but being a smaller senior yr course, they are not in a centralized place. I think I have copies around my folks place in KW...when do you need them by? I can't remember the online source sandmeyer is talking about.

 

If I can't help, I'm sure several of the other Waterloo grads or current undergrads can help.

 

Dr. Greenberg is pretty fair. And he likes people in his class - environmental biochemistry is more a niche area of biochem. Not the best organized though ;-( - but relatively easy to get 85+ in.

 

PM me.