allkindsofdumb Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Simply enough: I do not know what I should take as an undergrad. I had applied to several universities for their Biochemistry program but a colleague had advised me that this route is not necessarily the easiest. Now I don't want to start a ****storm over the "hurr I have to take something medicine related to get in" type of deal, I know that music majors have gotten into med. school. What is the easiest program to take (ie. land me a good GPA), that I could still engage in some worthwhile research (for EC stuff, right? Poly.Sci idea just died ) and would allow me eat food under a roof ( ie. find a job ) if I don't get in. If at all possible, I would not like to stay an extra 2 years to finish pre-reqs for med school after my undergrad, but if not, whatever works. I'm pretty strong in Biology(91), chemistry(83), and social studies (95%), fairly strong in physics and math. So far calculus hasn't started tearing strips off of me... And if I haven't mentioned I am still a high school student if that helps. By asking for the impossible we obtain the best possible. Many thanks in advance for the time and effort involved in this brain exercise, and my apologies for such a tall order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Sounds like biochem is the right choice for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I would enter the uni in a generic science program and take a few courses to get a feel for what will interest you. It is very difficult to get high marks in university if you hate your classes because you'll have a tough time studying. First year classes tend to look like: Full year of chem, bio, and physics. Semester of english, calc, and 2 random options. You can use your options to check out classes in the major you're considering to see if you'll enjoy it. I'm doing a BSc in kines, which is great because a lot of the med prereqs are also required for my degree. It's an easy program to do well in imo. But find something that you like, because if med doesn't work out you will be looking for a job related to your education, and you don't want to spend your life doing something you hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 look man, gpa is achievable in any program at an undergrad lvl.. undergrad programs (except for mcmaster healthscience and engineerings) are so chill, you can take practically any course you want too. Just go into undecided major and take lots of natural sciences It all depends on how mcuh work you put in to school. Seriously, if you are serious about med school. Work your ass off for the first two years and apply in the third year. Ull get in if u got a 4.0 and normal EC. when I say work your ass off, i mean seriously... forget about this forum too completely.. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenarbitor Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I've heard that a psychology degree is quite easy. But like others have said, choose something that you like. If you are unsure, go into the general science and then decide from there on. Two pieces of advice, 1. Concentrate on getting a good grade in the first year and try to develop an efficient study method that works for you (try a variety of methods). 2. take the difficult courses in the summer if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryacha Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I sort of wish that I had done this when I was in highschool. There is no attendance at University, so your presence will go unnoticed meaning that if you want to see what a Biochem class looks like, go to one at your local university. Then go to a Chem and Psychology and so on. Whichever one you stay awake in and think will give you a chance to do ECs later take some classes in next year and go from there. Very few people have a major in first year for a good reason, and that is that at that stage you have no idea what you are doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osteon Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 A biochem degree will not really get you anywhere spectacular if you don't get into medicine (unless you go on to grad school). Since you like chemistry and biology the most, yet still good at physics, consider a chemical engineering degree, and specialize in the biomedical side of things in your 3rd and 4th year (mostly stem cell and tissue engineering type of work - really cool stuff with some fantastic medical applications). Engineers will always land work, and will always get paid appropriately. Plus, it's one of the few professions remaining that allows you to get paid well and climb the ranks with just an undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0ny Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 If you want "easy", biochem is not the way to go. I am in honours biochem and it takes A LOT of work to get As. Just sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 If you want "easy", biochem is not the way to go. I am in honours biochem and it takes A LOT of work to get As. Just sayin I'm in biology and I've got a lot of friends that are biochem majors. When I compare my courseload with them, its def easier. But it really depends on you. Some people prefer the chem courses over biology courses... since bio is a lot of memorization. If you are interested in science, I would say to not go with a mixture of pure sciences i.e. biochem, biophysics etc because you don't have much place for electives plus you get to take the hard bio courses plus the hard chem/physics courses (by hard, I don't mean first year chem and bio... i mean molecular bio, quantum mechanics... upper year hard courses). Usually if you are in a hard program (but you like it... thats why you're in it), you can take 3 courses for your major and then balance those with two easy electives... so it ends up being not bad. Psychology is a good option but its A LOT of work... if you HATE readings, don't take it. Biology is usually lecture based... chem is usually doing problems like math. If you don't mind the readings, psychology is easier for most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curi0user Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Simply enough:I do not know what I should take as an undergrad. I had applied to several universities for their Biochemistry program but a colleague had advised me that this route is not necessarily the easiest. Now I don't want to start a ****storm over the "hurr I have to take something medicine related to get in" type of deal, I know that music majors have gotten into med. school. What is the easiest program to take (ie. land me a good GPA), that I could still engage in some worthwhile research (for EC stuff, right? Poly.Sci idea just died ) and would allow me eat food under a roof ( ie. find a job ) if I don't get in. If at all possible, I would not like to stay an extra 2 years to finish pre-reqs for med school after my undergrad, but if not, whatever works. I'm pretty strong in Biology(91), chemistry(83), and social studies (95%), fairly strong in physics and math. So far calculus hasn't started tearing strips off of me... And if I haven't mentioned I am still a high school student if that helps. By asking for the impossible we obtain the best possible. Many thanks in advance for the time and effort involved in this brain exercise, and my apologies for such a tall order. seriously, do what you like. If you don't life will just go way slower and so much harder. If you like doing biology, go for it! Here's ONE thing everyone always wishes someone told them though: if you're into medicine and the human body, and illnesses/diseases and all that jazz I found the best program to be in is Kinesiology (which I am currently in) or biomed NOT biology because biology is very science/cellular/chemical based and you do NOT understand the rants I get from all my bio friends lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Kinesiology / Human Kinetics is definitely a good program, that also provides you with job opportunities should you not make it into med (ie. kinesiologist, certified exercise physiologist, etc.) So it is a good backup plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 practical advice: 1) good marks in highschool dont necessarily translate to good marks in university 2) dont go to U of T because the grading system and culture is unnecessarily malignant 3) dont go toMcgill because its almost as bad as U of T 4) dont do biochem, or any of those fancy sounding majors that you "think" will sound impressive on an app...because nobody cares what you did 5) stay away from programs where there will eb alot of subjectivity...this means stay away from courses with TAs, with essays, with long writing pieces 6) work your butt off liek crazy, because in canada, and ontario especially the first cut is the GPA, nobody is gonna care if you were the student council president if you dont have high marks 7)if you want a good program, do psych. and choose the courses that are all multiple choice exams. the only people i know that got into med after 3 years ALL did psych (im not kidding). 8)kinesiology is also an good program 9) dont feel that you need to do chem, calc, physics all in one go. you cant if you want, most people do, (i did myself) but if you want to make life enjoyable and get higher marks dont do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 practical advice: 1) good marks in highschool dont necessarily translate to good marks in university 2) dont go to U of T because the grading system and culture is unnecessarily malignant 3) dont go toMcgill because its almost as bad as U of T 4) dont do biochem, or any of those fancy sounding majors that you "think" will sound impressive on an app...because nobody cares what you did 5) stay away from programs where there will eb alot of subjectivity...this means stay away from courses with TAs, with essays, with long writing pieces 6) work your butt off liek crazy, because in canada, and ontario especially the first cut is the GPA, nobody is gonna care if you were the student council president if you dont have high marks 7)if you want a good program, do psych. and choose the courses that are all multiple choice exams. the only people i know that got into med after 3 years ALL did psych (im not kidding). 8)kinesiology is also an good program 9) dont feel that you need to do chem, calc, physics all in one go. you cant if you want, most people do, (i did myself) but if you want to make life enjoyable and get higher marks dont do it Good points, but 5 and 7 don't really go together. Most intro psych courses involve TAs/seminars and/or essays as part of their evaluation (so subjective) and most psych programs seem to require students to take some "arts/social science" psychology courses and some "science" psychology courses, even when doing a B.Sc. in psych. I know that during my undergrad, I had over 90 in the science-based intro psych course, but only mid-80s in the social science-based intro psych course, simply due to the subjective/fluff factor in the social science psych. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garret9 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 One thing I have to stress: Subjects/Majors that you like does not always mean you will do well in. However, it is easier to work harder if it's something you enjoy. My lowest mark (albeit not that low) was by far my most enjoyable course. A person has already placed above some good tips but I'll add one few. Research! Ask people who have gone before you how teachers and courses are and specifically ask them not to say easy or not easy. Everyone is different. To pick out your undergrad program: Take the undergrad that has the most amount of courses you think you will do well in and the least you will not. To pick out your courses: Find out from people and other resources what style each course/teacher is like. If your a problem solving type person take ones that are like that. If your a memorizer take ones that are like that. Go for your strengths. Find out what the learning outcomes are. Overall do the best you can do while still having a life and being able to decently enjoy it. http://premedgarret.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chii Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Is it really that bad to be doing an undergrad in something subjective? I've been accepted and I am planning to do a double major in Kinesiology and Fine Arts at York, so I'm definitely looking at some (very) subjective courses. Any notes on doing double majors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osteon Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Is it really that bad to be doing an undergrad in something subjective? I've been accepted and I am planning to do a double major in Kinesiology and Fine Arts at York, so I'm definitely looking at some (very) subjective courses. Any notes on doing double majors? If you're doing kinesiology as a science degree, you'll find it is actually not subjective at all. Most questions will have only one answer and not really open for debate. For example, biomechanics, exercise physiology, neural/motor control, nutrition - these will not be subjective courses. If your kinesiology degree is done as an arts, you'll have more subjective courses, I.e. Coaching, sociology, sport history etc. For courses that are subjective, the idea is to express your opinion/thought/idea/whatever but support it with fact. If you can do that, there shouldn't be a problem with grades. For example, in philosophy classes, say ethics, you decide one way or the other and you argue using philosophical theories. If you apply them correctly, you should be good. If you give no support or non valid support you'll do poorly. There's certainly more to it than just that, but that's the general idea I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin van Nostrand Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 I thought I'd post here instead of making a new thread. So I'm a first year engineering student at mcmaster and I am looking into changing programs. I was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on some of these majors; economics, applied math, bioengineering or biomedical engineering. So I was wondering if anyone could share any experiences with these majors, mostly in terms of getting a competitive GPA. I know these aren't really typical premed majors so there may not be many people who have experience with them, but if anyone has done one or something similar id appreciate some advice. Also I tend to do better in concept based classes than ones that require heavy memorization. Also my first year GPA is going to be around 3.83ish if that changes anything. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 psychology, can get you a job, is easier than most science degrees, and you don't have to compete with uber keen people in your non-science classes. engineering/nursing/geology are way harder, much better at getting a job though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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