MarathonRunner Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well if Brescia is open to males and females, then I'll stick with that choice. I'm still debating between the BHSc and BMSc at Western though. From what I've heard, HSc focuses more on the health care system, while MSc focuses more on human health and disease (which I'm more interested in). Any thoughts on this? That's what I've heard as well - that health studies/health sciences is more interdisciplinary, so includes some of the social-science aspects of health and medicine. (You are looking at many of the same programs I was looking at a few years back when trying to decide what to do!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well if Brescia is open to males and females, then I'll stick with that choice. I'm still debating between the BHSc and BMSc at Western though. From what I've heard, HSc focuses more on the health care system, while MSc focuses more on human health and disease (which I'm more interested in). Any thoughts on this? Thanks for the input Jordan! Are you back in the lab soon? Hey, I have a BHSc. from Western and yes, the Health Studies program is very social-science based (hence the very recent name change from Health "sciences" to Health "studies"). The only science-type course you are even required to take I believe is Bio and Anatomy. Its much more about healthcare system, research, program evaluation, health promotion, ethics, government bodies, etc. Not really about disease or human biology AT ALL. That said, I enjoyed the program. It will definitely provide you with a very holisitic view of medicine and healthcare delivery. It is also very easy to do well in if you put in a decent amount of effort. Hope that helps, Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan19 Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well if Brescia is open to males and females, then I'll stick with that choice. I'm still debating between the BHSc and BMSc at Western though. From what I've heard, HSc focuses more on the health care system, while MSc focuses more on human health and disease (which I'm more interested in). Any thoughts on this? Thanks for the input Jordan! Are you back in the lab soon? Health Sciences at Western is more to do with Health Policy and what not (from what I've gathered)... not so much like the Health Sciences at McMaster... I'm not sure how interested you'd be into that, and whether your previous knowledge might help. BMSc you should be okay with. 1st year is comprised of intro bio, chem, phy, calculus - most of which you've probably taken before. Second year mandatory courses are genetics, cell bio, orgo... In my opinion, stick to what you know and are more stronger in (it'll be easier to get better grades). Lol Mike, we all have anonymous identities on the forum. But no, I will not be in the lab till beginning of July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Thanks so much for the input, everyone!!! Although the BHSc seems interesting, and from what I've heard it's fairly easy, I'm definitely more interested in the BMSc than BHSc. It also seems to me that more of my Biochem courses will transfer over so I'll change my OUAC application to that tomorrow morning. Haha Jordan, it wasn't too hard to tell who you were, just as I'm sure this thread was a dead giveaway about me!!! Hope your summer is going well so far! Stop by the lab sometime soon if you're in town. Again, I want to sincerely thank everyone for their help and encouragement. I wouldn't have been able to sort all of this out without all of you. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on whether I get accepted, and how my progress towards my second degree goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 So I just received a phone call from someone at the admissions office at Guelph. She informed me that although I wouldn't be eligible to start/complete a NEW B.Sc., I could do an "Honours Equivalent", basically adding a second major to my degree. I was really hoping to attend Guelph for Nutritional Sciences, but I'm not sure how this Honours Equivalent will effect my standing at med schools like Western or Queen's. I've contacted their admissions offices, and am waiting on replies. Does anyone have any information about this or experience with this situation that might be helpful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 So I just received a phone call from someone at the admissions office at Guelph. She informed me that although I wouldn't be eligible to start/complete a NEW B.Sc., I could do an "Honours Equivalent", basically adding a second major to my degree. I was really hoping to attend Guelph for Nutritional Sciences, but I'm not sure how this Honours Equivalent will effect my standing at med schools like Western or Queen's. I've contacted their admissions offices, and am waiting on replies. Does anyone have any information about this or experience with this situation that might be helpful? I would avoid this route. Queen's isn't going to care, but Western probably is. Write Western an e-mail - if they say that your choice will count as a second degree then you have something in writing and if they decline you later you can show them the e-mail as proof. My guess is, however, they won't count it. It's best to try to do things as by the book as possible. A second degree will actually give you a fresh start not just at Queen's and Western, but at NOSM and McGill too. I would make sure your degree would be counted as a valid second degree at all four schools. Better safe than finding out in 2 or 3 years that it won't be considered... Also mike, between doing the BMSc and the BHSc, unless you are sure that you are more interested in one than the other, I would choose the easiest of the two degrees. I chose a difficult second degree, and while it eventually paid off, I might have kept more of my sanity intact had I gone an easier route. Granted, I was quite interested in the material in my second degree. Your interest should trump the difficulty of a program, but if you're ambivalent, do the easiest route possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 Thanks, simpy. I'm a little hesitant to do the Guelph route for the reasons you mentioned. However, I've emailed Western and I'm going to see what they say. I've applied to UWO for Psych, Medical Sciences, and Dietetics. Right now I'm leaning towards Dietetics because, as I mentioned before I'm into food and nutrition and would have a solid foundation, and it would set me up for an internship as a dietician if med school doesn't work out. Psych would be interesting, but I think it would take me 3+ years to finish as I only took one Psych course in my first degree. As for Medical Sciences, on the OUAC website, I couldn't apply for advanced standing in the BMSc. Not sure why, but once I hear back from these programs I plan on going to UWO and meeting with people from the programs so I can figure out exactly what courses I would need to take and how long would be required for each program. That way I can make the best overall decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 Thanks, simpy. I'm a little hesitant to do the Guelph route for the reasons you mentioned. However, I've emailed Western and I'm going to see what they say. I've applied to UWO for Psych, Medical Sciences, and Dietetics. Right now I'm leaning towards Dietetics because, as I mentioned before I'm into food and nutrition and would have a solid foundation, and it would set me up for an internship as a dietician if med school doesn't work out. Psych would be interesting, but I think it would take me 3+ years to finish as I only took one Psych course in my first degree. As for Medical Sciences, on the OUAC website, I couldn't apply for advanced standing in the BMSc. Not sure why, but once I hear back from these programs I plan on going to UWO and meeting with people from the programs so I can figure out exactly what courses I would need to take and how long would be required for each program. That way I can make the best overall decision. Sounds like a great plan. From what you've said, I agree that the Dietetics program is the best option. Covers all the bases, including providing a backup option. Anyway, sounds like you're doing everything correctly. Next just be very careful with your course selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addy K Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 http://www.birdcourses.com/ FTW ... actually it's not that great, but seriously talk to people who are a year ahead of you to find out which courses to take and which to avoid. That's how I got through UofT . There are just way too many profs/courses that can screw you over, so you have to be careful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hey Mike, Sounds like you have a good plan. If you are interested in dietetics, at Guelph, their Dietitians of Canada accredited program is the Applied Human Nutrition program - it's a BASc (Bachelor of Applied Science), not a BSc, so you might be able to do it as a second degree, if you are interested. But Western is certainly a great school and I've only heard good things about their dietetics program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hey Mike, Sounds like you have a good plan. If you are interested in dietetics, at Guelph, their Dietitians of Canada accredited program is the Applied Human Nutrition program - it's a BASc (Bachelor of Applied Science), not a BSc, so you might be able to do it as a second degree, if you are interested. But Western is certainly a great school and I've only heard good things about their dietetics program. I'm pretty happy with my plan, as well! I looked into the BASc at Guelph, and I think I would still run into the problem of >25% overlap with my first degree. Western seems like the right choice for me right now, anyways. The program sounds great and my parents are close to London! Just waiting to hear from the admissions office now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I'm pretty happy with my plan, as well! I looked into the BASc at Guelph, and I think I would still run into the problem of >25% overlap with my first degree. Western seems like the right choice for me right now, anyways. The program sounds great and my parents are close to London! Just waiting to hear from the admissions office now... Hey Mike, If you haven't heard from admissions, give them a call - they may not care too much about deadlines (Queen's let me do a second degree like a month after the official application deadline), but better safe than sorry. You don't want to have to wait an extra year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hey everyone, I've got some news on my situation and I could use other perspectives on a dilemma I'm facing. I'm not sure if I would get better advice in another section of the forums, so let me know if I should post this anywhere else, as well. The three programs I applied to at UWO for my second degree are: 1. Foods and Dietetics 2. Bachelor of Medical Sciences 3. Psychology I applied to Psych because I couple apply to a 3rd program, so I'm not really considering it that seriously . I'm very interested in it and have a good background (studying schizophrenia in my M.Sc.), although I think it would be tough for me to score really well in it. The Psych courses I took in my first undergrad fascinated me, but I found that they were a lot of work for me. Food and Dietetics in an Honours B.Sc. program offered by Brescia, although I would be taking it through UWO because Brescia is female-only. I've spoken with admissions and counselors from this program, and they're more than willing to take me on and give me enough transfer credits so I can complete the degree in a little over 2 full years by taking 11.5 full-credit courses. I'm really interested in nutritional sciences, and it seems like this program would be a good mix of hard science, business, and management courses. I know I can ace the hard sciences and business courses, but I've never taken management courses so I'm not sure what to expect. Another good point about this program is that it sets me up for a 1-year internship to become a registered dietician, in the event that I'm not accepted to a professional school within the next few years. However, I'm a little put off by the fact that it's going to be at Brescia. I'm not sure why (it could just be in my head), but the Brescia campus felt very much like highschool to me. I'm worried that the education might not be as good as BMSc, and Med Schools might look poorly on that. My other option is obviously BMSc. I spoke with their advisors and as long as I'm accepted, I'll be able to follow the program as a 3rd year BSc student, taking courses to fulfill requirements for entry into BMSc. After 3rd year, I would then apply to BMSc as a 4th year student, finishing this degree in 10 credits. This program has an amazing track record of students getting into professional schools, but after speaking with the program's administration staff, I realized that it's not because of the program itself, but because of the students. The students that are allowed to continue in the BMSc are the cream of the crop who are headed toward professional schools anyways, and all students who aren't up to snuff get weeded out into a general BSc. I like the fact that I would be at UWO main campus, and I feel like the education would be great. My first degree was in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at Mac, so I would have a good foundation for most of the modules. It's also very competitive, so it would push me harder than other programs. My question is, what advice can you guys offer me about selecting a program? I should hear back from UWO about my acceptance by the first week in July, and I'd like to make a decision before then. I'm very interested in both, and I really want a program that will allow me to score well (I have high expectations of a 3.9-4.0). If there are any former students of either of these programs, I would really appreciate insight into the classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 This sounds like a no-brainer, you obviously love the dietetics program. Do what you love. Most med schools except for Toronto and possibly Calgary do not care about where your degree is from. So the fact that it's from Brescia shouldn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb88 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 This sounds like a no-brainer, you obviously love the dietetics program. Do what you love. Most med schools except for Toronto and possibly Calgary do not care about where your degree is from. So the fact that it's from Brescia shouldn't matter. Thanks for the advice, simpy! I'm definitely leaning toward dietetics, but it's hard not to consider BMSc when it's regarded as such a prestigious program. The Food and Dietetics degree will actually be an HBSc from UWO, not Brescia. Most of the classes, however, will be at Brescia campus. The final thing that concerns me about the dietetics program is that I will have to take 2 first year courses (Foods and Nutrition 1030E and Business Administration 1220). These are prerequisite courses for upper level courses I would be taking in my second year. From what I've read, most medical and dental schools limit the number of first year courses you can take in one academic year. Would I be alright taking these two courses in my first year, or would that take me out of the running for certain schools (like UWO, which has very strict rules about second degrees)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.