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poll who took 1st year english


Did you take 1st year english?  

2 members have voted

  1. 1. Did you take 1st year english?

    • Yes
      40
    • N
      24


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Don't most schools request that you complete all your pre-requisites by May that year before they'll agree to admit you?

 

all schools have different policies. some schools require that you have pre-reqs done before June of the year you're admitted. some (like UofA) want them done before December of the year you apply (so if you're still in school, you need them all done by the end of term 1).

 

I did it the summer before 4th year. would NOT suggest doing it during the school year unless you are positive you can get an A or A+ based on feedback and class averages in the past. at Mac, it's almost impossible to get an A or A+ in the first year English courses.. getting an A- is barely manageable. whereas at Ryerson, an A or A+ isn't unheard of. just depends on the school.

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all schools have different policies. some schools require that you have pre-reqs done before June of the year you're admitted. some (like UofA) want them done before December of the year you apply (so if you're still in school, you need them all done by the end of term 1).

 

I did it the summer before 4th year. would NOT suggest doing it during the school year unless you are positive you can get an A or A+ based on feedback and class averages in the past. at Mac, it's almost impossible to get an A or A+ in the first year English courses.. getting an A- is barely manageable. whereas at Ryerson, an A or A+ isn't unheard of. just depends on the school.

 

I just talked to U of A and they want marks in by April 30 of the year they admit you. That's 2 weeks before exam week at my school. Sigh.

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In third year I took 1.0 FCE of 2nd year english: critical reading on narrative and writing on literature. No 1st prereqs for those courses where I did it. Squeaked by with an A- on both but it helped improve my VR score by 4 and my writing went up another level. Take some useful english courses! They can really help your MCAT. The BS english ones maybe good for a GPA boost but the useful ones may help you more with MCAT. ;)

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In third year I took 1.0 FCE of 2nd year english: critical reading on narrative and writing on literature. No 1st prereqs for those courses where I did it. Squeaked by with an A- on both but it helped improve my VR score by 4 and my writing went up another level. Take some useful english courses! They can really help your MCAT. The BS english ones maybe good for a GPA boost but the useful ones may help you more with MCAT. ;)

 

key word: MAY. haha I am a bibliophile and my english courses were comp. lit. which requires a certain level of writing proficiently in order to do well. still could not break that 10 VR barrier. that being said, reading more couldn't HURT you when it comes to VR/WS. it just may not help.

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Can other humanities with a significant writing component count for the English credit? E.G. I took a course (0.5 FCE) on the history of medicine that was a humanities course with a very large writing/reading component. I also took a course on Roman history and culture.

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I took 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year English courses. Loved being able to read novels as studying...great change of pace from my major (biol).

 

Most schools will require an English course specifically that has a significant writing component. They may even require that you produce a syllabus to prove it. YMMV, though.

 

I agree with those who suggested that you take the class during summer session, especially if it is one of the 1st year weeder courses. The upper level English are a good suggestion for fall and winter terms as they tend to be smaller classes (depends on the area of interest). In addition, if you find your niche you may decide to minor in it! I adored Canadian Literature and almost completed a minor in Cdn Studies because of all the lit and soc courses I took in the field.

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I've heard that first year English itself isn't interesting unless you have an awesome prof, just because class discussions aren't all that good or advanced because so many people from different streams are taking it just to get the credit...

 

Luckily, I had a transfer credit from high school so I got to take a 2nd year course in first year...loved it so much I ended up minoring in English Language and Literature.

 

I definitely wouldn't recommend taking English in 4th year though. Sure, your marks may not matter, but

 

a) in 4th year, you'll most likely have really difficult upper year courses and possibly a thesis paper, so belting out two-three essays may not come easily

 

B) in case you don't get into med after 4th year, then you'll potentially have a grade that brings down your GPA just as equally as it would have in years 1-3, and possibly even more, since some schools look at your last two years (like Queen's) or do a weighted GPA (like UOttawa)

 

c) taking an English course earlier helps you actually learn how to write! The amount of science students I've come across who can't stand the idea of expressing themselves and their own opinions is astonishing...of course it's easier to write a research paper based on facts than developing your own ideas thought out critically...but this exact sort of thing will help you in interviews and later on

 

d) English is super awesome :D (personal bias, of course) If you realize you actually like it early on, you've just got yourself a minor that helps you not constantly be all science-y and actually exercise your brain. Also, as far as I could tell from my own experience, my interviewers were pretty pleased/surprised that I minored in English (not to mention all my classmates, although personally, I don't see what the big deal is...we have students in this board who majored in English like Ellorie or were in Music...shikimate I think...)

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Just to be clear, so it doesn't matter what english course I take? I was thinking of taking intro to Shakespeare which is a 2nd year course (full year) at my school. Would that fill the requirement?

As long as it's under the English department, it's fine :)

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Just to be clear, so it doesn't matter what english course I take? I was thinking of taking intro to Shakespeare which is a 2nd year course (full year) at my school. Would that fill the requirement?

 

yea

 

10c

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If you're going to a Canadian school that has english requirements, check what type of classes are acceptable. Right off the U of A site: English courses offered by the Department of English. Preference is for one full year of English Literature courses, or one half-year of English Literature and one half-year of English Composition (DOES NOT include Classics, History or Philosophy).

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