Should I go for that Writing Certificate?

[Pagan]

I'm going into 2nd year and so far for most of my science courses, the amount of effort I put in pretty much correlates with the mark I get. I have a strong science background, so first year science wasn't too hard for me. It helps if you love science and you're fascinated by epigenetic mechanisms, the nitrogen cycle..

 

I've always been interested in writing courses too. I'm taking a summer writing course, and its much MUCH harder than any course I've taken so far. According to some, getting a 90+ is UNHEARD of. Anything that is 85+ means you are an PHENOMENAL writer. (like have-you-authored-any-books-yet phenomenal)

I'm not a great writer, I'm not even a good writer. But I want to improve my writing. To get a writing certificate you need about 5 credits or so of Writing courses.

 

I don't want to study my ass off for for As and A+ in science classes only to get my GPA obliterated by my 60-70 something writing marks.

 

My final goal is medical school. Does everyone just fill up their schedule with useless bird courses just to maintain that high GPA? Is there a course you were interested in but didn't take because it was "hard" or "risky"?

[GGGSaint]

I'm going into 2nd year and so far for most of my science courses, the amount of effort I put in pretty much correlates with the mark I get. I have a strong science background, so first year science wasn't too hard for me. It helps if you love science and you're fascinated by epigenetic mechanisms, the nitrogen cycle..

 

I've always been interested in writing courses too. I'm taking a summer writing course, and its much MUCH harder than any course I've taken so far. According to some, getting a 90+ is UNHEARD of. Anything that is 85+ means you are an PHENOMENAL writer. (like have-you-authored-any-books-yet phenomenal)

I'm not a great writer, I'm not even a good writer. But I want to improve my writing. To get a writing certificate you need about 5 credits or so of Writing courses.

 

I don't want to study my ass off for for As and A+ in science classes only to get my GPA obliterated by my 60-70 something writing marks.

 

My final goal is medical school. Does everyone just fill up their schedule with useless bird courses just to maintain that high GPA? Is there a course you were interested in but didn't take because it was "hard" or "risky"?

 

No. In fact I only took courses that I knew would a be a great learning experience. In retrospect, not worth it if your goal is a Canadian MD degree. Why? Because very few other applicants will follow suit and it makes sense. GPA is the most important part of your med app across this country so focus on getting the highest possible one. Now, instead of having a spot secured at Toronto (GPA heavy school) I'm looking to getting off a waitlist.

 

Your mileage may vary. Best of luck regardless.

[amalwa12]

Well I think it's good that you want to improve your writing skills, because that's definitely going to come in handy no matter what you end up doing. Why don't you look out for another course which has a strong writing component, rather than getting your gpa obliterated, as you think you may not do as well in this course? You can take another English course where you will have to write essays and can improve your writing or perhaps, a philosophy or history course?

 

And if you're interested in taking this course specifically, then I'm sure you can do well (like above a 60-70), if you make use of all the resources- writing centres, prof's/TA's advice, etc. Aren't there a variety of courses that you can take for this writing certificate? It's worth looking at the other options if this one really is geared towards writers that are already quite skilled.

 

Hope this helps.

[ellorie]

I am proud to say that I did my entire undergrad without taking a single "bird course". I only took courses that I knew would challenge me and enhance my education, and it worked out for me. Especially at U of T and Calgary (my interview score was what killed me at Calgary, my academic score was really high) and other schools that look at more than your GPA.

 

U of T is supposedly a high GPA school, but I got in with a 3.82, presumably partly because my lower GPA was balanced by the difficulty of my courses.

 

I was an english and physiology double major and I found the english courses to be far more challenging than the science courses in terms of grades. I usually got As in my science courses and B+ in the majority of my english courses. But my multidisciplinary background helped me out at interviews, and even in my academic evaluation, depending on the school. And although I usually got 75-80 in english courses, my high science marks balanced it so that I ended up with a competitive GPA, if on the lower end of competitive.

 

You could also consider taking some classes pass/fail, if that's an option where you are.

[Lactic Folly]

Are there options other than taking the course for a % mark? Would you consider taking writing courses through another venue (e.g. faculty of continuing education)?

[Diceroll2011]

I love English, literature and writing. But after a bad experience with a first year literature course, I stuck to courses where you can obtain those A+s.

 

GPA is king, reading and literary theory has become a pastime with the added bonus of not being tainted by associated with grading.

[Mithril]

It's unfortunate that many med school applicants choose to take easy bird courses over harder, more interesting courses, but that's the game. I purposely stayed away from a cancer genetics course because I knew I would get a low 80/high 70 mark in that course.

[dentopia11]

I am proud to say that I did my entire undergrad without taking a single "bird course". I only took courses that I knew would challenge me and enhance my education, and it worked out for me. Especially at U of T and Calgary (my interview score was what killed me at Calgary, my academic score was really high) and other schools that look at more than your GPA.

 

U of T is supposedly a high GPA school, but I got in with a 3.82, presumably partly because my lower GPA was balanced by the difficulty of my courses.

 

I was an english and physiology double major and I found the english courses to be far more challenging than the science courses in terms of grades. I usually got As in my science courses and B+ in the majority of my english courses. But my multidisciplinary background helped me out at interviews, and even in my academic evaluation, depending on the school. And although I usually got 75-80 in english courses, my high science marks balanced it so that I ended up with a competitive GPA, if on the lower end of competitive.

 

You could also consider taking some classes pass/fail, if that's an option where you are.

 

i know that schools say they take "difficulty" of courses into account, but "difficulty" is such a relative term and can vary..how can schools possibly know for sure whether or not the course was difficult...i mean im assuming they go by just the title of the course and class average when looking at its difficulty?

however, sometimes the most difficult courses are easy since the prof knows subject matter is difficult, hence the reason for more lenient testing....on the other hand, some of my most difficult courses were first year courses, where despite the subject matter being easy, the purpose of hard testing was to filter out students to reduce class size for higher years...i would assume not a lot of schools consider first yr courses to be hard?

 

point being most courses have around the same class average...but i guess schools have a way of determining whether or not its difficult

[Pagan]

Thanks for all your replies!!

 

My program (Biochemistry) doesnt have as many requirements as other science programs so I have lots of room for electives... which means lots of dreaded bird courses ... or random science courses I find interesting... or Writing Cert.

 

I already kinda took a bird course (1st yr Psych) so no unblemished record here, lol. I will shamelessly take bird courses if it gets me into med school.

But if I don't make it.. that's thousands of dollars wasted on studying rocks, classic pottery, solar systems and all sorts of things I have no interest in whatsoever.

 

GGGSaint, thanks for reminding me of my priorities.

 

Lactic Folly, I don't think UWO uses a pass/fail system, at least in undergrad courses.

[igeorgex]

I cannot emphasize this enough: without a competitive GPA, you will be extremely lucky to get interviews. you want to maximize the amount of schools you interview at and basically the one thing they ALL have in common is GPA.

 

of course, there are schools like Mac which take VR and CASPer into account but you can't rely on getting an interview based on those two aspects of your application to compensate for a low GPA.

 

I'm not saying you should take bird courses, but choose courses that have an evaluative method you KNOW you can do well in. if that means MCQ tests and assignments, then go for it. if it means essays, go for that. but if the evaluative format or the content is something you know yourself to struggle with, please please avoid it. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that advice

 

choose electives based on something that interests you but is in a format you can do well in. read a course review or outline and see if you are interested in that topic. do it in a field you're not extremely familiar with, but then ensure you can ace the tests/assignments/etc... in that case. for example, some of my electives that I loved and did well in were music, immunology, and health policy courses. I don't think any of them were "birds" by any means, but I liked what I was studying and knew I could do well based on how I was being evaluated.

 

good luck!

[dentopia11]

if you're an undergrad at UofT, here are my suggestions for picking/deciding between courses:

 

a. a few years back, when i was in undergrad, there used to be a gem called the anti-calendar which is basically the aggregate of student evaluations...these are the results from the student evaluation forms that students fill out...i found that these often give a good idea of the difficulty of an X course with a Y prof....check the student union website to see if this still exists...i think it does

 

b. check the ratemyprofessors.com website...an excellent resource to see if the prof is screwing over the students or if its an easy course....

[amalwa12]

Anti-calendar Love it! Still exists. Google anti-calendar ASSU

 

if you're an undergrad at UofT, here are my suggestions for picking/deciding between courses:

 

a. a few years back, when i was in undergrad, there used to be a gem called the anti-calendar which is basically the aggregate of student evaluations...these are the results from the student evaluation forms that students fill out...i found that these often give a good idea of the difficulty of an X course with a Y prof....check the student union website to see if this still exists...i think it does

 

b. check the ratemyprofessors.com website...an excellent resource to see if the prof is screwing over the students or if its an easy course....

[ArchEnemy]

if you're an undergrad at UofT, here are my suggestions for picking/deciding between courses:

 

a. a few years back, when i was in undergrad, there used to be a gem called the anti-calendar which is basically the aggregate of student evaluations...these are the results from the student evaluation forms that students fill out...i found that these often give a good idea of the difficulty of an X course with a Y prof....check the student union website to see if this still exists...i think it does

 

I actually used the anti-calendar too, but it didn't really help much. I tend to score better on the subjects that are presumably "more difficult" and less well on the "easier" ones. This is because if the courses are easy, your averages are high and less bell curves. This is how it was for me, just sharing my experiences..

[capnamerica]

Getting into med school is a game. Just play it. Don't risk taking difficult course unless you absolutely need to, or know that you will do well. Same goes for university/program selection. I wish someone told me this when I started undergrad...