Guest DxRShawndx Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 Hi, I am currently attending highschool and it has been my long time ambition to become a doctor. I am in the new batch of students meaning I will not have OAC and Graduate at grade 12. Anyways, I am currently going to start voluntering right now, in hospitals and other organizations, but as I was asking people, on how to could become a doctor, they told me that I really didn't need to take Biology and Chemistry to get into Med School. They said some of their friends are not taking it, and taking the Prerequesits and a bunch of easier subjects. I was just thinking that wouldnt they have to know Biology on the MCAT? I dont understand how this whole thing works out. Should I continue to take Bio in Highschool or substitute it for easier subject so my overall percent average is higher because there is a lot of competion for University slots because of the two grades graduating at the same time. Also, How do people do calculations with out Calculators. My whole math world was with the easy pushes of buttons, and now I cant use it? Are the Mathematical questions really hard? Last Question: Do they give a study guide to study from? I mean if we do the study guide should we be ok? I mean as in context and coverage of material, Types of questions that are used throughout MCAT, but altered. I am scared that when I take MCAT I might not know some of the questions, even though I studied the study guide. ANY ADVISE would be helpfull, hence a young student that is trying to make his way through this unforgiving world is asking for some Wise Advise. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 It depends on your university major. Science degrees will require you to take science courses, which may well include both Chemistry and Biology courses. In that event, having a previous background by taking those courses in high school will help you. The MCAT also tests you on both Chemistry and Biology, and since currently only McMaster and Ottawa don't use the MCAT in their admissions process, again having that science background could be advantageous. Med schools don't look at any of your high school marks when decided whether or not to accept you, so don't worry about it from that perspective. I can't comment on what sort of grades you'll need in high school to get into university, but once you're there, from the med admissions point of view, you've got a whole new blank slate to work with. To find out more information about the MCAT, visit: www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm www.aamc.org/students/mcat/about/start.htm Hope this helps! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DxRShawndx Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 Thanx so much for replying so fast. THis sight has really given me some insight. The world seems like a Brighter place. One more Question. I currently Live in Toronto and I want to go to a school in Toronto. My whole family is here and such. I heard the University of Toronto's Medschool department is one of the best, but before going there the University itself is bad and Very difficult. I am not sure on which University to apply to... I do like challanges but dont want to risk my dream of becoming a doctor. Any help would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 Try reading some of the old messages in the Toronto forum. There's lots of previously answered questions there regarding undergrad at Toronto. At some point, you'll need to make the decision to study university, and it's important to balance all of your goals. Important factors could be: tuition, friends and family, quality/prestige of the university, access to research, size and diversity of the university, size and diversity of the city, etc. Only you can figure out what's most important to you, and to pick a university accordingly. Wherever you attend university, you can be sure that applying to medical school will be difficult regardless. There are simply not enough seats available for all the qualified people out there who wish to become doctors. I would try to talk to as many people as you can: friends, family, teachers/counsellors at your school, etc to figure out which university would be the best fit for you. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DxRShawndx Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 I was just wondering if someone forgot all they knew in highschool can they still be successful in University? What I really mean will the professors start from the begining and go through the basics or pick up from where they think u should be at? For example Biology, I am sacred if I forget the process in Cellular respiration and the the structures of Nucleotides and such. Any advise will be greatly Appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KatieKat Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 Don't worry! Prof's go over everything you need to know. I rarely feel that I don't have the background needed for a course. Everyone in a class is coming from a different place and profs usually want to get you all to the same level of knowledge before tlhey proceed with more difficult stuff. And on the topic of nucleotides, I'm "learning" about them in 3 courses right now. Same topic, three courses. I'm in 4th year, and we're still learning about nucleotide structure (and not in huge detail either). I don't know if I've been in undergrad too long or what, but things are sure starting to get repetitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daisy Posted January 27, 2002 Report Share Posted January 27, 2002 Hi, I'm currently an undergrad at UfT n it seems that the profs do repeat most of the material taught during OAC (or in your case grade 12). I don't think the material is any different from highschool, but the volume might seem a bit overwhelming at first. My best suggestion for you, is to glance through your hs notes a bit prior to starting university so that you can have a brief idea about what's going on. If you can obtain the require text for the particular courses prior to class in september (at UfT "most" of the required book can be found via a book through the library at the UfT bookstore - if you like more info on this you can check out the school website: http://www.utoronto.ca) and skim over the first chapter or so. I don't suggest more than this since the prof usually gives you a week to do the review. Just remember to keep up to date, prepare and continue working from the beginning and you will have a good time. Just a note if you are worrying about the marks - don't be..at least too much. Marks vary quite a bit here, student with 90s from hs have 70s-80s now, meanwhile those with 70s in hs now have 90s. The point is just try your best and most importantly have fun. Goodluck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DxRShawndx Posted January 28, 2002 Report Share Posted January 28, 2002 Not only is the people in the messageboard insightful and helpful, they are very reassuring. Thank you for explaining how the whole University thing works, I do not have any older siblings to give me the break down. Thanx again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amy Posted January 28, 2002 Report Share Posted January 28, 2002 I agree with Daisy. I have seen a number of people who got numerous awards in high school, and entrance scholarships from every university they apply, ended up getting mediocre grades at university. I guess that has something to do with the difference in the evaluation methods. High school teachers like to set up the exams in such a way that as long as the students have studied the materials well enough, they should be able to answer the questions (with maybe 1 or 2 "trick" questions which are likely to be asked as bonus questions). This isn't the case at university (esp. in engineering). It's extremely important to develop a good learning habit. Carefully plan what u want to achieve in the 4 years ahead. I wish u the very best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DxRShawndx Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 Thank you Very much Amy and the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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