University of Western Ontario BMSc program for undergrad?

[Elliottm18]

Is the BMSc a good program? I will have a 95% average coming out of High School. Should I go into this program? I like more human physiology rather than regular bio. Does it prepare you for the MCAT?

 

Any advise?

[markov79]

its terrible and misinforms you wrt mcat material.

 

kidding... its solid.

[tb123]

great program. first year is super easy and nothing beats UWO rez life. 2nd year is kind of a drag, but the school is awesome. Starting in 3rd year all your classes are super cool and in 4th year you can really focus on certain areas. If you tailor it properly, the program sets you up great for medical school or a graduate degree. Plus the campus is awesome and it wins the best student experience award every year for a reason.

[markov79]

ya the third year courses are pretty ill.... plus the gym is ballin

[Elliottm18]

What are the good residences? Suite or dorm? I'm thinking London hall for my residence....

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Stay in Med-Syd. You won't be dissapointed.

[thehockeykid]

i am in 2nd year and there is so much work. I do not like biochem, i can't memorize everything.

 

95% average, mac health sci? thought about writing SATs those grades are so good i am sure u could even go an ivy league school and by going to the states it to increases your odds of medical schools down there. Actually with that average why not just get into medical school straight away, into a 6 year MD program in Ireland ?

[tb123]

med-syd, deleware and then saugeen would be my order. The suite styles are nice, but you only get to live in rez once, do it right. The experience of living with a roommate and the community of a floor is awesome. Saugeen was a ton of fun when I went there, but there are large security measures that are super annoying now (oops). In my experience the people in larger rez's make more and better friends. Ya you could get into a great Ivy school, but if you want to stay in CAN, I would say UWO for sure. Mac health sci is overrated, several of my TAs did their undergrad there and always compliment our program.

[silverwhale9]

Essex for rez - suite style is great cause with 4 roommates you are more likely to get along well with at least one of them. You share a kitchen and living room, but you get your own bedroom, which is really nice (and good for studying). Also the bathroom is shared with only one other person. And it's right beside the gym. Elgin would be my second pick (the same style as Essex) but it's on the other side of campus.

[FrenchToast]

i am in 2nd year and there is so much work. I do not like biochem, i can't memorize everything.

 

95% average, mac health sci? thought about writing SATs those grades are so good i am sure u could even go an ivy league school and by going to the states it to increases your odds of medical schools down there. Actually with that average why not just get into medical school straight away, into a 6 year MD program in Ireland ?

 

firstly, i'm in second year, as well, and biochem is a lottt to memorize. it is true. but don't worry OP! never fear! it's not that bad - honest. there are parts that are actually so interesting. i also kindaaa got 98 on the midterm which is worth the same as the final, so really, don't even worry.

 

also, just because you have a high average doesn't mean you should feel pressured to go to some exclusive school/program. like if you go to mac health sci, you'll be competing against a bunch of other kids who also had 95 averages and they all want to go to med school. not everyone in a program can get 95s. my friend who is super smart and had similar grades to you in high school is now mostly getting 80s, which is still good, but be warned. uwo is much more diverse. my marks didn't drop that much from high school to first year (from 97 to 96.4). they've dropped a few percent in second year, though.

 

but anyways if you come to uwo, DON'T STAY IN ALUMNI. it sucked man.

a conversation i had with a friend last week:

her: "how did you meet anyone in alumni? there is no caf. there are no lounges on the floors. you didn't even have an elevator"

me: "I DIDN'T *cry*"

 

so there you have it. now i have done my civic duty, so i must stop procrastinating and do my orgo homework. yay. look what you have to look forward to

[mig174]

First of all, 95% out of high school in these times means nothing. You may just be coming from an easy high school or in an area with traditionally poorly performing students.

 

Secondly, university is different from high school. I've seen national scholars fail to get more than a 3.3 cgpa and "average" students knock off 4.0s like there is no tomorrow. The formula for success at university is different than it is in high school.

 

You just have to know how hard you are willing to work and how well you function in an environment where you are accountable to nobody but yourself. Also, be honest with yourself about how much you value social life and school spirit as schools vary greatly on these factors. And know how well you handle stress. All programs are stressful, but some are definitely more stressful and have less support than others (e.g., UofT).

 

Given that UWO, in general, is known as a "party school", you would probably have an easier time there than at Queen's or UofT or Waterloo.

 

I will also advise you against going into the life sciences in your undergrad. They narrow down your career to a) medicine / med-related and grad school (and maybe med later). If you don't get into med school, the other options may not be so great. Grad school is interesting, but there are no jobs at the end and you are, for all intents and purposes, an indentured slave for many many years.

 

So choose wisely. If you go into bioinformatics/CS or engineering, you will always have a job.

[tb123]

That's terrible advice. If you want to be a doctor and are set on medicine, take something that will prepare you for medschool and you will do well in, which is likely a med/ life sci. Just because UWO kids also are known to have fun doesn't mean their elite programs are easier than others. I'll admit U of T is more intense, but not so much at other schools.

 

OP don't get down because people are inferring you won't do well at school. I hate it when university students act condescending towards HS kids. If you work hard and are smart you'll be fine. I will point out that even a person who went to alumni hall (feel for you, that sucks) still likes their school. And yes there are benefits to living suite style, but my opinion is I would rather have 30 close friends from a floor than 4 from a pod.

[Let'sGo1990]

First of all, 95% out of high school in these times means nothing. You may just be coming from an easy high school or in an area with traditionally poorly performing students.

 

Secondly, university is different from high school. I've seen national scholars fail to get more than a 3.3 cgpa and "average" students knock off 4.0s like there is no tomorrow. The formula for success at university is different than it is in high school.

 

You just have to know how hard you are willing to work and how well you function in an environment where you are accountable to nobody but yourself. Also, be honest with yourself about how much you value social life and school spirit as schools vary greatly on these factors. And know how well you handle stress. All programs are stressful, but some are definitely more stressful and have less support than others (e.g., UofT).

 

Given that UWO, in general, is known as a "party school", you would probably have an easier time there than at Queen's or UofT or Waterloo.

I will also advise you against going into the life sciences in your undergrad. They narrow down your career to a) medicine / med-related and grad school (and maybe med later). If you don't get into med school, the other options may not be so great. Grad school is interesting, but there are no jobs at the end and you are, for all intents and purposes, an indentured slave for many many years.

 

So choose wisely. If you go into bioinformatics/CS or engineering, you will always have a job.

 

??? Queen's is as much a party school as UWO is.

 

Unless you've been to all those schools, you can't really comment on comparative difficulty (UofT is an exception though - it's level of difficulty is actually generally accepted to be higher by most students).

[markov79]

lol ya didn't queen's get their homecoming cancelled 'cause some people lit a car on fire (among other things), or something? LOL. that's insane.

[mig174]

That's terrible advice. If you want to be a doctor and are set on medicine, take something that will prepare you for medschool and you will do well in, which is likely a med/ life sci. Just because UWO kids also are known to have fun doesn't mean their elite programs are easier than others. I'll admit U of T is more intense, but not so much at other schools.

 

OP don't get down because people are inferring you won't do well at school. I hate it when university students act condescending towards HS kids. If you work hard and are smart you'll be fine. I will point out that even a person who went to alumni hall (feel for you, that sucks) still likes their school. And yes there are benefits to living suite style, but my opinion is I would rather have 30 close friends from a floor than 4 from a pod.

 

No, THAT is terrible advice. Look at any meds admissions page. Even UofT states they prefer students to explore all kinds of fields of study before med school. Almost 10% of the class comes from engineering. If everyone came to meds from life sci, you would just have a bunch of boring kids who know nothing more than how to memorize well.

[FrenchToast]

No, THAT is terrible advice. Look at any meds admissions page. Even UofT states they prefer students to explore all kinds of fields of study before med school. Almost 10% of the class comes from engineering. If everyone came to meds from life sci, you would just have a bunch of boring kids who know nothing more than how to memorize well.

 

OUCH. life sci is not boring, good sir. it's superly duper cool, and if you can't understand that, *you* are boring.

[tb123]

No, THAT is terrible advice. Look at any meds admissions page. Even UofT states they prefer students to explore all kinds of fields of study before med school. Almost 10% of the class comes from engineering. If everyone came to meds from life sci, you would just have a bunch of boring kids who know nothing more than how to memorize well.

 

The point was to take something you like and will therefore do well in, and for a lot of pre-med kids that is medsci. It is not the only way to get into medicine, but lots of graduates of my program mention you are well prepared. Obviously they don't really care what you do your undergrad as long as its a decent difficulty. And you can call out any program on something, but most of us choose not too.

[mig174]

OUCH. life sci is not boring, good sir. it's superly duper cool, and if you can't understand that, *you* are boring.

 

struck a nerve there, I guess. For the record, I did life sci at UofT, which is harder than meds, really. In fact, a lot of programs are harder than meds in terms of the concepts you have to learn - you just have to be able to handle the volume.

 

In any case, it is quite obvious that most of life sci is a memorization fest with little problem solving, unless you do research-intensive courses or courses with a computational bend.

 

And about doing well in life sci - so let's say you get a 3.5 after 4 years of hard work. You are not going to med school. You are going to grad school, most likely (or nursing, pharm, radiation sci, etc. which is additional schooling & debt for relatively low pay). Grad school = more than a decade spent as a lowly-paid, overworked MSc/PhD/postdoc before getting a CHANCE at a faculty position (15% of postdocs make it), which is even more stress and is not highly paid.

 

If you don't get into med school, you lose out with a life sci degree.

 

On the other hand, if you have an eng. sci. or a CS or a bioniformatics degree, you'll go far even with a 3.5. You'll have a good job out of school, even!

[emilyxu7]

Is the BMSc a good program? I will have a 95% average coming out of High School. Should I go into this program? I like more human physiology rather than regular bio. Does it prepare you for the MCAT?

 

Any advise?

 

I would focus more on doing a program that will allow you to complete pre-reqs, one that you enjoy and one you can get good marks in as compared to... if it would prepare you well for the MCAT or not...

[ss7]

Bmsc is a great program. I'm also in 2nd year...which I've heard is the hardest year, not sure if thats true some input would be nice. I lived in saugeen 1st year and the experience is unbeatable, however I would recommend delaware. Most of your classes will be in ncb which is literally a 20 second walk from delaware. From saugeen its about a 10 minute walk.

[McMarauder]

 

Unless you've been to all those schools' date=' you can't really comment on comparative difficulty (UofT is an exception though - it's level of difficulty is actually generally accepted to be higher by most students).[/quote']

 

Most UofT students will complain about the difficulty without ever experiencing any other school. I was one of those until I went to Mac. Even though I've taken courses at 4 different universities now (UofT, Mac, York, Athabasca), I still can't properly rank them in terms of difficulty because I didn't take the exact same courses at each school. I can make statements like "Toxicology at UofT and Pharmacology at Mac are the same level of difficulty (because they are very similar majors). Both are much more difficult than Kinesiology at York". But I can never conclude "UofT and Mac are more difficult than York", even if it is the socially accepted statement. Difficulty is an inherent property of the programs themselves, and not necessarily the schools.