darthtire Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hey everyone! I am currently a first year student at UBC, and I was wondering how hard it is to get into some of the more challenging majors: physiology and pharmacology. What kinds of averages should I be getting in both first and second year? Also, would it be possible to still do a minor, say in Math or Physics, while pursuing those majors, and not have a good average for med? Thanks guys!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Pharmacology, physiology, and microbiology are three of the toughest life science programs to get into because of their low-to-mid 80s entrance requirements. A minor is possible, but you will be extremely overworked and it will not give you any sort of advantage for med school. The workload for all three majors is very high. For previous class averages, go to the programs' websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe if you enjoy math or physics just major those? I know a brilliant friend that is getting high 90's average at UBC and decided to major in physics because that would give him the best chance at obtaining highest GPA while learning something he likes. UBC med doesn't care about your major as long as you finish pre-reqs and there aren't really many pre-reqs for UBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubcMDhopeful Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 You should aim for 85+ if you want to get into physiology or pharmacology. There is no firm cut off as it varies significantly year to year. Yes there are many people who are doing minors and some even majors in Econ, math and physics while doing physiology/pharmacology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hking03 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Off topic, but if I were you I'd consider taking one or two physiology courses rather than a major if you'd rather major in something else. Bottom line, major in something you like, do well in your pre-reqs and add in a physiology course as I believe it will help you out in first semester of med if you make it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Off topic, but if I were you I'd consider taking one or two physiology courses rather than a major if you'd rather major in something else. Bottom line, major in something you like, do well in your pre-reqs and add in a physiology course as I believe it will help you out in first semester of med if you make it in! I want to major in physiology but I'm scared that it'll bring my average down. Which courses do you recommend taking if one was not majoring in physiology? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Last time I checked UBC only has one basic human physiology course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 How difficult is a pharmacology major? I have an 89% average in my second year and think I can get in, but I'm not sure if I should if it's a difficult major and will drop my gpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.No Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 You shouldnt be worried about dropping your GPA. If you look at the grades distributions the average for pharmacology classes are usually around 89%, which is probably higher than the entering averages of the students. So most people in the program end up actually doing better in the program. It's is not difficult as long as you keep up with the material since it's mostly learning based on memorization not applying concepts. If you are interested in pharmacology you should go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 You have to keep in mind that pharmacology students are very strong academically to begin with. It's not like you can just coast to an 89%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yeah, also I transferred from another university and only had 27 credits in my first year, but had an almost 3.9/4 GPA. I read on the pharmacology site that you need 30 credits each year (this year I have 32), and was wondering am I already disqualified for not meeting that restriction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubcMDhopeful Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 I want to major in physiology but I'm scared that it'll bring my average down. Which courses do you recommend taking if one was not majoring in physiology? Definitely, take physiology 301 its a very good course and its not that difficult. Physiology gets hard in 4th year when you have to take alot of courses. How difficult is a pharmacology major? I have an 89% average in my second year and think I can get in, but I'm not sure if I should if it's a difficult major and will drop my gpa The actual course (PCTH 300) is not that difficult I would say, the labs are just very tedious and time consuming. I dont think your GPA would come down but you might have to work a bit harder handing in all the lab reports than you would normally. Also it would be a bit difficult to improve on your GPA from first and second year from my experience. You shouldnt be worried about dropping your GPA. If you look at the grades distributions the average for pharmacology classes are usually around 89%, which is probably higher than the entering averages of the students. So most people in the program end up actually doing better in the program. It's is not difficult as long as you keep up with the material since it's mostly learning based on memorization not applying concepts. If you are interested in pharmacology you should go for it. I am not too sure if I can say that most people do better in the program. There is no way of quantifying it so you might be right but I personally went down in grades (not significantly). The actual concepts like you mentioned are not too difficult to grasp and there is memorization with drug names. However the course is not just raw memorization and there is conceptual thinking required. Like I said previously the lab was just very time consuming throughout the year. Yeah, also I transferred from another university and only had 27 credits in my first year, but had an almost 3.9/4 GPA. I read on the pharmacology site that you need 30 credits each year (this year I have 32), and was wondering am I already disqualified for not meeting that restriction? Talk to the advisor he most likely would be okay with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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