sassychic Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I am really interested in Neuroscience and Psychology and the program at UTSC is very appealing to me. I don't wanna live at home which is why I would prefer UTSG but then again I don't mind. And what exactly are the best study habits (or some things that have worked for you)to develop to ensure you maintain a really high gpa from the very beginning? Haha Medigeek ur absolutely right, NOSM and all, any acceptance would make me superbly happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkwhy Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 hahaha. And here I am. I've been to UTSG for toxicology, MAC for pharmacology and York for kinesiology. I'm a strong believer that the difficulty of your undergrad depends on the program you choose, and not necessarily the school you attend. I found mac pharmacology to be just as tough as UofT toxicology. Had I chosen something like Biology or Kinesiology at either school, I can say with confidence that I would have done much better in my first degree. My time at York was easy for many reasons. I had matured greatly over the last 6 years, I knew how to study effectively, I took kin courses instead and I knew I had to perform well. I'm sure most people who have left UofT subconsciously felt like they had to perform well, otherwise the transfer was not worthwhile. In fact I heard a UofT transfer at York say in my anatomy class "I only got an 80 on this test. I need at least an 85, otherwise this wasn't worth the transfer". All these anecdotes of "oh my friend transferred from UofT to _____ University and started getting 4.0's" do not tell the whole story. What's important to know is what program they started in and what program they ended up in. Exactly, there are many factors involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 hahaha. And here I am. I've been to UTSG for toxicology, MAC for pharmacology and York for kinesiology. I'm a strong believer that the difficulty of your undergrad depends on the program you choose, and not necessarily the school you attend. I found mac pharmacology to be just as tough as UofT toxicology. Had I chosen something like Biology or Kinesiology at either school, I can say with confidence that I would have done much better in my first degree. My time at York was easy for many reasons. I had matured greatly over the last 6 years, I knew how to study effectively, I took kin courses instead and I knew I had to perform well. I'm sure most people who have left UofT subconsciously felt like they had to perform well, otherwise the transfer was not worthwhile. In fact I heard a UofT transfer at York say in my anatomy class "I only got an 80 on this test. I need at least an 85, otherwise this wasn't worth the transfer". All these anecdotes of "oh my friend transferred from UofT to _____ University and started getting 4.0's" do not tell the whole story. What's important to know is what program they started in and what program they ended up in. ^ Very True. High school students should read your post and realize that programs are what determines how hard it is to obtain a certain grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minion Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 hahaha. And here I am. I've been to UTSG for toxicology, MAC for pharmacology and York for kinesiology. I'm a strong believer that the difficulty of your undergrad depends on the program you choose, and not necessarily the school you attend. I found mac pharmacology to be just as tough as UofT toxicology. Had I chosen something like Biology or Kinesiology at either school, I can say with confidence that I would have done much better in my first degree. My time at York was easy for many reasons. I had matured greatly over the last 6 years, I knew how to study effectively, I took kin courses instead and I knew I had to perform well. I'm sure most people who have left UofT subconsciously felt like they had to perform well, otherwise the transfer was not worthwhile. In fact I heard a UofT transfer at York say in my anatomy class "I only got an 80 on this test. I need at least an 85, otherwise this wasn't worth the transfer". All these anecdotes of "oh my friend transferred from UofT to _____ University and started getting 4.0's" do not tell the whole story. What's important to know is what program they started in and what program they ended up in. Quoting this again because its the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medaholic Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I've just always imagined myself going there and would like to have the option of going despite the fact they murder gpas down there for sport. To the OP - I hope you do consider choosing a university based on more than some daydreams. There's a reason why a lot of people warn about UofT life science. Although there are exceptions, I would say that for MOST people, doing well at UofT is difficult to do. Standing out in a classroom of a thousand students is much harder than in a smaller setting. Figure out why you want to go to university, what would make you best succeed and pick a school that will meet those needs. Nobody really cares what university you went do if you have a 2.0 GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 now guys... there's no need to have a "global rush" to aware high school students everywhere about how it works. The wise people will make wise decisions, and they are truly the best and will be the most successful in medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 What you aren't factoring in is combined income. My partner and I can live very very comfortably if we both make $75K/yr. Will we drive the benz and bimmer? No but we certainly would not struggle for anything either. We'd afford a nice house in the GTA/Markham area, plus the cars, animals and a couple vacations each yr and saving for retirement/accidents. Kids might throw a wrinkle into the allocation of the income but we'd still be just fine. When I realized that I didn't NEED to make $120k+ my outlook started to change and I can tell you that I was NO MORE happier making $150K+ than I was making $75K as all my *needs* were being met I just had more money in the bank for the SUPER FUN stuff. Then again, I grew up dirt poor, got oranges for xmas as a gift from my mom a bunch of times and we had to feed ourself through foodbanks more times than I can count so I've learned very well the definition between WANTS and NEEDS thats my point. by driving a benz, you'll be marginally happier. just what the study said anyway (minimal increase in happiness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mig174 Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 UofT Life Sci and Engineering are the hardest programs because they accept the largest amount of students that do extremely well in high school. In order to stay at the top, you will be competing against them. The same is somewhat true of UBC and McGill. Go to UWO or Guelph (party schools, attract people more interested in partying than studying), Mac (middle-of-the-road), Queens (same), if you want an easier time getting to the top of the mark distribution. It's simply a big fish in a small pond vs. small in fish in a big pond. Just don't delude yourself by saying (insert non-UofT/McGill/UBC school) is just as hard as UofT after you go to those schools. It's simply not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 UofT Life Sci and Engineering are the hardest programs because they accept the largest amount of students that do extremely well in high school. In order to stay at the top, you will be competing against them. The same is somewhat true of UBC and McGill. Go to UWO or Guelph (party schools, attract people more interested in partying than studying), Mac (middle-of-the-road), Queens (same), if you want an easier time getting to the top of the mark distribution. It's simply a big fish in a small pond vs. small in fish in a big pond. Just don't delude yourself by saying (insert non-UofT/McGill/UBC school) is just as hard as UofT after you go to those schools. It's simply not true. Absolutely correct. OP, a life science degree is very useless, so just disregard the name of the school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzah Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 UofT Life Sci and Engineering are the hardest programs because they accept the largest amount of students that do extremely well in high school. In order to stay at the top, you will be competing against them. The same is somewhat true of UBC and McGill. U of T life sci has an entrance cut off of about 80 and I know people who have gotten in with high 70s. Definitely not highly performing students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mig174 Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 U of T life sci has an entrance cut off of about 80 and I know people who have gotten in with high 70s. Definitely not highly performing students. Some of the students are not highly performing, sure. But a large number are. I'm not sure whether you're trying to be captain obvious or concern trolling here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zainy1993 Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 The cutoff was definitely not 80 last year. I saw people getting rejected into UTSG with 80-81. I think the cut off was 82. I can't find the link but the admission average of all the applicants that got accepted last year was 85.9%. Cut-offs don't mean anything btw, just because a cut off average is 82% doesn't mean that all the kids who apply are dumb, troll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzah Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Some of the students are not highly performing, sure. But a large number are. I'm not sure whether you're trying to be captain obvious or concern trolling here. I agree, I should have said not they are not ALL highly performing students. U of T life sciences is not mindblowingly hard and definitely not comparable to engineering. Sure you get a course or two where the marking isn't reflective of the work you put in but those are still relatively rare and can be avoided with prior research. One's mark in almost all the life science courses are a reflection of the amount of time spent in studying/memorizing the material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzah Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 The cutoff was definitely not 80 last year. I saw people getting rejected into UTSG with 80-81. I think the cut off was 82. I can't find the link but the admission average of all the applicants that got accepted last year was 85.9%. Cut-offs don't mean anything btw, just because a cut off average is 82% doesn't mean that all the kids who apply are dumb, troll. You can get an 86 average in high school simply by not sleeping during class. The myth that is the difficulty of U of T life sciences is way overblown, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recoil Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 U of T life sci has an entrance cut off of about 80 and I know people who have gotten in with high 70s. Definitely not highly performing students. Yea but we are all aware that UofT likes to cash in on the dropouts of its 'lower end' entering students during first year. My PHY138 lab group started at 5 and was just the two of us by the end of the year. And I would say that at least half of the class (based on how full lectures were) were gone by the end of the year in that same class. Probably from ~1200 to <600 But If you are the same Blizzah that I think you are, you already know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zainy1993 Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 The PHY131 class, started with 1300 students in the beginning of the semester. By the end only 200-250 ended up taking PHY132 second semester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 You can get an 86 average in high school simply by not sleeping during class. The myth that is the difficulty of U of T life sciences is way overblown, imo. Either i went to a very tough high school or you went to an extremely easy one. We had a huge gifted program (must score 98th percentile and above to get in), and in our classes (both in the gifted program and out) would land you a 65 at best if all you did was not sleep. 80s had to be worked for and 90s were very hard to get. And this was in a school with 2200 kids. By hey, everyone from my class is doing well in uni now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 The PHY131 class, started with 1300 students in the beginning of the semester. By the end only 200-250 ended up taking PHY132 second semester. A solid numberof those people had the potential to become doctors as well, had they not gone the hard path. unfortunately a solid number will have to settle with being the average person making average money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurepediatric Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 A solid numberof those people had the potential to become doctors as well, had they not gone the hard path. unfortunately a solid number will have to settle with being the average person making average money. Lol 'settle for being average person making average money'- you made that sound terrible, when I don't think it is, I would say the sad part is not pursuing their goal b/c of chosing a uni/program where they may have not excelled in, making average money is not the end of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medigeek Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Lol 'settle for being average person making average money'- you made that sound terrible, when I don't think it is, I would say the sad part is not pursuing their goal b/c of chosing a uni/program where they may have not excelled in, making average money is not the end of the world being average is perfect when you are average. but the average person does not even attend university, let alone aspire to become a doctor. so when someone who's in the top percentile of intelligence has to settle for average achievements because of a useless bad choice.... that's bad. and you only live one life where nothing really matters a lot, might as well do what you want + make good money to be able to do most of what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mig174 Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 goign through uoft engineering is, without a doubt, harder than going through uoft life sci, on average. In life sci, it IS possible to buttress yourself with bird courses and not have ot work as hard - that depends on which program in life sci you end up going into; there is SO much variety. E.g., going into human biology or psychology will, in most cases, end up being easier than doing molecular biiology, biochemistry, physiology, and LMP. These are probably just as hard as engineering - and do not rely on memorization in upper year courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolelol Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 and you only live one life where nothing really matters a lot, might as well do what you want + make good money to be able to do most of what you want. I am so looking forward to working 3 shifts a week and making enough money to get by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 being average is perfect when you are average. but the average person does not even attend university, let alone aspire to become a doctor. so when someone who's in the top percentile of intelligence has to settle for average achievements because of a useless bad choice.... that's bad. and you only live one life where nothing really matters a lot, might as well do what you want + make good money to be able to do most of what you want. Why are you contradicting yourself? If nothing in life matters, then what's wrong with being average and leading an average life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurepediatric Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 being average is perfect when you are average. but the average person does not even attend university, let alone aspire to become a doctor. so when someone who's in the top percentile of intelligence has to settle for average achievements because of a useless bad choice.... that's bad. and you only live one life where nothing really matters a lot, might as well do what you want + make good money to be able to do most of what you want. Lol are you okay? You're nonstop talking about money and I'm just curious as to what would make someone like that b/c I've never heard someone talk like that, I don't know if I'm exaggerating but I'm just judging from what I remember from your past posts .... anyways, there are a lot of strange statements in this post, atleast in my opinion... I'm not sure what you mean by average person or where you got those stats about 'average persons', but regardless, I think you hold the rigid (and incorrect) belief that all smart people who are hypothetically capable of becoming a doctor (b/c they can attain a high GPA, MCAT, do ECs and etc.) will do so b/c it is a 'higher achievement' and they will earn 'more than average salary)... when that is so far from the truth b/c some people are capable (are in the top percentile of intelligence like you said? looool), of being doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers or whatever you consider a 'high achievement' but do not want to b/c they do not want to stress for 8+ years of shcooling b/c they would rather do other things in exchange for the dreaded 'settling for an average salary' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurepediatric Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Why are you contradicting yourself? If nothing in life matters, then what's wrong with being average and leading an average life. Lol I actually laughed at the 'nothing in life matters' part, just noticed it when you pointed it out in your post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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