Help!

[Guest quackers00]

Hi everyone, I am a grade 12 student and I one day hope to attend medschool. I have just recently applied to the universities of my choice and I know it's early but I still have no idea where I want to go MOST! I know i'll get in because my average is pretty good (85%+) but that's not what i am worried about. i have applied to UofT St. George, Scarborough Campus, York, McMaster and Western (all programs lifesciences or biology). york is like my last resort...I would LOVE to go to western, but its kinda far and I m still iffy about their program structure, McMaster's good, but I dont know if I will adjust to their self-directed learning approach, Scar. Campus is where I will end up going only I know I won't love my university experience there and UfT downtown SCARES me. (is that funny or what?) I would love to go to uft downtown, only everyone I've talked to said that it's reallly tough and very competetive and if you want an easier universtiy experience, you're better off elsewhere. I don't mind the academic challenge in any university curriculum, but I am having a tough time deciding which is the best from where I've applied.

Okay, so my post to you guys: could you please give me and Honest opinion about the pros/cons of these universities (if you happen to go there or from what you've heard), I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

[Guest Steve U of T]

I'm in my fourth year at the St. George campus of U of T, and I really like it. True, it is competitive, but not in the sense that everyone is trying to do well at the expense of others (although there are always a few bad eggs in the lot). I've found most of my classmates to be friendly and helpful. It is competitive because you're getting put together with a lot of great students. Most life science students probably had an 80% average or better coming out of high school, but in your first couple of years of university, the class averages will be around 65-70%, so you'll need to work pretty hard to distinguish yourself. Still, it's not hard to do well. You just need to adapt to a different learning environment.

 

In your first two years of U of T life science, you will probably have about 4-5 classes in convocation hall, meaning they are larger than 400 students (some nearly 2000 students), meaning there is minimal direct contact with your professor. This may seem daunting, but the professors attempt to design their lectures to be complete and self-explanatory, so you shouldn't need to ask them questions to understand the material. Sitting through the lecture (or sometimes just reading the notes they provide) should be sufficient, if you are comfortable with independent learning, which is the key. Of course, they are required to have office hours, so you do have the opportunity to do some one-on-one learning if there is something you are having difficulty with (or if there is something you are particularly interested in). Also, labs and tutorials generally have 15-20 students.

 

Depending on what program you choose, you should have smaller classes in 3rd and 4th year. Also, the humanities courses tend to have much smaller class sizes, even in first year. I took two physiology lecture courses last semester, one of which had 20 undergrads and 5 grad students, and the other had only 8 undergrads and 4 grad students, so there is a lot more interaction with the profs.

 

Basically, the key to success at U of T for life science is learning to work independently. The professors give you all the material you need, you just have to figure it all out (with help from TAs and the prof's office hours, if required). I suppose the idea of sitting in a lecture hall with 1500 other students can be scary, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad.

 

Another factor that is in some ways good, and in some ways bad, is that each course is usually divided amongst several professors. This is good because you have an expert in a particular field teaching what (s)he knows, but this takes away from the continuity of the course, and makes getting to know professors difficult. This practice continues in many courses, even through 4th year and graduate level courses, which sometimes have each lecture presented by a different person. If you would like to work in the lab of a particular prof, that one lecture (s)he gave to your class is a great opportunity for making contact, which you otherwise wouldn't have had if there was one prof teaching the entire course. Over my time at U of T, I've probably been lectured by at least 70 different profs. I can go to any one of them, and ask them about a summer research job, using that 1 or 2 (or more) lectures as an icebreaker.

[Guest Spencer]

Hey quackers,

 

I'm one year behind you but I think common sense prevails to address your concerns...so without much knowledge I'll attempt to give my opinion...please take it with a grain of salt.

 

To start off, I think all of the issues that you have touched on such as being scared of going downtown Toronto to study (btw I don't find it funny that you're afraid of studying downtown...if you're not from around the city it might be a bit daunting), the social environment of the university, what and how you learn the course material can be addressed by visiting campus. I hope you attended the Ontario University Fair and came home with about 20 lbs worth of brochures and catalogs like I did...all of them specifies details and times for campus visits. Campus visits are important because you get to experience the setting of the host university...but more importantly, you can tap into the human resources at a campus tour and ask all the questions that you think need to be addressed. Granted tour guides might be biased, but I'm pretty sure they'll be as honest and candid as possible with their answers. I've known many Gr.12 students who had their heart set on one particular university...but after going on a campus tour of another university had a change of heart.

 

All the schools you've applied to are great...which one is the best seemes pretty hard to figure out right now...but I think if you reached out to students who are studying at the universities you applied to...better still if they are in the specific program you applied to...you can gain a lot of valuable insiders' information which might make or break your decision to go to the said institution.

 

Quoting blinknoodle from another post, "When I was shopping for my undergrad program, I tried to keep in mind not only what I would be learning (ie. look at the classes you need to take), but also how I would be learning (is there any flexbility?), could I specialize/focus/stay broad/etc, the atmosphere of the university campus and surrounding community (proximity from home), etc." I think in addition to the aspects of going to university that might be an issue...there is also the question of financing an education, the facilities the school offers and multitudes of other aspects to consider...but what is key here is what is important to YOU.

 

The pros/cons of each university you've applied to will start to surface once you've made prioritized your needs and desires from each university!

 

Best of luck and sorry for the novel response!

 

P.S. I think you've made it past the hard part of deciding on the undergraduate program you want to get dive into for the next 4 years...deciding WHICH university to go to should be much easier!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I think the most important question you have to ask yourself is "where will I fit in best." That's probably the most important question. All undergrad schools are pretty much equal in the eyes of most (Canadian) med school admissions programs, and the truth is your undergraduate degree is a relatively minor thing in the grand scheme of things. When you're at cocktail parties and you're 40, nobody is going to brag for you that you got your "B. Sc from Princeton" If you got your MD from Princeton, though, people might be impressed. . . especially since Princeton doesn't have a medical school.

 

But seriously, you have to figure out where you will fit best, and that is a personal question nobody here can answer for you. The great thing is that the universities in Ontario have great diversity when it comes to representing personalities. Here's a quick unofficial quickly unsanctioned guide

 

Are you a Dumb but good looking Jock or Cheerleader? When you look in your wardrobe does every piece of clothing have an "Abercrombie & Fitch" label on it? Welcome to UWO.

 

Do you have posters of Jack Layton on your wall, or do you think the Liberals are Fascist scum? Then Trent is probably the place for you.

 

Are you confused about your linguistic identity? I mean would you prefer to be a Francophone on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but go Anglo on Tuesdays and Thursdays? U of O is perfect for that. . . the Monday you doesn't even have to know the Tuesday you exists!

 

Do you like to hug puppies? I mean really, really like to hug puppies? Then why not hug the puppies in Guelph? (just hope those puppies aren't the property of the vet school. . .)

 

Do you like Buzzwords? Do you not care if there's any substance behind the buzzwords? Problem Based Learning, Self Directed Learning, Personal Statements. . . you'll find them all at Mac.

 

Are you Scottish? Do you like turning your nose up at other people, particulary non-students in your city of study (aka calling the locals "Townies")? Do you honestly think yellow, red and blue are NOT an ugly combination for school? Queen's might have a spot for you.

 

Do you like Math and Computers? I mean really, really, really like Math and Computers? And would it not bother you to go to a school where the ratio of men to women is 70:30?

 

Do you like to hug trees? Does the idea of having a city of more than 200,000 people within a 12 hour drive make you wretch. All I can say is one word: Lakehead.

 

Do you like complaining about the Maclean's rankings? How they're so unfair and how your university really is one of the best just nobody knows it? Carleton hasn't finished last in Maclean's for years, but don't tell their students that.

 

Do you like to whine about how hard your classes are? And complain about how classes at other schools you've never attended are SO much easier than the ones you're taking? Try U of T! Because we don't really want you anywhere else. . .

 

See. Lots of diversity. But the key is to figure what the schools are really about (sorry to disappoint but my descriptions aren't necessarily 100% accurate) and where you'd most fit in.

[Guest Spencer]

Hey UWO,

 

Are you referring to UWaterloo when you said,

 

"Do you like Math and Computers? I mean really, really, really like Math and Computers? And would it not bother you to go to a school where the ratio of men to women is 70:30?"

 

...in your unofficial/unsanctioned guide to Ontario Universities?

 

...I've heard a thing or two about this skewed ratio of men to women...a friend of mine, who is female happens to go to UWaterloo, she is SERIOUSLY regretting her decision to go there...although she has bonded nicely to the 9 other people in her program. She's in the Biotechnology/Chartered Accountacy program...I don't even know what they do in that program...all I know is that they require a mid-90s admissions average!

[Guest 007]

just to clarify.....our colour's are red, blue and GOLD!!! go tricolour!!!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Yeah, but your erasers and football uniforms are red blue and yellow. If the school is shortsighted enough to make gold an official school colour, the least they can do is dip into the endowment fund to pay for gold plated uniforms and erasers.

 

Wow, considering I insulted just about every university in Ontario, I guess there will be a lot more of these comments coming, eh? If you're going to offend somebody, I always say it's better to offend everybody. . .

 

I hope none of the non-Ontario students (or Windsor, Brock, Nipissing, Ryerson and the other schools I missed) are offended I left them off the list. . .

 

Oh, and I would like to add SERIOUSLY that by FAR the best guide to Canadian Universities I've seen is "The Real Guide to Canadian Universities" - but I think it's been renamed "The Student Guide to Canadian Universities." In any case, it's the only guide I've seen that tries to go after what the real feel of each school is, rather than getting journalists to rank them on some baseless criteria. It was pretty bang on for the two schools I've gone to: The University of King's College and UWO, though it wasn't 100% accurate on favourite bar or prof it was pretty close. I know the book is available at Chapters and here's a link to Amazon:

 

www.amazon.com/exec/obido...3?v=glance

 

or Chapters online:

 

www.chapters.indigo.ca/it...D6FA005128

[Guest quackers00]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I really appreciate it.

Steve: Don't get me wrong...I love UofT downtown..I think the campus is awesome..I am just a little intimidated by the sheer size of the place and the amount of people there...but I guess I'll adjust. I am really considering UofT. One question: I heard that the profs are really tough...and they purposely make the exams harder to kinda sift out the geniuses from the average smart people. How true is that, and how often does that happen?

Spencer: Thanks for all your input! I have visited the campuses of all the universities I applied to and trust me I have put a ton of thought into my choices. They happen to be the best from the rest and each has it's own quality that I like. What I would love to do the most is make a university of my own that has all the good stuff that I want...lol but I neither have the financial means of doing so nor the expertise. But yes going back to my original rant. I know it all ultimately comes down to my decision and where I will fit in best but what I really wanted to ask you guys was is there some edge to any of these universities that you know of by being part of them. And no, I must disagree with you..deciding on the programs was EASY! Choosing the one I want to go to MOST out of 5 great institutions is HARDER! lol

UWOMED: Thanks for your very creative and insightful university descriptions....a question: I am seriously considering Western...why do you say that it's for the jocks and the cheerleaders?

Again thanks for all the input, really appreciate it...and sorry for a LONG response!

quackers

[Guest blinknoodle]

Hi Quackers,

 

I'm currently at Mac, but I'm not certain which program you are asking about. If you have any specific questions about Mac or its health sciences program, let me know.

 

It's nice to hear you checked out the universities "in person". I took a roadtrip to all my prospective universities during March Break, walked the tours and talked to students, and found this especially helpful. Another thing you might want to look into is getting the contact info for a current student in the programs you are interested in and asking them specific questions. I'm not sure if schools do this, but I know that when my brother applied to Queen's Commerce a current student called him to see if he had any questions.

 

-blinknoodle

[Guest aneliz]

Hey UWO... lots more than puppies at Guelph...we also had nifty cows with giant rubber stoppers in the side of them...you can 'pull their plug', reach in and yank out some nice, tasty, half-digested rumen contents for your physiology lab....just can't get that experience at any other school in Ontario let me tell you!

 

I love the unofficial guide to undergrad programs....funny!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

quackers: UWO's most noble stereotypes, other than that of being country club University (that's from my aunt who went there in the 60s, btw) are affiliated with its athletic history. While our football team is no longer winning EVERY Vanier cup, most of our teams are strong. . . in particular the squash teams, which has won TWENTY STRAIGHT championships, a record for any varsity sports team in North America.

 

Plus, I'd never met someone who had been an honest to goodness cheerleader before I got here. Now I've met several. Neither my High School nor my university partook in that particular tradition.

 

Aneliz: I though puppies were cuter than cows so that's why I chose puppies. But, fine we'll have it your way. The following change is now in effect:

 

"Do you like to hug cows with holes in their stomach? I mean really, really like to hug cows with holes in their stomach, even if it means they then vomit on you through that hole in their stomach? Then why not hug the cows in Guelph?"

 

And to that I'll add. . . "because you won't be hugging any guys at Guelph, with a ratio of 60-70:40-30 women to men."

 

Yeah, that is much better.

[Guest therealcrackers]

UWOMED2005: hey, you forgot one of Western's treasured pasts... the land that is under reconstruction for additional buildings to ease the double cohort pinch... was a golf course called "University Park" throughout the '20's and '30's.

 

And you forgot a couple...

 

Want to explore the medical legal aspects of things while still in undergrad? Don't have an aversion to "underage" Americans invading your college bars? Want to live in a city with heavy train traffic and only level crossings? Oh yeah, and it'll have Western med students in the hospitals in greater numbers next year. Congratulations, you've chosen Windsor.

 

Want to see a med school being built, brick, curriculum and accreditation all at the same time? And a chance to alternate anglo and francophone, but with even colder weather and larger insects? Congratulations, and bienvenue to Laurentian.

 

And that other purple coloured school, just down the street from the heavily left-brained Math and Computers school? With an annoyingly good football team and programs no one but TimmyMax has ever heard of? Congratulations, you're a Golden Hawk, and welcome to Wilfrid Laurier.

 

There's also Ryerson for the technically inclined, but getting the prereqs for schools that require them might be a little difficult, York if you really really like the wind, RMC in Kingston if you're interested in the military experience (no joke: if that's what you're interested in, it's a very good school).

 

Good luck with your school choices; and feel free to ask us any specific questions about specific schools (all joking aside). I went to Western, and was a TA at U of T for a couple of years as well...

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Thanks crackers, I left those ones out only because I couldn't think of anything myself for those schools.

 

A few more. . .

 

Do you have a need to spend the next four years of your life in St. Catherine's? How about Brock?

 

Do you live in Sault St. Marie? But seriously, do you really? What's that like? And do you have steel in your veins? I mean did your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him work in Steel? Then welcome to Algoma!

 

Do you want people to question whether you really went to a University? Or get confused over the difference between your school and U of O? Then try St. Paul's.

 

and one last one. . .

 

Do you like anonymity? Would you prefer a school that people from Southern Ontario know absolutely nothing about, to the point the author knows of no stereotype to poke fun at? And do you want to go to a school that is a "partial campus" of a new "medical school" starting in the next few years (or possibly decades)? Welcome to Nipissing. . .

 

 

 

 

 

And if you