Mark Boosting Advice From Upper Years!

[Kabi.Strauss (^ ^)]

Hey Guys!

 

Coming to the U of S from a small town, I had a difficult time picking courses (didn't know many mark boosters or this site) As well, it really is difficult to find updated information on various classes. By starting this thread, I hope to welcome all in sharing their views on various classes and potentially help many 'future' pre-meds in choosing the classes based from our opinions!

 

So, please share any views on courses that you found interesting or courses you think people should be wary about

 

(I hope this makes sticky; fingers crossed )

[Kabi.Strauss (^ ^)]

Hey Guys!

 

Going into 4th year next year and am a PHPY student! (Hopefully my MMI went well then no 4th year for me!)

 

This is quite an interesting thread, so here is my addition to it:

 

1) Phil 234: If you have the chance to do this course, definitely DO it! Prof. Woodhouse is PHENOMENAL!!! I was able to breeze through the ethics questions in the MMI due to her hammering a variety of similar cases into my head. There is a lot of applicability to the MMI by taking this course. It is fairly hard to get a good mark in the course though (I got an 86%); but getting above 80% should be a breeze and you LEARN lots!!! (for people that want a guaranteed 95% and above please look for another class; for people that would love to learn lots and receive a 'decent' mark for their efforts SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE THIS CLASS)

 

2) PLSC 240: I did this with Dr. Gray, an awesome class (you learn a lot about plant chemistry) and is mostly independent studying on your part. BE WARNED though, recently the curriculum has changed and a friend of mine has had quite a time taking PLSC 240 and BMSC 230 in the same year. Unless you are AMAZING at memorizing STAY THE HECK AWAY from this class.

 

3) Econ 234: Haven't done it, but sounds interesting!!! (Is really hard from what I hear [in the forum and from friends that have taken this course])

 

4) Anth 231: Haven't done it, but sounds interesting!!! (Prof. Sadeq Rahimi is held in high regards and as such might take this course in the future!)

 

5) Psy 260: LOVED THIS CLASS TO DEATH!!! I literally went to class EVERY SINGLE DAY, the information presented was EXTREMELY APPLICABLE to the MMI's and was VERY INTERESTING. I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND taking this course. (Marking scheme is extremely simple and fair and is as follows;

-Midterm: 20% (Only multiple choice)

-Final: 30% (Multiple choice and short answer)

-Review Article: 50% (I was scared at first, but the Prof. marks it easily and received a 93% on it; and literally spent a week )

Ended this course with a 94%!!!)

 

6) Psy 246: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED THIS COURSE! The course has SO many positives over negatives. These include:

-Prof. Elias: HE IS AMAZING, literally the best prof. I have studied under at the U of S (Co-authored the textbook and followed it very closely)

-Information is EXTREMELY relevant if you want to enter medicine (or a healthcare field in general!!!)

Negatives include:

-Lots of information to study for (but you will be motivated by the way he teaches) and exams are slightly hard, but its a course where I emphasized learning over marks (ended up with an 89%!!!)

 

7) ACB 310: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS OF INFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORMATIOOOOOOOOON TO MEMOOOOOOOOORIZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEE. I literally died then came to life in the class and labs. I took Kin 121 in first year, so was less stressful than for students whom didn't do kin 121. (Kin 121 covered some basic anatomy that came in handy with understanding concepts in class)

 

100 Level Mark Boosters:

 

-Econ 111 and Econ 114 (Do these with Prof. Sajjadur Rahman): He ALWAYS brought up questions from past exams and is an AMAZING GUY! Allows you to allocate marks to the final (I advise not to, since midterms are SO easy and final was much simpler) [Just need to study and understand concept---NOT A MEMORIZATION class, its more understanding and really lessened the stress from other classes]

 

-Kin 121 and 122: Do 121 with Prof. Keith Russell, you'll fall in love with this guy from Day 1!!! Amazing guy and amazing class... enough said. Do 122 with Prof. Kowalski, the class is interesting and will introduce you to ethics (bonus for healthcare students) and exams ARE SO SIMPLE (I fell off my chair laughing at the final)

 

-Psy 100: GOD GAVE US THIS CLASS and if you've taken Psy110... you MUST BE A RETARD TO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE! (SAME CONCEPTS AS 110 AND HALF TERM COURSE)

 

-CLAS 103: Lots of memorization, but is still a mark booster! (and helps with upper year classes)

 

-ASTR 102: Amazing class and is very simple

 

-Soc, Anth, Arch classes: All the 100 level courses are mark boosters and pick any that you are interested in doing!

 

I could go on forever and ever; but always pick courses you are INTERESTED in and you'll do amazing in them! (If your goal is healthcare and would love to prepare for the MMI (with the classes you are taking!) then do Psy 260 and Phil 234) Given you will be entering into a medical field you will be naturally interested in dwelling into these topics!!!

 

Sorry for the long post guys! I'm a newcomer here and have been the 'silent' type (just watching and reading posts). FINGERS CROSSED FOR MAY 15th BEST OF LUCK FELLOW PRE-MEDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kabi.Strauss (^ ^)]

Yeah, totally forgot about Phil 140 was a cool class to take (downside was a lot of reading). Arch 112 is a very easy class (but requires a lot of memorization and effort) and all Prof.(s) are easy for the class, I had Prof. Aileen Novecosky and it was straightforwards (would rather have done Soc classes as they are more interesting and easier). If you want an easy mark I would advise you to do Soc 111 or 112, really easy classes to get high marks in (without putting much effort in).

 

As well, the mark-boosting classes I found (where not much effort is required to get an above 90% mark) are:

 

-Econ 111 and Econ 114 (80% of questions from final and mid-term are from past years; as well there is a test bank that one can utilize [has EVERY single question the prof will ask])

 

Link:

 

http://m.friendfeed-media.com/b75a20c306bbacc5a96e956405d61e74299418fa

 

-Kin 121 and 122 (If you can't get above 90% you are not trying; the material is extremely straightforwards and you could potentially study the last day before finals)

 

-Clas 103: Do take this class (requires memorization) but helps with most of your BMSC classes or whatever science classes you take. The information will actually help you answer some of the questions from other classes (so its a bonus!). Do with Prof. Stiles!

 

-Soc 111 and 112: Awesome classes, do it with any Prof. and you'll love it.

 

-Psy 100: AGAIN TAKE THIS CLASS. HAS THE SAME CONCEPTS AS PSY 110 (Taking it will be like taking 1 less class; since you already know most of the concepts)

[simpsons]

I really commend you for taking the initiative to start this, however I don’t think it is really necessary. There is a plethora of senior level classes that one could take that simply cannot be covered through this. Many factors (ex: major, strengths, interests etc.) simply make it too hard to provide any useful feedback since there may be dissimilarities between the reader and the poster (like having a single rating of ratemyprof).

 

For junior courses, there are very few courses where the highest mark isn’t 95+ so; course selection shouldn’t be too hard. A few set of rules to follow:

1.Don’t take English or other languages (unless you are a native speaker taking a beginner course)

2.Don’t take courses that have a high subjective component (ex: classical mythology, arts)

3.Labs are always more work and will reduce a high mark

4.Classes with 250+ people are easier than classes with 5 people

 

Edit: Still appreciate your insight on MMI courses. Not sure how helpful they are, however they do come up a lot.