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[toulalan]

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[McMarauder]

I'd avoid both those programs. When I was at UofT I was in the Toxicology Specialist and took all the courses that the Pharmacology specialists had to take. I had a similar GPA as you going into Tox, and it went down by the end of the year.

[toulalan]

McMarauder said:

I'd avoid both those programs. When I was at UofT I was in the Toxicology Specialist and took all the courses that the Pharmacology specialists had to take. I had a similar GPA as you going into Tox, and it went down by the end of the year.

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[repede]

Choosing Pharmacology Specialist in order to get a higher GPA? What made you think that was a good idea?

 

There isn't really any magic to it. It's a great program, and most of the faculty is awesome (especially Dr. Arnot, Dr. Grant, Dr. Rid****, and Dr. Woodland). Best advice I can offer - stay on top of things. It gets progressively more demanding through the years, so you will have to fight to maintain a high GPA. But it's worth it - you do learn a whole lot. It's pretty memorization heavy (September - April cumulative exam for PCL470 with half short answer = DOOM), but don't think just memorizing will get you through it. The best thing you can have going into it is a good attitude towards learning.

 

Are you sure you're allowed to do PSL300/301 instead of 302? And I thought they changed the requirement to BIO260 instead of HMB265? Maybe things have changed - they did take out BCH370.

[ArchEnemy]

 

Are you sure you're allowed to do PSL300/301 instead of 302? And I thought they changed the requirement to BIO260 instead of HMB265? Maybe things have changed - they did take out BCH370.

 

First half of 302 was split into 300, and the other half into 301. Removal of BCH370 was probably one of the best decisions they made

 

Course requirement listed here: http://www.pharmtox.utoronto.ca/programs/undergraduate/requirements.htm

[toulalan]

ArchEnemy said:

First half of 302 was split into 300, and the other half into 301. Removal of BCH370 was probably one of the best decisions they made

 

Course requirement listed here: http://www.pharmtox.utoronto.ca/programs/undergraduate/requirements.htm

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[Singh]

He's right. I have a question, however. Is BCH370 as bad as people make it to be? If it will be a serious tax on my efforts to maintain a respectable GPA, should I drop it?

 

Also, I'm doing the Pharmacology Specialist mainly because I find it interests me far more than many other Life Science POSts, and I've found through first year that the courses that interest me the most, I tend to do far better in than the ones that do not interest me.

 

ArchEnemy, is there anything you could say about the Pharmacology Specialist? Things to look out for in PCL201, and other upcoming generic Life Science courses that I have to take?

 

Medical School related advice to do with my GPA? Thanks for your help thus far!

 

Hey, I just graduated from the Pharmacology Specialist program in June. It was a terrific experience, but as mentioned before, it is very memorization-heavy. If you're good at that, a competitive GPA shouldn't be too tough to pull off. PCL470 (Systems Pharmacology) was a regurgitation of a year's worth of material. Demanding, but if you can memorize your stuff, you'll be a-ok. A lot of good courses in the program as well, mind you. PCL475 (Neuropsychopharmacology) was amazing, and PCL472 (Project Course in Pharmacology) is kind of a gimme.

 

In terms of second year, I remember it being similar to a lot of the other programs. BCH210, BIO240, BIO241, PSL302 (as you say has now been split), CHM249, + some electives. PCL201 was the only true pharmacology course that year. It actually built the foundation for upper year courses. There was a strong emphasis on drug metabolism. It wasn't too bad, our average was a B (I think).

 

For the generic second year courses, BCH210, BIO240, BIO241 come straight from lecture. And they post lectures, so don't stress about attending or not. Didn't have to touch the textbook (just my experience, mind you. it all depends on what works for you). The labs are fun, and they're pretty easy going in terms of marking (not BCH210, no lab component). PSL302 was straight from the lecture slides. Especially for Dr. Mackay's section (all the neuro stuff at the beginning). Do well on his stuff, and it'll work in your favor not having to fight uphill. I took CHM249 cause I love the chem dept and organic chem is really my cup of tea. Dr. Lautens is absolutely fantastic. Most of my friends took 247, and their opinions vary.

 

A lot of my friends decided to steer clear of pharmacology though, just because of the amount of material. It'll vary from person to person. If you have any indepth questions, please feel free to ask here or PM me

[toulalan]

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