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Difficulty of a 4th year thesis


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So I'm going into my 4th year and I'm thinking of doing a thesis project, specifically in epidemiology. I was just wanted to know how difficult a typical 4th year thesis is and if it's difficult to get an A or A+. Also, would it be advisable to do a thesis in the summer time to avoid a potential bad mark from ruining your gpa?

 

Thanks

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I can tell you without hesitation that the degree of success in your thesis is dependent on your supervisor. Obviously you want to be doing your thesis in an area interesting to you so you don't end up writing something you have no idea about, but it really has a lot to do with how tough your supervisor is on you. I know different schools have different requirements regarding what supervisors need to grade you on, but what I can tell you is that at Carleton your supervisor decides what to weigh your paper, poster presentation and in-lab work. As an example I have a friend who ended up with a B in his thesis because his supervisor was very strict and demanding of his work quality. She wanted a minimum of 40 pages and deducted marks for very specific things. In contrast, I ended up with an A- in my thesis despite the fact that I had some early issues in the lab and actually did not get along with the people who were supposed to help me. In addition my supervisor was an MD and was not always available when he was in clinic.

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It's a personal preference when you want to do it but it might look more favorable to do it during the regular academic session. Anything the med admissions committee can pick out as a sign of weakness will be. That and you'll end up having to take other courses to compensate for not having your thesis to do.

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I ended up doing really well on my fourth year thesis (A+). A couple of people got A+'s and A's, but not many. I spend basically a year in hell doing, but I came out with fantastic results, and now am trying to publish it. I also did well in all my other courses, and have an awesome GPA for my last year.

 

I was especially worried because my supervisor is really tough (seriously, the entire year was "why don't you have this done yet? DEADLINES!"), and his last student did really bad (like C+ bad) but I ended up doing great. It all depends really on how much work you put into it, and what your end writing quality is like.

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Yeah the one other thing I was gonna say is that doing it in the summer will give you more time yes, but it will also give your supervisor more reason to expect higher quality work. I'm really not trying to discourage you from doing it in the summer but I do know that supervisors take into account the quality of work you've done with regards to the time you've been able to commit.

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I ended up doing really well on my fourth year thesis (A+). A couple of people got A+'s and A's, but not many. I spend basically a year in hell doing, but I came out with fantastic results, and now am trying to publish it. I also did well in all my other courses, and have an awesome GPA for my last year.

 

I was especially worried because my supervisor is really tough (seriously, the entire year was "why don't you have this done yet? DEADLINES!"), and his last student did really bad (like C+ bad) but I ended up doing great. It all depends really on how much work you put into it, and what your end writing quality is like.

 

Aren't you in psych?

 

At least at York and UofT, there's about a 50/50 breakdown between A and A+ for thesis students. People who do absolutely nothing and are the worst thesis students ever get a mid-70.

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I got an A on my thesis. My lab was low on funding and has since shutdown. I was in lab 5-6 days a week and probably 4-16 hours a day depending on what I had planned. However, our equipment was outdated and some procedures took 2-4 times longer than they should have with the new tech. I came nowhere close to completing what I thought I would have at the start of my 4th year.

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I did my 4th year undergrad thesis in epidemiology at Queen's, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made, as I ended up doing very well and also enjoyed it a lot more than just doing seminars/lectures. I also had an amazing supervisor so that also made a huge difference.

 

4th year project topics and quantity of data collection etc. are highly variable depending on your supervisor, but I would say generally my classmates all did quite well (most got As). Only a few began theirs in the summer before 4th year. Another perk is that usually you can put in a little extra work and have your thesis published too (I published mine in the summer after I graduated from undergrad).

 

I've also found that a background in epi has been very useful and applicable to medical school, since info about stats and study designs is often glazed over in med lectures and not fully explained to the class.

 

Hope this helps and good luck in whatever you decide to do!

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Thank you everyone for all the replies. Just one last question though, if I want to start a thesis should I contact a professor directly or do I need to set it up through the department?

 

I'd suggest you start by contacting a professor/potential supervisor

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You should definitely contact the professor you are interested in working with for your thesis directly.

 

In my department (UWO pathology) we were given a list closer to september of PIs willing to take on 4th year students, then we ranked them in order of preference, interviewed and then the PIs chose their top ones and we were placed this way... I guess all schools, and programs are different in this regard, Bio they had to find their own PI

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