Savac Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Lol its funny that everyone bashes this program despite the fact that they'd love to be in it. They're all in med and the rest of you ain't so keep whining while they cash checks. I'm actually pretty consistent when it comes to Mac Health Sci. I thought it was a silly program back in highschool and never applied. My opinion did not change all throughout my undergrad, and it still hasn't to this day. I'm so glad I didn't go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlybutterfly Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 true, I guess, though I think the grade inflation hypocrisy is overhyped. Honestly, it shouldnt be difficult for anyone to get a 3.7 gpa if they put in a reasonable effort at any undergrad program in canada (maybe with the exception of uoft life sci). i agree to an extent. mcmasters undergrad gpa system is bad so even engineers who are smart who end up with a few 8s and 9s wont be getting 3.7+ so i can see it being difficult to attain in some programs, especially engineering. and the grade inflation thing...i do think health sci has the advantage in first year in getting the 3.7+ gpa just because they dont really need to adjust to university life and be prepared for constant testing where on the otherhand, life sci students may not be ready for that and mess up bigtime in 1st year. having 5 tests/exams in a short period can really hurt your gpa in 1st year just because people dont have a proper mindset, so in a program like healthsci where this doesnt occur, it is advantageous. i do think mac did a great job in setting up the program as it does generate a good amount of money for them and it has produced many students with good mindsets who will succeed in med. as you can guess, many of my colleagues are health sci and there are good and smart people and dumb people in that group just like any program/any where you go, but the advantage you guys get in undergrad is pretty great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artier Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 I'm actually pretty consistent when it comes to Mac Health Sci. I thought it was a silly program back in highschool and never applied. My opinion did not change all throughout my undergrad, and it still hasn't to this day. I'm so glad I didn't go there. Tell it like it is. Not everyone wants to go to Mac Health Sci...some people prefer regular science programs. It really baffles me as to what the purpose of this thread is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meganjoa Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Tell it like it is. Not everyone wants to go to Mac Health Sci...some people prefer regular science programs. It really baffles me as to what the purpose of this thread is. I only started this thread to educate ppl about the mac health sci program and to refute any misconceptions that ppl may have. I do agree that this program isnt for everyone though. If you are a people person, love working in groups, love discussions, and you love the idea of collaboration, then health sci is def for you. If you prefer traditional lecture style as opposed to PBL, and would prefer to work independently, then you probably wont enjoy health sci. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artier Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 I only started this thread to educate ppl about the mac health sci program and to refute any misconceptions that ppl may have. I do agree that this program isnt for everyone though. If you are a people person, love working in groups, love discussions, and you love the idea of collaboration, then health sci is def for you. If you prefer traditional lecture style as opposed to PBL, and would prefer to work independently, then you probably wont enjoy health sci. That's respectable. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the program at all, and I have some great friends who attend it. I do think that you poorly worded the title though with respect to your purpose. "Finished 4 years of McMaster Health Science: best premed" is probably not the best way to go about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmira Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 That's respectable. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the program at all, and I have some great friends who attend it. I do think that you poorly worded the title though with respect to your purpose. "Finished 4 years of McMaster Health Science: best premed" is probably not the best way to go about it. I agree, the title is a bit misleading (and slightly amusing too, I must say). McMaster BHSc isn't the best "premed" program, because even students who aren't interested in pursuing medicine will still be sure to succeed. One must remember that the purpose of BHSc isn't to churn out future physicians, but to promote an environment for self-directed learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest qwertyy Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 I agree, the title is a bit misleading (and slightly amusing too, I must say). McMaster BHSc isn't the best "premed" program, because even students who aren't interested in pursuing medicine will still be sure to succeed. One must remember that the purpose of BHSc isn't to churn out future physicians, but to promote an environment for self-directed learning. sorry for going off topic but is this really Dr. Day who teaches psych at Mac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmira Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 sorry for going off topic but is this really Dr. Day who teaches psych at Mac? That is correct -- have you taken one of my courses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBronto2019 Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Why don't people go learn something besides health sciences in undergrad if they want to do med? How many chances will we all get to have a diverse education? If you can get good marks and enjoy it, go do something different! I started in Bio.Sci. (typical student aiming for med), then enjoyed Chem and Physics so I went into Physical Sciences, and now I'm in Psychology. If I didn't stay focused, I'd have to have 6-7 years to graduate because I just wanted to learn so many things: nutrition, biomedical engineering, pharmacology, lots of math, psych, soc, anthropology, etc. You have med school to learn all the health science-related stuff. Take fun random courses and learn lots of things. No wonder they're making the new MCAT with a social sciences component, most premeds don't take enough of those courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicalmandan Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 That is correct -- have you taken one of my courses? Ive taken your Psych 2AP3 class. Great course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest qwertyy Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 That is correct -- have you taken one of my courses? I've taken psych 2b03, 2ap3, and 3ba3. They're great courses and you are the reason why I've decided to do my second degree in Psychology. I must say that I am doing very well in psych because I really enjoy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrewmrew Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 darn should've transferred from UWO biomed in second year when i had the chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsojc Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 As a current McMaster graduate and premed I know many health science students and several of them have been in my graduate school lab. I will be the first to say that there are many bright people in health (however several not so bright ones as well). I wish I had applied to the program specifically because of the fact that it is an absolute joke, the students are essentially given free marks and cannot think for themselves when they are done the program. Many health sci's in my lab could not think or interpret anything at all to the point where it is actually pretty funny. This program is a good premed program based off the fact students are handed an A+ in every class (I know of a student who was supposed to get a C in the class and got it bumped to an A). When I am done graduate school and get to witness these students in med school its going to be a good show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hintobean Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 I can only think of one health sci graduate off-hand and she is great. Very personable, good social conscience, great attitude, etc. However, every morning when I'm sitting in lecture and I already know the underlying physiology (and some of the pathology) of the diseases we're discussing, I'm very grateful that I did Queen's life sciences. Especially when it comes to anatomy knowledge. Mac may be great at helping you get in to medical school, but I've yet to find a program that has prepared people to the same breadth and depth as the Queen's one (and the rates for getting into Meds are pretty good though nowhere near the Mac rates) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicalmandan Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 As a current McMaster graduate and premed I know many health science students and several of them have been in my graduate school lab. I will be the first to say that there are many bright people in health (however several not so bright ones as well). I wish I had applied to the program specifically because of the fact that it is an absolute joke, the students are essentially given free marks and cannot think for themselves when they are done the program. Many health sci's in my lab could not think or interpret anything at all to the point where it is actually pretty funny. This program is a good premed program based off the fact students are handed an A+ in every class (I know of a student who was supposed to get a C in the class and got it bumped to an A). When I am done graduate school and get to witness these students in med school its going to be a good show. health sci kids in my biochem class had never heard of a kinase or phosphorylase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peace2012 Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 health sci kids in my biochem class had never heard of a kinase or phosphorylase That's actually pretty amazing that they don't know what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin92 Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 ^my health sci friend told me their health sci biochem isn't a very informative class, definitely not the kind you'd want to take if you wanted to learn the basics of biochemistry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicalmandan Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 ^my health sci friend told me their health sci biochem isn't a very informative class, definitely not the kind you'd want to take if you wanted to learn the basics of biochemistry That was supposedly assumed knowledge going into the biochem class which was to be learned in biology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meganjoa Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 As a current McMaster graduate and premed I know many health science students and several of them have been in my graduate school lab. I will be the first to say that there are many bright people in health (however several not so bright ones as well). I wish I had applied to the program specifically because of the fact that it is an absolute joke, the students are essentially given free marks and cannot think for themselves when they are done the program. Many health sci's in my lab could not think or interpret anything at all to the point where it is actually pretty funny. This program is a good premed program based off the fact students are handed an A+ in every class (I know of a student who was supposed to get a C in the class and got it bumped to an A). When I am done graduate school and get to witness these students in med school its going to be a good show. the only mandatory lab experience hth scis get are in first year chem and second year anatomy. personally, i dont think an individual's performance in a lab is indicative of their suitability for medicine since lab work is very different from what you do in med school. I also dont agree that students are handed an A+ in every class. I know many students in first year cell bio, second year anat, second year stats, third year critical appraisal who ended up with a 9 or 10. The health sci elective courses may be slightly easier, but the mandatory courses are extremely challenging so it balances out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlybutterfly Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 the only mandatory lab experience hth scis get are in first year chem and second year anatomy. personally, i dont think an individual's performance in a lab is indicative of their suitability for medicine since lab work is very different from what you do in med school. I also dont agree that students are handed an A+ in every class. I know many students in first year cell bio, second year anat, second year stats, third year critical appraisal who ended up with a 9 or 10. The health sci elective courses may be slightly easier, but the mandatory courses are extremely challenging so it balances out. when the lowest marks in your toughest classes are 3.3s and 3.7s, you know youre having a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meganjoa Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 ^my health sci friend told me their health sci biochem isn't a very informative class, definitely not the kind you'd want to take if you wanted to learn the basics of biochemistry our biochem course is slightly different, its a self-directed group learning experience. There are no lectures; we are giving a molecule (e.g. glycine), and we are then required to learn everything about that molecule (i.e. its pathway, function.etc) personally I found the hth sci biochem course much more useful than the traditional biochem course that I later took at mac. Realistically speaking, biochem courses are just memorization courses, and most ppl dont retain any info after the exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlybutterfly Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 our biochem course is slightly different, its a self-directed group learning experience. There are no lectures; we are giving a molecule (e.g. glycine), and we are then required to learn everything about that molecule (i.e. its pathway, function.etc) personally I found the hth sci biochem course much more useful than the traditional biochem course that I later took at mac. Realistically speaking, biochem courses are just memorization courses, and most ppl dont retain any info after the exam. every 3rd year biochem course i took at mac was amazing and beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meganjoa Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 when the lowest marks in your toughest classes are 3.3s and 3.7s, you know youre having a good time. im not really sure what you expect the grades to be in the 'toughest' courses. We are talking about high-calibre students who generally excel in all their courses (e.g. most hth sci students end up with 11 or 12 in chem which all students take). A 3.3 can be extremely detrimental to one's overall gpa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peace2012 Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 our biochem course is slightly different, its a self-directed group learning experience. There are no lectures; we are giving a molecule (e.g. glycine), and we are then required to learn everything about that molecule (i.e. its pathway, function.etc) personally I found the hth sci biochem course much more useful than the traditional biochem course that I later took at mac. Realistically speaking, biochem courses are just memorization courses, and most ppl dont retain any info after the exam. That is funny, cause biology and medicine are pretty heavy memorization. Biochem courses are pretty good at mac, and they give good foundational knowledge which are essential (you need to memorize the facts and know them well before applying them!) If coming out a biochem course and you do not know what a kinase or phosphrylase is, then the biochem course is truly a failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlybutterfly Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 im not really sure what you expect the grades to be in the 'toughest' courses. We are talking about high-calibre students who generally excel in all their courses (e.g. most hth sci students end up with 11 or 12 in chem which all students take). A 3.3 can be extremely detrimental to one's overall gpa. it isnt difficult to do well in 1st year chem when its the only midterm and exam you have. it isnt crunched in between other tests/exams like it is for life sci. it would be a fail if you didnt do well for your only exam of the term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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