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Is U Of T Kinesiology As Difficult As The Life Science Program?


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Hi gentlemen and women 

 

I'm in the last year of high school and have some questions regarding universities.

I'm very fascinated about the muscular system, and how exercising affects our physiology. I want to become a medical doctor later on in life but for undergrad education kin is the best for me.

I thought kin would be considered a life science but I recently learned that they give you a separate degree. This was both welcoming and worrisome since I was planning to go head on with life science at the University of Toronto.

Just out of curiosity, is kinesiology at U of T as difficult as the life sci program? Or is there less deflation and a more lenient marking platform?

I know I shouldn't be considering these things if I value education (which I really do) but I guess everyone has this urge to view and evaluate things superficially.

 

Thanks so much!

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Kin is a great prep for medicine, and you should not restrict yourself to only U/T. Forget the alleged prestige factor which has zero meaning for med school admissions. If you have a strong work ethic and good time management skills,becoming a straight A student is within your grasp.

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Kin is a great prep for medicine, and you should not restrict yourself to only U/T. Forget the alleged prestige factor which has zero meaning for med school admissions. If you have a strong work ethic and good time management skills,becoming a straight A student is within your grasp.

 

Thanks for the comment. I think I should also mention that I am thinking of applying to the medical schools in the US or Australia/ New Zealand as well (especially the United States), and I've heard prestige and difficulty matters in those countries. (I also heard that difficulty matters when you apply to UT and McGill). 

 

Furthermore U of T is where many intelligent and intellectual people gather and I certainly think that should be a considering factor when choosing a university. Anyhow thanks again for reminding me the time management and work ethics I will need in order to succeed in university. I'm already kind of experiencing how time management is important! 

 

Again, I want to know if the kinesiology program is easier than the life sciences program UT offers. 

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Kin is not an easy program if you intend to become a straight A student. It requires a mature, professional attitude and very hard work throughout.

 

Planning for US or the Pacific at this stage is a recipe for disaster in my view. You will find intellectual stimulation wherever you go to university.

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Thanks for the comment. I think I should also mention that I am thinking of applying to the medical schools in the US or Australia/ New Zealand as well (especially the United States), and I've heard prestige and difficulty matters in those countries. (I also heard that difficulty matters when you apply to UT and McGill). 

 

Furthermore U of T is where many intelligent and intellectual people gather and I certainly think that should be a considering factor when choosing a university. Anyhow thanks again for reminding me the time management and work ethics I will need in order to succeed in university. I'm already kind of experiencing how time management is important! 

 

Again, I want to know if the kinesiology program is easier than the life sciences program UT offers. 

 

In an attempt to understand your point of view, are you saying not many intelligent/intellectual people gather at other universities, or that there's more of them at UofT?  Both are wrong, but at least when people get rightly offended they'll know which point to dispute. 

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In an attempt to understand your point of view, are you saying not many intelligent/intellectual people gather at other universities, or that there's more of them at UofT?  Both are wrong, but at least when people get rightly offended they'll know which point to dispute. 

 

I didn't say UT particularly has intelligent/intellectual people nor did I compare UT to other universities, but its true that many people who seek high education and good research opportunities would come there just for prestige alone. There's a reason why UT is 17TH IN THE WORLD you know, and I assume the rank will increase even more this year just like it has over the past few years. I mean why wouldn't there be a high concentration of intellectual people at the best university in Canada?

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Kin is not an easy program if you intend to become a straight A student. It requires a mature, professional attitude and very hard work throughout.

 

Planning for US or the Pacific at this stage is a recipe for disaster in my view. You will find intellectual stimulation wherever you go to university.

Well I'm ready to make the sacrifice for that 3.9 GPA if it is possible. And just out of curiosity why would going to the US be a recipe for disaster? As far as I know many Canadian pre-meds apply for American medical schools these days. I was just pointing out the fact that UT would have a high concentration of intelligent people in their fields due to its prestige. For example Harvard has a higher number of professors that are global leaders in their field than lets say UCLA. 

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I didn't say UT particularly has intelligent/intellectual people nor did I compare UT to other universities, but its true that many people who seek high education and good research opportunities would come there just for prestige alone. There's a reason why UT is 17TH IN THE WORLD you know, and I assume the rank will increase even more this year just like it has over the past few years. I mean why wouldn't there be a high concentration of intellectual people at the best university in Canada?

 

It's kind of funny that you responded to my question, with another question, but fine, I'll rephrase my original point. 

 

Logically speaking, if many intelligent people gather at the UofT, then the only possible inference is that not as many intelligent people gather anywhere else.  Of course, in an ideal world you would try to quantify "many" for clarification purposes, but if we take it at face value (i.e. by definition), you either mean a large number of intelligent people, or the majority of intelligent people.  The latter would be undeniable fallacious, but even the former is quite ridiculous.  Statistically, the UofT has ~60,000 undergraduate students, even if they all had high IQs, that wouldn't be a large number in comparison to the number of high IQs in Canada alone.  Assuming 2.3% of the population has an IQ >130, that's over 800,000 people in Canada, and over seven million in the States. 

 

This is not to say, I disagree that the UofT is a high ranking institution or that they have intelligent students, but that I think perspective is important.  

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It's kind of funny that you responded to my question, with another question, but fine, I'll rephrase my original point. 

 

Logically speaking, if many intelligent people gather at the UofT, then the only possible inference is that not as many intelligent people gather anywhere else.  Of course, in an ideal world you would try to quantify "many" for clarification purposes, but if we take it at face value (i.e. by definition), you either mean a large number of intelligent people, or the majority of intelligent people.  The latter would be undeniable fallacious, but even the former is quite ridiculous.  Statistically, the UofT has ~60,000 undergraduate students, even if they all had high IQs, that wouldn't be a large number in comparison to the number of high IQs in Canada alone.  Assuming 2.3% of the population has an IQ >130, that's over 800,000 people in Canada, and over seven million in the States. 

 

This is not to say, I disagree that the UofT is a high ranking institution or that they have intelligent students, but that I think perspective is important.  

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Well I'm ready to make the sacrifice for that 3.9 GPA if it is possible. And just out of curiosity why would going to the US be a recipe for disaster? As far as I know many Canadian pre-meds apply for American medical schools these days. I was just pointing out the fact that UT would have a high concentration of intelligent people in their fields due to its prestige. For example Harvard has a higher number of professors that are global leaders in their field than lets say UCLA.

 

Well, there is no doubt that U/T is a very good university. Th e so-called prestige does not come from undergraduate studies. You are leaving h.s. On the basis that you will not go to a Canadian medical school, but rather to a US school or somewhere in the Pacific. The expense of going to a US medical school is prohibitive and cannot be done unless you are a trust fund baby or your parents are very wealthy. Whereas obtaining a LOC from a bank for a Canadian medical school is virtually automatics, and without any cosigner, this is. To the case once you go to a medical school outside Canada. Using as your starting point going to a medical school outside of Canada is an ill conceived approach in my view and is neither practical nor realistic.

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Well, there is no doubt that U/T is a very good university. Th e so-called prestige does not come from undergraduate studies. You are leaving h.s. On the basis that you will not go to a Canadian medical school, but rather to a US school or somewhere in the Pacific. The expense of going to a US medical school is prohibitive and cannot be done unless you are a trust fund baby or your parents are very wealthy. Whereas obtaining a LOC from a bank for a Canadian medical school is virtually automatics, and without any cosigner, this is. To the case once you go to a medical school outside Canada. Using as your starting point going to a medical school outside of Canada is an ill conceived approach in my view and is neither practical nor realistic.

 

Oh of course Canadian med schools are my first priority. But If I do not make it to any of the Canadian ones that I apply to and get accepted to a few in America the schools there would be a consideration. And in that case, back to my original point is that prestige is important. 

So going back to my question, you are saying that all the science programs in U of T requires effort to achieve a satisfactory mark for medicine , however Kinesiology is generally more lenient in the harshness of marking than the Life Science program? 

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You know, you could also look at things this way:

 

UofT life science has a lower entrance average than programs like McMaster health science, Western medical science, Guelph bio-medical science, McGill science, etc.  If you assume that high school grades correlate with intelligence (which is highly doubtful, given the rampant grade inflation in Ontario, but for argument's sake, let's assume they are correlated), then there would actually be FEWER individuals, perecentage-wise who are intelligent at UofT, at least at the undergraduate level.  Given the huge incoming class sizes at UofT, you might have the same number of intelligent individuals, but you'd also have a large number of less intelligent individuals (or at least individuals who performed poorly in high school, comparatively speaking).

 

Don't forget, a lot of UofT's reputation and prestige comes from its research.  Not from its undergraduate programs.

 

There's no doubt that UofT has great graduate programs - that's one of the many reasons I'm attending UofT for grad school.  But at the undergraduate level, IMO, and in the opinion of many of the professors and instructors in my program, there's really no advantage to attending UofT, unless you like being in downtown Toronto and like having huge classes in first year.  Now, UofT does have some top undergraduate programs (i.e. engineering science in particular, and really engineering in general), but for a general science education, you'll get a similar education at any university in Canada.  And there are plenty of programs that UofT doesn't offer at the undergraduate level.  For example, the nutritional sciences undergrad program at UofT is not accredited by the Dietitians of Canada, so if you want to become a registered dietitian, you have to go to Ryerson, Guelph or Western/Brescia if you want an English-language program in Ontario.

 

There are great research opportunities available at any university in Canada.  Some would argue you would have less opportunity at UofT due to the competition.  *shrug*  All I know is that myself, and many other individuals, have worked with researchers who are internationally known as leaders in their fields at universities other than UofT.  There are great researchers, doing great work, right across Canada.  And what I said about undergraduate education holds for research too - there are some fields that aren't actively being researched at a high level at UofT.

 

UofT is a great school - I'm really enjoying my graduate studies.  But my classes are small, and there are only 15 people in my program in total.  At the undergraduate level, however, I would have absolutely hated UofT, with the large classes, some classes taught by TAs and not professors, and just the sheer size of the entire university.  But I know other people who thrived at UofT as undergrads.  It all depends on where you think you will enjoy studying, and what type of atmosphere you want.  But don't think UofT is the only place to find an "intellectual" atmosphere and academic rigour.  You will find that at many universities and many programs across Canada.

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Oh of course Canadian med schools are my first priority. But If I do not make it to any of the Canadian ones that I apply to and get accepted to a few in America the schools there would be a consideration. And in that case, back to my original point is that prestige is important.

So going back to my question, you are saying that all the science programs in U of T requires effort to achieve a satisfactory mark for medicine , however Kinesiology is generally more lenient in the harshness of marking than the Life Science program?

 

I cannot speak to the kin program @ U/T. I was a straight A student in undergrad by working diligently and I expect I would not have achieved these grades following another program. I did not consider going to either MCGill or U/T as I felt such high grades would have been more difficult to achieve there. I found a university where the class sizes were quite small and I thrived academically which led to medical school interviews and acceptance. And I agree with NutritionRunner.
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Kin is a great prep for medicine, and you should not restrict yourself to only U/T. Forget the alleged prestige factor which has zero meaning for med school admissions. If you have a strong work ethic and good time management skills,becoming a straight A student is within your grasp.

99.9% of the time this is true. GPA is far more a factor then what school you went to for getting into medical school. I will just point out the few exceptions because UofT happens to be one of those, and to the best of my knowledge the only school out side of quebec in canada that looks at not only what GPA you have, but what program (difficulty) and what school you went to. Its a super specific thing though and like I said I wouldn't even bring it up normally cause the vast majority of Canadian and American schools don't care, but since its a UofT thread I thought I would mention it. The OP has gone on to say they aren't super keen on even doing medicine in canada so it might be silly point at this stage, but for others reading the thread. 

 

 

Thanks for the comment. I think I should also mention that I am thinking of applying to the medical schools in the US or Australia/ New Zealand as well (especially the United States), and I've heard prestige and difficulty matters in those countries. (I also heard that difficulty matters when you apply to UT and McGill). 

 

Furthermore U of T is where many intelligent and intellectual people gather and I certainly think that should be a considering factor when choosing a university. Anyhow thanks again for reminding me the time management and work ethics I will need in order to succeed in university. I'm already kind of experiencing how time management is important! 

 

Again, I want to know if the kinesiology program is easier than the life sciences program UT offers. 

Nope prestige in US and Australia doesn't really matter anymore than it matters here. The only real difference is schools attended thing for the states is if you are a legacy and had a parent or grandparent attend, that can give you an advantage. 

 

Its already been said, but as it turns out you will find intelligent people on all university campuses.

 

easier can sometimes be subjective (sometimes not), what are your strengths? what are you weak at? do you enjoy and are you good at physics and chemistry?

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