ppreetgill Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 Hey fellow future doctors! I need some help deciding in what program I should take for my Undergrad. For you to know i'm currently enrolled in a High School in India although i'm originally Canadian. I really love human physiology and want to become a doctor. I am a founder of an NGO here posted as the General secretary(sounds too cool but its just me and around 20 of my friends in it) and have 4 years of voluntary work from grade 8 to 12. Now why i'm telling you this is to ask you are there any programs you are aware of which might grant scholarships for my voluntary work? Also i have about 92% in my first sem and expect to get around 95+ in finals. I've shortlisted these pre-med programs(priority wise) 1) University of Alberta-BSc. with specialization in Physiology and developmental biology 2) University of Alberta-BSc. with honours in Physiology 3) University of Calgary-Bachelor of health science (biomedical sciences) 4) University of British Columbia-Biochemistry(just to be safe, my folks are from Vancouver) 5) Simon Fraser University-Bachelor of health science What are my chances to get into any of these? What would you recommend and why? What would be the easiest degree to get a high GPA? And one final question, what does the credits and course load mean? It might sound stupid but I really need to figure that out because I find it everywhere when applying. I enjoy all these subjects very passionately but just want to decide what would give me high GPA and would be not that tough. Thanks for helping me in Advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmineblossom Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 Hi, I can address your questions about the University of British Columbia, since I went to school there. 1) Scholarships at UBC are based on your academic merits (grades). Typically, you don't need to apply for these, as a committee automatically considers you for scholarships based on grades. There may be some scholarships that look at grades and other details such as volunteer work and demonstration of specific interests - for these you usually receive emails inviting you to see if you're eligible and to apply if you are. 2) When I went from high school to university at UBC, admission into first year was into the Science program (not to specific majors). You would not select Biochemistry until the second year. I have not heard that it's changed. Correct me if I'm wrong. Essentially what I'm saying is that you would not be accepted from high school straight into Biochemistry. Instead, you'd go from high school to first year Science, then choose your major (e.g., Biochemistry) in either 2nd year or 3rd year. 3) I can't comment on which of the programs is the easiest to get a high GPA in, but I suggest that you not choose a program based on this. Biochemistry at UBC is pretty run of the mill in terms of difficulty. It's not among the most difficult programs, but it's also not among the "easiest" programs in Science. Keep in mind that you are not guaranteed to be accepted into medical school, so you may want to think about what degree will be meaningful to you if you do not end up in medicine. Sadly, not enough people think about this and end up with a degree that they do not enjoy or find useful. 4) Credits are supposed to be an indication of the hours of work required per week in the course. Hence, the more credits the course is worth, the more work is required. Generally, courses are worth 3 credits. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppreetgill Posted October 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 Hi, I can address your questions about the University of British Columbia, since I went to school there. 1) Scholarships at UBC are based on your academic merits (grades). Typically, you don't need to apply for these, as a committee automatically considers you for scholarships based on grades. There may be some scholarships that look at grades and other details such as volunteer work and demonstration of specific interests - for these you usually receive emails inviting you to see if you're eligible and to apply if you are. 2) When I went from high school to university at UBC, admission into first year was into the Science program (not to specific majors). You would not select Biochemistry until the second year. I have not heard that it's changed. Correct me if I'm wrong. Essentially what I'm saying is that you would not be accepted from high school straight into Biochemistry. Instead, you'd go from high school to first year Science, then choose your major (e.g., Biochemistry) in either 2nd year or 3rd year. 3) I can't comment on which of the programs is the easiest to get a high GPA in, but I suggest that you not choose a program based on this. Biochemistry at UBC is pretty run of the mill in terms of difficulty. It's not among the most difficult programs, but it's also not among the "easiest" programs in Science. Keep in mind that you are not guaranteed to be accepted into medical school, so you may want to think about what degree will be meaningful to you if you do not end up in medicine. Sadly, not enough people think about this and end up with a degree that they do not enjoy or find useful. 4) Credits are supposed to be an indication of the hours of work required per week in the course. Hence, the more credits the course is worth, the more work is required. Generally, courses are worth 3 credits. Hope that helps. Thanks allot! silly me, I didn't even know the basic things like the major you take is not in the first year. Your advice is quite sensible. Since you're from a biochem background, is that the only subject you study when you chose your major or you had other subjects like we do in high school such as phy and maths? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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