Guest confused555 Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Hi, I am in the middle of selecting courses for my 1st year. This is a basic question...do I need to take physics next year? I've heard that it's always a difficult course, and if i could avoid it, it would be good. However, i know that some schools may require it as a pre-requisite. ( ex. in the U.S) I also know that i need a physics background for the MCAT. Also, how easy is it to take physics in summer school instead? Thanks! Please answer ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mitchie41 Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Having physics is a good idea, because you'll need it on the MCAT(it's really hard to get through the MCAT physics section with just highschool phys.), and you may need it as a pre-req to some of the schools you may apply to. Taking a "tougher" course like physics in the summer is really good, becuase I don't think ANY med schools in ontario will count summer marks. In fact, I think UBC is the only school that counts summer session marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lactic Folly Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 You need to check the requirements of the particular schools you're interested in.. it's true that a good number require physics and an even greater number of schools require the MCAT, with which first year physics will undoubtedly help you. You don't need to take it in first year though.. I know many people who took it in second year (their first year schedules were positively overflowing with bio/chem/organic/math/english). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Hi there, If you ever wish to apply to any US medical schools in the future, then physics should also be a part of that future! By the way, doesn't McMaster take summer courses into consideration, too? Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GrdInquisitor Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I was in the same boat as you. I didn't want to take physics and I tried everything I could to avoid it. To avoid the class, I looked very carefully at the prerequisities of the schools i was interested in applying to (the Ontario schools). Luckily, none of them expressly required physics, so I boned up on microbiology, orgo, and gen chem to fulfill the needed pre-reqs. For the MCAT, I studied physics the longest and hardest, to make up the slack I presumed I was missing. In any case, I did alright, and managed to exceed the cutoffs for the 'ontario five'. My point is that it pays to know what each school requires, as I know many people were lured into the 'pre-requisite trap' and completed courses that ended up 1) lowering their GPA and 2) sucking the life out of their university experiences. Do some research and make an informed decision. Just my two cents. Also, Kirsteen is right. American schools almost without exception (that I know of) require a year of physics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I am horrible at physics, but somehow it ended up being one of my highest undergrad marks. I think it may depend on the school and the course you take, but you may still be able to do well in a course, even if you aren't an expert in that area. In my experience, it is better to have everything you need so you can apply to every school (if medicine is really what you want to do), then you won't limit your options. I decided after grad school that I wanted to go to med school, but my university didn't require english for my undergrad, so I had to take it during my Masters. What a pain in the butt that was. But, once I had that credit, I could apply to all Canadian schools, instead of only two. That sure increased my chances of getting in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest confused555 Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 Thanks so much for all the helpful advice! I think I"ll end up taking one semester of physics ( the half course )just to be safe. Also, as you mentioned, I want to keep the US option open. Hopefully I've worked up physics to be harder than it really is! However, if i did delay physics for summer school...it would take a load off my 1st year, since i'm already taking bio,chem, calculus, and psych. does this make sense? I heard that some med schools don't like to see summer courses though...is this just a rumour? Final question...does psychology usually have a heavier course load than sociology? THANKS....you guys are awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hi there, I believe that most schools will accept a summer physics course if they have a physics course admissions requirement. What some schools won't accept are a couple of related issues: 1) a student who takes four courses in their first year then slogs the physics course off to the summer (if the school has a 5.0 course per term requirement); 2) summer course marks to be factored in to the GPA calculation, i.e., they won't count summer course marks in the GPA calculation (which could be a good thing if physics ends up being the bear that you're imagining, although it probably won't ) Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rudybaylor Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 i want to ask this question to all those who went to uft, doesnt physics require calculus as a co-requisite?? for the reason mentioned above, i am not taking physics and calculus the coming fall and i plan to take them over the summer. is it a bad idea? i have decided to do so because i think its pretty hard to handle bio, chem, psych, calc and phy at the same time. how can it affect med school admission process? i dont plan to take phy and calc beyond first year so how do u think my summer school courses would affect my application? (its too early to talk about, i know) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 0T6 Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 when a course is listed as a corequisite, it's okay if it's taken before.. so u can do MAT in the fall and PHY in the summer if you wanted to. most people do bio/chem/calc/phys and one of soc/ant/psy/seminar at the same time, and difficulty.. well it's subjective.. some had no problem getting great grades and other people weren't so fortunate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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