100 lvl course in final year.

[LiconC]

I have a choice to make. Because I did many of my senior level courses early in my undergraduate degree, I have the opportunity to take several hundred-level courses in my upcoming final year. Do I...

1) Take several easy 100lvl courses in order to increase my GPA?

2) Take more senior level courses to better showcase my academic ability?

I am aware that certain schools (such as U of T) require that the senior years of the applicant's undergraduate degree be filled with senior year courses. My question is, generally speaking  (for all Canadian MD programs), does admissions care about which courses you take in your final year(s)? Or is it better to strive for GPA?

Thank you very much for your time and energy.

 

[Eudaimonia]

That's right, at Western they have a 3/5 rule for upper years, and at McGill they assess the progression of your degree. There's nothing wrong with taking easier courses to increase your GPA, especially if you need to. Just keep it in mind for the requirement rules or how it can be viewed at some schools. 

In my final year I also took more lower level classes because I wanted to broaden the scope of my studies. I did not find it hindered me at any schools. 

[rmorelan]

Even TO just wants to make sure you aren't completely doing something purely for GPA boosting. It is completely fine to have a few easier courses thrown in. In fact it is normal.

The 3/5 rule for Western was based on the impression that most degrees already are roughly 3/5 at that year which means it was expected to put it another way that the remaining 2/5 was a normal part of a degree to fit in minors, off degree requirements and anything special you are just interested in. 

 

[LiconC]

To add to this thread for future readers:

As I asked this same questions to some friends and mentors of mine, one piece of advice was this:

Beware of first year courses because of the fact that they are sometimes taught by PhD students. 

I find this to be a reasonable cause for concern. Teachers/ profs who are new to the game are often inconsistent in their marking from year to year, and far from the mean in terms of how they grade--either extremely generous or extremely punishing. As such, I think we should try to follow the teachings of one of the crustiest professors of all, Aristotle.