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Choosing Undergraduate future medical student

Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON

Choosing Undergraduate future medical student

Hi,

Thanks for spending your time to read my post. I am a Canadian high school student hoping to start university in 2016 September. I'm going to apply for admission in universities starting this October 2015. I'm still completing my high school courses and I'm sure I complete my high school with an average of 90-94%. I want to become a doctor in the future and I am interested in the sciences. I just can't figure out which university to choose for my undergraduate that will be best for applying into medical school in Canada later on.

I live in Ontario so I prefer staying in Ontario for my university and staying in residence at the university will not be a problem anywhere in Ontario. I have heard people and my friends say that medical schools in Canada don't care which university you come from only the GPA and MCAT scores matter. I am really confused first I was thinking of going into Guelph or York for biomedical sciences or psychology. But as soon as I saw the statistics everywhere the most students who got accepted into medical schools were from McMaster, then UofT, and the Western. Guelph and York admissions into MD were very few. Now I can't decide whether I should go to McMaster, UofT, or Western rather than Guelph and York. I personally want to go to McMaster or UofT because of its reputation. My father says that University of Toronto won't kill you if you study hard over there you will succeed. He says you just gotta work hard and it will also prepare you for medical school.

This is a great problem for me. If you guys can give me some advice or suggestion it will be appreciated. I am not scared of studying. And I did not study that hard in high school otherwise I could pull of a 95-97% too. So guys studying in university of Toronto please share your experience what's so hard over there why people are so scared. And I think that these top universities will provide me with more learning as they will have better professors who are more experienced. Please all suggest if I should take life sciences/biomedical or psychology.

Thanks,
Aanish

http://www.md.utoronto.ca/admissions/statistics.htm.
24 replies
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User avatar
Jul 11, 2008
4368 posts
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Away from RFD idiots
just go to easy program and pull high GPA. it's no brainer and you'll get more scholarship money for undergrad
Deal Addict
Nov 8, 2013
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Mecca
Go to a school that has a med school, and devote a large part of your free time to studying. Try Lakehead/Laurentian, McMaster, Western, Queens, UOttawa, and Toronto. Since you mentioned Toronto, Mac, and Western as your picks - I'd go with Mac. Going to Toronto over McMaster won't increase your chances as a whole, but possibly increase your chance of getting into UofT Med school.
Member
Mar 19, 2010
318 posts
38 upvotes
Go anywhere. Enroll into a program you find easy, work hard and get a high GPA. Remember, GPA and MCAT is king. For med school admissions, what matters is what caliber of student YOU are..not where you're doing your undergrad from.
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Nov 12, 2011
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Be sure to pick something that interests you in case you're not admitted into med school - a very big possibility (not to be negative).
Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON
What are easier programs i have studied science from the beginning how can i switch towards arts or anything else i dont even know their basics.
Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON
Yes you are right im keeping that in mind and thats why im not going for kinesiology or any other program because they are not such good careers if i dont get into medicine. This is the reason im choosing life sciences.
Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON
You just said GPA matters. Its very hard to mantain a high GPA in top universities..so i think going where for undergraduate does matter.
Jr. Member
May 13, 2008
119 posts
22 upvotes
funnykiddy wrote: McMaster Health Sci.
This. +1. It's a great feeder program, I hear. Never been there so I can't provide first hand experience.

At UofT though, it depends a lot on your program of study. Some are ornithology to the extreme. Others are harder. If you study well and stay motivated you'll get your 3.9s and 4.0s. But some evaluations (tests, exam questions, projects) don't reflect what you learned in class. People hate that. Some of the profs at UofT may be world-class researchers but crap teachers, again depending on your program. I'm not sure where you heard that people are so scared of UofT. I don't know if that's true. I know some of them hate it because of the student/learning experience, but not necessarily scared of its "difficulty."
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Nov 12, 2011
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aanish wrote: You just said GPA matters. Its very hard to mantain a high GPA in top universities..so i think going where for undergraduate does matter.
I think you're thinking maintaining a high GPA in university is doable because you have a high average in high school. It doesn't work like that. Many top students aren't able to pull of the marks they once did in high school. University is a lot different and you need to plan for reality. Most people who apply to medical school don't get it.

Stop thinking of prestige. Where you go to school has no bearing on getting into med school. You're going for an undergrad... where you get it from means nothing. Pick the school/program that interests you the most and where you think you can do the best. The only time the school name matters is when you start getting into graduate studies (even then, your supervising professor matters more than the actual school).

As for your comment about kinesiology - it's in the same realm as Health Sciences. If anything Health Sciences is more general.
Member
Mar 19, 2010
318 posts
38 upvotes
aanish wrote: You just said GPA matters. Its very hard to mantain a high GPA in top universities..so i think going where for undergraduate does matter.
High GPA matters. That's it. It doesn't matter where you get your high GPA from. Med schools don't give a flying duck about where you went to undergrad. All they care about is whether you have a high GPA or not.
If you feel that it's too hard to maintain high GPA in top universities, then go to an easier one.

GPA is a reflection of your hard work. MCAT is a reflection of your potential. If you work hard and put in the time, you'll get your A's anywhere. Every uni has some courses with impossible profs that insist on making the class average as low as possible. This isn't unique to UofT. If you consistently work hard for 4 years, you'll have your 4.0 regardless of those hiccups.
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Jul 11, 2008
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bunoftruth wrote: This. +1. It's a great feeder program, I hear. Never been there so I can't provide first hand experience.

At UofT though, it depends a lot on your program of study. Some are ornithology to the extreme. Others are harder. If you study well and stay motivated you'll get your 3.9s and 4.0s. But some evaluations (tests, exam questions, projects) don't reflect what you learned in class. People hate that. Some of the profs at UofT may be world-class researchers but crap teachers, again depending on your program. I'm not sure where you heard that people are so scared of UofT. I don't know if that's true. I know some of them hate it because of the student/learning experience, but not necessarily scared of its "difficulty."
i heard it is extremely competitive to get into though.

mac healthsci should be #1 on op's list and skip U of T & york & ryesron. go to western, queens, wlu, even uwaterloo, you'll have more fun there. at u of t/york/ryerson, you're just dealing with commuters.
Jr. Member
May 13, 2008
119 posts
22 upvotes
aanish wrote: Yes you are right im keeping that in mind and thats why im not going for kinesiology or any other program because they are not such good careers if i dont get into medicine. This is the reason im choosing life sciences.
A degree in life sciences is useless career-wise if you don't get into medicine.
Newbie
Nov 26, 2013
85 posts
30 upvotes
Toronto, ON
I would aim for Mac health sci as my top choice, Guelph biomed sci as my 2nd choice.

I'm a Mac health sci 2011 grad. Almost all of my classmates are now doctors or some other professional (dentist, optometrist, pharmacist, lawyer, physiotherapist, etc). The program is very flexible and it's not difficult to maintain a high GPA. I have a lot of friends who are Guelph biomed sci graduates and the program seems to be similar to the Mac BHSc program.
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Nov 8, 2013
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SocialStigma wrote: I would aim for Mac health sci as my top choice, Guelph biomed sci as my 2nd choice.

I'm a Mac health sci 2011 grad. Almost all of my classmates are now doctors or some other professional (dentist, optometrist, pharmacist, lawyer, physiotherapist, etc). The program is very flexible and it's not difficult to maintain a high GPA. I have a lot of friends who are Guelph biomed sci graduates and the program seems to be similar to the Mac BHSc program.
Wow. What was your class average, 85%? For someone with an engineering background, I couldn't imagine having class averages this high.

That is honestly very impressive that nearly 50% get into Medical School. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/bhsc/documents/B ... S10-11.pdf

Just looking at UofT Med school. The average entering GPA is 3.94, which would be around 84%.
Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON
bunoftruth wrote: This. +1. It's a great feeder program, I hear. Never been there so I can't provide first hand experience.

At UofT though, it depends a lot on your program of study. Some are ornithology to the extreme. Others are harder. If you study well and stay motivated you'll get your 3.9s and 4.0s. But some evaluations (tests, exam questions, projects) don't reflect what you learned in class. People hate that. Some of the profs at UofT may be world-class researchers but crap teachers, again depending on your program. I'm not sure where you heard that people are so scared of UofT. I don't know if that's true. I know some of them hate it because of the student/learning experience, but not necessarily scared of its "difficulty."
im just gonna avoid UofT i guess.
Jr. Member
Aug 7, 2011
139 posts
48 upvotes
Toronto
LUMilkman wrote: Wow. What was your class average, 85%? For someone with an engineering background, I couldn't imagine having class averages this high.

That is honestly very impressive that nearly 50% get into Medical School. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/bhsc/documents/B ... S10-11.pdf
This is correct. I have confirmed with people I know in the program that class averages are 3.9s for most courses. They receive 3000 applications approximately for 160 seats. These 160 students will literally be handed high grades and their pick of top professional schools. I have friends in the life science program at McMaster always complaining about how health sci's have it easy. There is even a lengthy debate on premed101 over the unfair advantage the program gives students (grading wise), compared to those at other schools such as U of T and McGill.
Newbie
Aug 14, 2015
9 posts
Toronto, ON
Yup thats what im going to do. Thanks for your suggestion.

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