Hey, for whoever is in the biopsych program. I just have a few questions, how many people on average do the enroll and how hard is the program in terms of workload relative to other programs (ie, molec bio, chembio etc)

Apparently there were like 20 kids in the 2010/2011 graduating class.

Psych and Molecular Biology are very different. Molecular has a lot of memorization of pathways whereas psych is something that you can reason out as long as you have a solid foundation of basic concepts.

I think about 40 kids were accepted this past year. In terms of workload I don't actually have that great of an idea- for second year most of the programs are roughly the same in terms of workload, the more specialized classes wouldn't start until third year.

Originally Posted by Marlowe

I think about 40 kids were accepted this past year. In terms of workload I don't actually have that great of an idea- for second year most of the programs are roughly the same in terms of workload, the more specialized classes wouldn't start until third year.

wow only 40? I wonder how many they took this year then. How do you find the program in terms of content or the chemistry? I got the shock of my life when I found out I got accepted into this.

You'll have to take organic chem for either programs, which I didn't find as awful as everyone made it out to be. I actually found it much more interesting and a bit easier than first year chem.

Originally Posted by Harlequin

You'll have to take organic chem for either programs, which I didn't find as awful as everyone made it out to be. I actually found it much more interesting and a bit easier than first year chem.

More interesting (yes), material is easier (perhaps), easier (definitively not). I found the testing to be ridiculously hard and out of the box thinking required.

Originally Posted by jhan523

More interesting (yes), material is easier (perhaps), easier (definitively not). I found the testing to be ridiculously hard and out of the box thinking required.

I did take it over the summer...maybe it made things easier

Originally Posted by Harlequin

I did take it over the summer...maybe it made things easier

I took Orgo 2OA3 in the summer a few years ago, it was harder than the fall term. When I took 2OB3 in the fall term, I found it much easier than Chem 1AA3. Mostly because you have to memorize less material.

Originally Posted by Jay

I took Orgo 2OA3 in the summer a few years ago, it was harder than the fall term. When I took 2OB3 in the fall term, I found it much easier than Chem 1AA3. Mostly because you have to memorize less material.

I've heard horror stories about orgo chem, but this reassures me that it's not a ridiculous course. Would you say that getting a 10 would be very doable if you just put the effort into it?

Originally Posted by killza

I've heard horror stories about orgo chem, but this reassures me that it's not a ridiculous course. Would you say that getting a 10 would be very doable if you just put the effort into it?

You can definitely do well. I had a 6 point (on the 12 point scale) increase from 2OA3 to 2OB3.

I found 2OB3 slightly easier because there were fewer pathways to learn. Make sure that you do lots and lots of practice. Your TAs are also excellent for going through practice problems and for any questions you may have.

Make sure you have a solid foundation of the concepts because the test questions may be a bit random and you'll have to be able to reason things out.

Originally Posted by killza

Would you say that getting a 10 would be very doable if you just put the effort into it?

You will need to learn quite a bit of material, but it's very doable. Practice helps too!

Hey guys, I was accepted to Biopsych and Honour Psych and I was wondering which one I should take for next year. My reason for going to Mcmaster was for psychology because I didn't know about the Biopsych program but it seems Biopsych will give me more job options (in Biology) right after I graduate undergrad but if I just take Psych I believe I have to do at least Masters before getting a decent job in that field.

Does anyone have any tips that can help me decide which program to take?

I don't think there's much you can do with just a bachelor of science, whether it be just psych or biopsych.

Well are there any clear advantages of taking Biopsych over Psych then (besides the obvious of having a double major)?

I've heard a lot of profs prefer biopsych students over psych students for lab positions and stuff like that, but in terms of finding an actual job there probably isn't any real benefit. Its something to separate you from other Psych or Bio majors maybe?