Hey, so I'm going into first year Med Rad (yay!) and I have 2 electives (6 units) and I was going through the list of electives I could take, and well this course kinda stuck out to me since I'm Chinese but know 0 chinese lol. So I was wondering if anyone has taken it and knows if it's easy or not.
Or if not, any suggestions for some fun but easy electives? I'm open to a variety of subjects!
Also, does anyone know how many units it's worth cause it's 2 semesters, so idk if it's the place to 2 electives or still one...

I've never taken chinese, so I'm not sure. It really depends what you yourself define as fun. But if I were to recommend some, probably tailor it to your interests. If you have an interest in film, why not take a film course? There's going to be some degree of difficulty associated with each course, but I think whatever you personally are interested in, will make it easier. I found Anthro 1A03 easy, because it explored different human cultures across history as well as the world. If you're into science, maybe some Environmental courses 1A03? 1G03? 1B03? The number of units a course should be posted on mcmaster calendar website. I hope that helps. Good luck with your decision.

Originally Posted by ashleylau

Hey, so I'm going into first year Med Rad (yay!) and I have 2 electives (6 units) and I was going through the list of electives I could take, and well this course kinda stuck out to me since I'm Chinese but know 0 chinese lol. So I was wondering if anyone has taken it and knows if it's easy or not.
Or if not, any suggestions for some fun but easy electives? I'm open to a variety of subjects!
Also, does anyone know how many units it's worth cause it's 2 semesters, so idk if it's the place to 2 electives or still one...

You said "this course" but didn't specify what course it was...but if you're talking about the intro chinese language ones, it is my understanding that they're no longer offered after some drama with the Confucius Institute. You should check the master timetable when picking courses to see which are offered.

I'm pretty sure they shut down the Confucius Institute last year. Maybe you could look into another language course, if you're so inclined.

most ppl in 1st year medrad take psych 1x03 since you're required to take it in 2nd or 3rd year anyways.

Astron 1f03 is a fun and pretty easy course.

Chinese 1z06 is in the tentative timetable list so I'm guessing that the course is still running.
Have not taken the course personally but should be a fun learning experience at the very least.

Good luck next year and have a great summer!

If the code to your elective ends with a 6 then that means it is worth 2 courses (6 being the 6 units that you have available). Any 2 semester course is typically worth 6 units and any half year course is worth 3. My electives this past year were Classics- Greek Mythology (because i'm really interested in mythology) and i took Psychobiology ( a health sci course--easy). Great thing about Psychobiology is that there is NO EXAM and the majority of your grade comes from two GROUP essays.

Classics 1a03, Econ 1b03, inquiry 1ss3 pretty easy to get 12s in.

Interesting = Easy

If you like math, I definitely recommend taking Math 1b03. It also helps with a lot of upper year courses. I personally enjoyed the class very much, but take it only if YOU LIKE MATH...

Other than that, an easy (although slightly boring) elective that you can easily get a 12 in is microecon 1b03.
I took macroecon 1bb3. This is a little harder than microecon, but it is also more interesting. I didn't go to any of the classes and I got a 12 in the course. (off course if you don't go to class you have to keep up with your readings )

If you do choose Econ 1B03, just make sure you take it with Hannah Holmes because she gives a ton of bonus marks. The content is easier too.

Macro econ is more theory-based while micro is more math-based. Also, I think macro is harder in the sense that none of the profs give bonus marks.

In my opinion, I would stay away from courses that were "super-easy bird courses" in 2012/2013. A lot of people hear about how easy that specific course was, take it, and get screwed (prof change or content change).

This happened to a few of my friends. Some would 12 a class first semester, same class next semester would have a class average of <7.

but in the end, its probably a safe bet to take something you genuinely think you would enjoy so studying isnt too much of a nag. You're going to need to read regardless of content difficulty.

For what its worth, there is no such thing as not studying and still doing well... its more like, "i can study for 3 days before the final exam and still do well".

my two cents