Hey! So I got into the Social Sciences I program; and next year I would like to get into the Honours Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (B.Sc.) program. I didn't take Grade 12 Biology or Calculus, which brings me a few problems and questions:

1. I have to take both BIOLOGY A103 and 1M03 to get into the P,N&B program, but:

• Since I don't have Gr. 12 Biology, that means that I'll have to take BIOLOGY 1P03 first term, and then the other two second term. I can do this right? (Since Gr.12 Bio/ BIO 1P03 is the only prereq.)
• Another question I have about BIO A103 is that the prerequisites for it says:

"Grade 12 Biology U or Biology 1P03 and registration in any Level 1 program in the Faculty of Science or any program above Level 1; or any program above Level 1; or registration in Arts & Science I, Medical Radiation Sciences I, Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering. Not open to students with credit or registration in ISCI 1A24."

• Maybe I'm just reading this wrong, but from my understanding, the A103 requires Gr.12 Bio or 1P03 and registration to a level 1 program in the Faculty of Science. So even though the program I want to get into is part of the Social Sciences faculty (and requires A103), and the program I'm in first year is ALSO part of the Social Sciences faculty, I'm not allowed to take one of the courses that are necessary to get into the program? What?

2. Depending on my grade Gr. 12 Advanced Functions (which I'll be receiving just a day before SOLAR opens up for Soc Sci.), I may have to take 3 different Math courses next year, which would be impossible to do in two semesters due to prerequisite conflicts. Is it possible for me to take MATH 1LS3 the summer after my first year and still get into my program or what?

• In the case that I can't take summer credits next year, the I suppose I'll have to take summer school this year to fill in all my missing Grade 12 prereqs. This brings another dilema though. I'm leaving on vacation for a month, so the only way I could get those credits would be to do them online, but I don't know weather or not Mac will recognize online courses as being legitimate, or how long it'll take them to submit my marks to Mac after I've completed the course.

If someone could help me out with this, it would be greatly appreciated At this point I really don't know if I can get into the Level II program I want, and I have to pick my courses in 4 days. Lol I should've started planning waaay earlier but I didn't know there'd be this much conflict >.<

You could talk to an academic advisor if you want. But if I was in your position I would do the requirements for the BA Psychology program, that requires Bio 1P03, and Math 1LS3. Then maybe you could take the other courses during your second year of BA Psych so you could switch into BSc Psych. But I'm pretty sure both programs are virtually the same except for one or two courses, take that with a grain of salt though. Maybe someone in psych could help you better.

Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, the program you would be applying to would be the Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour (B.A.), not the B.Sc. program since you're in the social sciences, which is considered the arts. You can read more about that program here: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1724.html

For this program, the following are your requirements: Selection is based on academic achievement but requires, as a minimum, completion of any Level I program with a Cumulative Average of at least 6.0; a grade of at least B- in each of PSYCH 1X03 (or 1AA3) and 1XX3 (or 1A03); credit in one of BIOLOGY 1A03, 1M03 (or 1AA3), 1P03 (or 1K03) or Grade 12 Biology U; and credit in MATH 1A03, 1LS3 or a grade of at least C- in MATH 1M03.

So for this program, all you'd need is one of the biology courses and one math course, so you'd be perfectly able to apply to this come second year.

If you're certain you want the B.Sc. and not the B.A., I can tell you that you are able to take BIOL 1A03 and 1M03 in the same term. However, you need to email an academic advisor about opening up a spot for you in the course since you're not registered in any of the faculties they list. I would also ask that academic advisor whether they still consider PSYCH 1A03/1AA3 the same as 1X03/1XX3. I'm fairly sure they do, but it's always good to be certain.

If you don't mind me asking, which three math courses would you need if your advanced functions mark wasn't good enough?

Thanks Lindsay and James for the quick replies

So to get into the B.Sc. program I could either:
1) Apply to the B.A. program for 2nd year, and then switch?
2) Talk to an academic advisor to get a spot in BIOL 1A03?

Just making sure I understood that properly.

I just re-read the requirements for B.Sc., and it says :
"6 units PSYCH 1X03 (or 1AA3), 1XX3 (or 1A03) with a grade of at least B- in each"
So I'm assuming that means that they do consider them to be the same.

Oh, and about the Math thing, I may have failed Adv. Functions due to laziness and getting appendicitis right around the time of exams -.-'. I won't know until Tuesday, but if I don't get the credit then I'll have to take [for the B.Sc.] MATH 1K03, then 1F03, and finally 1A03.

Btw, how do I contact an academic advisor? I'm going to the Summer Orientation next Tuesday, so I could probably ask then.

Maybe I'm just reading this wrong, but from my understanding, the A103 requires Gr.12 Bio or 1P03 and registration to a level 1 program in the Faculty of Science. So even though the program I want to get into is part of the Social Sciences faculty (and requires A103), and the program I'm in first year is ALSO part of the Social Sciences faculty, I'm not allowed to take one of the courses that are necessary to get into the program? What?

The program you want to get into (BSc psych) is NOT part of the socsci faculty, which is why you're running into this problem. Contact information for academic advisors in the science faculty can be found on the science website, or somewhere on MacInsiders, but if you're going to see them anyways then that will be a lot more efficient than emailing back and forth.

I just re-read the requirements for B.Sc., and it says :
"6 units PSYCH 1X03 (or 1AA3), 1XX3 (or 1A03) with a grade of at least B- in each"
So I'm assuming that means that they do consider them to be the same.

You need BOTH psych 1X03 and 1XX3--they're not the same course. 1X03 runs first term and deals more with social psychology, while 1XX3 runs second term and deals more with neuroscience.

Oh, and about the Math thing, I may have failed Adv. Functions due to laziness and getting appendicitis right around the time of exams -.-'. I won't know until Tuesday, but if I don't get the credit then I'll have to take [for the B.Sc.] MATH 1K03, then 1F03, and finally 1A03

Yes, if you fail advanced functions you'll have to take the 3 math courses, which will likely be impossible in two terms because each one is a prerequisite for the next. You *might* be able to get the 1F03 prereq waived and take 1K03 and 1F03 at the same time, but it's not likely--can't hurt to ask, though. Ask an academic advisor about taking an online course--as far as I know, they should count it as a credit, but double check to be sure. They might also let you defer 1LS3 to second year and still let you get into psych. It's a requirement for BOTH BA and BSc psych programs, getting 1LS3 math is the most important thing--make sure you sort it out with an academic advisor!

Thanks for the reply

How do I talk to an academic advisor? Do I go to McMaster in person or what? (because I'm going there on Tuesday anyways)

EDIT: Ok, I think I found it, I'm supposed to go to the Office of the Associate Dean, right?

If you want, you can email [email protected] or any of the academic advisors listed here: http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/ass...ergraduate/122

If the thing you're going to on Tues is anything like the one I went to, they'll take you into a computer lab so you can log onto SOLAR and they'll have academic advisors there. If not, they're in BSB 129 (go into the main doors of BSB--the ones that face the green space in the centre of campus--turn left and it's immediately on your right). They have drop-in hours from 1pm-3:30pm.

I don't think I'll be able to go on SOLAR because it opens up for Social Science on Wednesday =/ Anyways, I can talk to the Faculty of Science academic advisors about both my Bio and Math issues?

Yeah, of course you can still talk to them about courses. If they can waive the prerequisites, they might just tell you to email them or something once SOLAR opens so they can manually put you in the course, or give you the email of someone who can. Doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Alright, thanks for all the help ! Hopefully I can get this cleared up on Tuesday