Originally Posted by brady23

I just want to have an idea of what I might do, I know it may change, but I still want to have a plan. But you're right, I guess I'll have to take a psychology course to see if I actually like it.

Same with biodiversity...bio 1M03 deals with that.

I never would have guessed going into first year that I'd end up in a chemistry program. I wanted to do genetics. I still like genetics...but after first year I knew for sure I didn't want to go into a bio program. Taking bio 2C03 satisfied my desire to learn about genetics. There's really not that much to it, considering I'm not much interested in learning about lab techniques in a lecture setting. I also hated biochem in high school...but I had the hardest time trying to decide whether I should do chembio or biochem I picked chembio, but I work in a biochem lab and I am very happy with both of those decisions. I never would have anticipated either before starting first year, though.

Originally Posted by Watoko

I think you should wait until after first year to decide, as you really get to figure out what your interests and dislikes are, after which you can make an informed decision. First year life sci involves you taking courses in many different disciplines. You'd be surprised how much you learn about yourself after first year!

EDIT: I agree, its good to have a plan. Heck after first year, I still wasn't sure what program I wanted to go into for second year, let alone know before University started...

Relax, enjoy summer and worry about life later

LOL my summer didn't begin yet :(
In 3 weeks, my exams will be over, and I can enjoy my summer!

Originally Posted by nerual

Same with biodiversity...bio 1M03 deals with that.

I never would have guessed going into first year that I'd end up in a chemistry program. I wanted to do genetics. I still like genetics...but after first year I knew for sure I didn't want to go into a bio program. Taking bio 2C03 satisfied my desire to learn about genetics. There's really not that much to it, considering I'm not much interested in learning about lab techniques in a lecture setting. I also hated biochem in high school...but I had the hardest time trying to decide whether I should do chembio or biochem I picked chembio, but I work in a biochem lab and I am very happy with both of those decisions. I never would have anticipated either before starting first year, though.

Do you like biochem now? I hate biochemistry in high school also, I think molecular genetics is a lot more interesting.

Originally Posted by brady23

Do you like biochem now? I hate biochemistry in high school also, I think molecular genetics is a lot more interesting.

I like biochem a lot better now.
My bio teacher in high school had a masters in biochem, and he kept telling us not to judge biochem based on what we're learning in high school, because that stuff is boring as hell and there's so much more to it than that. He was totally right The biochem you learn in first year bio is still pretty much what you learn in high school, but after than it gets much better. I even enjoyed biochem 3D03, which I did NOT want to take because of how much I hated glycolysis/krebs cycle/electron transport chain in high school. I still hated that stuff...but glycolysis and the krebs cycle weren't as bad because there was so much more context, and they weren't just random names of molecules.

That's part of why I said you haven't experienced enough to judge what you really like...it's not an insult, it's just a fact A lot of people realize that, and end up changing their programs after first and second years.

Originally Posted by brady23

LOL my summer didn't begin yet :(
In 3 weeks, my exams will be over, and I can enjoy my summer!

Right, not sure how I forgot that high school is still going on...

Originally Posted by nerual

I like biochem a lot better now.
My bio teacher in high school had a masters in biochem, and he kept telling us not to judge biochem based on what we're learning in high school, because that stuff is boring as hell and there's so much more to it than that. He was totally right The biochem you learn in first year bio is still pretty much what you learn in high school, but after than it gets much better. I even enjoyed biochem 3D03, which I did NOT want to take because of how much I hated glycolysis/krebs cycle/electron transport chain in high school. I still hated that stuff...but glycolysis and the krebs cycle weren't as bad because there was so much more context, and they weren't just random names of molecules.

That's part of why I said you haven't experienced enough to judge what you really like...it's not an insult, it's just a fact A lot of people realize that, and end up changing their programs after first and second years.

I personally think that Biochem at McMaster also has one of the better faculties. Although I only took 3 biochem courses, 2 of them had really good professors (Biochem 2B03 with Nodwell, Biochem 4E03 with Doble, Draper, Bhatia). Unless those are the only 4 good professors in biochem, I would have to say that they have a good faculty especially compared to biology where I've taken so many courses and can't really name any 1 professor who really stood out as a good professor. Maybe Dej before she decided to take on so many courses after coming back from maternity leave. But that's pretty much it.

So I would say I enjoyed being taught in the biochem courses, but I do find genetics a lot more interesting (and enjoyed learning the material on my own) and I find it a disappointment that the faculty didn't meet my standards in delivering the material to me through a professor. But the program is young and they are still making adjustments to it so who knows how the program will be like even in the next couple years.

Originally Posted by jhan523

I personally think that Biochem at McMaster also has one of the better faculties. Although I only took 3 biochem courses, 2 of them had really good professors (Biochem 2B03 with Nodwell, Biochem 4E03 with Doble, Draper, Bhatia). Unless those are the only 4 good professors in biochem, I would have to say that they have a good faculty especially compared to biology where I've taken so many courses and can't really name any 1 professor who really stood out as a good professor. Maybe Dej before she decided to take on so many courses after coming back from maternity leave. But that's pretty much it.

So I would say I enjoyed being taught in the biochem courses, but I do find genetics a lot more interesting (and enjoyed learning the material on my own) and I find it a disappointment that the faculty didn't meet my standards in delivering the material to me through a professor. But the program is young and they are still making adjustments to it so who knows how the program will be like even in the next couple years.

I definitely agree. Actually, the faculty of the bio department and the way it is run administratively are two of the reasons I did not want to go into a bio program (I got accepted to both mol bio and physiology). They aren't the only two reasons, but they were factors.
Mol bio and genetics is a very new program, but before that there was bio with a genetics specialization...so if anything, it looks like they've phased out the genetics aspect of it, rather than introduced new things. I could be wrong, though.

Also, I suspect one of the reasons the biochem department has better faculty is due to funding. It's a rather well-funded department that attracts world-class professors. It also places a very strong emphasis on teaching (which relates to the way the department is run and what its values are), and it has the benefit of sort of straddling two faculties. The undergrad biochem program is part of the science faculty, but the grad program is in the health sci faculty, and that's what the profs fall under too, I believe. For the record, there are some not-so-great biochem profs, but the vast majority that I have had are very good.

I think you two nailed it. Having been in the Biochem program, I really enjoyed it very much and agree with what you guys said. I couldn't have said it better myself.

As with Lauren, the bio administration was a factor for me in deciding between Biology (Physiology) and Biochem (Biotech).

Originally Posted by Watoko

Relax, enjoy summer and worry about life later

I agree strongly with this. Just chill, you have tons of time.

Having a plan is never a bad thing, just be open to change as you go through your course at Mac.
Take a variety of courses in things you might be interested in and go off of that.
It's quite different once you get a feel for Uni level courses! Even after first year you'll find yourself still wondering where your best options are

don't stress yourself out yet! enjoy the time off!
all the best!

I keep hearing bad things about the bio department... could anyone elaborate on this?

Originally Posted by Xenos

I keep hearing bad things about the bio department... could anyone elaborate on this?

I'm not sure what that means to be honest. What do you mean by "bad things?" Like in terms of courses, or profs, or ..?

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

I'm not sure what that means to be honest. What do you mean by "bad things?" Like in terms of courses, or profs, or ..?

The way things are organized (in terms of procedures and the courses themselves)...adminis tratively, they suck, especially compared to the chem department. They also don't have a lot of good profs. They have some...but the majority seem to be dry and don't have a very good attitude towards students. Mostly it's an administrative problem.

Originally Posted by nerual

The way things are organized (in terms of procedures and the courses themselves)...adminis tratively, they suck, especially compared to the chem department. They also don't have a lot of good profs. They have some...but the majority seem to be dry and don't have a very good attitude towards students. Mostly it's an administrative problem.

I don't think I've ever had a problem with administration. Kathy McIntosh is a great undergrad admin/advisor in my opinion. My biggest criticism about the biology department is the faculty. I know many of the professors are great researchers, but great researchers don't necessarily make great professors. Personally I find that the delivery of material isn't always the most efficient which is why I found myself not attending many lectures as I could just learn the material on my own more efficiently.

Another thing I'm not a big fan of is how professors start their courses. I understand that not all students who register in Mol Bio courses are Mol Bio students, but the amount of review that occurs during the first weeks to sometimes a month is kind of ridiculous. Even though not all the students are Mol Bio students, I'm confident that all the students have taken basic biology courses (they should be prerequisites anyways). So it's not necessary to spend weeks on reviewing things like different types of mutations (point, deletions, insertions, etc...) or that DNA is transcribed into RNA using RNA polymerase and that DNA is replicated with DNA polymerase. I paid over 500$ for this course, don't waste almost 1/4 to 1/3 of the lectures on things everyone should already know.

Originally Posted by jhan523

I don't think I've ever had a problem with administration. Kathy McIntosh is a great undergrad admin/advisor in my opinion. My biggest criticism about the biology department is the faculty. I know many of the professors are great researchers, but great researchers don't necessarily make great professors. Personally I find that the delivery of material isn't always the most efficient which is why I found myself not attending many lectures as I could just learn the material on my own more efficiently.

Another thing I'm not a big fan of is how professors start their courses. I understand that not all students who register in Mol Bio courses are Mol Bio students, but the amount of review that occurs during the first weeks to sometimes a month is kind of ridiculous. Even though not all the students are Mol Bio students, I'm confident that all the students have taken basic biology courses (they should be prerequisites anyways). So it's not necessary to spend weeks on reviewing things like different types of mutations (point, deletions, insertions, etc...) or that DNA is transcribed into RNA using RNA polymerase and that DNA is replicated with DNA polymerase. I paid over 500$ for this course, don't waste almost 1/4 to 1/3 of the lectures on things everyone should already know.

I'd argue that both of those are administrative problems at the root...that's what I meant when I said "mostly it's an administrative problem". It depends what the department puts emphasis on when hiring and evaluating profs, and when designing courses. It's a systemic problem.