I got an offer to Kinesiology but I was really hoping for Life Sciences. At the open house yesterday i found out that the cut off for life sciences this year was 87 and i have an 85.66 so i won't be getting into that. I really want to come to mac but i was just wondering if Kin would be a good choice. Im really not sure what i want to do but i know it is something in science and kin seems way more interesting because i really enjoy anatomy and stuff like that. So i was wondering if i could get some insight from some kin students and also if it would be possible to take chem and bio as electives and possibly switch into life science after first year if i dont like kin.

Thanks!!

It is definitely possible to take Chem and Bio as some of your electives if you are taking Kin. In first year kin you have 6 mandatory kin courses, and then 4 electives. It might be difficult for you if you take two chem and two bio electives in first year, but I would think that it is doable. You may need to take a math as well to be eligible for a transfer to life sciences. I know that it is possible to transfer from kin to life sciences, however it may require you to take a summer school course or two to be eligible for the second year life sciences major that you would want (life sciences is general first year, but splits into several different majors in second year, as well as the option of remaining in general life sciences). It also may be possible to switch into life sciences at the end of first semester, but I am not positive about this.

I am going into third year kin, and I LOVE it! I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in how the human body works, as well as fitness and health.

If you have any other questions about Kin, feel free to ask

kin is way better anyways. switching to life science isnt necessary

does going into kin still leave you the option to go into medicine? and is it a hard program??

i wouldnt say its any harder than any other program. just take the med school pre requisites as electives.

on the topic of taking the med school pre-reqs as electives, is it absolutely mandator to take the 6 kin courses during first year? i'd really like to keep my bio, chem and calc just so i have that for the MCAT if thats what i decide to do. I heard that there are really only 2 courses that you HAVE to take so i was wondering if there was any truth to that

im going into 3rd year kin...and yes you have to take all 6 kin courses first year...you can take your courses needed for medschool as electives (thats what I did) and some in the summer....personally (and I have talked to a lot of life sciences people about this) I think kin is a much better program because its more directed to the human body and health (with a physical activity background of course)...life science is way too general and broad since your going to be taking those science courses all 4 years (hense why I turned my life science offer down and selected kin!)


good luck

Originally Posted by maryam17

im going into 3rd year kin...and yes you have to take all 6 kin courses first year...you can take your courses needed for medschool as electives (thats what I did) and some in the summer....personally (and I have talked to a lot of life sciences people about this) I think kin is a much better program because its more directed to the human body and health (with a physical activity background of course)...life science is way too general and broad since your going to be taking those science courses all 4 years (hense why I turned my life science offer down and selected kin!)


good luck

Yes, kin beats out life science hands down. Our courses are really practical and applicable to any career in health care, medicine, physio/occupational therapy, SLP ... etc

k thankss soo much!
im really really leaning towards kin now!!

so wait did u just say that u got accepted into kin with an average of 85.66
because i applied to kin and life science as well but my average is 85.33 and i havn't got accepted to either yet :/

for kin i didnt need to count chemistry which was my lowest mark so i had an 88 but for life sciences i had an 85.66 and they said i wont be getting into that because the cut off was 87 this year :(

maryam17 what courses did you take in first year as electives since you have still been taking the med school pre-reqs?

I just want to address a few issues.

1) Calc is only a requirement for ~30 American Med Schools and a full year of it is a requirement for even fewer. (Harvard and some MSTP's which Canadians can't apply for are the only ones I can recall). You have to take a semester of it anyways for kin.

2) If you want to go to med school you can look at my example. Heres what I did/ am doing:
1st Year
6 Kin courses
Bio 1A03
Chem 1R03 (for those who didn't do it in high school)
Italian 1A03 (intermediate italian, couldn't take the second half as it conflicted with a required course)
Math 1LS3 (that be your calc).

1st Year Summer
Chem 1A03+1AA3 (your general chem requirement)
Stats 2B03 (not required for med school, although some American schools require a full year of math and allow stats in place of a second semester of calc)- is one of two options to fill an upper level stats requirement for Kin
Humanities 2C03 (just an elective)
English 1AA3 (1/2 of my English requirement done)

2nd Year (Based on tentative schedule)

6 Kin courses
Chem 2OA3+2OB3 (Your Organic Chem requirement)
Bio 1MO3 (Finishing the bio requirement)
Physics 1L03 (For those who didn't have Physics in high school)

2nd year summer
1st half of nonmajor biochem
physics 1B03/1BB3 (physics requirement)
English 1A03 (finished english requirement)

You could write your MCAT at the end of August, which gives you a full month to study while most of the material is still somewhat fresh, and leaves you time to retake. Or you could write it in the summer of your 3rd year.

3) Kin is a great experience: Great profs, great students and you end up knowing your entire program year at least by sight.

It looks at human movement in the "Cell-to-Society" model, which allows you to look at things from a much broader perspective, while keeping a general theme which, in my humble opinion, is far more interesting than the life sciences.

Also, according to your tentative schedule, all kin courses are in MDCL or ITB 137 next year. Great lecture halls. Don't discount this. They are comfy, are in convenient locations (close to each other, food (including off-campus food), good study places, the two libraries that aren't zoo's, and your anatomy labs) and most importantly. feature working internet.

Also, your profs aren't out there trying to figure out how to hold your class to ~70% average.
4) If you decide to hate it, just make sure to check the calendar for the requirements of the different second year programs you might be interested. You might be able to apply out.

5) Am I the only one surprised that Life Sciences has an 87 cut off this year?

Originally Posted by jamiebenyovi

for kin i didnt need to count chemistry which was my lowest mark so i had an 88 but for life sciences i had an 85.66 and they said i wont be getting into that because the cut off was 87 this year :(

maryam17 what courses did you take in first year as electives since you have still been taking the med school pre-reqs?

wait how do u know that mac won't accept us with an 85? Did the admissions lady tell u directly that you won't get in or do you think that since the cutoff is so high we might not get in with an 85 because the cutoff is an 87?

the lady gave me a really dirty look when i said my average and then she said they may go lower but it would only be like half a percentage point so i highly doubt it unfortunately

Originally Posted by jamiebenyovi

the lady gave me a really dirty look when i said my average and then she said they may go lower but it would only be like half a percentage point so i highly doubt it unfortunately

Welcome to mac.