Currently a high school student. Got in to mac kin, I have a lot of people tell me that going in to kin then med school is a good route. They say that it be easier to keep a good gpa and that is med school doesn't work a kin degree is more useful than a life science degree . Any thoughts? Anyone from kin able to give a brief overview of the program.

I think it's true...also I'm pretty sure kinesiology is more "free" compared to life sci as you have a lot of choice as to what you want as electives whereas life sci has a ton of courses that are required, especially if you decide to do a specialization in second year

I have a lot of unemployed Kinesiology friends who are trying to get into physiotherapy, medicine and pharmacy. While it is a bit more practical than a general science degree, the job outcomes aren't a whole lot better. You still need to pursue further education afterward.

Probably biased opinion - but I think that with a Kin degree, you can go way more places. It may be true that people don't have a job after your Kin degree, but nowadays its about what you do after it. You can pursue physiotherapy, occupational therapy, med school, chiropractic college, athletic therapy/training and even do research if that's what interests you.

I find Kin to be a little more balanced than Life Sciences, although LS probably does prepare you better for med school (you need to take chem, bio, physics, etc...)

Originally Posted by Imperious

I think it's true...also I'm pretty sure kinesiology is more "free" compared to life sci as you have a lot of choice as to what you want as electives whereas life sci has a ton of courses that are required, especially if you decide to do a specialization in second year

I would disagree with this. Looking at their program, they have 4 electives per year and their mandatory kin courses. Those mandatory courses don't include chem/bio/physics/orgo/english/biochem that you have to take for prerequisites (not all schools have prereqs but a lot do, & pretty important to have done these courses for the mcat). I have a lot of friends in Kinesiology who want to go to med school, and they have to use all their electives on their med school prereqs, which means they don't get to take many "bird" courses for their electives. Im sure Kin courses aren't killers like orgo or physics 1b03, but theyre certainly no walk in the park either. So, in the end i think OP should just choose the program that most interests him; if hes interested in the Kin courses & knows that he has to use most of his electives on prereqs, then by all means he should go for it.

Originally Posted by keggnog

Probably biased opinion - but I think that with a Kin degree, you can go way more places. It may be true that people don't have a job after your Kin degree, but nowadays its about what you do after it. You can pursue physiotherapy, occupational therapy, med school, chiropractic college, athletic therapy/training and even do research if that's what interests you.

I find Kin to be a little more balanced than Life Sciences, although LS probably does prepare you better for med school (you need to take chem, bio, physics, etc...)

True - but all the things you can do with a Kin degree could also be done with a Life Sci degree - in the end, they're both science degrees that require additional education.

Originally Posted by bradyr

True - but all the things you can do with a Kin degree could also be done with a Life Sci degree - in the end, they're both science degrees that require additional education.

Yes and no. You could totally go to grad school (physio, chiro, etc) without doing Kin, definitely not wrong about that. But I think it's a matter of being more prepared if you have a Kin degree, it makes it easier for sure.

Originally Posted by keggnog

Yes and no. You could totally go to grad school (physio, chiro, etc) without doing Kin, definitely not wrong about that. But I think it's a matter of being more prepared if you have a Kin degree, it makes it easier for sure.

Not true at all, all you need for those grad schools are high marks, volunteering at relevant clincs, and references... They teach you everything once you're in there. You're not going to remember half the things you did in undergrad by the time you get to professional school

Originally Posted by bae_

Not true at all, all you need for those grad schools are high marks, volunteering at relevant clincs, and references... They teach you everything once you're in there. You're not going to remember half the things you did in undergrad by the time you get to professional school

I know that's all you NEED, but having some sort of knowledge in exercise psychology, sports injuries, rehabilitation, ergonomics and more will 100% help you. You'd be surprised how much you can retain if the material is interesting at all.