Hello, I am a high school student and I have a few questions,

-Which course really prepares students for medical school?
-What is the main difference between the two? All I know is that one requires a higher average to get into...
-Which course would you reccomend to someone who is getting low 90s?



...sorry if these have been already asked...

I don't think low 90s will get you into Health Science unless you have A LOT of extra curriculars. You also have to do the supplimentary application.

Health Science will prepare you more for medical school, but that's all it really does. From what I've heard you can't do much else.

Life Science will allow you to branch off into different programs, from bio to chem to psychology.

Technically all you need to get into medical school is a high average in any program and completion of the required courses for admission. You can get into medschool with a degree in humanities, science, arts, etc.

A lot of extracurriculars will not necessarily get you into Health Sci....it's essentially upto your supplementary once you have the cutoff average.

They both have their advantages for medical school....Health Sci prepares you well for the PBL style of Mac med school, while life sci would be good prep for more traditional schools like UofT. Either way though, you would be prepared for medical school as you only need certain pre-reqs which can be completed in both programmes.

Also, you can pursue a lot of things after Health Sci....a lot of people pursue law for example (apart from the standard health related fields). But I would say that life sci would prepare you better for lab-oriented jobs...so if you like labwork, life sci has more of that.

Hope that helped!

Originally Posted by aani

A lot of extracurriculars will not necessarily get you into Health Sci....it's essentially upto your supplementary once you have the cutoff average.

They both have their advantages for medical school....Health Sci prepares you well for the PBL style of Mac med school, while life sci would be good prep for more traditional schools like UofT. Either way though, you would be prepared for medical school as you only need certain pre-reqs which can be completed in both programmes.

Also, you can pursue a lot of things after Health Sci....a lot of people pursue law for example (apart from the standard health related fields). But I would say that life sci would prepare you better for lab-oriented jobs...so if you like labwork, life sci has more of that.

Hope that helped!

Thanks!

But what is PBL style?
Do you know the cut off average for Health Science?
Also, do you know if Med Schools care only about the marks or will they consider the program you were in before they cut you off?

Originally Posted by Shagana

Hello, I am a high school student and I have a few questions,

-Which course really prepares students for medical school?
-What is the main difference between the two? All I know is that one requires a higher average to get into...
-Which course would you reccomend to someone who is getting low 90s?



...sorry if these have been already asked...

Not in Life Science or Health Sci..

You don't have to be in Life Sci/Health Sci to get into med school. Lots of med school doesn't require prerequisites. So there are people who got a Eng or Social Science degree who made it to med school.

Originally Posted by mikefung

Not in Life Science or Health Sci..

You don't have to be in Life Sci/Health Sci to get into med school. Lots of med school doesn't require prerequisites. So there are people who got a Eng or Social Science degree who made it to med school.

So if med school accepts various programs than what do they really look for in applicants?

Also, when you apply to a university can you apply to more than one program at the same university?

Originally Posted by Shagana

Also, when you apply to a university can you apply to more than one program at the same university?

yes you can.

I believe you go through an interview to get into med school. So they would judge you based on your character and what not.

Most med school do require prerequisites, such as a year of chem and a year of bio, etc. But you can basically do all the prerequisites in your first year. Be sure to do some research on which med schools you would like to attend and their prerequisites as it differs from school to school.

Originally Posted by Shagana

So if med school accepts various programs than what do they really look for in applicants?

Check out U of T's medical FAQ, under "non-academics": http://www.facmed.utoronto.c a/programs/md/admissions/0910/faq.htm

Originally Posted by Shagana

So if med school accepts various programs than what do they really look for in applicants?

Medical Schools may consider the following: your GPA, Statement of Interest, References, MCAT, Resume, all in different weights depending on school.

Basically they're looking to see if you can handle the academic demands of medical school and if you have the makings of a good doctor.

you don't need a lot of extracurriculars to get into health sci. there were three essay questions this year, one of which was about extracurriculars. I simply said I enjoyed music as a hobby. That was it.

If you want to become a doctor, do health sci. If you're not sure, go with life sci. Also, if you do life sci first year, you can always switch into health sci if you really want to.

the health science program has graduates that go to grad school, law, pharmacy, dentistry, med school to health administration... it is NOT a program directing you to one or another future... it is more focused on group work and PBL (problem based learning), yes

as for med school prereqs; you can easily cover them over the four (or 3) year undergrad, not necessarily in first year... take courses you like, keeping your options open. getting into med school is not easy and four years is a lot of time for someone to change their mind...