So I have been accepted to Life Science and I have a 87 average on the low end of students I know, but I'm really scared that I'll go into this program and everyone else in the program with higher averages than me and will do better. (Since many students are 95+) I'm just afraid that I wont be able to do as well as everyone else especially because I do hope to go to med school either here or the united states but I'm extremely afraid I wont be able to keep up with all the 90+ students. Does the playing field level out or is it that the 90+ students generally will continue to do better than students like me?

-_-

Don't be lazy, and don't be a moron, and you can get as high an average as you want.

The fact that someone got 95 in HS means they likely had good studying habits, so if you aren't lazy in university and study hard their average in HS should become meaningless when comparing it to yours.

Also 87 is pretty decent.

Just don't ignore/neglect your school-work, and then start complaining about how other students are doing better than you.

In my personal experience, university is nothing like high school, so don't be afraid of other students coming in with higher averages than you. Remember that high school marks are not standardized, so you can't justify that someone coming in to university with a 95+ average is actually better than you (maybe their school was easier?) What is important is that you understand how you study best, and use that to you're advantage. If it isn't working, you will be more successful if you learn to adapt. Also, a lot of first year science students want to go to medical school, but a lot of them will change their mind after first year either because they want to pursue other interests, or just weren't cut out for the rigor of university academics.

Yeah I understand where your coming from I had a lot going on personally matters that affected my grades from the full potential I'm a person that stresses out a lot and is constantly worried about school like I can work days straight without a day off. And I heard that at mac a lot of students dont usually switch out of life sci they continue to persue med?

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

-_-

Don't be lazy, and don't be a moron, and you can get as high an average as you want.

The fact that someone got 95 in HS means they likely had good studying habits, so if you aren't lazy in university and study hard their average in HS should become meaningless when comparing it to yours.

Also 87 is pretty decent.

Just don't ignore/neglect your school-work, and then start complaining about how other students are doing better than you.

exactly, don't get complacent. A lot of first year students (me included) were happy we got in and wanted to socialize and party and grow as a person, but you've got to realize the job has just started and you better be putting in 40 hours a week (8 hours a day) at least in order to succeed, do that and you'll be fine.

high school grading is flawed. you and everyone else in your field are on level playing field in first year

Just think of it this way: at least you are not in UofT Life Sciences.

That place is what I call torture, they literally try to fail students without showing any mercy.

At least in McMaster, if you work hard you can maintain a solid GPA as long as you aren't mentally below average.

What do you mean mentally below average?

I think he means dumb. >_>

Oh i thought he meant mentally not prepared well I dont think anyone in this program is dumb because it is one of the hardest science programs but there are many students who are smarter and I feel like Im to scared of uni because a lot of my teachers are scaring me I just wanted to know if anyone around my average is doing really well in the program

Originally Posted by stja1

Oh i thought he meant mentally not prepared well I dont think anyone in this program is dumb because it is one of the hardest science programs but there are many students who are smarter and I feel like Im to scared of uni because a lot of my teachers are scaring me I just wanted to know if anyone around my average is doing really well in the program

I don't know if I'm the only one but sometimes I wonder how certain people were able to make it into Mac.

So imo, there are definitely some dumb people in the program. Not a large number, but certainly a few.

That being said, just work hard and you'll be fine. Working hard gets you further than being a genius alone.

Don't worry about it. As it has been said before, high school marks are not necesarily reflective of students' knowledge. Some schools definitely have teachers that are giving marks away where they shouldn't be. In Physics in particular, I know a lot of people who had 90+ in high-school physics, who were scared to death of the problems in physics 1B03 and would barely know how to even tackle a simple kinematics question.

University is very different from high school. Is it harder? Yes, absolutely. Is it impossible to do well? No! From my own personal experience, what I have found is that university is about learning how to teach YOURSELF. Odds are you will have a number of professors whose teaching styles do not match well to your learning style. Personally I chose to essentially skip those classes and teach myself the material and I still maintained solid grades. Though that's not necessarily the best strategy for everyone.

More accurately I should probably say that time management is the key. Stay on top of your work, and good grades will come naturally. It's far less stressful around midterms/exams if you've kept up with your work during the term. That said, don't sacrifice all your free time to do schoolwork. Get a reasonable amount of work done, and party hard on weekends too :p Hell, reward yourself once in a while and party on Thursday too (Thursday is the new Friday, btw).

Good luck in first year!

^Yeah, I second a portion of that. Don't get too caught up in the "if I go to class, then I'll do well" conditional. If your professor is good and you know that class won't be a waste of time, then going would be a good idea. If not, then there's no reason to force yourself to show up just to sleep for an hour.

Of course, you should probably also follow along when you do skip class.

As long as you come into university determined, and with good and adaptable study habits, you should be fine. Someone told me once, an hour of class should equate to three hours of homework, readings and studying! In terms of med school, marks are great... but you'll also want to factor in your MCAT score and extracurriculars.

For now, I would just say take it easy and enjoy your summer to come. In September, be prepared and motivated to work hard =)