Hey guys! I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible before I make changes to my schedule. I am a first year Life Science student aspiring to pursue Medical School. I was wondering if you guys would advise me to just take Physics 1L03 even though I have taken grade 12 physics. Mind you, the teacher that taught me physics sucked and we skipped a lot of units, so I think it may be beneficial for me. I plan on taking an MCAT preparation course. But my main point is that if physics, only up to 1L03 is on the MCAT then I shouldn't bother taking any other physics courses. I know that some Medical Schools in Canada require a full year of physics with a lab, but I'm asking this strictly from the MCAT's material point of view. I do not plan on applying to any schools in the U.S by the way. What I'm fearful of is taking 1B03 and as a result, not being prepared and thus, it'll lower my GPA. What do you guys think?

i would suggest taking phys 1l03 and 1b03 for the mcat

1L03 is definitely not enough knowledge for the MCAT. But I don't know if even 1B03/1BB3 is enough..when I wrote the MCAT I asked for help from my engineering friends (who had just finished 2nd year chem eng at UW at that point) and they hadn't even learned the fluids and solids stuff yet.

Imo, it's best to self-teach (from a prep book) or take a course rather than take lots of physics/orgo courses that could bring your GPA down.

Originally Posted by shawafo

Hey guys! I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible before I make changes to my schedule. I am a first year Life Science student aspiring to pursue Medical School. I was wondering if you guys would advise me to just take Physics 1L03 even though I have taken grade 12 physics. Mind you, the teacher that taught me physics sucked and we skipped a lot of units, so I think it may be beneficial for me. I plan on taking an MCAT preparation course. But my main point is that if physics, only up to 1L03 is on the MCAT then I shouldn't bother taking any other physics courses. I know that some Medical Schools in Canada require a full year of physics with a lab, but I'm asking this strictly from the MCAT's material point of view. I do not plan on applying to any schools in the U.S by the way. What I'm fearful of is taking 1B03 and as a result, not being prepared and thus, it'll lower my GPA. What do you guys think?

Apparently the MCAT covers material from 1B03 and 1BB3.

http://www.macinsiders.com/showthrea...cs#post5 4824

Have you looked at the outline for 1B03? Most of it should be review if you had a decent curriculum. For me half of the course was review with most of the rest being more in-depth learning of the stuff I learned in high school.

I'm a quick learner so I think that I'd probably just learn best without affecting my GPA by taking a prep course and using 1L03 as a base from which I can start my studying. However, I was considering two Level II programs that included Honours Biology (Physiology Specialization) & Honours Molecular biology and Genetics. I saw in a post Jeremy that you said 1B03 was required for the Physiology Specialization, but on the McMaster website it says only 1 of 1L03 or 1B03. If I take 1L03 and feel confident with my abilities, I may end up taking 1B03 along with organic chemistry in my summer. This is the level II program calendar I received from McMaster: http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/ass...qs_handout.pdf

1L03 isn't even sufficient physics knowledge for the LSAT, never mind the MCAT.

Originally Posted by shawafo

I'm a quick learner so I think that I'd probably just learn best without affecting my GPA by taking a prep course and using 1L03 as a base from which I can start my studying. However, I was considering two Level II programs that included Honours Biology (Physiology Specialization) & Honours Molecular biology and Genetics. I saw in a post Jeremy that you said 1B03 was required for the Physiology Specialization, but on the McMaster website it says only 1 of 1L03 or 1B03. If I take 1L03 and feel confident with my abilities, I may end up taking 1B03 along with organic chemistry in my summer. This is the level II program calendar I received from McMaster: http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/ass...qs_handout.pdf

As with many programs, physiology requires 1B03 by the end of level 2: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1543.html

The general consensus on 1L03 is that it's a waste of time, money and space on your timetable if you've already taken gr12 physics, especially if you'll need 1B03 at some point.
If you think you can learn the material through a prep course, why not do it for credit? Either you learn it or you don't, and if you're doing it for credit then you'll actually have less to study (10 courses + prep course versus 10 courses and no prep course). If you can learn the material in 1B03 by teaching it to yourself, then you should have no problem taking the course. If you're worried it will affect your GPA, get over it. Any course can affect your GPA positively or negatively, and if you think it will bring your GPA down then you shouldn't be so confident you'll be able to teach it to yourself from a prep course.

Haha, okay I'll take it. Thanks guys! Do you know why the flow chart that McMaster emailed me would have conflicting information then (http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/assoc...qs_handout.pd f)? But nonetheless, thanks Lauren for that push, aha. Best of luck to all!

Originally Posted by shawafo

Haha, okay I'll take it. Thanks guys! Do you know why the flow chart that McMaster emailed me would have conflicting information then (http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/assoc...qs_handout.pd f)? But nonetheless, thanks Lauren for that push, aha. Best of luck to all!

No problem

The flow chart doesn't conflict with the course calendar as far as I can tell. I looked at the biology (physiology) section of the flow chart, and it says you need one of physics 1B03/1L03 and to see admission note 1...Admission note 1 says that 1B03 is required by the end of level 2.

Edit: Actually, the flow chart says that there is no co-op option for chembio...since I'm in chembio co-op, I'm pretty sure it exists So although the flow chart is a good guide, the course calendar probably has more accurate/up-to-date information.

Oh wow, I have no idea how I missed that! Nevertheless, thanks again!

Originally Posted by shawafo

Haha, okay I'll take it. Thanks guys! Do you know why the flow chart that McMaster emailed me would have conflicting information then (http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/assoc...qs_handout.pd f)? But nonetheless, thanks Lauren for that push, aha. Best of luck to all!

Always hated that thing, so big with such small text. The calender is a much better option.

Physics 1L03 isn't enough to prepare you for the MCAT physics. The MCAT covers topics like electrostatiscs, magnetism, circuits etc.... that are not covered in 1L03/1B03. Just reviewing through prep books will be a great way to understand these topics as they will focus on the high yield MCAT physics topics. The MCAT is a lot more conceptual based as well, you won't have to plug numbers into formulas that much, rather, you will need to understand the relationship between formulas and understand them conceptually more than anything. Good luck preparing!

What about for a student like me who hasnt taken physics in normal school will taking 1B03 and 1BB3 be that difficult?

Originally Posted by stja1

What about for a student like me who hasnt taken physics in normal school will taking 1B03 and 1BB3 be that difficult?

If you haven't taken gr12 physics then you need 1L03 as a prereq to take 1B03--it's the high-school equivalent.

If you're getting the prep books for MCAT it doesn't really matter what courses you take really but you do need more than 1LS3..if you're considering med school then you need more than that anyway 'cause some med schools require a whole year of labs for physics so you may have to take both 1b03 and 1bb3