CONGRATS ON GETTING ACCEPTED!
I am going into second year. Message me if you have any questions!

Also, I am seeing a lot of apprehension because of the group-based learning style. Well, let me tell you, Health sci group projects are insanely fun, and they really do teach you more than what you would learn in a simple lecture. You not only learn various concepts, but you also develop your peer collaboration skills, something that will be needed in essentially all professions! Health sci certainly gives you a head start in the lifelong learning process!

Also keep in mind that if you are aiming for grad school, then a lot of programs need you to have a 4 year BSc Degree or a program related to the life sciences such as biology, molecular bio, biochem, etc...

Originally Posted by winter02

Not particularly with Bio physio, more of the health sci program itself. I applied thinking I wouldn't get accepted but now I did and I'm conflicted between health sci or Physio as my 2nd year choice. Most of my hesitance comes from the two learning styles that both programs employ. One is lecture based (physio), while the other one is PBL or group learning (health sci) [not sure if I would like group learning over lecture style]. Also, I mainly applied to health sci because I had planned to take health sci electives in 3rd and 4th year (mainly immuno, virology, neuro immuno, etc and it just so happens that they were open to everyone and were not health sci restricted), and because of the thesis opportunities (wanted to do a thesis in immunology - not even sure if health scis are even allowed to do those topics). I looked at the honours core program and it's mandatory pre req courses and in my opinion, I have absolutely no interest in learning about global health (would like to focus more on science based learning). So I'm not sure if accepting would be wise based on the above reasoning. I kinda feel bad if I reject since I'm one of the people that actually got accepted =S

Thanks for reading all of that if you did =)

My friend was a health sic transfer (she almost decline the offer for biochem-biomed but decided to accept it anyways! and she absolutely loves the program!!!)
I know at least 6 health scis who did/will be doing their thesis in immuno
There are also a lot of physiology/anatomy courses in health sci (ie. SPACE MEDICINE AND PHYSIOLOGY, MOTOR CONTROL - THEORIES AND MODELS, HUMAN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY I and II, PATHOANATOMY (you get to learn how to prepare/preserve/prosect your own anatomical specimen)

Originally Posted by gggggg

Also keep in mind that if you are aiming for grad school, then a lot of programs need you to have a 4 year BSc Degree or a program related to the life sciences such as biology, molecular bio, biochem, etc...

BHSc does count but it depends on the courses you take, your thesis, recommendation letters and etc. If you look on the graduate program websites, they might say "or an equivalent program"

There are a lot of former healths ci graduates who are currently in the biochemistry and the medical science grad program (ie. some of my immuno and viro TAs were from health sci)

Originally Posted by Bulfon

I looked at the course outline breifly and from what I saw, it really is kinda pathetic compared to regular biochem. But ill get back to you on that once I take a better look at it!

A lot of my friends are in the biochem specialization and they are currently doing their thesis in the biochem department. If you compare the required courses for the biochem specialization with core biochem, it looks like the health sic biochem specialization takes more biochem courses. + a lot of biochem specialization students take health sic anatomy and physiology on top of that (which I heard was hard/ a lot of work from my transfer friend)

Originally Posted by goldfish101

A lot of my friends are in the biochem specialization and they are currently doing their thesis in the biochem department. If you compare the required courses for the biochem specialization with core biochem, it looks like the health sic biochem specialization takes more biochem courses. + a lot of biochem specialization students take health sic anatomy and physiology on top of that (which I heard was hard/ a lot of work from my transfer friend)

How did you come up with this? Looking at the course calendar I see the opposite.

Originally Posted by nerual

How did you come up with this? Looking at the course calendar I see the opposite.

I tried counting the courses lol.. but I guess I can't count. Disregard that statement

What electives are you other transfer students thinking of taking? I was thinking of doing physics 1BB3 and biochem 2EE3 but not really sure yet. Also how does 2J03 work? does it not matter whether you get a 90 or a 60 in the course? and it doesn't count towards your CA right?

Originally Posted by swarly

What electives are you other transfer students thinking of taking? I was thinking of doing physics 1BB3 and biochem 2EE3 but not really sure yet. Also how does 2J03 work? does it not matter whether you get a 90 or a 60 in the course? and it doesn't count towards your CA right?

Lol I think you're going to want to pick electives with a lighter courseload. Second year is tough. I took math 1LT3 in second semester.

2J03 is a pass/fail course so no, you don't get a mark, which IMO is stupid. They say it's a "mastery/fail" course, which means 90+ or higher to pass, but really just show up to "lectures", do what's expected of you and you'll be fine. It doesn't count towards your CA.

^ I heard that Biochem 2EE3 is a very easy course

Originally Posted by swarly

^ I heard that Biochem 2EE3 is a very easy course

A few transfers from my year took it in second year and they really hated it. I think it's only easy in the sense that all you do is memorize what's on the slides, but that's assuming you have the time to memorize everything. Second year will take up a lot of your time, so I'm not sure that taking a course that's so time-consuming would be the best idea.

Can any of you comment on the difficulty of HTH SCI 2F03 and 2FF3? Should I avoid taking it if I can? (I'm in a specialization). Also can you rank your second year courses in terms of difficulty? That would be useful too.

Thanks so much .

The anatomy courses will be a ton of work I think but they look to cool to pass up!

Originally Posted by Galleria

Can any of you comment on the difficulty of HTH SCI 2F03 and 2FF3? Should I avoid taking it if I can? (I'm in a specialization). Also can you rank your second year courses in terms of difficulty? That would be useful too.

Thanks so much .

For 2F03/2FF3 I think the difficulty lies in the amount of content as well as the time needed to do well in those courses. The content itself is relatively straightforward, but there's an overwhelming amount of content you need to know. It also doesn't help that along with knowing the content on the slides, you need to be very familiar with the specimens in the anatomy lab for the bell-ringer during the final exam. Many people found that they had to spend a lot of time in the anatomy lab just going over specimens to make sure they truly knew the material. The bell-ringer should not be underestimated; it's relatively difficult, especially if you're experiencing it for the first time. I can't advise you on whether or not to avoid it; a lot of health scis in specializations took it and did well. I guess it depends on whether you enjoy anatomy or not.

In terms of ranking the difficulty, that's a little hard to do because some courses are traditional lecture style, while others are PBL so they're not exactly comparable. And then you have those courses which are difficult solely because the profs don't know what they're doing (stats). And of course difficulty is subjective, some people found anatomy to be easy.

If I had to rank the courses generally (taking into consideration time, amount of content, difficulty of content etc.) I would say...2D06/2F03>2FF3>2A03>2G03>2 K03>2J03

One thing to note though, my cell bio prof was considered to be the "easiest" one and that's why I ranked the course so low in terms of difficulty.

Originally Posted by Galleria

Can any of you comment on the difficulty of HTH SCI 2F03 and 2FF3? Should I avoid taking it if I can? (I'm in a specialization). Also can you rank your second year courses in terms of difficulty? That would be useful too.

Thanks so much .

I would say that other than Inquiry (2D06) and possibly Cell Bio (2K03) depending on your group/section, that Anatomy (2F03/2FF3) were the most difficult courses. The material wasn't necessarily hard but there was a great time commitment and the testing-style (bell-ringer) required a great deal of effort to prepare for.

However, they were definitely the most interesting courses I had during the year and they were well-taught throughout. I would recommend taking them if you have even the slightest interest in the material because there are some amazing profs and working with cadavers to reinforce your learning is an amazing experience.

I have heard of people in specializations waiting until 3rd/4th year to take them (because 2nd year tends to be the hardest) so that's something you could consider. I also knew people who took them during 2nd year and they made it through in the end, although I'm sure it was pretty stressful at times.