Well, I hate to admit it, but...

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...their faculty sweatshirts (the class of 2014 ones, in particular) look cooler than ours.

Originally Posted by 3am Coffee

But the badge of pretentiousness you receive upon becoming a health sci student is pretty neat.

Originally Posted by crazyfree

Frankly it's the only reason I'm in the program. It's a great accessory.

I sold mine for cash because now I'm a homeless person in downtown Hamilton.

As a former Health-sci Reject, I can proudly say that I'm happy I ended up in life science. We end up taking most of the same courses they do anyway, but the difference is that we're not forced into seeing everything from a narrow perspective like healthcare. We're free to explore all areas of science.

People often ask me what I "do" in life science.. it's kind of hard to explain to people that we just do general science (in first year anyway). I'm tempted to just say "everything" xD

I got rejected around this time last year too, and I remember having the EMPTIEST FEELING IN MY STOMACH for the next week (I also ate like 100 Drumstick Bars and sat at home and watched Friends...pretty therapeutic if you asked me)
we were also doing a gel electrophoresis lab in class when I found out, and I kinda stopped paying attention, haha...everything became kinda slow-motion. after that, my marks pretty much went down from there (kind of disappointing, and stupid, but I couldn’t help it, I had just suffered the biggest blow in a WHILE and I wasn’t sure how I was going to recover from it. lots of people I knew sucked it up and were much better at handling in than I was...don’t know what was wrong with me)
and when I accepted Life Sci, I thought to myself...
“second choice, not bad, not bad, but am I going to feel jealous when I meet people next year and they say ohhh i’m in health sci, how about you?”
not going to lie, for the first couple of weeks, I definitely felt that way. i kept asking myself “why them, and not me?”
till I realized how stupid I was that I kept getting down on myself.
despite not getting in, and no matter how much I wanted it, i realized that nothing was going to change the rejection. i’d also insert some religious comforting storyy here but I don’t know how well that will go with other readers so forget about it

long story short, I got to McMaster and YES, I found myself getting kind of jealous but that died down after a while. just told myself “work hard and just be the best you can be (cheesy I know but totally true)”

i’m happy with the decision I made to stick to McMaster anyways, and come to Life Sci, instead of going to McGill ArtSci / Sci (I was doubting my decision before the May 28th final decision day) it’s actually a pretty good program, and if you work hard it isn’t that difficult to do well.
(hated M03 bio but that was about it )

THE PROGRAMS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, though...your first year at Mac Life Sci will be lots of general science stuff...but it is VERY straightforward, so if you sit down and study what they tell you to study, you’ll do perfectly fine. health sci has more inquiry and group work, so you know that for life sci, it’s all in YOUR OWN hands, and it’s more individual (pro or con? Ill leave that up to you to decide)
I’m not going to lie and pretend that I still didn’t apply for 2nd year transfer (health courses just appeal more to me than general life sciences)
but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy my program and that I desperately want to leave.even if I do get accepted, I’ve got some decisions to make as to whether or not health sci suits me, because I’ve gotten used to my program already.
and if I don’t get accepted, I definitely won’t be as disappointed as last year, because I know the program i’m in, at the end of the day, leaves the same doors opened for me.
just have to work hard, and you’ll do fine.

that’s my two cents. you’re not alone in how you feel, and that might not feel too comforting at the moment, but things will get better
-Proud Life Sci-er

Originally Posted by tacobits

as the title mentioned, I just got rejected to health sci...
guess im going to accept mac's life sci now

still, i feel like such a loser atm
anyone want to make me feel better by stating the pros of going into life sci?
as in, personal experiences?

Who are you? Kathryn Middleton that somone would want to make you feel better about yourself. Are you mfattal's sibling?

Oh, and here's another thing that annoys me. For some reason there's a belief that only the health sci students worked their butts off to get into the program. What about us rejects? We worked just as hard, have just as many extra curriculars to boast about and etc. Just cause they were accepted, does not make them harder-working, more intelligent or better students. I hate running into those health scis who seem to think that they're the only ones taking school seriously.

here's my little story to hopefully cheer you up. I got accepted in to the health sci program but still chose life sci and i am extremely happy with my decision. First year I kept on thinking that I might have made the wrong decision by coming to life sci because it was very general but 2nd year fixed everything. I found that first year life sci really helped broaden my perspective on science and choosing biochem has definitely been the best decision i have ever made.

So there are people out there who do reject health sci offers (as i know my friend also did the same) and opt for other programs...so its not a big deal that you didn't get in. Just stay positive and you'll realize that health sci was probably not for you!

life sci is a more challenging program anyway

Originally Posted by ooburii

Oh, and here's another thing that annoys me. For some reason there's a belief that only the health sci students worked their butts off to get into the program. What about us rejects? We worked just as hard, have just as many extra curriculars to boast about and etc. Just cause they were accepted, does not make them harder-working, more intelligent or better students. I hate running into those health scis who seem to think that they're the only ones taking school seriously.

Definitely agree! I'm certain a great deal of Life Science students achieved above 90+ in high school (not that that's a very big achievement).

I applied to Health Sciences twice and was rejected both times. It was a real bummer getting rejected the second time, as I had written very meaningful and personal essays. Now, I'm actually happy that I didn't get accepted. Health Sciences students certainly do get some perks (the teacher-student interaction being the greatest, IMO), but they don't get to choose from the large variety of specialisations that Life Sciences students get to choose from. I really love my program. I have so many courses to choose from, and all the ones that I've taken so far have been intellectually stimulating. My friends in Health Sciences were actually impressed when I told them about the courses that I was taking, indirectly acknowledging that I had a heavier courseload and wishing me luck with my studies. In addition, my major is relevant to my field of interest. I'm not just limiting myself to medicine or another health-related career. If you love science like I do, and are not just taking it to get into medical school, you will be happy in the Life Sciences program.

One additional benefit of not being in Health Sciences: more individual work, less group work. I bet Health Sciences has it fair share of pompous windbags; can you imagine having to deal with people who act as if they're already in medical school?

I also applied for health sci in 1st year and unfortunately got rejected. I accepted Life Sci and although at the beginning, i was very irritated by its generalness, I am extremely happy for it. I have to say, when I applied to health Sci, I completely closed my eyes with my only goal being getting into med school. Life Sci has made me appreciate science for science and not as a means into medical school. Ironically, it has also shown me my appreciation and love for humanities and social sciences. I did really well in Life Sci and had the opportunity to reapply for health sci (I show the application questions and had some great answers to it) but I didn't. I am really glad I didn't actually. Now, I have applied for Psychology and can honestly say that getting rejecting from health sci was a blessing in disguise.

P.S. If you goal is medical school, health sci is probably your easiest ticket in. However, as you'll probably discover, there is more to you than the doctor wanabe.

can you imagine having to deal with people who act as if they're already in medical school?[/quote]

Happens all the time...so friggin annoying.

Originally Posted by lux

1. Grade inflation in Ontario creates an uneven playing field, so saying that having high marks in high school gives them a sort of entitlement is unfair.

All highschools in Ontario do not have an grade inflation, mind you.

Originally Posted by herBs

All highschools in Ontario do not have an grade inflation, mind you.

But the uneven playing field is there. I'm confident that it is easier to achieve a 90 in some schools than others.

Originally Posted by particle

But the uneven playing field is there. I'm confident that it is easier to achieve a 90 in some schools than others.

I wish I was in one of those schools than.
If Canada, it occurs in every other country as well where there is a similar education system.

Originally Posted by herBs

I wish I was in one of those schools than.
If Canada, it occurs in every other country as well where there is a similar education system.

Point is, high school marks don't really mean anything.

Tons of people in first year got 90s in chem, bio, math, etc. But during exams they couldn't even do simple things like calculate moles, derive, etc. Some schools you actually have to work for a 90, but there's really no standardization across the board. So someone could have gone to an easy school, dicked around, and still manage to get a 95 average.