So I was wondering if it would be possible for me to switch from Life Science over to Engineering next year. The reason for that is I don't want to risk not being able to enter med school later on which was the whole point that I enrolled in the program. I want to have a good backup plan as a Science degree will not do much if I am unable to enter post graduate studies. I was thinking of switching over to Engineering and taking courses that would also make me eligible to apply for med school and dentistry. Question is, would I have to start from Engineering I if I switch for next year? Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you

I'm not sure if you would have to take those courses but I think one thing you should definitely do while considering switching is to go to sci career services and talk about what's available jobwise.. that place is on the first floor of BSB right beside the associate dean's office..

I imagine it would depend on the courses you have already taken and if they correspond - you could talk to engineering student services in the end of the annex on the second floor of JHE - they're really nice and know a lot!!

One of my housemates is in life science and he is planning on applying to med school this year, so you may not have to switch at all. As for switching over to engineering, there are several first year courses you would not take in general science, so those would have to be taken before anything else. This technically puts you in first year engineering, but you will have the opportunity to be credited for electives and the like, you would just have to take the core courses of the stream you take (chem, mech, phys, etc). Best bet is to go visit JHE A-214, they are the most helpful people in engineering.

Good Luck, its too late to transfer now since the year is almost over. But you can apply next year for 1st year Engineering again. The chemistry will be credit for, the math and physics you took will not be accounted for as engineering math and physics.

Your choices are:

- if your gpa is above 10, stay in life sci and continue to ace your way through life sci till u get into med school... cuz if ur grade is above 10, u have quite a decent chance at med school and at any profession in the health science/science field.. btw, one good thing about life sci is that you don't bear that much workload so all this time can be devoted towards extra-curriculars

- if your gpa is somewhere from 8-9 AND you have a high confidence level, i would still stick to life sci and improve your gpa to 10 and above... but again thats only if you feel confident right now.

- if your gpa is anything below 8 or your confidence level is low, please come to engineering because your career opps in science will be dangerously low unless you want to become a school teacher or something... if you come to eng, you have greater career chances and that also right after you graduate.. and you get co-op experience too...

the choice is yours.

oh and if by chance, you do consider engineering, make sure you choose a program that you like and in which you can create time for extra curriculars. Also, biomedical eng or bio and chem eng or chem eng is a great choice for an engineer aspiring to be a doctor. This is because you get to take cellular bio in 2nd year and a total of 3 chem courses(orgos) over 4 years!

so essentially what this does is that you mix life sci with engineering.

Have you considered being a Physician Assistant? It seems like a great alternative to med school if you still want to do something in healthcare (as is nursing, pharmacy, physio, med. rad, etc... but thats besides the point =p). The program at Mac is 2 years long and you apply after your are done 2 years of school. Its a new program, so I would understand if you weren't so keen on pursuing it, but just putting the option out there. PA's work under the supervision of a doctor, but are allowed to diagnose, order tests, prescribe... and all that jazz.

Hey nino,

I'm actually a first year engineering transfer. Last year I was in Life Science but by the start of second term I decided that Med School wasn't right for me. I set my sights on engineering instead. I had to go see the first year Engineering counsellor Sally Williams and she told me that I had to attain a certain average and write a letter to the dean of engineering stating why I wanted to get into Engineering.

Since only some life science courses overlap with engineering I courses, I had to transfer to first year eng to complete the remaining courses. But at least that freed up some space for me to take 2nd year courses.

If you still want to get into med school, the BioMed Engineering program is a great choice. I think you complete all of the required med school courses by third year.

Anyways, I hope that helps.

Welcome to Engineering ! I must say Biomed has some high requirements, but overall great program.

hey,

i am in first year life sci, and i want to transfer into engineering too. i already talked to sally williams and she told me that i have to request consideration from the associate dean of engineering. i think i am supposed to have this letter done by the end of march, but i don't know what to say and how to put it, can anyone help me out on this? thanks in advance.
also i was wondering if i do get into engineering and into the chem and bioengineering program, would i also be able to do a minor?
And is the biomed program the same as the chem and bioeng program?

As far as I know, the only way to do a minor in engineering is either to stretch out your degree another year or so, or to take society, because we don't get many electives. If you do any of the bio streams (chem/bio or elec/biomed), you can't tack on society, so I doubt you'd be able to get a minor in anything without stretching out your degree or taking summer courses. Bio streams are LIKE a bio minor anyway. That's how I see it. But I am probably wrong on some counts.

what you can do is take chemical engineering or electrical engineering and society and in that society option, take biology focus electives... this way, you can do minor in bio and major in chemical engineering or electrical engineering...

thanks for that, it was relly helpful. For the society program, can your major be anything, like say i wanted to minor in a language like french, and french studies course would i be able to do that ?

Oh I forgot to mention a while ago that I decided not to switch out of Life Science.