Hello,

I am currently a student at Western who is interested in transferring into the Mcmaster health science program this year. I was wondering if anyone on these forums who is a current transfer student could provide me with additional information.

What criteria do they base this admission on?
Do they tend to accept more people from their own university before looking at other unis?
What percent average should I be aiming for to have a very good shot of getting into this program?
Do they still consider high school marks?
Do they look at your EC's?
And do they contact the references you provided them with?
What is the general type of student who get accepted as a transfer?

The curriculum for biomedical science is alot more rigourous than the life science program in first year, thus does mcmaster take that into consideration when make admission decisions.

Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks

grades and your supplementary app. they look at both. But you need a good supp. app to have a good chance.
I think they look at all applications equally. not sure.
a very good shot? 90+, a good shot: 80+. impossible <70
no high school marks.
no EC's, unless you write about it in your supplementary app.
I have no idea. doubt it.
One with good grades and a great supplementary app.

to your last question, think before you write. the answer is no anyways.

Thanks for your quick response.By the last statement, I have friends int he life sciences program and there courses seem undoubtfully easier. I looked at the material they are expected to know and compared it against my own. And there is a DEFINITE difference between the coures we have to take. I am in no means putting down the program.

As with any program, grades are grades. There is no way to rank courses in terms of difficulty so that if you get X grade in Y class it translates to A grade in B class...

Okay fair enough. Now for the two references, is it possible to put down a highschool teacher and one professor?

I don't think references are a huge deal.

It's more of a flag than anything else.

I'm curious as to why you want to transfer, I know a lot of people in medical science at western and they love it.

Originally Posted by offlimits

Okay fair enough. Now for the two references, is it possible to put down a highschool teacher and one professor?

Perhaps you'd like to ask these questions to the BHSc office directly, since it would be horrible if we screwed you up by giving you the wrong answer that we're not sure about. They are very nice people.

They also reply very promptly and you can contact [email protected]

I want to transfer because originally i came to western for business and took my first two years in science before ivey began. However, i quickly discovered that i do not like business one bit but much rather enjoy science. McMaster health science would have been where I wanted to go if I did not want to pursue business last year.

Originally Posted by offlimits

I want to transfer because originally i came to western for business and took my first two years in science before ivey began. However, i quickly discovered that i do not like business one bit but much rather enjoy science. McMaster health science would have been where I wanted to go if I did not want to pursue business last year.

Weird, I'm completely the opposite. Don't enjoy science (I'm in life sci) as much as I originally had hoped for, and now I'm planning to work for a couple of years after undergrad then pursue an MBA in the states.

Just as a note though: the MAC Health Science program focuses less on "core" science (i.e. Bio, Chem, Physics) if that's what you're looking for. However, I'm pretty sure you would be able to specialize/minor in a certain area.

Well Im more interested in the medical aspect becoming a doctor more than just the core sciences at the moment. I have always had a strong underlying interest in Medicine. I just let my perception of business skew my vision some sort.

Originally Posted by offlimits

Well Im more interested in the medical aspect becoming a doctor more than just the core sciences at the moment. I have always had a strong underlying interest in Medicine. I just let my perception of business skew my vision some sort.

then Health Sci is for you.

I may be able to help. I was also a Western student, and I transferred to the BHSc program here at Mac (I then transferred out again -- go figure).

What criteria do they base this admission on?
Marks and supplementary application. The academic requirements in terms of marks are not as stringent as those for high school applicants (the minimum is a B+ or 77% rather than 90%). They take into account the fact that marks may drop during the shift from high school to university. That said, high marks will certainly not hurt you.

The main focus is on your supplementary application. When you make the grade cutoff, the supplementary application makes your breaks you. Try your best to be honest, insightful, and humble.

Do they tend to accept more people from their own university before looking at other unis?
Possibly. I was one of only 2 out of 20 transfer students that were not from Mac. It could be that fewer non-Mac students applied. I don't think they would actively discriminate though; they genuinely want the best students for the program, no matter where they are from.

What percent average should I be aiming for to have a very good shot of getting into this program?
Like I said above, try to get above the cutoff (80% minimum would be nice) but definitely focus more on your supplementary application. Like, start writing it now.

Do they still consider high school marks?
No.

Do they look at your EC's?
You can mention them in your application if you feel they will help you.

And do they contact the references you provided them with?
It is possible, though you shouldn't be worried if you're being honest.

What is the general type of student who get accepted as a transfer?
There's no good answer to this. Try to be honest when writing your application. If you don't get in, don't feel too bad. There is always an element of luck with these sort of things; some people get in that shouldn't, and some people don't get in that should. It's a human (i.e. imperfect) selection process.

Roke- if you dont mind me asking, what was your average when you applied. And also why did you transfer out of the program?

Your post was very helpful though- thank you for your response.