Hi I’m currently in Grade 12 and my goal is to go to medical school (straight med school, not nursing, not med or something etc.). I’m trying to decide between the following programs and would really appreciate experience from current students, especially those who are also aiming for med school.
1)How would you rank these programs (top 3) for increasing the chances of getting in for someone applying through OUAC?
2)Would you choose these for the best preparation for med school (relevant coursework, flexibility with electives, time for extracurriculars, etc.)?
1)Health Sciences This is currently my top choice since it’s a clear pre-med pathway.
2)Life Sciences I would likely specialize in Biology, Biochemistry, or Neuroscience. Also, there’s no supplementary application and admission is based purely on grades, and about 1,000 students get in.
Concerns: The cutoff is very high (around 95%). If my average falls to 1-2% below, how much of a disadvantage would that be?
Question: If I fall a few marks below the cutoff, how badly does that affect my chances or my experience in the program?
3)Honours Integrated Science Only about 65 students are admitted, and the specialization options that interest me are Biology or Neuroscience.
Concerns: The small class size makes admission very competitive, and it limits my specialization options.
4)Kinesiology I know it’s a solid pre-med route and many students go on to med school from it.
Concern: I’m not particularly interested in the Kinesiology courses like idk I feel like i wanna do more cell biology or bio or organ what is happening inside organ, the chem behind it like inside human body rather than bone, muscle, joints etc. Not saying it is bad but idk I feel like i like more human body exposed study like Biology. Has anyone been in a similar situation and still found the program worthwhile?
5)Chemical & Physical Sciences Gateway Similar to Life Sciences in that it leaves a lot of room to specialize later.
Concerns: Only about 100 spots, so admission is competitive. I’m also unsure whether I’ll take Physics next semester (leaning toward not taking it).
6)Medical Radiation Sciences From what I can tell, first-year classes overlap a lot with Health Sciences, Life Sciences, and Kinesiology, with some Radiation-specific courses mixed in. Not sure how this compares as a pre-med pathway.
7)Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences (iBioMed) – Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering stream This would require taking Physics. what I’m not considering, but it feels more engineering-focused than pure pre-med. Is this still a reasonable route if my main goal is medical school?
I’m feeling quite torn between these options and would really appreciate any honest opinions or rankings from current students. Thank you!