I Survived First Year in a Pandemic: Medical Sciences at Western University— What To Expect in Your Five Online Courses
In this article, I detail what to expect in your five online courses in first year science. To read about Strategies for Academic Success and how Covid-19 affected Campus Life, click here.
In first year, you are required to take 4.0 credits with 1.0 elective space. What does this mean? Well, let me break down the required courses for you.
Biology 1001 & 1002 (0.5 credits each) — one course taken per semester
These two biology courses are mandatory for progression in the Medical Sciences and majority of General Sciences Programs. These courses cover a wide scope of material such as evolution, DNA replication, photosynthesis, disease genetics, and more. While there is some content overlap from high school, I caution you from taking these courses too lightly — the way you are tested in these courses is completely application based. This means that strictly memorizing the information will not achieve success. Exams were completely multiple choice, but the questions required in-depth knowledge and holistic understanding of the material taught. I struggled with these application-based multiple-choice questions and had to learn the best way to truly master the material. My tip: do as many mid-term and final exams as you can. This forces you to practice applying your knowledge and gets you accustomed to the tricky options in multiple-multiple questions. Do not be fooled — you are more prone to miss small details in multiple choice questions.
Chemistry 1301 & 1302 (0.5 credits each) — one course taken per semester
General chemistry consists of two parts. First semester, you will be introduced to some familiar concepts from high school and new concepts pertaining to characteristics of chemical bonds, shape, and movement. Second semester will be focused entirely on the mathematical components of chemistry, discussing concepts like pressure, acids and bases, and equilibrium. In my experience, I found chemistry much harder second semester because although mathematical questions are practice heavy, chemistry is not as straightforward. Chemistry requires in depth knowledge of core concepts. The biggest key to success is to keep on top of your schedule — including homework and extra practice. Since everything is asynchronous, it is crucial that you do not fall behind. Do not expect to receive the same questions from the homework on the exams. These courses want to ensure you can problem solve, which means you need to be equipped with core understanding to approach novel situations. Do as many past finals as you can, do the homework questions using different strategies, and practice teaching yourself the same material in different ways.
Calculus & Math Course of Choice (0.5 credits each) — one course taken per semester **
For progression in Medical Sciences and majority of General Sciences programs, students are required to take at least one calculus course. Most take Calculus 1000 — you will cover topics like derivation, optimization, and new topics like integration. In second semester, you can choose between another calculus course (where Calc1301 is focused entirely on more integration, and Calc1501 is focused entirely on proofs) or Applied Mathematics 1201 that focuses on biological applications of calculus, probability, and statistics. I took the latter. Previous years had told me that Math1201 was much easier than Calc1000, but I disagree. In my experience, Applied Mathematics was much harder than Calc1000, as I struggled at times with conceptualizing the meaning behind straightforward math. While Calc1000 was a “plug and chug” course, Applied Math required in-depth conceptualization and understanding. Once I had that down, it was overall very interesting — I would recommend it to anyone who would like to see how mathematics can be applied to population structure, trends, and research! Evaluate yourself: do you understand WHY the equations you’re plugging and chugging work? If you can answer this question, then math simply becomes a matter of practice. If you cannot answer this question, I advise you to confront TAs at online office hours and to watch YouTube resources. As someone who has not taken Calc1301 or Calc1501 (but have watched my friends struggle), I can’t say if those courses would necessarily be better or worse — I would advise you to critically evaluate your own strengths and interests after first semester ends.
Physics 1028 & Physics 1029 (0.5 credits each) — one course taken per semester **
Ah, physics. What a joyous time — sike. For me, physics was the most emotionally and academically exhausting course. I had absolutely zero physics background from high school, so everything I learnt this year was completely new. My friends told me that Physics1028 was almost entirely review from high school, but ironically, I did better in Physics1029. I credit this towards my change in study methods, again focusing on the in depth understanding of core concepts. Prerecorded lectures are not enough. Even doing every single textbook problem is not enough. I was not satisfied with my work first semester, and I felt as though I didn’t learn much. Second semester, I took advantage of the free learning resources available on the internet. After watching lectures, I watched Khan Academy videos pertaining to the specific topic. Then, I did every problem attached to that chapter in the textbook — the ranging difficulties helped me learn, apply, and identify what I’m lacking. You will see overlap from high school material, such as kinematics, magnetism, and Newton’s laws. You will also be introduced to interesting new material such as fluids, electrostatics, and rotational motion. Make sure you go to any live or synchronous component available, as experiments done by your professors will aid your conceptual understanding.
** Note there are other equivalent courses available to fulfill the physics and math credits. Physics 1028 & 1029 are the physics courses I took, and the differences in course content between the equivalent options is minimal (from what my peers who took the other courses have told me). More information on course specifics can be found here: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/bmsc/academic_resources/courses/course_selection/year_1.html
Now, you’ll see these required courses are only 4.0 out of 5.0 credits required in an academic year. You can either choose to take a yearlong elective (1.0 credits) or two electives that span a semester long each (0.5 credits each). I took Psychology 1000 (1.0 credits), and that was entirely a memorization course in contrast to the logic heavy required courses. Take electives that you think you will enjoy and do well in, since first year is already pretty packed!
Summary
That’s a wrap on your five online courses! A key takeaway you should keep in mind is that university will be much more difficult than high school, but doable if you are open to adapting your habits. Read up on the different courses offered in first year, and start planning what the best options will be for you. I hope you have a better idea of what to expect in your first-year course load!
If you want to know more about Strategies for Academic Success, click here.
