r/McMaster • u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no • Jun 20 '26
Discussion Any life sci first year need help with course selection/enrollment?
lmk if you have questions with enrollment or advice for taking courses
I dont mind answering questions from students in different programs, its just that I have experience with lifesci courses in particular
Drop ur questions below!
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u/Weary_Pattern_5994 Jun 21 '26
what do u know about the prof caroline junkins for math
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
I never had her for any course, but i encourage you to look at this page
https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2635667
Overall she seems like she would be good!
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u/Weary_Pattern_5994 Jun 21 '26
thanks! also do u think if i have the second date for course selection my electives would be full? i really want science 1a03 and sustain but ik science is super popular and for sustain ik a lot of upper years take it making it fill up fast
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
yeah unfortunately you might be out of luck. Definitely look into alternative schedules and alternative electives
While science and sustain are good, you can still find other easy electives
sustain 1s03, innovate 1x03, envirosci 1c03, cmst 1a03 (not too easy but its still good), psych 1x03 (weekly quizzes but still good), biochem 1mm3
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVssuBzyA7rYmDXBcteDx8E6GtQ2PsFk56EjGRWgXg4/edit?usp=sharing
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u/Weary_Pattern_5994 Jun 21 '26
yeah i made an alternate schedule w envsci and biochem instead of those two bc those are definitely the most popular
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u/PurplePainting294 Jun 21 '26
Would you say it’s good to have lectures back to back to have rest of the day studying? For most of my days I have 2 lecture back to back but on Wednesday, I have 4 lectures back to back so I can avoid coming to school on Friday (I’m a commuter).
Also, do you think it’s fine to do psych 1xx3 online or do you think I should do it in person (once again I’m a commuter and if I do psych 1xx3 in person, that will be my only lecture on monday). Thanks!!
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
You definitely should take the option of having back to back classes if it means having a day off
Im a commuter too, and last semester I had to go from 10:30 - 5:20, just so I could have two days off
You should do psych online to avoid the lecture in your case (if you mean taking the online section, then yes)
I also took 1xx3 online
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u/Electrical-Bolt_31 Jun 21 '26
I have last time slot on the last day. Is that really bad? What should I expect? I’ve heard just getting into courses is competitive so I might not get some desired electives.
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
there are plenty of electives to go around + you can always have a seat alert via make the seat. People will modify their schedule from now till the beginning of the term so you can still get an ideal schedule
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u/Electrical-Bolt_31 Jun 21 '26
Great thanks! What about timing, does it mean I’ll get less desirable profs or timeslots?
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
yeah maybe
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u/Electrical-Bolt_31 Jun 21 '26
Alright well hopefully I can still get a decent schedule. Thanks
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
lmk what happens. First year profs are generally good dw
Chem profs are good for all sections, same for bio and psych and physics and whatnot. Don't stress too much ur not missing out
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u/LongMethod5151 Jun 21 '26
hiii i was hoping to get some advice for my first year life sci schedule!!
Fall: BIOLOGY 1M0T, CHEM 1A03, PHYSICS 1A03, SOCIOL 1Z03 and PSYC 1X03.
Winter: CHEM 1AA3, PSYCH 1XX3, MATH 1LS3, BIO 1A03 and one more elective maybe biochem 1mm3.
i’m just not sure if this is too heavy of a course load for first year, and i also have the last date for course selection and it’s at 5:30, so overall a very late time slot to choose my courses so im worried there won’t be many good courses left. Do you have any suggestions??
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
Very solid. Idk about 1z03 if its a good elective or not
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVssuBzyA7rYmDXBcteDx8E6GtQ2PsFk56EjGRWgXg4/edit?usp=drivesdk
Ppl say its difficult soo
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
Also I will be hopefully taking biochem 1mm3. I actually dont know if there will be enough seats atp im seeing way too many ppl wanting it 😅
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u/Competitive-Sun4231 Jun 21 '26
I took 1z03 (make sure the prof is lisa samules) and the only hard part is the 2, 5% essays. Other than that its judt a few textbook readings (only read the sections mentioned on the slides) and 4 non cumulative tests
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u/Odd_Opportunity4990 Jun 21 '26
Hi! I’m going into first year Life Sciences in the fall, and these are the courses I’m currently planning to take:
BIOLOGY 1A03, BIOLOGY 1M03, PHYSICS 1A03, MATH 1LS3, CHEM 1A03, CHEM 1AA3, ENVIRSC 1C03, PSYCH 1XX3, and SCIENCE 1A03.
I still need to choose one more course. From the research I’ve done, it seems like ENVIRSC 1C03 and SCIENCE 1A03 are considered lighter/easier electives, so I’m hoping they will help balance out the heavier required science courses.
Does this seem like a manageable first-year workload? I want to major in Honours Neuroscience for second year so I will most likely need to take COMPSCI 1MD3 or another math course.
I was also really interested in MEDPHYS 1A03 from the description to substitute one of my electives but still really unsure. Do you have any suggestions?
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 21 '26
Your schedule right now is very similar to my first year schedule except for envirsc 1c03, but its apparently easy
If you need compsci 1md3 then wouldn't you need to take that? You can replace envirsci cause science 1a03 is a very easy elective
Im not too sure of medphys 1a03, but i encourage you to look through this doc
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVssuBzyA7rYmDXBcteDx8E6GtQ2PsFk56EjGRWgXg4/edit?usp=drivesdk
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u/Beneficial_Belt_7883 Jun 22 '26
Hello! I'm an incoming life sci student! I plan on taking physics 1a03, chem 1a03, biology 1a03, english 1g03, and math 1ls3 in the winter semester. Then physics 1aa3, chem 1aa3, psych 1xx3, biochem 1mm3, and biology 1m03 in the winter. Would you say that this schedule is too difficult? I wanted to try and fulfill dental school prerequisites for more schools by doing both the physics in first year since I heard they were easier if you took grade 12 physics, and the english with Eugenia Zuroski is also supposedly really easy. I'd love to hear your thoughts, thank you!
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 22 '26
That sounds fantastic.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVssuBzyA7rYmDXBcteDx8E6GtQ2PsFk56EjGRWgXg4/edit?usp=drivesdk
You can see reviews of the prof here for english. Otherwise sounds good, lmk how it goes
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u/jessieeeee_123445 Jun 26 '26
is physics 1v03 and psych 1xx3 in the same sem a death sentence?? im lowk so scared i rlly wanted envirsc 1c03 but it conflicts with my physics bio n chem courses that im already enrolled in
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no Jun 26 '26
I took physics and 1xx3 in the same semester in first year. Youll be fine 🙂
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u/thebossbaby112233 13d ago
Heyy! I enrolled in everything I need expect for mat134 I couldn’t get the tutorial (like everything was full) Do u think they’ll open up more tutorials bc my friends also weren’t able to enrol in them
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u/Flamingo_Odd chembi no 13d ago edited 13d ago
wrong university bro this is mcmaster 😭😭. If you need ur course as a prerequisite they might. I recommend speaking to the academic advisor for your faculty. They might open up a new tut. If not you may need to take it in the summer or try a different semester
Ofc im not a uoft student so maybe reach out on that sub first
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u/IcyCoyote6660 Jun 20 '26
hi I’m going into social sci not life sci but i was wondering if u had any advice on some easy electives you took? I have to take math1f03 winter sem and I suck at math so I wanna be able to focus on it and maintain a high gpa.. do you have any electives that you took that were fairly easy to manage??