Honours vs. Major

[SensesFail]

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I'm having a huge dilemma choosing between an Honours or a Major program for undergrad. I know that Med Schools don't require Honours, although I'm sure its looks nice on the application. Also, I realize that most universities require an Honours degree if you wish to enter into post-bacc programs, i.e. Master's or PhD. I can't say that I would really enjoy working on a thesis during my senior year. I'm just worried that if I don't get accepted to a Med School I'll be somewhat lost. The only reason I'm considering doing Honours is just cause I think "it would look good" to adcoms and I know that that's not a very good decision. How many people here did Honours? Any stats on Medical school matriculants, on how many did Honours or Major in their undergraduate careers? Feeling confused and insecure since I have to pick 3rd year courses very soon. Advice appreciated.

 

[Code Brown]

The honours (Canadian eh?) is probably the way to go if you want to impress the Ivy schools. However, don't do that if it will affect your GPA. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[mikedc813]

I actually decided not to do an honors thesis because I thought it wouldn't help me get in. While in hindsight I realize that might have been a stupid decision at some level to not seriously consider doing a thesis, I still don't think that it plays heavily into whether you get in or not. None of my interviewers asked why I wasn't doing an honors thesis - it never came up. I was a bio major, so doing a thesis would have meant a lot of work and I'm definitely not a research-oriented type of person. I mentioned this in my interviews and they seemed to be happy with that, as not everyone loves research and that is ok. I made coordinating an afterschool ESL mentoring program for middle school kids my passion during college instead.

If doing the thesis will be torture for you, forget it - I don't think it's that important relative to everything else on your application. It's one of those long tedious projects that you will have to love in order to do well anyways, so there's no point unless you will enjoy it at some level. Just my own thoughts...

 

[monopolova]

Having or not having honors will not significantly affect your admissions either way. Period. 😀

Nah, just go with what you're most interested in; what program will cultivate those interests and help you out later on in life. That's all that is important.