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Health Science at Ontario Tech University
Joshua (Year 2)
What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.
The reason I chose Ontario tech university over other universities was for two main reasons. The first reason is the cost of living (dorm, student living, house cost) is extremely inexpensive compared to those of other places, and they offer good entrance scholarships. The second reason was that I didn’t want to go to school where I wouldn’t have opportunities. Ontario Tech University is a smaller school, which means the students that are willing to go above and beyond will be noticed unlike other schools which have thousands of students in one program. Having the smaller classes allows a more one on one approach of learning which I really enjoy. However, with that being that said, I would like to state for anyone going to the school or planning on going to school to make sure you seek out those opportunities, make sure you learn what clubs you want to join, look for things you enjoy (CERT- campus emergency response team is a great volunteer opportunity no one seeks out). And for those planning on having an amazing social first-year, living at an amazing campus and going to amazing O-Week, go to clubs, concerts and study at beautiful libraries... OTU just doesn’t have that. Campus life is nothing compared to those of UofT, Western, Queens etc. It just simply is a small university in Oshawa (not a lot of things to do there). But if you want to do well in your program, find great opportunities, and not feel lost among 1000’s of students, I would 100% recommend it.
What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.
Some things I wish I knew before I chose my program was that there are two main specializations. Human health science which is for the people who want to study the human body, the functions and processes. Public health science is for people who want to work in the healthcare industry and it is more focused on the industry instead of body. For those who want to pursue further education like chiropractor, masters, medical school or rehabilitation sciences, I would recommend you take human health science. However, most people in the program want to take human health science. There are only 48-50 spots based on GPA and only the most competitive can get into it. That is something I wish I knew, because I found that it is quite important. I got into it, but I know a bunch of students who did not and switched programs because of that. In terms of how the program is in terms of content and difficulty: it’s not too bad. A lot of memorization and test based classes and lab work. I found it was really enjoyable and a great program.
What was your favourite university experience?
My best university experience was honestly a bit of everything. I enjoyed playing stick and puck (hockey with no equipment), free skating, the gym, the food places, and the library, which is a great place to study. I enjoyed being part of CERT (campus emergency response team) as I met great people and found it rewarding helping others. Nothing really stands out but I have enjoyed my time there so far.
What was your least favourite university experience?
Worst was probably COVID-19 as everything closed down, went online and you kinda lost all of the university experience.
What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome any difficulties?
The hardest part was probably every anatomy and physiology class. However, my favourite class is what also makes the program difficult. The course is extremely demanding and you probably spend 30-40% of all your studying time on that class and 60% of it for the rest of your classes. Best studying method would be flash cards and once those are mastered, draw everything out on a white board. Start from one system to the next and how they function with each other. Teaching to friends and taking turns all work. Oh and coffee, lots of it! I coped with it by having great friends in my program and exercise (gym, skating and longboarding).
If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?
Favourite courses are:
Anatomy and physiology I
Anatomy and physiology II
Anatomy and physiology III
They are all connected so included them all but I just found it the most fun. However “info lit” was extremely easy and a solid A, just really boring in my opinion.