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Kinesiology at University of Western Ontario
Kelly (Year 3)
@kell.wong
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.
I chose Western University because the kinesiology program is less physics-based compared to Waterloo, which was my second choice. In general, university is not like high school at all however, it can be more relaxed depending on what major you are in. Western University often offers many opportunities that you have to reach out too.
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.
Kinesiology is such a broad major and for someone like me who doesn’t know what they want to do in future, it’s great. My advice is to take first year as an opportunity to explore, but also look at future module prerequisites to plan ahead. It is okay not knowing which career field you want to pursue when you step into university. In addition, in my opinion, first year is easygoing but hard at the same time. It’s chill in the sense that it is the easiest year; but it’s hard because it’s a new environment and there are a lot of temptations that can cause your grades to slip off. University is really independent and it brings your productivity and study habits to the test. Do not slack off and fall off your grades and requirements, it’s going to be hard to climb back up.
What was your favourite experience at university?
My best experience at university was definitely having late night deep talks with my best friends while drinking soju and messing around with each other.
What was your least favourite experience at university?
First year was so hard for me as none of my high school friends were in my residence besides my roommate. Naturally, I tried really hard making friends but soon realized we were different types of people and that I didn’t want to associate myself with them at all. I was constantly sad and wondered why my social skills were so terrible. I blamed myself for not making any new friends at university... but in reality, I was just trying to be friends with people who were nothing like me.
What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome these hardships?
In the beginning of first year, I took Chem 1301 and I got horrible marks for both of my midterms. Originally I had planned to go into the BSc Modules, but I was constantly questioning and doubting myself due to my Chem 1301 mark. Eventually, I decided to drop my second semester Chemistry course (1302) and applied to the Arts modules for second year. During the summer of 1st year, I regretted my decision of dropping Chem 1302 because without the course, I couldn’t apply to the BSc module. Applying to BSc in 2nd year is more competitive than applying 1st year. After a lot of thinking and talking to upper years , I planned to work my way back and reapplied for BSc modules in second year. It was hard because I had to do a lot of planning with my electives/courses as I was behind in some mandatory courses. I studied a lot to ensure I received a good and competitive mark. My hard work paid off since I'm currently in the BSc module :)
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?
I did take electives, but my favourite courses were Physiology 1021 and Anatomy 2222. If you loved learning about the animal systems in high school, physiology and anatomy, these courses are for you!! In physiology, we studied almost every single part of the body and learned about how different parts work together to maintain homeostasis. Although a lot of fellow kin students found the course to be very heavy, I enjoyed it since physiology comes naturally to me. Anatomy 2222 was the first course where I was able to interact with plastic body parts. There was a mandatory bell-ringer exam for this course. We learned about every single bone and every single muscle within the body. I plan on taking the 3rd year anatomy course and the cadaver lab course in future years!
Additional Comments
Engage with the community and join Clubs first year! A lot of clubs look for first years, so don’t miss the opportunity!!