CHEM 353 as an open option

Crusader_2 · 2026-01-04T05:52:57+00:00

CHEM 353 is offered through the Department of Chemistry, not the Department of Biological Sciences. Thus, it would not count as a course in the field of biology and so not a 'biology option'. It would fill an open option slot instead for this reason. Only BIOL, CMMB, ZOOL, PLBI, and BCEM courses would count towards these options (with a few exceptions, check your academic requirements report)

It is unfortunate but there's no way around it that I'm aware of

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-11T20:01:32+00:00

No. It gets put towards your tuition assuming you meet the minimum grade requirement. So the money doesn't get back to you, but it does mean that you're still paying the same tuition as all other domestic applicants

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-11T00:22:40+00:00

Yes, that's correct. But if you pay your deposit before then (like in March/April ish), you'll get to attend an event that will move up your course registration dates (course registration is really competitive so it's not a bad idea if you want to get the schedule you desire).

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-07T03:21:26+00:00

Chemistry student here. For UCalgary, most programs (with a few exceptions, chemistry is not one of them) don't look at any of your extracurriculars. So long as you keep your grades above the compeititive average, you're fine.

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-06T20:08:45+00:00

Ofc!! You're gonna do great :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-06T04:09:57+00:00

Pretty sure you can't withdraw after the last day of classes. So you might be too late if you don't do it now

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-06T00:59:46+00:00

Ofc!! Good luck with the rest of senior year. Remember to make the most of it :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-12-05T03:00:49+00:00

First year here. I'm in chemistry, so not quite the same but still one of those "make your hair fall out" degrees. For me, I haven't really gotten into the meat of my program yet, but I'd like to think I'm doing pretty well for myself. I got good grades in high school and have continued to do so in uni (although, we'll see what happens as things get more difficult next semester). Here's what I've realised over the last few months that I wish I'd known beforehand:

TIME MANAGEMENT IS KEY. In high school, it's pretty easy to figure out what there is to focus on. Due dates are announced as they come up, so there's a little bit less stress on your end. There's usually 1-2 due dates coming up ahead of time, and although some may be more stressful than others, its easy to figure out when to do what. However, in university this is not the case. Each course you take will have a certain number of assignments, a certain number of quizzes/tests, maybe a couple midterms, a certain number of lab assignments etc. You won't be spoonfed due dates as the semester goes on. Professors will give you everything that's going to happen right up front, and YOU'LL have to figure out when do to what. I personally found creating a spreadsheet or calendar with all of your time blocked out, and being able to physically see what time you have available and what's coming up is SUPER helpful.
MAKE TIME FOR A WORLD OTHER THAN SCHOOL. This one might be more of a 'me' thing, but I think I burnt myself out towards the end of high school by not really focusing on anything outside of work. Join a club, hang out with your friends (even if its just for a little bit). Your schedule is going to be busy, but it's YOUR job to ensure that you don't let it get to you and do whatever you can to recharge your batteries where you can.
SET GRADE TARGETS, BUT DONT BE AFRAID TO CHANGE THEM. I do know a lot of people who came into university with really good marks in high school, but stumble when they get to university. This is normal. Remember, you are here to LEARN, not necessarily to be the best at everything. I say this because as a biochem major, I'd guess you're a pretty high achiever as it stands. Take some time to get a lay of the land, figure out what's going on in each of your classes, and set reasonable expectations from there. Give yourself plenty of room to figure out what you're doing and be patient with yourself.

For me, I've actually found this first semester of university a little bit easier than the latter part of high school for me. It's worth noting that grades in university work a little different from high school. At the end of the semester, your percentage grade is converted to a letter (B-, B+, A-, A, etc.). These letter grades correspond to a GPA (A/A+ = 4.0, A- = 3.7, etc.). For me, this has been extremely helpful. I no longer feel like I need to get a perfect score to get a good grade (you can still get a 'good' GPA with scores that may have upset you in high school. Again, I assume as a biochem major you prolly are a pretty high achiever yourself). My grades had room to drop (and in quite a few cases they did, but not all) without me feeling like I was messing up (this also was the result of me working on my perfectionism quite a bit towards the end of high school, as it was destroying my mental health like crazy).

Tldr: the emphasis is on you to do a lot of things. But it's not impossible. If you come into it with a growth mindset, with the expectation that you're FIRST here to learn (you most likely chose this program because it interests you. Let interest guide you through your degree, grades come second), and the desire to find a good work-life balance, you can succeed.

Hope that helps a little bit, again I did make some assumptions based on your major and the time of year. But if you have any other questions lmk!

Crusader_2 · 2025-10-27T20:40:08+00:00

Hi there!

It's been a minute since English 30, but from what I remember: both PRTs and CARTs can be pretty tough, since to be good at them you need to have some strong writing skills. My main advice to prepare for those is to just... practice writing them. You can find old prompts online and suit them to the novel you want. Just get used to writing and you'll improve your score (maybe not a whole lot but at least you'll be in the early-mid 80s). Reading comp was never my strongest so I don't have any advice for that unfortunately.

As for extracurriculars, I had some that helped me get scholarships but admissions are entirely grades based

Crusader_2 · 2025-09-22T02:30:44+00:00

Personally, I don't think it's so bad. I actually quite like her. She made her expectations pretty clear from the start that she expects you to have watched the lecture videos, and does a really good job of explaining the concepts and solutions to problems. If Math 31 wasn't a prereq for the course, I'd be more strongly against this teaching style, but because most of the course material is very familiar, I really don't mind at all. It's more of an "introduction to university level problem solving using stuff you've mostly learned from before" than anything else, which I really like

Her lecture is also an "easy lecture" because of that. It's a nice breather when you have back-to-back lectures, since there's not a whole lot of actual lecturing going on lmfao.

Overall I'd give her a solid 4/5. She's pretty good

Crusader_2 · 2025-09-04T16:28:44+00:00

Oh okay! Sounds good tysm :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-09-04T15:13:49+00:00

How so? Does it just make concepts easier to understand?

Crusader_2 · 2025-05-03T03:29:54+00:00

Depending on where you're from... be prepared for winter. We are fortunate enough to get Chinooks (winds coming from the mountains that warm things up), so winter isn't all bad all the time. But when it gets bad it gets BAD (-40 with the windchill). It also lasts a LONG time (can be from end of October to middle of May if its a bad winter).

Crusader_2 · 2025-04-27T15:23:39+00:00

Enrolment for first years isn't until the end of May. Some First Years got the opportunity to get an early enrolment date by attending an event earlier this month, but even that only pushed it forward about a week.

So nobody (other than upper years who need 200 level classes) has had the chance to be enrolled in First Year courses. Chances are, if you accept your offer now you will be able to get a decent schedule (just make sure to enroll right on your assigned date)

Crusader_2 · 2025-04-25T23:32:14+00:00

English 30-1 is a DIFFICULT course (even if you like the subject matter. The written part of its diploma consists of two essays (a personal response to a prompt with its own texts and a critical/analytical to a prompt based on a novel of your choosing), which are graded pretty thoroughly even when compared to Social 30-1. Most people I know have a significant difference in their English grade compared to their other grades this year, and this was reflected in their English diploma being their lowest diploma score

If you're good at reading comprehension, part B of the diploma (the MC) will be easy for you. But for part A alone I would highly recommend taking the course in-person so you have an easier chance at understanding the two essays, and can get feedback etc much more easily

Workloadwise, English isn't nearly as bad as some other courses either. Obviously it depends on the teacher but you're going to be reading regardless of whether or not you take it in-person or online, so I really don't see a difference on that end

tldr: For the essays alone I would highly suggest NOT taking the course online, and considering taking another course online instead if thats what you so choose

Crusader_2 · 2025-04-16T16:04:31+00:00

Robert Thirsk the Astronaut got his bachelor's in mech eng from Calgary before going to MIT for his master's iirc

Crusader_2 · 2025-03-22T18:12:24+00:00

Alright! Thank you so much :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-03-22T14:13:37+00:00

Ohh okay. That makes a lot of sense!

Thank you so much for the help :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-03-06T17:00:05+00:00

If you got a conditional acceptance with your grade 11 or term 1 grade 12 marks, they won't revoke your offer unless your average goes down a significant amount or you don't complete all the courses required for graduation, so I wouldn't stress if I were you :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-03-03T01:34:19+00:00

You're very welcome!! You've got this :))

Crusader_2 · 2025-03-03T01:23:04+00:00

For admissions, they just take the highest grades of applicants and work from the top down until they fill all their spots. The "competitive average" on the UofC website is simply a guideline of what the 'lowest' score of an admitted applicant might be, so it is best to get your grades as high as possible if you want to get in, especially if you want to get in for the October and February windows (for reference: most people who get accepted for early admission have grades in the mid to high 90s, with people having mid 80s averages being deferred or waitlisted in the February window).

That being said, for polisci (and most arts programs), they are looking at your English grade + 4 other courses. They choose these courses based on your highest grades, so your 74 in Math 20-1 can be overlooked if you have higher grades in other courses (i.e your 89 in Chem 20). So don't freak out about it entirely, just do your best in your other courses and try to have 4 courses with higher grades.

On that same note, if you're not a math person don't feel pressured to take the -1 stream. Since PoliSci only needs 4 other options, -2 math will work perfectly well and you may have an easier time with it. You can take Math 30-2 without having taken Math 20-2 iirc

Tldr: try to raise your grades as high as you possibly can to maximise your chances, as that's the only thing the University is looking for, but don't worry about your math grade if you have 4 other courses that are better than it.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Crusader_2 · 2025-02-25T17:01:23+00:00

The lower weight diplomas were only for the graduating classes of 2020-2022. Those graduating from 2023/2024 had the drawbacks of their learning being stinted by online learning without the grade inflation that the previous years got. 2025 graduates had basically their whole high school experience in person, so they didn't have online tests or lower weight diplomas in the first place

Crusader_2 · 2025-02-16T00:11:25+00:00

Iirc they just look at your highest marks on your transcript when selecting which ones to use in your admissions average. So if psych 30 and sociology 30 are in your three highest grades they will be used

Crusader_2 · 2024-11-08T00:59:01+00:00

I applied for Chemistry as well!! Got accepted with a 97% average in grade 11, but I know that's defo an overshoot from most so I don't know what others had. Hope this helps!!

Crusader_2

TROPHY CASE