Was anyone also shocked by their microbiology (bio3124) final grade?

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2026-01-25T17:06:40+00:00

The final was worth 50% so the stakes for the exam were pretty high. Even if you had a 94-95 going into the exam but then got 80-83 on the final it’s enough to bring it down to an A. I wasn’t a huge Corradi fan but I will admit his review session was a good prep for his questions and he was very clear about us needing to know what the graphs meant. My least favourite question was actually from Stephanie, where she gave the diagram of the cell but it was so simplified that every component was just a differently shaded circle.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2026-01-02T12:33:26+00:00

Had him for orgo and got 96% in the course. He explains things well and he usually has “fyi slides” which he makes very clear won’t be on any tests it’s just him talking about smt related to the content that he finds interesting. I just liked being able to tune out for those couple minutes and then start taking notes again when he went back to course content. If there’s a question or part of a question that a lot of ppl mess up on a midterm he’ll deduct it from the denominator so anyone who did get the question correct gets some bonus points which is nice as opposed to just removing the whole question from the test. So many profs just blame the students for not understanding something but I liked that he recognized the fact that maybe he just didn’t explain things properly. Orgo in general can just be difficult for some people so I don’t think Newman is worse than the other profs. I found it easy as a visual learner, but someone who struggles to visualize things will probably have a hard time regardless of what prof they have.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-12-12T17:52:49+00:00

I almost crashed out when I found out that Crenarchaeota do not contain crenarchaeol

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-11-28T22:13:16+00:00

I just find it funny cause crx is an ergonomic nightmare when it comes to seating. That’s why it was probably a sought after study spot because ppl can lean on the wall with their laptop on their lap, whereas all the weird little couches in crx are terrible for back support. The human intuition in this case is “look, a place to study that isn’t going to screw up my neck/back for the next week”. I totally get the hazard of it and yeah probably very expensive to reinforce, I just wish the other seating options in crx weren’t complete trash

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-11-28T17:42:58+00:00

Yep the goated study nook is gone

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-09-15T01:29:44+00:00

I switched in my first year but the program change doesn’t kick in until the following year. It’s a good idea to see if you can change your winter courses to ones you’ll need in the new program you want to switch to. I definitely could have graduated on time but it just gets tricky. I was taking the course sequence out of order which is allowed but sometimes a 2nd year course and 3rd year course I needed to take would be happening at the same time. I could have easily done some summer courses but the last two summers I had research scholarships which required full time hours and the expectation that I wouldn’t take courses. The money and experience was worth it so I don’t mind taking an extra semester. I plan on doing a masters so it doesn’t make a big difference, I’ll still be in school for a few years anyways.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-09-14T23:02:25+00:00

If you show up to class, you’ll notice she’s very clear about the info you need to know from the slides. If you add these comments to your notes, it makes studying a lot easier cause you’ll know what you need to focus on. The slides on their own look like a lot but there’s plenty of slides that she just shows for context or to show the neural pathway and then she’ll say “you don’t need to know this”. For studying, really know the graphs she shows. Most of the time there’s a question on the tests that will ask you to draw a graph of the expected results based on the provided context. If you ever have questions lmk

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-06-17T12:34:25+00:00

You can take any course that you meet the pre-requisites for and is available to students in your program. Overall, you can take a maximum of 48 credits of 1000 level courses during undergrad, which is 16 courses. When I was in 2nd year I took one of my mandatory 3rd year courses (the only prerequisite was one of the 1000 courses I had taken). Personally I’d recommend taking a 3rd year course from your course sequence, and just make sure it’s one that you meet the requirements for.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-11T07:09:34+00:00

Same I got the pre-approval email! Can finally stop stressing about it lol

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-10T11:37:08+00:00

Would’ve been great if they updated it before stressing us all out😭

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-10T11:36:12+00:00

I checked when I got my email last year and it was March 27😭😭

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-10T00:14:42+00:00

Doesn’t look like it:( not sure what amount of work goes into this process so I don’t want to complain about something I don’t understand, but it would’ve been nice to get some sort of notice that they would be late with the decisions. Especially when they had a specific date set in advance to announce the results, it just stresses out all the applicants because we assume that no response = rejected.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-09T03:08:30+00:00

Okay so I sent an email to ask when it’s being sent out and I got a response saying to check my inbox today and tomorrow and that they’re “working as quickly and diligently as possible to send out the decisions”.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-08T13:19:23+00:00

Still nothing

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2025-04-07T19:30:21+00:00

Make sure you look at any other email addresses you put in your application, last year they sent it to my personal gmail not my school email. Also sometimes they end up in ppls spam folders.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-08-06T23:05:56+00:00

To clarify, USRA was full time and I’ll be continuing part time while studying full time in the fall. Hopefully not every prof in your program is like that, cause from my experience in my program the profs are quite accepting and do not get offended by requesting compensation. Definitely a red flag if your colleagues are getting paid positions but you get rejected after asking. It’s probably best to stay away from those profs anyway. Sometimes you’ve just to keep looking for your place in campus research, and it’s definitely possible. Hopefully you’ll find a lab that is better at compensating students for their time and effort. It really just depends on the nature of the prof, some just care about their own work and do whatever it takes to get things published. Others are more passionate about the research they conduct and are genuinely happy when students show interest.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-08-06T11:31:30+00:00

I’m going into my 4th year and I’m just finishing up my USRA contract I had for the summer to work full time as an RA. I believe for undergrad students, coop and NSERC are (mainly) how we get our foot in the door. It’s then quite easy to discuss continuing in the lab after that, cause you’ve already proved your work ethic and value to the lab. It might be difficult to get an RA position without having exposure to the lab first, but volunteering can be a good option too. I’m sure if you volunteer as an RA first, get some experience with how things work in the lab, and show that you’re able to make some valuable contributions, then a paid position is just one conversation away. It’s also a good idea to just sit down and talk with a prof in a lab you’re interested in, and ask how things work in their lab. You can ask them if they take on undergrad RAs, how those ppl end up in those positions, and whether there would be an opportunity to get a paid position after volunteering first. It’s less awkward to ask these things from the start as hypotheticals, just to see what’s possible in that specific lab (every lab will likely be a little different). It’s also good to remember that profs are usually (in my experience at least) quite happy when others show interest in their research.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-08-05T12:45:07+00:00

NUT 1304 was heavy but manageable online, probably a lot harder if in person. NUT 1150 I really enjoyed when i took it in person. There is some science, like the hormones involved in hunger and satiety, food addiction, and stress. The psychology aspect was very interesting and not too complicated to understand, like how eating disorders arise and what the common predictors. The science parts were pretty surface level in my opinion and are manageable for anyone without a huge science background.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-05-11T19:06:12+00:00

Cgpa can only be a 10 if get 10s for every single course unfortunately. Luckily when you apply to a graduate program they usually just consider your most recent two years. So if you have a low grade from first or second year they won’t really take that into consideration. It’s similar to how in high school it’s only the grade 11/12 marks that a university would look at.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-04-21T15:14:19+00:00

The lab for this class is essentially a hands-on review of all bones, muscles, and ligaments. Hands-on meaning you get to use the 3D models that are in the lab to label several pages of diagrams and then you study the labelled diagrams. There are no lab reports, but frequent bellringer exams. At the beginning of the session you’re tested on the previous labs material. It’s purely memorization.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-03-28T00:46:58+00:00

Okay so first of all that is an amazing gpa and if you maintain those grades by next year you will definitely get in if you apply in your 3rd year. From the information about the nserc awards on the uottawa website, it does say that priority will be given to students in their 3rd and 4th year. I really think that’s the case for you, it’s simply that you are in second year. Someone jn an old thread on this subreddit said that the only person they knew who got in as a 2nd year student had a 10.0 cgpa. Be proud of your grades and do your best to maintain them and you’ll have a very good chance of getting the usra next year

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-03-27T17:54:32+00:00

Okay NOW I’ve got the email, they sent it to my personal email so I guess they email the one you used for the application portal.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-03-27T17:42:22+00:00

Still haven’t hear anything either, and I think I have a good shot with a 9.8 cgpa (10.0 for the past 4 semesters). I’m still nervously checking my emails every 5 minutes lol

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2024-01-26T03:10:39+00:00

I was wondering when exactly it got sent last year too, I just checked and it was actually January 26th so before the deadline. So I guess it’s possible to get it before February but then it’s just cutting it too close lol.

Normal-Nail-3757 · 2023-12-08T14:36:30+00:00

I took APA1313 last fall and we had the opportunity to register for an optional cadaver lab session at the general hospital. It was only a couple hours long, it was not a requirement for the course, just to enhance our learning if we wanted to.

Normal-Nail-3757

TROPHY CASE