alyembo

Hey everyone! I'm currently finishing up my first year of the after-degree, and I wanted to try to answer some of the questions you have. As Anthony mentioned, they made significant changes to the curriculum, so keep in mind that things may be different from what I experienced. During Fall Term we had a placement at an independent living facility practicing assessments on healthy older adults. However, this may have changed with the new curriculum. Your first placement in a hospital setting will be during winter term. We alternated two weeks in courses and two weeks at the hospital (again, this may have changed). Don't expect to know where your placement is until 1-2 weeks before the placement starts. Yes, this will be frustrating and will make it difficult to plan for transportation. You don't get any choice in where your placement is until you reach your preceptorship. In regards to spring/summer term, I can only speak to what it looked like for my year. We all completed the in-class mental health course from May 7-29th. Half of us complete the mental health clinical rotation from June 4-July 5, and the other half go from July 12-August 16. For our group, most people wanted to do the first round (from June 4-July 5), and those classes filled up in about 15 seconds after they opened (no exaggeration). If they do the same structure for your group, I recommend that you do not book any vacations/flights/etc. until after registration for spring/summer clinical (just in case classes fill up quickly and you don't get into the section you hoped for). I can't speak to what your class/lab schedule will look like due to the curriculum changes. Congratulations to all who have already received their acceptance!! Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions :) Aly

I got my acceptance letter a week and a half ago! :) Can't wait to meet everyone!

I'm also still waiting for a response. I'm applying with a 4.0. I finished BIOL 235 in January and had that transcript sent over to the U of A, but it hasn't shown up on my application yet. And I'm just finishing up Medical Microbiology. When I emailed the department they said that they don't offer any sort of acceptance until the application is complete (all prerequisites are completed and transcripts are received).

Congrats! How long was it between when you applied and when you got your acceptance? I just applied last Tuesday :).

Thanks :). It's HLSC 124 - Microbiology for Health Professionals.

Congratulations! That's so exciting! I can't wait to apply. I have to wait until January 4th when I start microbiology at MacEwan.

Hi there, It's not bad. It's certainly doable, but there is a lot of information for each section of the course. It just means that each midterm tests you on a lot of information, and thus takes a long time to study for. Other than that, the structure of the course is good. The study guide very clearly lays out what you need to know. It's also just the study guide and the textbook, so you're not constantly flipping between multiple resources. Hope that helps!

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought the AGPA was based on the 4.0 scale rather than a percentage.

Yes, they give you a study guide. And any terms/sections that aren't on the study guide don't need to be known, which is very helpful. However, it still covers a lot of information. When reading chapters/making notes I spend about 15 hours/week, and that allows me to get through approximately 3 chapters. However, I spend closer to 30 hours/week when actually studying for each midterm, and I have given myself about 3 weeks to study for each midterm. It may be totally different for you. I tend to be an overachiever, so I'm likely spending more time on it than the average person.

I'm currently 2/3 of the way through BIOL 235. I started at the beginning of August and have been doing it while working full-time. Personally, I don't think it's possible to complete in 2-3 months, but it depends on how much time you need to study for exams and how much time you have to dedicate to it each week. Each midterm is based on a lot of information (between 330-475 pages of the textbook). It takes awhile to read through the chapters and have a sufficient understanding of the material to complete each midterm. You may want to give yourself closer to 4 months to complete it. Just in case :)

I graduated in June '16 with a BA (Psych major, Ling minor). Good luck to those starting BIOL 235 soon! I'm about 2/3 of the way through, and it's a monster of a course!

Hi everyone! I figured I would start up a thread for those applying/planning to apply to the University of Alberta After Degree program for Fall 2017 admission. My plan is to apply in January once I have started Medical Microbiology at MacEwan. I'm currently taking BIOL 235 (Anatomy and Physiology) through Athabasca University. When is everyone else planning on sending in their application? Good luck to everyone!!