i ran into vic s and marc at A&P, a few minutes ago. Marc had a faux-hawk and it looked awesome. they were both dressed very urban outfitters. i was surprised to be happy to see them
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Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..rufeJune 7 2004, 11:59:12 UTC
wow, that was long. haha. i'm going to reply here since my email account is acting all strange.
as for the courses, for example, if i wanted to do...art history. i wouldn't have to take one english, one science, etc, right?
what's is the difference between intramural and club sports? and when you said that ultimate frisbee is the only sport, that definitely scared me.. haha. I play basketball and volleyball. but if i'm planning on doing some kind of sport, most likely basketball. (even though all the people there are probably really good)
as for the music..hehe, you answered what i was looking for. i just wanted to join some kind of band, etc. and i was afraid that i couldn't join because i'm not in music.
I'm also worried about if they would accept me or not.. because I only have 1 year of language in HS, when colleges recommend 2. and I have 2.5 years of science when they recommend 3. AND I'm afraid my SAT scores aren't going to be very good.. haha. But then my sister saw that mcmaster isn't requiring the SATs scores unless they ask for it.. so yah.. *shrug*
is there anything I just know about mcmaster? just overall what its like, etc..
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..no_bassJune 7 2004, 15:40:55 UTC
you're right about the art history and the no english, science requirement. they don't require you to take an english, science, etc, but if that's what you wanted to do, you could still use one of your electives to do it. your electives don't even have to be out of your area of study (unless it's specified in the calendar that it must be in a different area, but that's not usual).
i don't know if you really do want to go into art history or if that was just an example, but speaking specifically about art history, in first year you are pretty much free to do whatever you want, provided you follow what's required of first year humanities students (which isn't restrictive at all). i took a look at the calendar and it seems like you don't even have to take the first year art history courses (though that'd probably be a good idea) since the 2nd year art history courses don't require them as a prereq. (the 3rd and 4th year a.histories need the 2nd and 3rd year art histories respectively though)
rarely, they'll "strongly recommend" that you take a course or two that isn't in what you're studying. i'm going into biology, and they want me to take a philosophy course. it's not required, but they want everyone to take it.
i think the difference between intramural and club is that club teams sometimes compete against other club teams from other universities. intramural teams stay within mcmaster. club teams are treated a lot like varsity teams in that they get free stuff, but that's pretty much it.
i don't know too much about applying from overseas but i think it's okay with the 1 year of language so long as you write the TOSL test and get a certain mark. you'll definately get the mark, you just have to make sure the registrar recieves the test results in time. i'm not sure though.. you should look it up in the calendar, that's where they keep all the info. or you can email them; i woudln't trust my advice here.
overall, mac is a good all-around school. i'm probably biased because of my program, but it seems like they're big on health science and research. but then again, i hear people from business say they're big on business, and people from humanities say they're big on humanities. so who knows. they're really good to their first years, there's always a lot of help available. the profs are surprisingly approachable, the campus is pretty, it's surrounded by the royal botanical gardens, and the area of hamilton that mac is in is really quaint and very un-steel town. there's a lot of spirit, and it's a pretty positive, comfortable place. it's not integrated into the city- it's sort of it's own little village, surrounded by the gardens on one side, and student housing on the other. there are a lot of student houses available within 5 minutes to the university, and the houses themself are really nice. westdale (the neighbourhood mac is in) is the nicer part of hamilton. there's an art museum on-campus with free admission for students, there are often free music concerts (i.e. classical ones), and lots of acts that come in. there are 4 libraries that are great to hang out in (haha i just didnt' know how to finish that sentence..), and there's recently been a lot of renovation and construction on campus..i'm not sure what else to say. overall it's a really nice place. there are lots of underground tunnels..that's a big reason why i decided to come here (i can't tell if i'm joking or not, either).
the only bad thing that comes to mind is that the hospital looks like a big piece of demented lego, but maybe that's a good thing. the food is expensive but tastes good, and if you become friends with the cooks they'll make special dinners for you. it's just a good place to grow as a person because it's got something for everything.
any other questions? what programme are you thinking of? (really, art history? that's cool)
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..rufeJune 8 2004, 02:25:39 UTC
oooohh~ I'm VERY happy to hear that they don't make you take general courses.
club sports sounds fun.. to compete with other universitites and all.. but I'm just afraid that it would take up a lot of time. Do you think it would be hard to handle club sports, band, and just normal classes? because I wouldn't want everything to be too overwelming. And is club sports really serious? since you said its treated like varsity.
i've never heard of the TOSL test before.. and teresa didn't have to take it when she went back. But she had 2 yrs of language. I guess it won't really affect anything right? arg.. oh well. I'm not making sense. haha.
as for what I'm looking into.. i have NO IDEA. I'm not into science, math, or language. I'm a sports and music person but I wouldn't get into mcmaster if thats what i wanted to focus on... haha. What are some programs that are...non-related to those? haha. art history looked interesting..*shrug*
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..no_bassJune 8 2004, 03:44:57 UTC
i'm happy you're happy you don't have to take general courses!
i think you can handle club sports, band, and normal classes if you're well organized, but then again, that's a little more than most people do in first year. i'd try doing it all, then if it gets too much, you can always drop something. it also kind of depends on which programme you go into.
i dont' know how serious club sports are.. it seems serious in that they want to win, but they're not scary about it (i don't think...hmm) a lot of people who try out for club sports haven't played the sport seriously before, yet it's still competitive. but what i'm tryign to say is to not be intimidated by the fact that they say it's just like varsity but with no funding. you meet a lot of people on it, and you feel a lot more connected with the university since you're representing it while you play.
i don't think you have to take the TOSL test if you've had 2 years of high school level english, or if you've gone to an english high school..yeah i have no idea. better check with the calendar or contact the school. ferreals (ew), because it's probably pretty important.
if you're interested in sports, you could try kinesiology. there's a social science version and a science version, so you can choose whichever you want. there are sooo many programmes, i'm sure there's one that you'd really enjoy, but you just haven't heard of it yet. it sounds like you'll probably want to be in humanities or social sciences, kin or art, but to stay most general (i.e. with the most options to go in different programmes in 2nd year) you'd probably want to do humanities or social sciences. all you really have to do now (in terms of deciding your major) is to decide which degree you want (which it sounds like is a B.A.-- not science degree, that is), then decide which faculty you want to go into, then you just choose your courses from a list they provide. it's pretty hard to make any huge mistakes in choosing courses, and even faculties - lots of people switch after 1st year. just look around the calendar to get a better idea. you dont' get to choose your major until after 1st year anyway, so just look at courses you think seem interesting (if you can't choose a faculty).
are you thinking of living on residence? or do you want to be off-campus? because if you want to be off-campus, i have a great room in a great house that's 2 seconds away from mac.
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..rufeJune 8 2004, 04:54:34 UTC
ooohh~ for the club sports, i'd just be really intimidated if there are a TON of really good athletes.. haha. I've been playing basketball for a looong time so I wouldn't want to end it after high school.
haha, when i meant language, i meant foreign language. my bad! so yah, i only took one year of spanish.. haha.
hmmm.. as for the courses to choose in first year, i'll look over it. yah, probably humanities? haha.
i'll probably live in the dorms my first year..which is better? or would it really make a difference if a first year lived in the dorms or outside? can you tell me more about the room you mentioned? with who, etc.
now i REALLY want to go to mcmaster...just need to be accepted. :| haha. oh yah, how about their acceptance errr...percentage? mcmaster sounds soo much better than trent. more opportunities. :D
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..no_bassJune 8 2004, 16:01:26 UTC
WHAT?! how could you lead me on like that? aw i guess the off-campus room i offered won't be available since my lease would have been done anyway. but that's no problem since i think residence is pretty important in first year. you meet everyone there and it's probably more fun being on-campus than off. i was off-campus first year and i think it would have been a really bad time if i hadn't joined the swim team. so yeah. for sure do residence!
aw don't worry about the club team..wait, i don't think there is a club basketball team since there's already a varsity basketball team. i know there's an intramural basketball team though. you never know, you might make the varsity one (yeah!). but i think so long as you're somewhat athletic, you'd be alright on any team. the only downside i can see with doing varsity basketball instead of intramural is that they'd expect a bigger commitment from you with the varsity basketball. basketball and football are the two biggest sports at mac, but it's not like all the players are expected to be good enough to become professional athletes or something.
ahhh spanish.. i dont' know what mac's requirements are.. you're attending an american high school in taiwan, right? so do they treat it as if you're applying from the states (i think..)? i know they have different requirements if you're applying from overseas than from the states.. hm..i think it's a little simpler from the states. eesh, this is confusing..
haha i'm so glad you really want to go to mac now! it's a nice place, i like it. i don't know how likely it would be, but if you ever want to visit the campus, i'd be happy to show you around and if need be, you and whoever comes with can stay at my house (i feel a little creepy offering this, but really i'm not! haha). you could talk to the basketball coaches/athletes while here and they'd probably want to show you around too or answer any questions. you could sit in on some classes and do the whole prospective student thing. i'm not sure how probable this whole thing would be, but if it ever works out, the offer is there.
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..rufeJune 9 2004, 01:39:10 UTC
ahhh! haha, i'm sorry!!
so if i wanted to try out for varsity, there would be try outs, etc, right? would that be in the beginning of the year, how often do varsity teams practice, where would they go compete, etc?
oh yes, i was wondering if the band plays for any sports games? i'm guessing..maybe football?
thanks for the offer! but i won't be able to go. I won't go back to Canada until I'm in college because Teresa comes back to visit.
Re: i don't know if you'll be checking back here but..no_bassJune 9 2004, 19:49:08 UTC
yep, there'd be try outs. they're usually during the first week of school (or was it a little bit before school started? i dont' remember really) but they're different for every team. they put the try out dates up on the athletics site, you just have to look around a bit for them and then you just have to show up to the first meeting. it's not totally mandatory, but it's a good idea to contact the coach or team captains beforehand.
the different teams practice at different times and different amounts (different different different) so i really don't know for basketball. i've seen them practicing in the gym a few times after i leave swim practice, but i don't know how often they practice.. the coach or team captain would probably tell you that if you contact them ahead of time (you can ask them even if you have another year of high school left) otherwise you'd find out at the first team meeting. to compete they'll take a bus to other ontario universities or else other universities will come to mac.
i'm not sure if the band plays for sports games.. i've only been to one football game, and there wasn't a band there, but i didn't stay long. i think they might have played at half-time, but i'm kind of making stuff up right now. yeah, they'd probably only play for football if they do play. i know the cheerleading team does their thing at football (and basketball?) games, so you'd think the band would play at matches too. i don't think we have a marching band though..that'd be cool..!!
as for the courses, for example, if i wanted to do...art history. i wouldn't have to take one english, one science, etc, right?
what's is the difference between intramural and club sports? and when you said that ultimate frisbee is the only sport, that definitely scared me.. haha. I play basketball and volleyball. but if i'm planning on doing some kind of sport, most likely basketball. (even though all the people there are probably really good)
as for the music..hehe, you answered what i was looking for. i just wanted to join some kind of band, etc. and i was afraid that i couldn't join because i'm not in music.
I'm also worried about if they would accept me or not.. because I only have 1 year of language in HS, when colleges recommend 2. and I have 2.5 years of science when they recommend 3. AND I'm afraid my SAT scores aren't going to be very good.. haha. But then my sister saw that mcmaster isn't requiring the SATs scores unless they ask for it.. so yah.. *shrug*
is there anything I just know about mcmaster? just overall what its like, etc..
thanks for your time!!
Reply
i don't know if you really do want to go into art history or if that was just an example, but speaking specifically about art history, in first year you are pretty much free to do whatever you want, provided you follow what's required of first year humanities students (which isn't restrictive at all). i took a look at the calendar and it seems like you don't even have to take the first year art history courses (though that'd probably be a good idea) since the 2nd year art history courses don't require them as a prereq. (the 3rd and 4th year a.histories need the 2nd and 3rd year art histories respectively though)
rarely, they'll "strongly recommend" that you take a course or two that isn't in what you're studying. i'm going into biology, and they want me to take a philosophy course. it's not required, but they want everyone to take it.
i think the difference between intramural and club is that club teams sometimes compete against other club teams from other universities. intramural teams stay within mcmaster. club teams are treated a lot like varsity teams in that they get free stuff, but that's pretty much it.
i don't know too much about applying from overseas but i think it's okay with the 1 year of language so long as you write the TOSL test and get a certain mark. you'll definately get the mark, you just have to make sure the registrar recieves the test results in time. i'm not sure though.. you should look it up in the calendar, that's where they keep all the info. or you can email them; i woudln't trust my advice here.
overall, mac is a good all-around school. i'm probably biased because of my program, but it seems like they're big on health science and research. but then again, i hear people from business say they're big on business, and people from humanities say they're big on humanities. so who knows. they're really good to their first years, there's always a lot of help available. the profs are surprisingly approachable, the campus is pretty, it's surrounded by the royal botanical gardens, and the area of hamilton that mac is in is really quaint and very un-steel town. there's a lot of spirit, and it's a pretty positive, comfortable place. it's not integrated into the city- it's sort of it's own little village, surrounded by the gardens on one side, and student housing on the other. there are a lot of student houses available within 5 minutes to the university, and the houses themself are really nice. westdale (the neighbourhood mac is in) is the nicer part of hamilton. there's an art museum on-campus with free admission for students, there are often free music concerts (i.e. classical ones), and lots of acts that come in. there are 4 libraries that are great to hang out in (haha i just didnt' know how to finish that sentence..), and there's recently been a lot of renovation and construction on campus..i'm not sure what else to say. overall it's a really nice place. there are lots of underground tunnels..that's a big reason why i decided to come here (i can't tell if i'm joking or not, either).
the only bad thing that comes to mind is that the hospital looks like a big piece of demented lego, but maybe that's a good thing. the food is expensive but tastes good, and if you become friends with the cooks they'll make special dinners for you. it's just a good place to grow as a person because it's got something for everything.
any other questions? what programme are you thinking of? (really, art history? that's cool)
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club sports sounds fun.. to compete with other universitites and all.. but I'm just afraid that it would take up a lot of time. Do you think it would be hard to handle club sports, band, and just normal classes? because I wouldn't want everything to be too overwelming. And is club sports really serious? since you said its treated like varsity.
i've never heard of the TOSL test before.. and teresa didn't have to take it when she went back. But she had 2 yrs of language. I guess it won't really affect anything right? arg.. oh well. I'm not making sense. haha.
as for what I'm looking into.. i have NO IDEA. I'm not into science, math, or language. I'm a sports and music person but I wouldn't get into mcmaster if thats what i wanted to focus on... haha. What are some programs that are...non-related to those? haha. art history looked interesting..*shrug*
thanks for your help!
Reply
i think you can handle club sports, band, and normal classes if you're well organized, but then again, that's a little more than most people do in first year. i'd try doing it all, then if it gets too much, you can always drop something. it also kind of depends on which programme you go into.
i dont' know how serious club sports are.. it seems serious in that they want to win, but they're not scary about it (i don't think...hmm) a lot of people who try out for club sports haven't played the sport seriously before, yet it's still competitive. but what i'm tryign to say is to not be intimidated by the fact that they say it's just like varsity but with no funding. you meet a lot of people on it, and you feel a lot more connected with the university since you're representing it while you play.
i don't think you have to take the TOSL test if you've had 2 years of high school level english, or if you've gone to an english high school..yeah i have no idea. better check with the calendar or contact the school. ferreals (ew), because it's probably pretty important.
if you're interested in sports, you could try kinesiology. there's a social science version and a science version, so you can choose whichever you want. there are sooo many programmes, i'm sure there's one that you'd really enjoy, but you just haven't heard of it yet. it sounds like you'll probably want to be in humanities or social sciences, kin or art, but to stay most general (i.e. with the most options to go in different programmes in 2nd year) you'd probably want to do humanities or social sciences. all you really have to do now (in terms of deciding your major) is to decide which degree you want (which it sounds like is a B.A.-- not science degree, that is), then decide which faculty you want to go into, then you just choose your courses from a list they provide. it's pretty hard to make any huge mistakes in choosing courses, and even faculties - lots of people switch after 1st year. just look around the calendar to get a better idea. you dont' get to choose your major until after 1st year anyway, so just look at courses you think seem interesting (if you can't choose a faculty).
are you thinking of living on residence? or do you want to be off-campus? because if you want to be off-campus, i have a great room in a great house that's 2 seconds away from mac.
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haha, when i meant language, i meant foreign language. my bad! so yah, i only took one year of spanish.. haha.
hmmm.. as for the courses to choose in first year, i'll look over it. yah, probably humanities? haha.
i'll probably live in the dorms my first year..which is better? or would it really make a difference if a first year lived in the dorms or outside? can you tell me more about the room you mentioned? with who, etc.
now i REALLY want to go to mcmaster...just need to be accepted. :| haha. oh yah, how about their acceptance errr...percentage? mcmaster sounds soo much better than trent. more opportunities. :D
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aw i guess the off-campus room i offered won't be available since my lease would have been done anyway. but that's no problem since i think residence is pretty important in first year. you meet everyone there and it's probably more fun being on-campus than off. i was off-campus first year and i think it would have been a really bad time if i hadn't joined the swim team. so yeah. for sure do residence!
aw don't worry about the club team..wait, i don't think there is a club basketball team since there's already a varsity basketball team. i know there's an intramural basketball team though. you never know, you might make the varsity one (yeah!). but i think so long as you're somewhat athletic, you'd be alright on any team. the only downside i can see with doing varsity basketball instead of intramural is that they'd expect a bigger commitment from you with the varsity basketball. basketball and football are the two biggest sports at mac, but it's not like all the players are expected to be good enough to become professional athletes or something.
ahhh spanish.. i dont' know what mac's requirements are.. you're attending an american high school in taiwan, right? so do they treat it as if you're applying from the states (i think..)? i know they have different requirements if you're applying from overseas than from the states.. hm..i think it's a little simpler from the states. eesh, this is confusing..
haha i'm so glad you really want to go to mac now! it's a nice place, i like it. i don't know how likely it would be, but if you ever want to visit the campus, i'd be happy to show you around and if need be, you and whoever comes with can stay at my house (i feel a little creepy offering this, but really i'm not! haha). you could talk to the basketball coaches/athletes while here and they'd probably want to show you around too or answer any questions. you could sit in on some classes and do the whole prospective student thing. i'm not sure how probable this whole thing would be, but if it ever works out, the offer is there.
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so if i wanted to try out for varsity, there would be try outs, etc, right? would that be in the beginning of the year, how often do varsity teams practice, where would they go compete, etc?
oh yes, i was wondering if the band plays for any sports games? i'm guessing..maybe football?
thanks for the offer! but i won't be able to go. I won't go back to Canada until I'm in college because Teresa comes back to visit.
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the different teams practice at different times and different amounts (different different different) so i really don't know for basketball. i've seen them practicing in the gym a few times after i leave swim practice, but i don't know how often they practice.. the coach or team captain would probably tell you that if you contact them ahead of time (you can ask them even if you have another year of high school left) otherwise you'd find out at the first team meeting. to compete they'll take a bus to other ontario universities or else other universities will come to mac.
i'm not sure if the band plays for sports games.. i've only been to one football game, and there wasn't a band there, but i didn't stay long. i think they might have played at half-time, but i'm kind of making stuff up right now. yeah, they'd probably only play for football if they do play. i know the cheerleading team does their thing at football (and basketball?) games, so you'd think the band would play at matches too. i don't think we have a marching band though..that'd be cool..!!
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haha, it would be cool if mac had a marching band, i'd want to join that!
anyway! thanks soooo much for your help and time! i really appreciate it! :D
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