BSc admission / advisement
Dear Ms [],
I was speaking to Messrs [] and [] in Admissions today about applying for entry to the BSc program here at Saint Mary's. I have already a BA and Cert. Hons. (English) from this university.
I have been studying at Dalhousie this summer in order to obtain the prerequisites. I believe I specified for the records to be sent to SMU as they are made available, but I will confirm this after my pre-calculus course is complete (I write the final examination on Monday). I have completed chemistry with a final grade of 93. I'm anticipating a good or very good grade from pre-cal, and I start physics on July 2nd and finish on the 30th.
Messrs [] and [] indicated a willingness to admit me without waiting for the physics mark to come in, but they gave me your card and suggested that I contact you and solicit your input. Specifically, I'm wondering what the requirements for a BSc will be after taking into account my BA + Hons. Cert. and the courses taken therein. My student number is [], my science courses so far include AST 215/216 (can count as a general elective, but not a lab science), CSC 226/227 (counts as a lab science, IIRC)... I also have GPY 206 (Computers & GIS), GPY 203 (Physical Geography), AST 217 (Life in the Universe), and PSYC 1200, but I don't know if they'll impact much, if at all. You'll probably notice as you look at my transcript that I was only nominally interested in some aspects of English, especially literary criticism.
Looking at the lay of the land, I think it would be best for me to take:
- Calculus (needed for everything) (6 c. hours)
- Physics (needed for astrophysics) (9 c. hours)
- Chemistry (suggested for astrophysics) (6 c. hours)
- Astronomy 205/206 (6 c. hours)
for a total of 27 c. hours / 4.5 credits in my first year.
This way I can try out astronomy and see if I can hack it, while still having an opening for chemistry, or perhaps do both or something else entirely. An important consideration is employment - I understand there is a co-op program for chemistry, but understandably not for astrophysics... ;-) I'm setting a goal for myself to be out on my own next summer by hook or by crook and am looking for sensible ways to achieve this. One potential problem I have is that I do not yet speak French - I can communicate at a bare-bones barely-conversational level, but I will need to take courses - I may take French courses along with everything else if I can fit it in.
If there are any gotchas, any things I haven't anticipated / planned for, please let me know. Thank you for the time you've invested in reading this sight unseen. I look forward to meeting with you in the near future (perhaps after my final grade from pre-cal has been sent down from Dalhousie).
Sincerely Yours,
- William Matheson
I was speaking to Messrs [] and [] in Admissions today about applying for entry to the BSc program here at Saint Mary's. I have already a BA and Cert. Hons. (English) from this university.
I have been studying at Dalhousie this summer in order to obtain the prerequisites. I believe I specified for the records to be sent to SMU as they are made available, but I will confirm this after my pre-calculus course is complete (I write the final examination on Monday). I have completed chemistry with a final grade of 93. I'm anticipating a good or very good grade from pre-cal, and I start physics on July 2nd and finish on the 30th.
Messrs [] and [] indicated a willingness to admit me without waiting for the physics mark to come in, but they gave me your card and suggested that I contact you and solicit your input. Specifically, I'm wondering what the requirements for a BSc will be after taking into account my BA + Hons. Cert. and the courses taken therein. My student number is [], my science courses so far include AST 215/216 (can count as a general elective, but not a lab science), CSC 226/227 (counts as a lab science, IIRC)... I also have GPY 206 (Computers & GIS), GPY 203 (Physical Geography), AST 217 (Life in the Universe), and PSYC 1200, but I don't know if they'll impact much, if at all. You'll probably notice as you look at my transcript that I was only nominally interested in some aspects of English, especially literary criticism.
Looking at the lay of the land, I think it would be best for me to take:
- Calculus (needed for everything) (6 c. hours)
- Physics (needed for astrophysics) (9 c. hours)
- Chemistry (suggested for astrophysics) (6 c. hours)
- Astronomy 205/206 (6 c. hours)
for a total of 27 c. hours / 4.5 credits in my first year.
This way I can try out astronomy and see if I can hack it, while still having an opening for chemistry, or perhaps do both or something else entirely. An important consideration is employment - I understand there is a co-op program for chemistry, but understandably not for astrophysics... ;-) I'm setting a goal for myself to be out on my own next summer by hook or by crook and am looking for sensible ways to achieve this. One potential problem I have is that I do not yet speak French - I can communicate at a bare-bones barely-conversational level, but I will need to take courses - I may take French courses along with everything else if I can fit it in.
If there are any gotchas, any things I haven't anticipated / planned for, please let me know. Thank you for the time you've invested in reading this sight unseen. I look forward to meeting with you in the near future (perhaps after my final grade from pre-cal has been sent down from Dalhousie).
Sincerely Yours,
- William Matheson