McMaster Health Sciences Supplementary Application

Written by Aly Tagamolila and Matthew Tran

The McMaster Health Sciences Supplementary Application will help you get admitted into one of the top interdisciplinary science programs in the country. With several specialization topics such as Health Sciences, Biology, Health and Aging, Rehabilitation Sciences and Health Promotion! This is why McMaster Health Sciences is a sought program that has been tagged by the university as one of its Honors programs.

To get into this prestigious Honors program there are two requirements that all aspiring students have to complete which include the McMaster Health Sciences Supplementary Application. The following the instructions and deadlines of McMaster Health Sciences is also important — be mindful of this as they are very strict with deadlines.

Students must possess the following before applying:

  1. Accomplished McMaster Health Science Supplementary Application
  2. 6 grade 12 courses with at least a 90% average in all of the courses: these courses must be comprised of required courses and AT LEAST 1 Elective course

With this, we are here to help with preparing you to accomplish the first requirement, the McMaster Health Science Supplementary Application!

Applicant Classification

The first thing to identify is whether you are a Level 1 Applicant or a Level 2 Applicant. The applications to the McMaster Health Sciences program has been separated into two according to the following:

  1. Level 1 Applicants for those who finished Grade 12 and complied with the 6 grade 12 course requirements and meet the minimum grade average needed to apply
  2. Level 2 Applicants are for those who have already finished 1 year of university undergraduate studies along with the requirements for Level 1 Applicants.

Once you have determined which level applicant you are, you can now proceed with completing the Supplementary Application

For those interested, the McMaster Supplementary Application for 2021 Applicants can be found here: Supp-App-Questions-L1-and-L2-2021-FINAL.pdf (mcmaster.ca)

The Supplementary Application

For the McMaster Health Sciences Supplementary Application, it is made up of three questions that test your knowledge of self, creativity and problem-solving. You have 1500 characters to be able to answer each question satisfactorily. Make sure that your answers are concise, follow the instructions and highlight different parts of yourself that you want the committee to know — remember that the Supplementary Application is a way for them to get to know you outside of your academic merits and other requirements so just remember to be as original as you can.

Question 1.

QUESTION 1 — Answer 1 of the following 2 questions:

OPTION A: In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle proposed that “virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.” For the list of virtues below, which one is the hardest for you to achieve a balance in, and do you tend to an excess or a deficiency in that characteristic? What strategy(s) could you use to better achieve balance for yourself?

Deficiency Virtue Excess indifference caring paternalistic entitlement gratitude sycophantic self-indulgence moderation self-deprivation rigidity adaptability compliance apathy justice vengeful intolerant open-mindedness over-permissive

● OR ●

OPTION B: In her 1993 novel Ravensong, author, poet, educator, and member of the Stó:Lō nation Lee Maracle wrote “Where do you begin telling someone their world is not the only one?” What is your interpretation of this line?

Question 2.

QUESTION 2 — Answer 1 of the following 2 questions:

OPTION A: Write a short letter about an issue you care about, addressed to the appropriate political figure for the area of your concern.

● OR ●

OPTION B: In her 1954 essay The Crisis in Education, Hannah Arendt says, “Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it.” How does your view of education compare to Arendt’s?

Question 3.

QUESTION 3 — Read the scenario and answer the question that follows: Imani is excited – she has been working on her 4th-year thesis project focused on food security and children’s health, and the data has been yielding some very interesting findings. For many years, Gritsburg had been a struggling neighbourhood in the large metropolitan city of Gourmandeville due to years of economic downturns and the decline of the manufacturing sector. Public health officials had expressed concern about how challenging it was for Gritsburg residents to access healthy foods, as the only places to buy food in the community itself were fast-food outlets, pubs selling mainly burgers-and-fries type of fare, and corner stores were stocked with chips, candies, doughnuts, ice cream and confectionary. In addition, there was very little public green space in the neighbourhood, and the few facilities that did exist were poorly maintained. Gritsburg residents had lobbied the Gourmandeville City Council to invest in the neighbourhood with little success. A few years ago, a multi-national corporation convinced the council to allow them to build luxury condominiums and associated upscale eateries and shopping in Gritsburg, gentrifying the area, resulting in numerous evictions and rendering it unaffordable for many long-time residents. Many ended up moving to the adjacent neighbourhood of Hautainquartier, an area replete with parks, green spaces, food outlets and supermarkets that sell fruits and vegetables – in many ways, a ‘healthier’ neighbourhood than Gritsburg had been (though not as affordable). Imani’s project has her investigating the impact of the move on the health of children from Gritsburg, and she is comparing a number of health-related measurements from children before they moved from Gritsburg to Hautainquartier (‘before’), and 3 years after they moved (‘after’). She’s selecting some data to feature on her poster for Thesis Poster Day and has misplaced the figure legend that goes with this graph. She’ll have to go back to her notes to remind herself what ‘A’ and ‘B’ indicate.

What do you think ‘A’ and ‘B’ could be, and what would your interpretation of the data be in that case?

After you’ve completed the application, you can now submit it according to your level applicant!

Please note the following requirements for Level 1 Applicants: Can be found here as well as submit your application here; Admissions to Level 1 and Level 2 Transfer – McMaster BHSC

David Braley Health Sciences Centre receives World Architecture Award –  Daily News

McMaster Health Sciences Level 1 Applicants

  • Enrolment is limited
  • Supplementary Applications will be reviewed for those applicants who satisfy the grade and course requirements. A combination of the supplementary application ranking and final/interim grade 12 marks will determine if an applicant will receive an admission offer.
  • Admission offers will be made in early May.
  • No additional documentation (i.e. CV/resume) is accepted for this program (except the mandatory supplementary application).

**Grade 12 U/M Requirements ***

  • Biology (SBI4U)
  • Chemistry (SCH4U)
  • English (ENG4U)
  • One additional U or M credit to total six
  • A minimum of 90% is required for consideration
  • One of:
    • Advanced Functions (MHF4U)
    • Calculus & Vectors (MCV4U) or
    • Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U)
  • One non-math, non-science, non-technology 4U/M* (Scroll down and click “prerequisite course search”)
  • Note: Courses in mathematics, science or technological education are not acceptable.

Additional Requirements

Completion of a mandatory Supplementary Application

A review of the mandatory BHSc Supplementary Application is a very important component of the admission selection process. Applicants who do not complete the Supplementary Application are automatically excluded.

Please note the following requirements for Level 2 Applicants: Can be found here as well as submit your application here; Admissions to Level 1 and Level 2 Transfer – McMaster BHSC

McMaster Health Sciences Level 2 Applicants

  • Enrolment is limited.
  • Transfer applicants are ineligible to apply to the BHSc Child Health Specialization. If a Level 2 transfer applicant receives an admission offer and would like to be considered for the BHSc Child Health Specialization they will be considered on a case by case basis, only if space permits. There is no guarantee that space will be available in the specialization. Therefore, it is critical that if you apply to BHSc (Honours) that you are interested in the core stream.
  • We do not consider applicants to this program if they have completed a University undergraduate degree or if they have completed more than one year of University undergraduate studies.
  • Supplementary Applications will be reviewed for those applicants who satisfy the grade and course requirements. A combination of the supplementary application ranking and final grades with high rankings on both elements will determine if an applicant will receive an admission offer.
  • Applicants will be selected based on their academic qualifications and a Supplementary Application.
  • No additional documentation (i.e. CV/resume) is accepted for this program (except the mandatory supplementary application).

Admission Requirements

  • One full year of University Undergraduate Studies
  • Applicants interested in being considered for Level 2 must have completed six units of university Level 1 Biology and six units of Level 1 Chemistry (equivalent to Biology 1A03 & 1M03 and Chemistry 1A03 & 1AA3).
  • minimum 10.0 (A-) on a 12.0 scale GPA/average

Additional Requirements

Completion of a mandatory Supplementary Application

A review of the mandatory BHSc Supplementary Application is a very important component of the admission selection process. Applicants who do not complete the supplementary Application are not considered for admission.

Students who are accepted into Level 2 of the program are required to complete the course requirements as outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar for the year they enter Level 2.

Once again just remember to be as original as you can and showcase yourself and you’re golden!

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