Every year kicked off with New Year’s resolutions. What did I achieve last year? What did I want to achieve this year? What was the plan?

Every day started with an organised to-do list. Advanced functions homework. Check. English essay. Check. Club promotional material. Check. Sticky notes were my friend. Muji pens were my saviour.  

I experimented with all the popular organisational softwares known to students: Google Calendar, Google Spreadsheets, Notion, Forest, Anki, you name it. Every task had its deadlines. Every goal had its action plan. 

Before the time came and college applications opened up, I tried to prepare as best as I could. I mapped out every university I wanted to apply to. Every program that piqued my interest was scribbled down on a ranked list. I sat at my desk for hours on end scouring articles, watching YouTube videos, and investigating the ins and outs of countless university programs. I thought I had a clear plan. 

But three months later, I found myself sitting alone on a bed in a dorm room some two hundred and eighty-five kilometres away from home. The twist? I was studying in my second-last-ranked program at my last-choice university. I couldn’t help but feel blindsided. This wasn’t the plan.

This wasn’t the plan at all.

I was Always a Planner. Until I Wasn’t.

Hello! My name is Victoria. I am a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) student at Queen’s University. I never imagined myself studying in this program for the next four years of my life. But if I was given the choice to go back and change my decision, I still would have picked my cozy little dorm in Kingston, Ontario.

So why did I choose Queen’s? It was ranked last on my list of universities due to its, in my opinion, ridiculously far location from where I lived. I was definitely interested in something a little more local. 

Anyways, Queen’s University was established on my birthday one hundred and eighty-two years ago. Fun fact: Queen’s was also established in a Royal Charter issued by Queen Victoria (History of Queen’s: An Overview | Queen’s Encyclopedia, n.d.), who shares the same name as me.

These are not the reasons why I chose this university, but I do find them hilarious coincidences!  

Queen’s is a research-intense university with a vibrant student-life community. Despite being labelled as a “party school,” many students here are experts at balancing their social life with academics, sports, extracurriculars, and research. Every day is bustling with various student-run initiatives, faculty events, and loads of lectures. 

This balance was something I strived for. Queen’s was a school not too party-like compared to Western University, but also not too intensely studious compared to the University of Toronto. I also chose Queen’s for the Health Sciences program structure and its courses.

The Health Sciences program offers a flipped learning model. This model caught my eye when I researched the program. In traditional university classes, students attend multiple lectures a week and then are sent home with homework. 

In the Health Sciences program, we are encouraged to complete the majority of our learning through online modules first, and then attend lectures once or twice a week later. During these lectures, we work together on group assignments or discuss the module content with each other. 

Some of the mandatory courses we take include Social and Physical Determinants of Health and Disease (GLPH 171), Introductory Pharmacology (PHAR 100), and Human Cell Physiology (PHGY 170).

As someone who enjoys self-paced studying and group-oriented lectures, I found the Health Sciences program structure and courses suitable for my learning journey. I completely changed directions from my original plan — literally in terms of location — but turns out, Queen’s is a queen! I have the opportunity and privilege to explore what I love here, every single day. 

The process leading up to this program is exciting, and the work put into the application is worth it.

The Application I Spent 20 Minutes on.

Here is a breakdown of the Queen’s Health Sciences application: (1) Your Top 6 admission average and (2) Your supplemental application.

1. Your Top 6 admission average includes ENG4U (or French equivalent), 4U biology, 4U chemistry, any 4U math, and 2 additional 4U or 4M courses. A minimum cumulative average of 75% (including prerequisite courses) is required for admission consideration (Admission Requirements, n.d.). 

Please note: Acceptance into Queen’s Health Sciences is competitive. For the past few years, the acceptance rate of this program was roughly 4-7%. The anticipated admission average is above 90% (Admission Requirements, n.d.). 

2. My supplemental application consisted of two parts: The written response and the video response. Please note: The structure may have been altered for your cohort. 

The supplemental application can be completed in less than twenty minutes. Personally, I found it convenient to complete it all at once. However, you can choose to do each component separately.

For the written response, you are given ten minutes to answer a prompt. For the video response, you are given a prompt and two minutes to brainstorm any ideas. Once the cameras are rolling, you have one minute to deliver your response. Please note: Your response is simply recorded. No admissions officers are sitting behind the camera.

But Victoria, How Can I Stand Out in the Application Process?

This is a common question I get from high school students: “Well if there are over 6,000 applicants, how can my response be unique?”

I hate to break it to you, but my best advice is to be yourself. Although this advice is cliché, it really is down to who you are. The grades are a reflection of the hard work and the late nights you dedicated throughout high school. The supplemental application tests your character; something that is difficult to test through a written exam or a perfectly edited essay. 

What can you write in ten minutes? The admissions committee is interested in your raw, honest thoughts; the ones without the major changes and tiny edits from your family or friends. How do you reason with the prompt in the video response? The admissions committee would like to know who you are and how you approach scenarios—without having rehearsed your response to perfection beforehand. 

Answer as if you are giving your friend a piece of advice instead of trying to explain what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. This tip helped me greatly when I submitted my two responses.

All this application talk can be stressful! Let’s switch gears to your life. I’ve talked enough about mine. 

I was Always Afraid of Failing. 

Stress is a common feeling that many students experience. Grades are starting to “matter.” Extracurriculars and clubs start to “matter.” Getting into your top university suddenly “matters.”

How do you stay afloat when everything feels like it’s pulling you under? It’s natural to feel the clenching of your chest, the sweat of your palms, and the feeling of your heart pounding in your ears. If these are all too familiar, well, you are not alone. 

Always remind yourself: Nothing is ever the end of the world, except the end of the world.

You can afford to make mistakes. You can go down the wrong path, make a poor decision, make a great decision that you later regret, all of it. Believe it or not: You can still make mistakes in high school, even in your senior year. 

But IF.

And only if.

You are willing to learn from it. And if you can learn from it and turn things around, then it is never the end of the world. And if it isn’t the end of the world, you need not stress about it.

You don’t trust that you’ll never encounter difficulties in life. You trust that when you do encounter them, you will be able to handle it.

The feeling of “no big deal” for stresses related to school, relationships, family, clubs, personal challenges, you name it, is a big comforter; when you feel safe deep inside knowing that it is not the end of the world.

Stress, in any context, helps us learn about what we are missing. Instead of portraying stress as the enemy, see stress as a friend who gently reminds you to retrace your steps, switch things up, and give it another shot. 

Go with the Flow. Or Don’t. Takeaway: This is Your Life.

Sometimes, things will turn out unexpectedly. Maybe you have experienced this before. Maybe you are experiencing it now as you write your college applications. Maybe you will find your life taking an unexpected turn later on.

I found my life taking a turn when I chose to study far from home; a decision that came with unexpected challenges and countless blessings. 

Remember: No matter what happens, find comfort in knowing you are the captain of your ship. You might not be able to control the wind, but you can always adjust the sails.

Good luck with your applications. Your future awaits you! 

References

Admission Requirements. (n.d.). Bachelor of Health Sciences | Queen’s University. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://bhsc.queensu.ca/future-students/admissio History of Queen’s: An Overview | Queen’s Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Queen’s University. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.queensu.ca/encyclopedia/h/history-queens-overview