Kinesiology at University of Western Ontario
Dylan (Year 2)
16_dylan@
What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.
I chose Western University because of its kinesiology program. I was debating between Western and Waterloo and chose Western. This is because Western's kinesiology program offered a lot more flexibility for electives (in our first year) and was less-physics based (since I did not enjoy physics) than Waterloo. In addition, I really enjoyed Western's campus, school spirit and social life & opportunities offered.
What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.
I chose kinesiology because I enjoyed learning about physiology, anatomy and how the human body moves. In addition, I chose it because I wanted to become a physiotherapist or occupational therapist in the future. However, I realized that with a Bachelor of Science, it gave me opportunities to pursue other healthcare programs due to how versatile my program was. The Bachelor of Science module has the right mix of pure science courses (i.e. biology, chemistry, physics) and kinesiology courses (i.e. anatomy, biomechanics). One piece of advice is to be mindful of what module to pursue - BA vs BSc.
What was your favourite university experience?
My best experience at university was the group-outings my residence floor did together. From o-week to floor dinners to tobogganing in the winter, it was all very fun and enjoyable.
Note: My floor was a "Living-Learning Community" and the majority of the people on my floor were in kinesiology. Since all of us had the same courses, we would always walk together to class, and had similar interests, etc.
What was your least favourite university experience?
I was always a strong academic student in high school. So when I did poorly on a midterm in university, I felt pretty devastated but I was able to learn from it and grow as a person. Every experience - good or bad led me to where I am today.
"Nothing goes to waste on the journey of life. Both good and bad experiences shape your mind and heart for what is to come." ~ Leon Brown
If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?
My favourite first year course was PHYS 1021 - Introduction to Human Physiology. I learned a lot about how the body works and the various physiological systems (e.g. cardiovascular, renal, neural, motor, gastrointestinal, endocrine, respiratory, etc.). It was a super interesting course and the professors were enthusiastic and passionate about what they were teaching!
Additional Comments
Joining clubs is a great way to meet some new people! Some of the people you meet might become your lifelong best friends and clubs are a good break from academics & studying.
#UniversityofWesternOntario# #UWO #Kinesiology