THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY FIRST SEMESTER at Western University

[@elliecordeiro8163]

Hey! This video is so chill and you covered so many things I was wondering about so thank you!

[@MarisaWong]

ofc girl! good luck w school!

[@bambi9121]

i’m in grade 11 right now, but i’m planning on applying to western for medical science/health sciences in grade twelve. i love your videos because they give me so much information about university. i’m also planning on applying to queen’s, so i really loved your tours video, too. how are your classes? are they interesting, and which classes are your favourites? i really love biology and chemistry and i’m so excited to major in science :)

[@MarisaWong]

My fav is definitely bio!! Least favs... definitely chemistry and calc... glad u find my videos useful! Means a lot 😘

[@tanyam2433]

heyy thanks for the video, super helpful! how different is the weather there compared to vancouver? i'm a lil worried abt what kind of clothing to bring/how to prepare myself haha T_T ty!

[@MarisaWong]

i think this wonder was mild but it can get really cold if u don’t wear enough! i had the long super puff and i wasn’t cold w it on unless wind blew in.

[@tanyam2433]

Marisa Wong ah okay, thanks!

[@Jessmakani]

hi marisa! i really enjoy your videos they are super informative! i hope that you are doing well and keep doing what you’re doing! i have a feeling you will succeed if you keep at it!! happy 2020

[@MarisaWong]

you too!! thanks 🥰🥰

[@keimiki9230]

Are there Asian people in the western uni ?? I’m sooo sooo excited to move to western .?

[@MarisaWong]

yes! there’s actually quite a large Asian community if you are looking for one :) get excited!!

[@cindywhite4026]

Hello I average out at a 91% do you think I have a chance getting in the med sci program. Also I’m not that great at math is there any support system for students that have trouble with work. Lastly as a first year did you find the transition from high school to uni hard.

[@MarisaWong]

i don’t wanna promise anything but that avg for my year seemed safe! there are lots of support outlets for math help like tas office hour and peer tutors. it was a little hard but i love being here now!

[@catherinesmith5793]

This was so weird cause I live in Waterloo which is like a half hour to fourth minutes away from London and EVERYONE here is asian, growing up I always had asian friends cause they were the majority everywhere u went and now it’s like asian and middle eastern is a lot and I’d heard a lot of white ppl go to western but I didn’t kno it was so much so that people would be like omg you speak English that’s so weird for me to picture. I was considering going to western but I’ve heard uni’s like queens can be rlly racist to people esp when u live in the same residences so I’ll def consider that when deciding

[@MarisaWong]

I guess western is a really white.... i know that there are so many Asian community clubs so i would really recommend you join those if that's what you're looking for! what i experience may not be what everyone else experiences so try not to let it phase you that much. I try not to let my fear of being judged for my race make my decisions for me but ofc you want to be comfortable! i hope this helps in making your decision!

[@tinali203]

Nice video!! I’m in grade 12 rn and deciding between western med sci and uoft life sci. I rly like Toronto but I heard there’s terrible grade deflation?? Which program would u recommend? Thx so much!!

[@MarisaWong]

i would say they’re both reallly great programs. i think it depends on who you are and what u need besides school to support you, tbh there’s not as much support at UT bc it’s a bigger school. i have a friend in that program and ik some times she wishes she were at western or queens where she could have more fun and balance in her life than just school. i haven’t heard abt grade deflection at UT but i do feel like it’d be easier to get better grades at western. hope that’s helps

[@tinali203]

Marisa Wong thank you so much that was rly helpful!

[@nyx965]

You should be a soph ! I'm going here next year as well this video definitely gets me pumped for the school now

[@MarisaWong]

thanks!! cya around campus next year then :)))

[@Daniel-lt1ug]

Hey! I’m actually the opposite of you and i’m going from Ontario to Vancouver and i was wondering what move in day was like for you (assuming you flew 😂) was it harder moving in from a flight and having to pack all your stuff on suitcases

[@MarisaWong]

yes omg hahaha so much harder! you can watch my move in vlog to see exactly how i did it but i ended up shipping stuff to someone in london and then spent a day repacking everything 💀 good luck

[@Daniel-lt1ug]

Marisa Wong Thank you so much i’m gonna need it 😭, shipping seems like a great idea. Your video was superrr helpful keep making them !

[@notme7886]

i got into western health sci but also have choices for life sci at other schools, do you know which program between life and health sci has a better job prospect or is "easier"? Also do you know about the health sci program at Western (what's it like, what is the difference between biomed and health sci) Thank you!

[@MarisaWong]

honestly, you get a pretty similar degree after these programs as far as i’m aware. i don’t know too much abt how getting a job would be w those degrees but i would think that what would really push you ahead of your competitors would be your extra curricular and experience. health sci at western seems good. i think you have a little more freedom in courses than you would in medsci so it’s a really good option if you want to it be a little less intense to get that good GPA

[@notme7886]

Marisa Wong Ohh I see, thank you so much for the advice! Also, what’s life and res like at western, is it a good environment? Sorry for so many questions, thank you again

[@tophiexsteele]

hi Marisa!! so proud of u

[@MarisaWong]

Hi Sophie!!! Love u always 😘😘😘😘

[@goingupandupandup]

Whats the culture like at Western? Is the whole party stereotype true or are there still chances for a nerd like to me to still meet people like me?

[@MarisaWong]

i think there’s party culture at every university but western is better at it than others for sure. i find it easy to find a party when i want to but when i wanna stay in and study it’s also not hard to do. i would avoid the traditional residences though because when there’s a party on your floor it’s gonna be hard to focus. university has such a variety of people so you can always find people like you! hope that helped! good luck w school!

[@Martin_Leung]

Woah same program and building! Continue making videos!

[@MarisaWong]

cya around i guess lol

[@siddhantmaini3599]

Hey, I am enrolling in the med sci program this fall and I just want to ask why was it an issue for you to use a notebook for physics and calc.

[@MarisaWong]

just the way i like to arrange my notes, i thought that using an ipad would’ve been so much easier. that way i could rearrange my notes and go back to make room for notes i wanted to add!

[@keithtan2461]

Hey, I got accepted into Western but I'm wondering if there were any difficulties that you faced as an Asian within the school. Is there any notable segregation?

[@MarisaWong]

i love this question :) in general, no. but when meeting new people sometimes people got confused that i had perfect english. they thought i was half (lol i’m v v v full chinese) and i realized that some people just don’t reallly know what different types of asain look like. i got mistaken for japanese a lot which is fair and i wasn’t offended by it. sometimes in my own head i worry that people will start to talk to others first because they’re sure they speak english or because that’s what they’re more familiar with but overall, no one has directly acted towards me in a racist way. all my friends are white but ik people who have mostly asain friends or a mix. it depends on how you approach it (mindset) and what you participate in! hopefully that makes sense

[@keithtan2461]

Marisa Wong tyty for answering, your reply made me more confident with my decision to accept the offer :D cus i’ve heard unis like queen have a bad rep for thar reason.. this definitely calmed my nerves a lil especially as an international student

[@marjanripa9378]

Hi! I'm interested in applying to med sci at western university but i'm not sure what do they look for. What average do they look for? And do they place emphasis on ECs?

[@MarisaWong]

western only looks at your grades! look online to see the admission avg since it changes every year!

[@emmaliu333]

Hey! I'm from Vancouver too, and going to Western in the fall :) I'm wondering how you got into OHall?? Apparently it's super difficult to get into and I'm stressing😂

[@MarisaWong]

hahahahah i get this question A LOT. i requested with a roomate and i think that helped a lot. I don't think v many tricks that people tell you work so it's really up to luck! hope it turns out well and thanks for watching!

[@napeiliht.p5264]

I applied for health science and I'm wondering when you got your acceptances!!! I'm stressing

[@MarisaWong]

i got it pretty late :) may 16th! it will come when it comes! good luck !

[@browsingstranger973]

Renat .R I got lucky and got mine really early back in October

[@browsingstranger973]

Love ur vid!! Cutting to the chase, whats the difficulty level like at Westetn, specifically it’s science (health science) programs? Is there gonna be a significant grade drop from high school? Does it require a lot of studying? What sort of assignments do they give out in their science based programs (essays/labs)? R their tests ridiculously hard? Sorry for the sheer amount of questions. I am a very anxious and curious individual. I’m currently in grade 12, and I’ve had a 92/93 average through high school.

[@MarisaWong]

thanks for watching!! i went from a avg of 90/93 to around a 78 avg for the whole year so for me there was a pretty big jump. there’s a lot of self teaching so i found it to be a lot more work. i didn’t find there to be many big assignments besides our online hw. the exams are pretty hard as it’s a lot more critical thinking than regurgitating. hope this helps!

[@KaedenQ]

lmao i was looking at university videos and i thought u looked hella familiar. u were at those gymnastics comps last year or am i tripping lol?

[@MarisaWong]

yeah! i did bc hs gymnastics for 5 years :)

[@agishant800]

What's ur opinion on Rodney chan

[@MarisaWong]

idk who dat is so i have none

[@zo7149]

ure doing great!!

[@eriche8150]

Why u want to go to an Ontario university? BC has good universities as well, and u will be close to home

[@MarisaWong]

the whole point for me was to be far from home! would’ve been at UBC kin otherwise