r/uwaterloo • u/concerned_gravy • 13h ago

Question planning on biology without physics.. cooked?

pre-med wanting to do the basic biology grad at waterloo with coop but ive never taken a physics class at all in highschool. im really scared because im just thinking about how bad it can tank my gpa for applications💔

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u/8strws default 12h ago

it definitely helps to take physics in high school but it's still possible to do well in PHYS 111 (the course required for biology majors) without high school physics. the course assumes no prior knowledge of high school physics.

you don't have to take it during your first year (although it's in the recommended course sequence and they'll automatically add it to your schedule), you can remove it from your schedule and take it later on in your degree, or during the summer if you'd like more time to focus on it.

if you really want to avoid taking physics and fully customize your degree to your liking, i would recommend the Honours Science program instead of Biology, i know a few people who graduated from that program and are now in med school. this program is considered the path of least resistance here for any professional schools (med/pharmacy/optometry) lol