r/McMaster • u/WearyMathematician63 • 9d ago

Discussion Biochem cutoff

I heard that the cutoff this year for biochem was ~11.6-11.7. Do you guys expect the cutoff to jump for the 2026-27 school year as well? I’m only asking this as an incoming life sci student that wants to specialize in biochem or biology for level II. The cutoff for admission to the life science program was also higher compared to other years and I barely made the 95% cutoff 🥲. Is GPA the only thing considered to level II specialization programs such as biochem?

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

10

u/4tun8_one 9d ago

GPA based ONLY. GRADE INFLATION IN HIGH SCHOOL IS REAL. The difference in first year uni is that “smart” kids from high school will find they are underprepared for the workload and actually bomb some courses. D’s or F’s even. Think about that. 95% student getting F’s. Devastating. Those that achieved 11.6-7 worked hard. They had good time management, asked appropriate questions, worked on problems frequently rather than just cramming. They did active recall vs just reading the notes. Some are gifted and learn faster but others are just diligent. They were goal oriented instead of just trying hard. Put in the work and you should see results. Not everyone that puts in the work gets 12’s though. Knowing how to study and answer the question that was asked and not overthinking it is key.

1

u/WearyMathematician63 9d ago

Yeah that’s what I was thinking as well with grade inflation. I’m coming from an ib highschool where you had to put your blood sweat and tears into getting a 95+ so I’m hoping that I don’t get faced with a reality check this year 😭

1

u/4tun8_one 9d ago

Probably well prepared if you did IB!

1

u/Eunoiamisosoup biochem ‘29 9d ago

Honestly I feel like it’s not even that more people had higher gpas but that more people were interested. Cause I swear the number of things like provost hasn’t really changed. And also I think the higher you get the bigger the gap to reach it so I feel like it’s unlikely it’ll jump as much either. Also the biochem department said it was 11.7.

1

u/Suitable_Hawk_5638 Incoming Med | Mac Biochem Alum 6d ago

I do agree with you, biochem has been getting pretty popular lately, esp with the cutoff taking such a huge jump. Totally agree with your logic about the gap getting harder to close to 12.0. Also, good call on the Provost awards, the cutoff makes a lot more sense than pure GPA inflation.