Thank you both so much for your answers! I had no idea that Harvard was like that, but I'm glad to learn. My (American) friend who recently went through MD/PhD interviews wasn't a big fan of Harvard either, so I'll take that into consideration.
I will certainly research the schools you both have suggested over the summer. I do know one guy doing the CI program, so maybe I can try reaching out to him. Honestly, at the end of the day, I want to be a really good scientist/thinker/expert, so I'm certainly open to other pathways. My interest in MD/PhD was mostly because of the funding. I do suppose that in Canada, tuition is substantially less. I'm not sure where I want to live permanently, and I'm not sure I'll have much choice in it anyways - the vibe I've gotten is that you primarily follow the funding, so...
However, it tends to be harder to get a high GPA in the US so I think that is why the success rate is lower. You should be competitive since your GPA is pretty good, especially if you take into account the weighting formulas at Canadian universities (most drop one year or something if you took a full course load each year and are applying in senior year or later). The University of Toronto has a great MD/PhD program. Some of the others do not have good funding, so take a look and decide whether it would be worth it. You would be just as competitive for MD applications after the weighting formula in Canada. If I was going to stay in Canada, I would probably just do an MD and do a PhD during residency (Clinician Investigator Programs) as the funding works out better that way.
Huh, that's really nice to hear. My premed advisors specifically said that they didn't have good experiences with Canadians applying back at home, but the GPA craze is fairly intense back at home and premed requirements are definitely tough (our intro bio class is ostensibly the hardest in the US) + we have a very extensive core curriculum, which means you can't really focus in. I will definitely give it a shot. I'm glad to hear about UofT - my HS PI with whom I'm quite close with did his residency at UofT and *hated* it, but I will look into it. I've been considering UBC and some other places as well.
Based on what I've seen this cycle, I think that Penn and WUStL are the best options for international students because they have the biggest programs and most funding. Keep in mind that the school will have to use their private funds to bankroll your training. However, these 2 schools also have very high MCAT averages so you need to focus on getting >95th percentile. Your GPA is great, but you can start looking at these school requirements and make sure you have them covered (English, humanities, etc.). Otherwise, make sure you have around 100 hours of clinical volunteering and a few shadowing experiences. Teaching experiences will also be good for you and support your interest in academic medicine/running a lab. Great LORs are also essential and require good long-term relationships that you can work on with your mentors/supervisors.
As for Canadian schools, I don't think they would be biased against US graduates. I don't agree that it is "easier to get a top GPA" at Canadian schools, but the bar for MD admissions is definitely set higher here because of a relatively large number of applicants for much fewer spots than US MD. Some schools do have weighting formulas that mostly serve to raise everyone's GPA. I got accepted at both UofT and McGill MD/PhD programs with a 3.7 cGPA so I think you have a good chance. My issue with the Canadian programs is they lacked the integration that US MSTPs have, it mostly feels like you are just sandwiching a PhD between the MD years. US programs have been around for much longer and are much better funded, whereas CIHR just completely cut funding to Canadian dual degree programs. Canadian programs only provide stipend and do not cover tuition so you will need other sources of funding. On the other hand, you will have a good shot at getting funded by national grant agencies since you are a Canadian citizen. I think there's a lot of great research going on here, especially at UBC/UofT/McGill, and it's worth applying if you're interested or have personal reasons for coming back. There are definitely some good PSTP options here, especially at UofT where you can get the PhD during residency, but I feel that will be an even more accelerated PhD than what you get in MD/PhD programs (good/bad thing depending on what you are aiming for).
Hmm - that is also exciting! I hope I don't sound awful, but I was at a certain institution in my province for a few years and I basically spent all my time in high school just researching (combination of having done the courses early + proximity), and I was not impressed by the overall quality of research at all. There were definitely a few stand out labs, but I definitely heard of my share of unethical practices from people I trusted, which is why I (perhaps irrationally) have harboured some degree of bias against Canadian programs. That being said - 1 school is definitely not representative, and I'm much more open now, and just because a good school has good research overall, doesn't mean it has a lab that interests you. My bigger concern is actually admissions, just because of what I heard from the advisors, and because literally 80% of people I know from high school are premed.
I was appalled by the CIHR cuts - I was hoping that under Trudeau things might change, but well...No tuition coverage - does that mean that you have to pay for the MD too? If so, ouch - the CI program does seem a lot better then. I've definitely heard the thing about integration, too, and that is a concern to me. UBC seems like it does it well, but I am out of province, so....we'll see.
I'm going to try for clinical volunteering throughout the summer/next year. I have no contacts for shadowing, since I'm very far from home (Albertan here), so I'm not sure how to get that started - maybe I'll reach out to the pre-med people again. I am definitely interested in TA-ing, hopefully I do well enough in some of my courses that it'll be a viable option. I think my relationships are good, but we'll see. I'm going to start looking at MCAT stuff this summer, too. I'm 100% sure my humanities requirements will be met and beyond, because
Thank you both so, so much! I am incredibly grateful to both of you.
I really love research and am aiming for either an academic career, or potentially biotech.
