Thank you so much for your reply. I have been weighing the pros and cons for the past month and i think ill be going abroad.
I believe i am good writer (my writing in this forum may not reflect that) and i got an 87% in English last year but my current English teacher is know to be unfair at marking and even the most intelligent kids in my class received around an 82%.
I am doing my CO-OP at the Ottawa Heart Institute, it's pretty much a hospital just for treating people's hearts, so i think that's medically-relevant.
Do you have any tips on getting a reference letter? There is only one science teacher that comes to mind that i think would be willing to write me a reference and one person from the Ottawa heart institute.
Is there a 6 year program in the U.K similar to Ireland? How do you apply? Is there a better chance of practicing back home or it gives me the option of practicing in the U.K (which i am fine with)? Can you please link me to the program? Thanks again.
I meant gaining additional experience beyond the Ottawa Heart Institute - so volunteering in care homes or with a national health charity for example. Given your age, I realize this may not be possible as most places have an age requirement, but it's something to look into if you have the time. More experience is always better.
Pick someone for your reference who knows you quite well and is preferably a teacher in a science subject. You can either talk to them in person or send them an email. Be polite and professional in your approach to them; the email could go somewhere along these lines (I've only ever asked uni profs so this may be too formal):
"Hello Mr./Ms. X,
My name is Tcheeb and I was in your Y class last year. I am emailing you today to ask if you would be able to write me a letter of recommendation for medical school. The letter would address ______ (see if Atlantic Bridge has any requirements on what the letters must include) and would be due ____ (ask your letter writer early and set the due date 2 weeks early because people forget and late letters suck).
Going to medical school has long been a dream of mine. In school, I've done x, y, and z to develop my a, b, c skills. I've also done well academically (highlight relevant marks here). In the community, I've volunteered at the Ottawa Heart Institute, where I did ____, allowing me to learn more about the medical profession/gain x skills or knowledge/enforce my commitment to medicine and becoming a physician.
Please do let me know if you would like to meet to discuss this further or if you would like me to send any more information. I look forward to hearing from you!
Regards,
Tcheeb"
You can modify this basic template for the contact at the Ottawa Heart Institute if you would like to ask them as well. I think you typically need more than 1 letter.
There are a few 6 year programs and a lot of 5 year programs in the UK that take students straight out of high school. 5 years is more typical. I picked the UK because out of all the international schools, only the UK lets you stay and complete your post-graduate training there as an international. However, you must have graduated from a UK school to apply. Internationals graduating from Ireland, etc. will not be able to do so. I also picked the UK because the schools tend to have a better reputation globally (pure vanity on my part). There are varying requirements for each school so take a look and see which ones you are eligible to apply to. The UK system is different in that you can only pick 4 schools to apply to, so play to your strengths. There are two private schools as well that you can make a separate application to (total 6). The UK does require an entry test - either the UKCAT which is an aptitude test or the BMAT which is a science/math test. If you do only one test, you can only apply to the schools that use that test; ex. if you only did the UKCAT, you couldn't apply to BMAT universities.
As Martin_2017 said, the St. Andrews program is geared towards Canadian but it isn't one of the programs that allows you to stay in the UK afterwards. You need to do a standard UK medical course to be eligible to remain. SGUL INTO (bit sketchy) is another one like that. Compared to Ireland, the only downside of UK schools is that the courses you take will be geared towards those training in the UK. You'll need to study for all of the residency entrance exams on your own.