Canada is Cheap!

[esquia]

Oh my gosh I was just looking at Dalhousie (canada) for fun and found out their tuition is like $20k a year! That is so awesome. Why not go to Canada I ask myself? What do I need to know about taking the Canadian DAT, pre reqs., applying, application service equivalent, etc. I'm very familiar with the US dental schools admissions process - what else do I need to know for the Canada side of it?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Audio]

Oh my gosh I was just looking at Dalhousie (canada) for fun and found out their tuition is like $20k a year! That is so awesome. Why not go to Canada I ask myself? What do I need to know about taking the Canadian DAT, pre reqs., applying, application service equivalent, etc. I'm very familiar with the US dental schools admissions process - what else do I need to know for the Canada side of it?

I know of some Canadian schools that take the US DAT if you're a US citizen/resident. As far as Canada goes, I think the only school most Americans have a decent shot at is Dalhousie and that's because they have some sort of agreement with the states in the north east. Otherwise, it's more competitive to get in.

 

[Pesed]

If you're not a Canadian then you might what to check their international student rates. Many Canadian programs double their tuition for international students. Also, very few Canadian programs will accept international students. And the ones that do, well, it's much harder to get into their programs when you are international. Immigration is not too bad- just lots of paperwork.
Good luck!

 

[Audio]

I think just in general, it's more competitive to get in up here. Look at it this way. We have about 1/10th the poplulation but there are about 4,000 applicants to dental school (and we have a lot fewer spots). The competition for spots intense. Most schools won't even look at you if you don't have a 3.7. The university of Toronto's average last year for admitted students was above a 3.8 (on a scale that has an A as a 3.9 and an A+ as a 4.0). Western also had an A average. The easiest school to get into is the University of British Columbia and they have an A- average for students admitted. So basically, if you have really high stats, apply to Canadian schools because even with the tuition hike for internationals, it's still a lot cheaper than most US private schools.

That being said, it's my opinion that the expensive private US schools probably have better facilities than the Canadian schools mainly because they have better funding.

 

[JessicaSimpson]

Most schools won't even look at you if you don't have a 3.7. The university of Toronto's average last year for admitted students was above a 3.8 (on a scale that has an A as a 3.9 and an A+ as a 4.0). Western also had an A average. The easiest school to get into is the University of British Columbia and they have an A- average for students admitted.

so if an A is a 3.9 and an A+ is a 4.0, isn't 3.8 an A- and 3.7 just a B+?
Or do Canadians have some kind of funky curved gpa scale?

 

[hj714]

This is our GPA scale..

A+ 4.0
A 3.9
A- 3.7
B+ 3.3
B 3.0

and so on...

Canadian schools offer solid dental education but they are just harder to get in. Entrance GPA is high because Canadian dental schools put more emphasis on GPA rather than DAT scores as the selection criteria.

Plus, All canadian universities are public...so only few international students get accepted every year

 

[Anon00]

Does anyone know if background checks on US applicants will show their US record? I have a serious crime on my record that can not be removed, which practically eliminates me from getting into a US school. However my grades are competitive for Canadian schools and I think I may have a shot of getting in, as long as they only do background checks in canada (of which I have no information)

Thanks

 

[LaVidaDeAmreek]

Does anyone know if background checks on US applicants will show their US record? I have a serious crime on my record that can not be removed, which practically eliminates me from getting into a US school. However my grades are competitive for Canadian schools and I think I may have a shot of getting in, as long as they only do background checks in canada (of which I have no information)

Thanks

Anon,
As far as I know, if you have a serious crime on your record, you wouldn't even be able to enter Canada legally without a pardon for that crime.
RS