Canadian med schools?

[sunflower79]

Hi folks,
I'm a Californian applying this summer and wondered if Canadian schools are worth looking into. 1) How expensive is it for Americans? 2) How competitive is it? 3) Is it difficult to match residencies back in the states?

thanks

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[none]

I think you'll have more luck staying here in the U.S. It's harder for Canadians actually (kinda like California, just without the rest of the states). I hear McGill takes some Americans though.

 

[warpath]

none is right. I'm Canadian. I was rejected by all the Canadian schools I applied to, but got into Wash U with a full-ride.

 

[moo]

McGill and Memorial are probably your best bets. McGill's tuition's about 20k CAD=13k USD, cheaper than all private schools and cheaper than some state schools. All Canadian schools are LCME accredited so they are on par with US schools (i.e., residency should be no problem) but I wouldn't apply anywhere else in Canada simply because as an international it would be hard to make it. (It's like a Canadian applying to the UC's... very few people make it)

 

[simpleG]

warpath,

tell me about your story. i'm a canadian, born in toronto, but I'm a resident of california. first question, would my resident province in canada be ontario, or do i have no resident status in canada? am i treated like an american?

what schools did you apply to in canada? i really don't want to go to newfoundland...

any info would be appreciated...

 

[warpath]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by gabe922:
•warpath,

tell me about your story. i'm a canadian, born in toronto, but I'm a resident of california. first question, would my resident province in canada be ontario, or do i have no resident status in canada? am i treated like an american?

what schools did you apply to in canada? i really don't want to go to newfoundland...

any info would be appreciated...•••••Your residency status depends on where you've lived in Canada. If you've lived in Ontario for 12 months or more, and you have an Ontario address, then you're from Ontario. Being a Canadian, you won't be treated like an American. Another factor in your favour is that the Ontario schools (except Ottawa) don't give preference to Ontario residents. Schools in other provinces do.

My story? I applied to all 5 Ontario schools, and also to Calgary. My MCATS were 9(VR), 12(PS), 14(BS), M(WS) and my OMSAS GPA (for ontario) was 3.81 (AMCAS GPA was 3.84).

McMaster (where I go to school) shafted me because I did not have course requirements they decided to enforce after we submitted our applications.
Calgary rejected me because I "wasn't competitive enough" (they have only 7 spots for out-of-province applicants).
Western and Queens rejected me for not making their Writing Sample and Verbal cut-offs, respectively.
Ottawa didn't like my autobiographical sketch even though I suprisingly (barely)made their insanely high GPA cut-off of 3.80. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
UofT finally rejected my a few weeks ago because there were "so many qualified applicants"
That's my Canadian story.

The American ones? Applied to 5 schools. Got rejected by Stanford and Pritzker. Got accepted to Jefferson and Wash U, and turned down an interveiw at Albany. To say that I was astonished will be an understatement. But hey, I fell in love with Wash U after I went for the interveiw (and that was before I started getting the rejections).

 

[McEntrye]

I have posted to a lot of threads on this topic, so just type my screen name or member number into the search engine, along with "mcgill" and you will find lots of info.

Reader's Digest Version:
US Citizen
California Resident
Undergrad at McGill

Applied to 5 UCs and McGill

Result: Accepted, UCI and McGill
Rejected UCSF, UCSD, UCD
Wl: UCLA

McGill really likes americans so certainly apply. The most you can lose is a few hours on yet another essay and 25 US dollars(app fee).

Important things to note:
1. Send you MCAT scores to McGill Specifically because they aren't part of the hated AAMC application service (AMCAS).

2. Deadline for application is November 15.

3. Need to start organizing your references now.

4. Write your AMCAS essay and stuff now, and wait until sept to write your mcgill essay; it will be a better essay.

5. If you get an interview, try <a href="http://www.interviewfeedback.com" target="_blank">www.interviewfeedback.com</a> for specific mcgill interview info.

6. PM me and i can ask any more questions you might have.

P.S. I'm going to UCI because i have had enough of the cold!

p.p.s. With cost of living taken into account, McGill is cheaper than any UC! (cost living ~3-4K us )

 

[Thewonderer]

Just going through some old threads....

Warpath seems to have a very interesting lifestory with the army. And did WashU consider you to as a member of the under-represented minority group? Because it seems that WashU has lots of funding/scholarships set aside for URM's who have very good numbers.

On the other hand, in Canada, they only care if you are either of Aborginal descendent or live in the tundra.

 

[Spidey]

Originally posted by warpath
•••quote:•••Originally posted by gabe922:
•warpath,

tell me about your story. i'm a canadian, born in toronto, but I'm a resident of california. first question, would my resident province in canada be ontario, or do i have no resident status in canada? am i treated like an american?

what schools did you apply to in canada? i really don't want to go to newfoundland...

any info would be appreciated...•••••Your residency status depends on where you've lived in Canada. If you've lived in Ontario for 12 months or more, and you have an Ontario address, then you're from Ontario. Being a Canadian, you won't be treated like an American. Another factor in your favour is that the Ontario schools (except Ottawa) don't give preference to Ontario residents. Schools in other provinces do.

My story? I applied to all 5 Ontario schools, and also to Calgary. My MCATS were 9(VR), 12(PS), 14(BS), M(WS) and my OMSAS GPA (for ontario) was 3.81 (AMCAS GPA was 3.84).

McMaster (where I go to school) shafted me because I did not have course requirements they decided to enforce after we submitted our applications.
Calgary rejected me because I "wasn't competitive enough" (they have only 7 spots for out-of-province applicants).
Western and Queens rejected me for not making their Writing Sample and Verbal cut-offs, respectively.
Ottawa didn't like my autobiographical sketch even though I suprisingly (barely)made their insanely high GPA cut-off of 3.80. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
UofT finally rejected my a few weeks ago because there were "so many qualified applicants"
That's my Canadian story.

The American ones? Applied to 5 schools. Got rejected by Stanford and Pritzker. Got accepted to Jefferson and Wash U, and turned down an interveiw at Albany. To say that I was astonished will be an understatement. But hey, I fell in love with Wash U after I went for the interveiw (and that was before I started getting the rejections).

Your story makes me sad... If I continue to work my butt off and my luck holds out I *might* have numbers as good as yours... maybe(who knows how my mcat will turn out). I really want to go to med school in Canada, I have no desire to go to the US. 3.81 gpa and a rockin mcat... I can't believe you didnt get in certainly doesnt give me confidence. Well I think I will probably have a better chance than you though because my provincial school is Dalhousie, and the population over here is way smaller than Ontario so hopefully I won't need such high numbers to get in. have you started classes yet at wash U? if so, how do you like it so far?

 

[VC15]

Hey Spidey,
A 3.8 GPA is definitely high enough for both Queen's and Western. If you make their MCAT cutoffs as well, you're pretty much guaranteed an interview. The interview itself is worth 50% at both schools. Queen's requires a 10 in verbal, N in writing, and 30 total, whereas Western requires at least 9's in each section plus P in writing (but Western's requirements change slightly each year, so you want a bit more than the exact minimums I posted above). Anyways, I will be attending Western starting this year and have application/interview experience from the other Ontario schools, too, so go ahead and PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!