Originally posted by brandonite:
•warpath - I just noticed. That 'M' might cause you problems... Generally, the US schools won't pay much attention to your WS score as do schools in Canada, but that is a bit lower than most schools look for.
Thewonderer - Again, I would say that at the very top schools, internationals are treated no differently than other applicants. It might be different at second tier schools, and it would definitely be different at state schools. I know internationals who have gotten in at those schools. I know of a bunch of students who went to Canadian schools and are now doing residencies at big US schools - I know someone who is doing their residency at Harvard after doing med school at the University of Manitoba. I realize there is a big difference between a residency and med school, but I think that it illustrates that there is no strong bias against Canadians in the US academic medical community.
But I suppose it just comes down to me being an optimist. Sure, sometimes things don't work out, but I am still going to follow through with the process as if I have a chance.•••
I swear (!) that I am not trying to go against you on every single case. But it is really based on my personal experiences versus yours. Now after the disclaimer.....
1) I actually think that Warpath's M on writing would not hurt him. I have not known anyone with writing score as low as his and I am aware of all these crazy writing and verbal score cut-offs at Queen's and Western, but from the few years I have been down in the states, I would predict that the effects of his M will be minimal.
2) Applying to US med school from Canadian undergrad is very different from applying to American residency positions from Canadian med schools. I have heard argument that Canadian med school grads are very favorably looked upon because in Canada, the chance of litigation is small and the lack of personnel + funding allow med students there to do a lot more and carry more responsibility than their counter parts down in the states. However, I did look into the option of going back to Canada for med school but I turned it down because if you want to be a fresh Canadian med school grad coming to the US for residency, you need an J-class working visa. That means at the end of your residency, you will be forced to go back to Canada for two years before being allowed to come back to the US to work (this is called the home-residence requirement). It is meant to protect Canada for obvious reason. There are three ways to by-pass that. One is to hold an American green card then you don't need a working visa in the states at all! Two is to graduate from an American med school and by that, you can opt to go after H1B class working visa after you graduate and work in the states as a resident without worrying about the home-residency requirement. Three, Canadian med school grad can bypass J-class and go straight to H1B IF they pass USMLE step III. The key here is that you are not eligible to write step III until you finish first year of residency. So that does not help much, does it?
Please see the following link:
<a href="http://www.international.duke.edu/int_visa_class.html#clstaff" target="_blank">http://www.international.duke.edu/int_visa_class.html#clstaff</a>
3) I am curious to which Canadian undergrads you know at at which American med schools? Some of those are state schools? Or did you mean that they are Canadian med graduates and gain residency spots in the US (some of which happen to be affiliated with public institutions)? One reason is that I would like to expand my list of Canadian-possible schools. I have known Canadians either getting in or are attending MCW, Albert Einstein, Mount Sinai, Cornell, Case Western, Duke, Hopkins, Wash U in St louis, Yale, U of Penn, Baylor, George Washington, Boston Univ., Columbia, Vanderbilt... Obviously, this list is not exhaustive and I am wondering to you can add to that. And I have not known any Canadian who managed to get into or attend UCLA, UCSF and Stanford.
4) In response to another post, generally, applying to American schools is easier than applying to Canadian schools. But this year AMCAS really majorly absolutely screwed up. But I don't think that one can put his or her finger on a particular school such as Wash U in St. Louis.
