I'm a Canadian that wants to study in the US

[witchdoctor777]

Hi there,

I'm from Canada and I'll be finishing my senior year of HS fairly soon. I was thinking of finishing my undergrad here, in Canada, and then going to a US medical school because I've heard Canadian medical schools are ultra competitive and getting in is very hard (for example, applying with less than a 3.7 GPA at most schools = no chance. Also, it's very difficult to get a 3.7+ in Canadian universities from what I've heard, lots of brutal courses.)

I feel like my only chance is applying to American MD or even DO schools with not as competitive GPA requirements (I've heard some have like a 3.5~ GPA average for admission). However, my disadvantage is that I'm an international applicant.

Maybe this is really dumb, but I've considered going to an American community college and then transferring to an American university, and then going to medical school.

I have no clue what to do, any helpful information or suggestions? Anyone who has been in a similar situation?

Thanks!

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[vellez]

I know that at my specific med school, we take Canadians. I think we just consider them OOS, though you may need to pay all 4 years tuition up front. *Maybe* Canada is an exception, but it's not uncommon for US med schools to require all 4 years tuition up front before you start for international applicants. Since, in theory, an international student can just go back to their country and not pay back their US loans after they graduate. It's definitely do able for a Canadian to go to med school in the US, just research what schools take Canadians. FYI: It probably won't be public med schools.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

It's extremely difficult to get in in Canada, but high school is way too early to give up on getting top grades in undergrad. If you go to school in the US you can forget about ever getting in in Canada because of how GPAs are calculated, but if you go to school in Canada and can't get in there, then you can reasonably apply to US MD schools. If that doesn't work out, you can apply to US DO schools and European schools etc.

Undergrad tuition in Canada is also dirt cheap compared to the US, and spending outrageous amounts of money because you think you want to apply to med school (a lot of people change their minds in undergrad, you won't know until you're there) would definitely be a bizarre choice. If you put in the work and have good grades going to a Canadian school you'll get in somewhere, especially if you're willing to go international.

edit: Would the OP even be considered IS anywhere just by virtue of doing undergrad in the US? Still wouldn't be a citizen

 

[witchdoctor777]

It's extremely difficult to get in in Canada, but high school is way too early to give up on getting top grades in undergrad. If you go to school in the US you can forget about ever getting in in Canada because of how GPAs are calculated, but if you go to school in Canada and can't get in there, then you can reasonably apply to US MD schools. If that doesn't work out, you can apply to US DO schools and European schools etc.

Undergrad tuition in Canada is also dirt cheap compared to the US, and spending outrageous amounts of money because you think you want to apply to med school (a lot of people change their minds in undergrad, you won't know until you're there) would definitely be a bizarre choice. If you put in the work and have good grades going to a Canadian school you'll get in somewhere, especially if you're willing to go international.

edit: Would the OP even be considered IS anywhere just by virtue of doing undergrad in the US? Still wouldn't be a citizen

Yeah, I guess it's foolish to go to the US. I think just my undergrad there would be like 100k or something like that so it's not worth it.

By the way, just out of curiousity, did you finish your undergrad in Canada? If so, could you recommend a major?

 

[Dr.Sticks]

Yeah, I guess it's foolish to go to the US. I think just my undergrad there would be like 100k or something like that so it's not worth it.

By the way, just out of curiousity, did you finish your undergrad in Canada? If so, could you recommend a major? I'm thinking of taking some typical science major like Life Science or Health Science but my parents warn against it because if I don't get into medical school, I'm screwed. I'm considering either Computer Science or Bio-Informatics.

Depends on where you go
Brigham would be cheap lol, but I don't know if you would want to go to a Mormon school.

Anyways OP;
You would have to apply for residency here for the best chances at getting into a med school in the U.S

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Yeah, I guess it's foolish to go to the US. I think just my undergrad there would be like 100k or something like that so it's not worth it.

By the way, just out of curiousity, did you finish your undergrad in Canada? If so, could you recommend a major? I'm thinking of taking some typical science major like Life Science or Health Science but my parents warn against it because if I don't get into medical school, I'm screwed. I'm considering either Computer Science or Bio-Informatics.

I've always been in Canada, started using SDN when I applied to come American med schools but ended up getting accepted to a Canadian school.

Getting top grades semester after semester is grueling, you get through it by studying something you're actually interested in. If your major leads to a good job out of undergrad but you detest it, you're going to hate your life (and probably won't get med school caliber grades). Also don't be afraid to switch majors in order to find that, delaying graduation isn't the massive deal that it might feel like at the time, it's actually not a big deal at all when your tuition is cheap. You're not committed to a single path based on what program you choose right now.