McMaster Uni

[dreamsicle]

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Hi -
I'm a student studying in the U.S. at UC Berkeley, but I am also a Canadian resident (born in ottawa 😀). I was wondering, if one were to gain acceptance at and attend medical school McMaster, how hard would it be to match to a good U.S. pediatrics residency?
Thanks very much!

 

[MeowMix]

The big IF is getting accepted to Mac. I grew up in Ottawa and did my graduate work at Berkeley, and have dual citizenship. I applied to Mac and did not even get a secondary, let alone an interview; I had multiple US acceptances. The applicant pool is very competitive. You will need a stinking high GPA and all kinds of brilliant accomplishments to get in.

Good peds residencies in the US are very competitive, partly because they are good and partly because it is viewed as a more family-friendly specialty that attracts a lot of women with families. The biggest factor is not going to be having gone to Mac; it will be the specialty itself, your USMLE scores, etc..

 

[akinf]

If you are a Canadian citizen, you may as well apply, but like MeowMix said, you do need a really high GPA. McMaster gets some of the most applicants per year in Canada. They are a 3-year program that requires no MCAT, which makes it attractive. The average GPA of entering students last year was 3.88, and I think it might probably be higher this year. I don't know if you have that, but that gives you an idea of just how tight your application has to be.

As for matching into the US, Canadians match to US programs sometimes, but that could be because the vast majority decide not to enter the US match though, however, if you do have the grades the quality experience, I don't see what is stopping you from gaining entry into a good pediatrics residency.

I would also consider applying to McGill, they are a bit more friendly to international students (usually Americans fill these spots).

 

[ssc_396]

I would also consider applying to McGill, they are a bit more friendly to international students (usually Americans fill these spots).

Nope - McGill is even worse than MAC for OOP folks, which the OP seems to be. While MAC is the most competitive school overall in Canada, McGill is by far the worst for OOPs. Even if you have Canadian & American citizenship my understanding is that during the application you are considered Canadian which puts you in a much more competitive pool than if you were American (but if you manage to get in then tuition is 1/3 of what Americans pay).

Out of curiosity - why MAC? Is it the no pre reqs, no MCAT, 3 year MD?