Every so often on SDN, I read Canadians asking if they're at a disadvantage relative to Americans for admission to American dental schools... I have this to say about it:
The answer is yes. Canadians applicants definitely have to be more competitive than American applicants to gain acceptances.
This is perfectly reasonable. American schools serve American patients; they are funded (even the private ones) in part by American taxpayers; they prioritize educating young Americans; they are an element of American society.
The US and Canada has the same ratio of dental school seats to population (you have 1/10 of our population and 1/10 the number of seats we do). From a human competition standpoint, we're fairly evenly matched: you compete for fewer seats but against a smaller pool of smart young adults.
The reason Canadian schools are "harder" to get into is because they stress GPA above all, then the DAT, and then interview. This makes the admissions process a straightforward numbers game with winners and losers clearly determined. In the US, we have a lot more hoops to jump through (ECs like research, volunteering, leadership, shadowing) so students have to present a well-rounded candidacy. Stack us Americans up against the losers of the Canadian system who could focus entirely on academics as predents and yes, we may have lower stats on average. You could focus only on stats while we had to build up a holistic application. When predents.com was up, you could see that the ECs arena was where Americans often outcompeted Canadians.
Just how different is our system? Consider this: I have close to a 4.0 gpa (thousandths of a point short) and a 23AA yet I may not get accepted for many different reasons. I may not have sufficient shadowing, or community service, or I may lack leadership experience. If I was a Canadian, I would be a shoo-in at my provincial school.
This brings me to my next point: Though you complain that American schools put Internationals at a disadvantage, my counterargument would be that Canadian schools treat Americans even worse. As an American, I couldn't get an acceptance at any Canadian school despite my competitive stats (and believe me, I wish I could attend one. There are no state schools where I live and provincial school tuition is a dream).
Schools will accept Canadians (and other Internationals) who are stellar candidates with a lot to offer to a class. But Americans will always be embraced more than equally competitive Canadians... and why shouldn't we be? It's our homeland, our system of education, and our source of opportunity. You had just as much opportunity as us in your nation's system but you didn't make it through your system's gauntlet. American schools give you guys a second chance, but they won't do so at the expense of their own peoples' first and only chance. (There are no other countries for us to run to that will allow us to return home. Canadians have the US and Australia)
Rather than complain how Canadians may need better stats than Americans, be thankful that your system allows you to focus on establishing a strong gpa in the first place. If Canada used holistic admissions like the US and we had a numbers game, then uncompetitive Canadians would be in no position to apply to US schools.
Think of American schools that consider Canadians a luxury... an opportunity... and a likely fleeting one at that. With our economy the way it is and opportunities for young Americans dwindling, the pool of qualified American candidates grows ever larger. Expect more schools to restrict admission to Americans only, like Tufts, in the future.
/rant
And when I say Americans, I'm referring to citizens of the United States. I use that expression because I live...
in America.
The answer is yes. Canadians applicants definitely have to be more competitive than American applicants to gain acceptances.
This is perfectly reasonable. American schools serve American patients; they are funded (even the private ones) in part by American taxpayers; they prioritize educating young Americans; they are an element of American society.
The US and Canada has the same ratio of dental school seats to population (you have 1/10 of our population and 1/10 the number of seats we do). From a human competition standpoint, we're fairly evenly matched: you compete for fewer seats but against a smaller pool of smart young adults.
The reason Canadian schools are "harder" to get into is because they stress GPA above all, then the DAT, and then interview. This makes the admissions process a straightforward numbers game with winners and losers clearly determined. In the US, we have a lot more hoops to jump through (ECs like research, volunteering, leadership, shadowing) so students have to present a well-rounded candidacy. Stack us Americans up against the losers of the Canadian system who could focus entirely on academics as predents and yes, we may have lower stats on average. You could focus only on stats while we had to build up a holistic application. When predents.com was up, you could see that the ECs arena was where Americans often outcompeted Canadians.
Just how different is our system? Consider this: I have close to a 4.0 gpa (thousandths of a point short) and a 23AA yet I may not get accepted for many different reasons. I may not have sufficient shadowing, or community service, or I may lack leadership experience. If I was a Canadian, I would be a shoo-in at my provincial school.
This brings me to my next point: Though you complain that American schools put Internationals at a disadvantage, my counterargument would be that Canadian schools treat Americans even worse. As an American, I couldn't get an acceptance at any Canadian school despite my competitive stats (and believe me, I wish I could attend one. There are no state schools where I live and provincial school tuition is a dream).
Schools will accept Canadians (and other Internationals) who are stellar candidates with a lot to offer to a class. But Americans will always be embraced more than equally competitive Canadians... and why shouldn't we be? It's our homeland, our system of education, and our source of opportunity. You had just as much opportunity as us in your nation's system but you didn't make it through your system's gauntlet. American schools give you guys a second chance, but they won't do so at the expense of their own peoples' first and only chance. (There are no other countries for us to run to that will allow us to return home. Canadians have the US and Australia)
Rather than complain how Canadians may need better stats than Americans, be thankful that your system allows you to focus on establishing a strong gpa in the first place. If Canada used holistic admissions like the US and we had a numbers game, then uncompetitive Canadians would be in no position to apply to US schools.
Think of American schools that consider Canadians a luxury... an opportunity... and a likely fleeting one at that. With our economy the way it is and opportunities for young Americans dwindling, the pool of qualified American candidates grows ever larger. Expect more schools to restrict admission to Americans only, like Tufts, in the future.
/rant
And when I say Americans, I'm referring to citizens of the United States. I use that expression because I live...
in America.
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