Psychiatry in Canada - applying, cost, age, family

[PsyHike]

Good evening,

I am in process of making it through my M.A. in Forensic Psychology in US and will most likely relocate to Canada after I'm done. I am still torn between Clinical Psychology PhD and Psychiatry. I have the better knowledge base for the first, and will probably take me less years (5-7), but psychiatry seems more and more like a better fit. So I have several questions for those of you who can help 🙂

Searching for admissions criteria, is it true that medical schools in Ontario do not require 1 year of chemistry/biology/math/physics/what have you that all US schools seem to require? Is there some sort of unspoken assumption that I have to have it anyway?

It's a silly question, but do I get paid at all while doing the 4 years of residency? And on the related note, how much do medical schools cost in Ontario (ball park)?

And last but not least, I will be 30-32 when I apply. Is it very rare to have students this old at the beginning of med school? Do admissions committees prefer younger students? Also - if anyone has experience with having kids while going through med school - I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me a little about it from your perspective!

Bonus question: do you think it's better to abandon the M.A. and try and get into med school now?

Thank you!

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[Medstart108]

Good evening,

I am in process of making it through my M.A. in Forensic Psychology in US and will most likely relocate to Canada after I'm done. I am still torn between Clinical Psychology PhD and Psychiatry. I have the better knowledge base for the first, and will probably take me less years (5-7), but psychiatry seems more and more like a better fit. So I have several questions for those of you who can help 🙂

Searching for admissions criteria, is it true that medical schools in Ontario do not require 1 year of chemistry/biology/math/physics/what have you that all US schools seem to require? Is there some sort of unspoken assumption that I have to have it anyway?

It's a silly question, but do I get paid at all while doing the 4 years of residency? And on the related note, how much do medical schools cost in Ontario (ball park)?

And last but not least, I will be 30-32 when I apply. Is it very rare to have students this old at the beginning of med school? Do admissions committees prefer younger students? Also - if anyone has experience with having kids while going through med school - I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me a little about it from your perspective!

Bonus question: do you think it's better to abandon the M.A. and try and get into med school now?

Thank you!

Most schools don't have pre-reqs anymore, McMaster, Western, Queens don't have pre-reqs. Ottawa and UofT still do, but UofT's pre-reqs are a bit easier to fulfill, just check the website of their medical school page.

You get paid during residency, usually around 60k in your first year and it goes up 5k each year or so.

It is certainly not rare to be older than average, we have people in our class in their early 40s and plenty in their 30s. Admissions committees definitely don't have a preference for younger students, they look at people holistically, they just want to see you are productive and you really have a passion for medicine and have the grades/MCAT scores for it as well.

How far are you into the MA? Honestly, I would just continue it because if things don't work out with medical school it is better to have the MA. In addition, most Ontario schools won't even accept anyone who hasn't finished their graduate degree. There has been a big problem recently with people doing a Masters or PhD and leaving midway once they got into medical school and graduate supervisors have been very upset at this. As a result, the medical schools often make you hand over proof you will finish your degree before you get into medical school or at least within a few months of getting into medical school. (We have had people defending their thesis in the first few months of medical school but have never had anyone who just left midway through their grad degree).

Just checking though, will you have Canadian PR or citizenship by the time you apply? Most schools have few if any spots for non citizens and the tuition is insanely high if you aren't a PR or citizen.

 

[PsyHike]

Most schools don't have pre-reqs anymore, McMaster, Western, Queens don't have pre-reqs. Ottawa and UofT still do, but UofT's pre-reqs are a bit easier to fulfill, just check the website of their medical school page.

You get paid during residency, usually around 60k in your first year and it goes up 5k each year or so.

It is certainly not rare to be older than average, we have people in our class in their early 40s and plenty in their 30s. Admissions committees definitely don't have a preference for younger students, they look at people holistically, they just want to see you are productive and you really have a passion for medicine and have the grades/MCAT scores for it as well.

How far are you into the MA? Honestly, I would just continue it because if things don't work out with medical school it is better to have the MA. In addition, most Ontario schools won't even accept anyone who hasn't finished their graduate degree. There has been a big problem recently with people doing a Masters or PhD and leaving midway once they got into medical school and graduate supervisors have been very upset at this. As a result, the medical schools often make you hand over proof you will finish your degree before you get into medical school or at least within a few months of getting into medical school. (We have had people defending their thesis in the first few months of medical school but have never had anyone who just left midway through their grad degree).

Just checking though, will you have Canadian PR or citizenship by the time you apply? Most schools have few if any spots for non citizens and the tuition is insanely high if you aren't a PR or citizen.

Thank you so much! This is a very jnformative reply and a good advice! If you don't mind answering another question: what is generally included in med school labs requirements? Is it more simulated nowadays (considering the technological leap) or do students still have to practice on live/dead animals?

 

[Medstart108]

Thank you so much! This is a very jnformative reply and a good advice! If you don't mind answering another question: what is generally included in med school labs requirements? Is it more simulated nowadays (considering the technological leap) or do students still have to practice on live/dead animals?

Are you talking about pre-reqs? I can't comment on these since I didn't apply to schools with pre-reqs, but I would assume there are specific courses that involve some sort of lab component that would qualify. Depends on the course, but i believe that it would probably have to involve some actual lab work component, not simulated.