SMP or Ireland?? **Canadian applicant**

[ryanmtl]

Hi everyone,

I was trying to plan ahead and come up with an alternative plan if I don't get accepted to any medical schools (MD) next application cycle. I'm Canadian, and I've recently found out about these SMPs and wanted to ask that considering the cost of the program and the chances of a Canadian applicant getting an acceptance from an American medical school (not very good), is it even worthwhile enrolling in an SMP? From what I understand, a SMP will only better your chances (considering you do well, of course) in the US. So is it likely that even if I do well in a SMP, I still will have a hard time getting into an American allopathic medical school because I'm Canadian?

Basically, I'm trying to come up with a plan "b" if I don't get accepted to a medical school for Fall 2013. Right now, I'm debating between a SMP or an Irish medical school.

Thanks!

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[deleted248403]

Even doing an SMP in the US, isnt necessarily going to help you with medical school admissions in the US; the fact that you are a Canadian citizen is the main obstacle.

Whats wrong with medical school in Canada?

 

[HerbalPlz]

Whats wrong with medical school in Canada?

Really, really hard to get into medical school in Canada.

 

[deleted248403]

Really, really hard to get into medical school in Canada.

America isn't easy.... and seen as they favour against Canadians, then its prob harder to get into a US MD school as a Canadian than a Canadian trying to get into a Canadian med school

 

[ryanmtl]

I figured that if I were to complete an SMP and apply to "Canadian friendly" US universities (private schools, etc) that I would have an ok chance... Given that I perform well in the SMP.

It's just the alternative (Ireland), is starting not to look so attractive when I read what's going on with the residency situation for IMGs...

Thoughts??

 

[deleted248403]

SMP doesn't change your citizenship... unfortunately, your nationality is your biggest hurdle.

Canadian-friendly means they take a handful of Canadians - not a lot; which means you'll have to be the best damn Canadian applicant pretty much

And yes, any Carib/Foreign med school is looking a helluva lot less attractive then it used to. It even has US allopathic people panicking

 

[DrMidlife]

Minimum GPA for applying to U of Toronto, last I checked, was 3.7. Minimum to apply.

I had at least 3 Canadian classmates at EVMS last year. But I have no clue whether the EVMS SMP or any other SMP would change odds of acceptance. It's really hard to find out how many Canadians apply to US schools - all the intl apps are bunched together in AAMC data - so it's really really hard to find acceptance percentages.

In your shoes I think I'd do a higher level analysis of what it costs and what the ramifications are of the various choices. The international forum has a ton of info on the Ireland & Aussie processes, and most of the traffic in that forum is Canadian. Ramifications of interest: what entrance exam(s) do you have to take? What are your choices for residency? What are your choices if you want to stay in the UK or in Australia? What is going on politically that could change the story dramatically during your med ed years?

Best of luck to you.

 

[HerbalPlz]

America isn't easy.... and seen as they favour against Canadians, then its prob harder to get into a US MD school as a Canadian than a Canadian trying to get into a Canadian med school

Unfortunately, this is not true. It's easier to get into a US MD for a Canadian than a Canadian MD school for a variety of reasons.

Number 1 reason is that your GPA from almost any Canadian University gets bumped up when converted through AMCAS. An 80% in Canada is pretty meh...but that same 80% on AMCAS = 4.0, for a lot of Canadian Uni's. Of course not every school is it 80%= 4.0, some I've seen are 85% = 4.0, etc. But for the majority, your GPA is higher when applying to US.

As DrMidlife pointed out, a lot of schools have very high minimum GPA/MCAT requirements. So if you're from Canada with a 3.6-3.7 GPA you are completely locked out. At least you still have a chance in the US, but in Canada there's no chance at all. There's no rolling admissions like there is in the US, so you have to pass the cutoffs to even have the rest of your application be reviewed.

Lastly, I wouldn't say Canadian-friendly US schools favour against Canadians. You're seen as an equal candidate to a US citizen; this is what Canadian-friendly means.

I attended the BU SMP seminar and called them a few times last year to confirm their policies. They said Canadians are treated equally when compared to US applicants (i.e. no harsher reqs). Georgetown has said the same...I haven't found out much more information than that, unfortunately, but I will come December.

 

[HerbalPlz]

Also to the OP: I'm a Canadian and will be applying to SMPs as well this cycle.

I seriously cannot find much anecdotal evidence on these forums of Canadians going to SMPs at all. Not because it's hard for them or anything, but most just don't know that SMPs even exist.

I wonder if SMPs would help chances when applying to Canadian med schools...unfortunately, I think it would be hard to get a good answer on this. The best way to find out imo would be to call (which I plan to do!) but also after getting into SMPs, some recommend that you apply to med schools before starting. The advisers then send letters and grade updates to the med schools. This is the only way we'd get a confirmed answer, I think. That communication between a named faculty adviser telling the med school adcoms what exactly the SMP is all about is our only chance.

Or if a Canadian who has gone through an SMP into a medical school is also recommended to post here imo, but I don't think many exist at all.

 

[ryanmtl]

I agree with you. It would be great to hear from any Canadians who have gone through the SMP, successfully or not.