daniorerio

Just wanted to share my own experience as I considered radonc in med school and invested in it quite a bit, but ultimately decided against it after my experiences and talking to several people in the Toronto program. I'm grateful for the honesty of the senior residents regarding the job situation in Toronto, though I can't speak for other parts of Canada where things might be improving somewhat. 1. Location: Many Toronto residents told me they chose the program to be near family but later regretted it. They mentioned that being in Toronto doesn't guarantee a job there, and pursuing a less demanding residency program while building a strong CV is a better strategy. They also noted that Toronto hires many international fellows and staff from the USA, leading to fierce competition and a prevalence of politics and nepotism. 2. Culture. This was the main deterrent for me. The residents said the Toronto program is the most demanding in Canada, requiring long hours and research commitments. They advised against joining the program, recommending London or other friendlier programs instead. The staff in Toronto can be difficult, treating residents poorly and often favoring those with better connections or nepotism. I can definitely see that from what I experienced. The residents felt they couldn't voice their concerns due to the close-knit nature of the department. One of the residents on the selection committee confidently told me Toronto generally doesn't get their top choices on the CaRMS list, and even went empty once. 3. Money. Academic salaries in Toronto aren't particularly high compared to community jobs. Residents suggested considering community positions for a more relaxed lifestyle, better work hours, and decent pay. 4. Quality of life. I was warned that my quality of life would suffer in the Toronto program, and that I should look elsewhere for a more balanced experience. 5. Job market. The residents were honest about the possibility of having to leave Toronto or even Ontario due to tough competition. They mentioned that Ontario is expected to supply radoncs to other provinces without residency programs, which was a red flag for me. Recent news about Ontario making it easier for USA/UK/Ireland grads to practice there only adds to the concern. It seems the Toronto job market might be struggling, but other locations could be better. The choice is yours and it certainly looks like there are people here who made it work. But it became clear to me that radonc wasn't the right fit for my goals of staying in Toronto, avoiding research obligations, and maintaining a good quality of life with decent pay. I ultimately chose a different specialty and am very happy with my decision and a good job market and reasonably high salary.

Result: Waitlisted Timestamp: 9:45AM GPA: 3.97 MCAT: 513 ECs: A good variety but nothing super memorable IMO Interviews: I thought I bombed the interview, which was probably true haha. Year: 3rd year UG Will be taking myself off the waitlist to accept another offer. Congrats to those accepted and best of luck to those still waiting!

Accepted! cGPA: 4 MCAT 513 OOP, 3rd year UG Interview: was confident immediately afterwards, then started to doubt my answers. I'm incredibly grateful and happy to receive an offer, but will probably decline to stay closer to home. Hopefully this helps out one of you!

Accepted to Hamilton! So grateful and happy for this offer! Timestamp: 8:28 am cGPA: 3.97 CARS: 128 Casper: I thought it was just okay, not great but not disastrous Interview: My last interview so I wasn't too nervous and felt fairly well-prepared. I thought most stations went well,but the acting station and a couple others stations felt rough. IP, 3rd year UG

I'm seriously shaking right now... It took me the last couple hours to calm down enough to remember to post! Result: Accepted (St. George) Timestamp: 8:11am (EST) cGPA: 3.97 MCAT: Above cut offs ECs: A good variety with some long-term activities, but felt pretty vanilla. Essays: Spent a lot of time on them and felt they were strong. Interview: Felt good about 2 stations, okay about 1 station, and very iffy about 1 station Year: 3rd year UG Geography: IP I'm torn between U of T and McMaster, but am leaning towards U of T! Either way, I am super grateful to have the choice. Edit: forgot to change my ECs from the copied post

Result: Accepted GPA: 4.0 Year: 3rd Year UG MCAT: 513 ECs: A good mix, but pretty vanilla IMHO Interview: Really enjoyed it and loved the U of A campus! Geography: OOP

Result: Invite Time Stamp: 4:10 PM EST cGPA: 3.97 (OMSAS) Year: 3rd year UG MCAT: I think it was 129/128/129/127 but honestly I don't remember anymore ECs: Pretty vanilla, had a variety of experiences but nothing extraordinary. PM for details Geography: OOP Good luck to everyone! Hang in there!!

INVITE! I can't believe it!! Date Stamp: Jan 24th 2017 3:25pm Location: OOP Stream: English wGPA: 3.95ish? Didn't calculate haha Current year: 3rd year ECs: pretty average/vanilla, PM for details Casper: thought it was mediocre, but I guess probably didn't go as badly as I thought Congrats to everyone invited and best of luck to those still waiting! Hang in there!

Similar to the post above, could 1 research experience be potentially split up into 4 entries? - Actual research experience (paid) under Employment - Studentship award under Awards - Poster presentation under Research - Award for poster presentation under Awards The Research section appears to be reserved for publications and presentations only, and Awards is also separate. This does seem to be the clearest way of showing everything, but it is an awful lot of entries, and I do not want to do any "padding".