Calgary Vs Saskatchewan

[Saskatoon]

Hey guys, I have been accepted to both Saskatchewan and Calgary and have been having a hard time deciding what school would be the best for me.

 

Saskatchewan:

 

-I'd be able to live in my home town (friends, family, no rent, etc).

-I would be familiar with the facilities

-I do not have a science background so the four year program with the basic sciences is appealing to me.

-Easier to write the USMLE's during the summer

-Just off probation, could potentially have the reputation as a lesser school.

-Marked exams, makes it a more competitive atmosphere.

-Summer research would be awesome.

 

Calgary:

 

-Amazing atmosphere, by far the friendliest place I interviewed at and if the other faculty is anything like Ian Walker I am sure the faculty is top notch (I really admire how open Dr. Walker is with the application process)

-3 year program is nice, although at 22 finishing a year earlier is not the biggest deal to me.

-Beautiful city, I have only been to Calgary twice in my life but it seems like a great city to live in.

-Prosection anatomy labs.

-Pass/fail marking which really makes the atmosphere better.

-I would have to move out of province to a place where I would know no one.

 

Overall both schools seem to have their own pros and cons, and I just wanted to get opinions from a wider range of students who potentially had to make a decision similar to this. I really love Calgary's atmosphere, but I am scared as an out of province applicant that isolating myself from my current friends and my family would make me very homesick. Do you think Calgary's atmosphere would make up for it? Coming from a non-science background I also might struggle a lot with Calgary's curriculum. 

 

Any input would be appreciated, this has become one of the hardest decisions of my life and right now it just seems like no matter what I'll end up regretting what could have been.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Slush

 

 

 

[JohnGrisham]

UofS provides grades and not p/f?   I'd run from that personally. 


Very tough decision you'll have to make - one comment would be, that unless you plan on only applying to residencies in Saskatchewan, theres a very real possibility you could end up having to move away from your family and friends after medical school anyways.    Seems like it would be easier to do and handle, during medical school than residency... 

Very tough.

[hohoho]

Saskatchewan Pro: Dr. Stobart.

 

ETA: Pro for Sask, grades actually help you out in the long run because you know which topics you're actually doing poorly on. Pass/Fail breeds this complacency where as long as you know enough to Pass, you're good enough. Which has the benefit of reducing competitiveness, but makes it a lot harder for those struggling in the program.

[freewheeler]

With regards to U of S, I doubt that they are not a pass/fail school. AFAIK only the french speaking schools provide final course grades on your transcript, all english speaking medical schools in Canada are pass/fail as your final course grade. 

 

You do get a percentage grade back for each of your tests and for the course overall, but only you see that and you also see what the minimum pass percentage was so you can compare the two and gauge for yourself how effective your studying is. The final course grade on your transcript is just pass/fail however.

 

If any U of S students or upper years see this and I am misinformed, feel free to correct me.

 

Sounds like being at home and close to friends/family is important to you. In that case, Saskatchewan seems like a no-brainer. Not sure what their curriculum is like but really it comes down to your preference of location and 3 vs 4 years. Med school itself takes time to adjust to both academically and socially, so if you have one less major adjustment to make with respect to moving OOP and living on your own, then that's a bonus for you.

 

Do not concern yourself with 'reputation' when it comes to Canadian medical schools. It is a non-factor.

 

Also, considering that many students match to their homeschool for residency, if staying close to home is important to you then that would be another reason to choose the U of S.

[CXR]

I'd also reflect on where you want to end up practicing. While technically schools don't offer a "homeschool" advantage, the connections and network you build during medical school (preclerkship and clerkship) will help you if you want to stay in that geographical area. If your end goal is to stay in your community in Sask, that's probably a better option

[JohnGrisham]

Saskatchewan Pro: Dr. Stobart.

 

ETA: Pro for Sask, grades actually help you out in the long run because you know which topics you're actually doing poorly on. Pass/Fail breeds this complacency where as long as you know enough to Pass, you're good enough. Which has the benefit of reducing competitiveness, but makes it a lot harder for those struggling in the program.

This is factually incorrect. Even at my pass/fail school, we still get the grade breakdowns and know which topics we are weak on. It just does not end up on our transcript.

 

Not really complacency, you just learn to focus on things that matter more to you than topics that may not be as relevant. Even then, we still have an A- average on most exams...because medical students don't become complacent, if it means having a weaker knowledge base for rotations - where it all counts.

[BoopityBoop]

I think the posters above really covered a lot.

I would say go for Calgary!

Like you mentioned you are 22! It's a lot easier to have the experience of moving somewhere else and experiencing a new city when you are younger! Who knows if you'd ever be able to live in Calgary again; maybe you'd match to Saskatchewan for residency and find a job in Saskatchewan as well!

I don't know if you have a significant other, but if you don't: Calgary is a whole new dating pool to find Mr/Ms. Right for you!

I think as pre-meds we are amazing and pretty thorough at balancing the pros and cons of academics and any factor pertaining to our career success.

 

But once you get that acceptance letter, you should start to give your personal life a little more attention! Sure your career is important, but it's quite stable once you get into medical school - you'll become a doctor of some sort! 

[Scorbix]

I'm on my mobile phone and so cannot comment in depth, but I just finished my first year at the U of S, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have - feel free to PM.

[Lactic Folly]

Congratulations and I don't think you can go wrong either way - the next 3-4 years will go by in a flash, and when you prepare to enter the next stage of residency training, I don't think you'll likely regret your choice.

 

Regarding coming back home to practice, I think that networking during residency is more important. Your chances at landing a residency in Saskatchewan having attended an OOP school would probably be similar to a home school applicant given your strong local connections, as long as you do the usual electives etc.

[Scorbix]

To comment on the U of S and marks, we are a strictly pass/fail school in that ONLY a P and/or F will show up on your transcript and Dean's letters. The only time you will receive a number mark is on your exams and assignments. Pass is set at 70%, which means you can get below 70% on a midterm exam, as long as your overall mark in the course is above a 70% when final grades are calculated. I found this to be of particular use instead of simply receiving a P/F because a 68% or a 40% still gets you an "F", but knowing you only failed by 2% versus 30% is very useful. I hope that clears up the confusion. Marks are only important for things such as awards/scholarships. (e.g. Highest mark in Heme module) Best of luck with your decision and congratulations!

 

Our health sciences building is also extremely new, and our anatomy lab just recently finished being renovated and moved to the newer part of the building. We use whole cadavers for our anatomy, and we dissect them from day one, which is extremely valuable and also humbling in that you meet your first "patient" very early on. Appreciating whole-body anatomy is also very useful, though I cannot comment on how we differ (if at all) from U of C.