ESL in Med School

[sorrynotsorry]

I tried to find data online but was unable to find anything. I am wondering if anyone/current student could let me know roughly what percentage of students in Canadian medical schools (excluding French schools) are not native English speakers? 

thank you! 

[DrOtter]

5 hours ago, sorrynotsorry said:

I tried to find data online but was unable to find anything. I am wondering if anyone/current student could let me know roughly what percentage of students in Canadian medical schools (excluding French schools) are not native English speakers? 

thank you! 

hm I know about 2 other people and myself who are not native English and/or French speakers who made it into Ottawa this year. It's certainly not a barrier and can even benefit you if you can spin it positively in essays and interviews (as long as it doesn't hinder you from getting a viable CARS and CASPer scores that is).

[INTJ-A]

Cannot find any studies on this either but I should tell you that in the group of people I practiced MMIs with (there were about 20 of us) in Calgary, the vast majority were first-generation immigrants who were born outside of Canada; quite a few had an accent as well. I don't know exactly how many of us got in in the end but it was at least half. 

For me personally, my ESL status has definitely held me back in CARS and I had to retake the MCAT solely because of it. It was still doable though and I scored 128 in the end.

[sorrynotsorry]

44 minutes ago, dopamania said:

Cannot find any studies on this either but I should tell you that in the group of people I practiced MMIs with (there were about 20 of us) in Calgary, the vast majority were first-generation immigrants who were born outside of Canada; quite a few had an accent as well. I don't know exactly how many of us got in in the end but it was at least half. 

For me personally, my ESL status has definitely held me back in CARS and I had to retake the MCAT solely because of it. It was still doable though and I scored 128 in the end.

Thanks for your comment! That’s surprising. When did you immigrate to Canada if you don’t mind me asking? I moved here when I was 18 for university and I feel you for CARS. I didn’t do well on cars despite months of practice and sometimes I get questions wrong solely because of a word I don’t know in the question stem sadly. 

[sorrynotsorry]

5 hours ago, DrOtter said:

hm I know about 2 other people and myself who are not native English and/or French speakers who made it into Ottawa this year. It's certainly not a barrier and can even benefit you if you can spin it positively in essays and interviews (as long as it doesn't hinder you from getting a viable CARS and CASPer scores that is).

That is very interesting, thanks for your reply Dr.Otter. When did you come to Canada btw? And you are absolutely right, CARS and CASPer are the biggest hurdles for me at least. 

[DrOtter]

1 hour ago, sorrynotsorry said:

That is very interesting, thanks for your reply Dr.Otter. When did you come to Canada btw? And you are absolutely right, CARS and CASPer are the biggest hurdles for me at least. 

I came to Canada 2 years ago. But I did start studying abroad in an English-speaking country since 2013.

[INTJ-A]

22 hours ago, sorrynotsorry said:

Thanks for your comment! That’s surprising. When did you immigrate to Canada if you don’t mind me asking? I moved here when I was 18 for university and I feel you for CARS. I didn’t do well on cars despite months of practice and sometimes I get questions wrong solely because of a word I don’t know in the question stem sadly. 

I came here at the age of 13 but had no prior English exposure so it wasn't until Grade 11 that I transitioned into a regular language class.

DM me for specific tips on CARS