Usask premed vs Mcmaster Health Science

[bobcharlie118]

Hello all, 

I am as many of you all, hoping to one day go to med school. I am currently in Gr.12 closing in on some decisions with my premed program of choice. I'm passionate about going to the field of medicine. 

First of all my grades. I got a 93 in ENG4U and 96 MDM4U over the summer, so if I can do well in Biology and Chemistry, I am fairly confident I can pull off a 95 (around the median grade for McMaster Health Science understanding there is still the supplementary application). 

My question is, would going to Saskatchewan be more worth it than this extremely prestigious program? 

My priority is getting into med and that's it. I am financially ready with my own savings and my parents support, as well as willing to live alone (I have lived alone for extended periods of time before as well) and in the cold. I am willing to sacrifice a lot to get into med school. I will follow the path that will give me the best chance. Again, this is my dream.  

So the way I think of it, Usask has an actual benefit of IP students getting an advantage over out of province applicants. There are fewer applicants and therefore less competition. There aren't any prestigious premed programs at Usask, but they still have extraordinarily high % of program students go into med school.

McMaster Health Science on the other hand, I see as a gathering of really academically smart students and therefore they do well in school, and then they all went there to get into med school in the first place so a lot of them do so. There is no 'actual' advantage. Aside from statistics unrelated to med school acceptance. 

 With this being said why is McMaster Health Science held at a higher standard in terms of med school then moving provinces? Should I follow this standard with my priority? 

[80smusiclover]

Hey there,

I hope I’m not too late replying to this! It’s great that you’re really thinking ahead about what you want for your future, and I think I can give you some decent advice as a fellow grade 12 student who’s going to be premed at usask!

I think you can definitely get into both schools so the first question to ask yourself is what are you passionate about? I know your goal is medicine, but undergrad is a long 4 years of hard work, and I think you should consider what type of program you actually want to be in, curriculum wise. If you’re just looking for a typical premed program, many usask premeds major in one of the biomedical programs, like physiological and pharmacological science. I had originally considered doing this, but I realized that I’m much more interested in both a scientific and holistic approach to health which is why I’m doing the Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health Studies at usask. Why specifically are you interested in McMaster Health Science, other than the fact that it prepares you for medicine?

I know that a lot of people do care about the prestige of a program and McMaster Health Sciences is definitely one of the most prestigious premed programs in Canada. Generally, med schools don’t really care what undergrad you do though. I’ve met music majors who got into med school. You could actually get a higher gpa in an “easier”, less prestigious program. Just a thought. In my opinion, prestige is not something you should consider too much. A doctor who went to usask for their undergrad is still a doctor. A doctor who did McMaster Health Sciences for their undergrad is still a doctor. 

But back to your original question—quite frankly, I think you would have a better chance of getting into med school if you went to usask. It’s notoriously hard for Ontario residents to get into schools because there are so many applicants and the Ontario schools mostly don’t care whether you’re an in province or out of province applicant. But if you’re a very strong university student, you CAN get in anywhere. It’s just harder.

I hope this helped you a bit! I’m certainly no expert on any of this stuff, but if you want anyone to discuss things with, I’m your girl!
 

I’ve never used premed101 before so sorry if the formatting of this response is weird. Congrats on your great grades in high school and good luck with your applications!