Should I Consider Moving To Alberta For A Year To Gain In-Province Status?

[MedForDays]

I'm thinking about possibly moving to Alberta this year if my interviews don't work out so that I can apply as an in-province applicant. My family seems to think that it would be very beneficial as their cutoffs for in-province applicants are a lot lower than what they have for out of province students. Part of me agrees because then I'd be well above the cutoffs....but it's scary. Would it really be worth it? Would it greatly improve my chances? Has anyone else done something like this before? Has it helped?

 

Just some background, I've got a cGPA for Alberta sitting at 3.86, a 513 MCAT (128 CARS), and I think good ECs. Applied to Alberta and several other schools this year as an OOP but still waiting for interviews.

 

Thank you so much! I appreciate any input.

[Bambi]

One of our members did this a few years ago and he was accepted. Good luck!

[hard08]

Yes do it for sure.

 

BC is another one that's easy to get IP for.

 

Alberta's good because the first year you become IP for UAlberta, and the 2nd year you become IP for Calgary if you didn't get in.

[Guest]

Ah, but then you would be considered OOP for schools outside of Alberta. So why Alberta specifically? Is it easier to get into when compared to IP at other provinces?

[Artier]

Ah, but then you would be considered OOP for schools outside of Alberta. So why Alberta specifically?

Not necessarily.

 

And IP status in Ontario (if that's where OP is from) isn't worth anything.

[m_jacob_45]

I would not personally. I think its too much effort/too many eggs in one basket. Also, IP status for ON means something at Mac so I don't think its worth it overall. Obviously, if you do it and get in, then looking back, yes it would have been the right decision, but I think at this point I would not say that. 

[Meridian]

You don't say where you live now. GPA=3.86 / MCAT=513 is reasonable for applying to a number of schools.  Where have you applied this year ?  

 

Moving to Alberta solely for a better chance at potentially getting an interview seems fairly radical.  You still have to turn the potential interview into an acceptance. Using up a year of your life for that marginal increase in chance seems too hopeful.   If there are other reasons to move there like a good job prospect or living opportunities then sure - but not solely for purpose of IP status.

 

It is still 1600 people applying for less than 162 positions, so still a long shot statistically  (21% success IP).

 

     https://afmc.ca/sites/default/files/documents/en/Publications/AdmissionsBook2016-Final-EN.pdf

 

Using your logic - why not instead go to maritime's for in-province at DAL with better IP chances than UAlberta ?

[spa]

Actually looking at the stats, it appears far better to be an OOP rather than IP for Calgary. https://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/reference-stats-2016.pdf

 

Only 182 Non-Albertans applicants.. out of that 96 were rejected only because they didn't even meet the eligibility criteria! The average GPA of non-albertan applicants appears to be only nominally greater.. 3.83 vs. 3.73..  Sure the Non-Albertans can be expected to be more competitive based on their GPAs, but in the end, its pretty much the same if you consider you would be competing with 1000 + applicants vs. 150 + (slightly more competitive) applicants.

 

Plus think of the Non-Albertans who might reject their offer, since many also must have applied elsewhere

[Artier]

I would not personally. I think its too much effort/too many eggs in one basket. Also, IP status for ON means something at Mac so I don't think its worth it overall. Obviously, if you do it and get in, then looking back, yes it would have been the right decision, but I think at this point I would not say that. 

 

Just to be clear, you won't lose IP status at Mac by moving, OP would simply be IP in both places.

[m_jacob_45]

Just to be clear, you won't lose IP status at Mac by moving, OP would simply be IP in both places.

 

Oh ok, I didn't know that. Still would probably not do it though just because it's a huge move and there's no guarantee...

[Edict]

Oh ok, I didn't know that. Still would probably not do it though just because it's a huge move and there's no guarantee...

 

Eh... people go abroad for medical school and to people saying you "lose" a year of your life, it isn't as if OP would be wasting a year of their life away by living in Alberta. Everything available here is available there, so OP would be making productive use of their time while there. 

[BernieMac]

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[MedForDays]

Thank you everyone for your input, I really appreciate it!

 

Just to clarify some things: I am a BC resident, and 3.86 is the calculate GPA that appears on my Alberta application because I already graduated (i.e. I have 4+ years so they dropped my worst year, which boosted me to a 3.86. At UBC I had an 84 ish average, about 85 after they drop my worst year. My final year was like an 88 or 89, so that really pulled up my overall average).

 

Ah, but then you would be considered OOP for schools outside of Alberta. So why Alberta specifically? Is it easier to get into when compared to IP at other provinces?

 

@1997, Well Alberta specifically because I meet their OOP requirements, it's the closest to BC and my family, I have friends that go to U of A and live there, and just overall the move would be much easier. Also, because of the connections I mentioned, I might be able to get a job there more easily than if I were to go to another province. In terms of whether or not it's easier than other provinces, I'm really not sure to be honest haha. I sure hope it is though. I've been trying to find specific stats for U of As entrance classes but it's been slow going.

 

 

Actually looking at the stats, it appears far better to be an OOP rather than IP for Calgary. https://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/reference-stats-2016.pdf

 

Only 182 Non-Albertans applicants.. out of that 96 were rejected only because they didn't even meet the eligibility criteria! The average GPA of non-albertan applicants appears to be only nominally greater.. 3.83 vs. 3.73..  Sure the Non-Albertans can be expected to be more competitive based on their GPAs, but in the end, its pretty much the same if you consider you would be competing with 1000 + applicants vs. 150 + (slightly more competitive) applicants.

 

Plus think of the Non-Albertans who might reject their offer, since many also must have applied elsewhere

 

@spaWow I actually hadn't checked Calgary's stats but true it might be easier as an OOP actually. The thing is, without dropping my worst year, I don't think I meet Calgary's OOP cutoff , so that's not an option for me. I think I'm like 3.7 something if all 4 of my years are used.

 

@Meridian, This year I applied to UBC, UofA, Saskatchewan, Queens, McMaster and Toronto (I don't even know why I applied to Toronto, their average GPA is like 3.9 something). I may be able to get a job there through one of my BC volunteer position coordinators but it's not really set in stone. DAL might actually be a good call, I should look at their stats more. I think I missed their deadline this year so I couldn't apply, real shame and mistake on my part. I think I also figured I was right around their cutoff so I didn't it'd be worth it (that's how I comforted myself for forgetting...)

 

Thanks again! Overall, I'm still debating on this whole move. Was considering trying to become an EMT or something in Alberta, but that's still up in the air. It'd be pretty time intensive and I don't know if I would have the time to work on my other extra-curriculars if I were to do that.

[yup]

 

@spaWow I actually hadn't checked Calgary's stats but true it might be easier as an OOP actually. The thing is, without dropping my worst year, I don't think I meet Calgary's OOP cutoff , so that's not an option for me. I think I'm like 3.7 something if all 4 of my years are used.

 

 

Actually, Calgary does drop your lowest year if you have completed more than two full-time years of undergrad! See here: https://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/prospective-students/application-manual-2016-2017#quickset-field_collection_quicktabs_1 

[Fresh fry]

This is not an uncommon thing and has been done lots. This coming from an Alberta grad.

 

If you have housing and work/school you can take advantage of here then moving to Alberta puts you at an advantage for someone in your GPA application category Personally I don't like people "gaming" the rules and they were put in place so that Alberta would be paying for people who would end up working in Alberta and not running back to Ontario/BC, but lots of people fall in love with it here, some of our Alberta home-grown grads move away, and we send people off for residency with total reckless abandon so the whole "Alberta IP preference thing" is kind of a waste anyway. 

 

Come on down, bring a jacket and install a block heater in your car.

[ljbaron]

What do alberta schools consider as "in province, AKA what would I need to prove that I have moved to Alberta to gain in province status?

 

I have family that lives in Alberta, could an individual not just say that he has been living with his extended family for the past year to gain in province status? 

[JohnGrisham]

I would not personally. I think its too much effort/too many eggs in one basket. Also, IP status for ON means something at Mac so I don't think its worth it overall. Obviously, if you do it and get in, then looking back, yes it would have been the right decision, but I think at this point I would not say that. 

Depends entirely on the OPs application. If they have a competitive application for getting an interview in Alberta's two schools should they be IP, rather than OOP, then its worth it.

 

IP in Ontario is only really helpful for MAC, but again, they wouldn't suddenly lose their IP there - but thats for OP to look into. 

[BernieMac]

On 1/15/2017 at 11:21 AM, ljbaron said:

What do alberta schools consider as "in province, AKA what would I need to prove that I have moved to Alberta to gain in province status?

 

I have family that lives in Alberta, could an individual not just say that he has been living with his extended family for the past year to gain in province status? 

 

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[MedForDays]

@Fresh Fry, I appreciate that, thank you! I don't really care where I end up as long as I get to practice medicine at some point, so if I end up staying in Alberta afterwards, I'd be totally fine with that.

 

@JohnGrisham, Yeah I think if I were IP, I'd definitely be well above the cutoffs, but I guess again the cutoffs don't really mean much. The average is still in the 3.8s, so it's tough to say if overall I'd still make it. Looks like I've got a ton of thinking to do!

 

Thanks everyone for the input!

 

Side note, If anyone has access to detailed entrance statistics from the U of A looking at IP vs OOP GPAs and MCAT scores, I would very much appreciate it!

[NeuroisAwesome]

@MedForDays did you end up moving to Alberta to gain in-province status? How did that go? Did you get into Albertan medical schools?