Alberta IP vs BC IP

[BCelectrophile]

I am a BC resident and I have done 2 years of undergrad (science) at a small rural college in BC. Because the college doesn't offer full degrees I have to transfer to get my Bsc. I am looking to tranfer to UAlberta for a few reasons including low cost of living and specific extracurricular opportunities. After 2 years in AB (and my degree is finished) I will have IP status for both UofC and UofA. The downside is that I will lose my BC IP status...

What is the general consensus on whether being Alberta IP is considered "better" than BC IP? Like I said, Alberta IP status is not the only or primary reason I am moving, but I want to make sure that I am not making a big mistake in terms of comparing BC IP to Alberta IP.

 

[frenchpress]

18 hours ago, BCelectrophile said:

I am a BC resident and I have done 2 years of undergrad (science) at a small rural college in BC. Because the college doesn't offer full degrees I have to transfer to get my Bsc. I am looking to tranfer to UAlberta for a few reasons including low cost of living and specific extracurricular opportunities. After 2 years in AB (and my degree is finished) I will have IP status for both UofC and UofA. The downside is that I will lose my BC IP status...

What is the general consensus on whether being Alberta IP is considered "better" than BC IP? Like I said, Alberta IP status is not the only or primary reason I am moving, but I want to make sure that I am not making a big mistake in terms of comparing BC IP to Alberta IP.

 

You won’t necessarily lose your BC status. I saw that you posted in the other thread where this has just been discussed in detail, so take a look there as well. But generally, students can maintain their BC MSP coverage while away on full-time study if they want  (instead of becoming a resident in the province they move to), as long as they meet the requirements: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/msp/bc-residents/managing-your-msp-account/leaving-bc-temporarily

But as to whether one residency is better... I think it really depends on where you want to end up and how competitive your application is. There’s no one better option for everyone. If you think you want to return to UBC and you don’t have amazing stats that would allow you to be competitive as OOP, then stay IP for BC if you can. If you think you’re OK with staying in Alberta for a long time and/or you feel like being able to apply IP for two schools is important to improve your chances, switch your residency when you move. 

You could always move to Alberta for your studies and see how you like it for a bit before making the decision to switch over your health care, etc. UofA seems to change its residency requirements once a year anyways, so who knows how many years will be required next year :p

[BCelectrophile]

I have medium-high stats (3.9, no mcat yet) and mainly just want to broaden my opportunity and get myself into med school no matter which one it is.  UBC would be nice but so would UofA or UofC (or anywhere else), I have no preference. I have sort of gotten a sense that UBC is a very competitive school for both IP and OOP, and Alberta schools less so. If I could apply as IP to all three then that would be fantastic, but I don't think that I can, so its more of a sense of which gives me a better chance as IP.

 

And you're right about UofA's indecisiveness, lol.

[Edict]

3 minutes ago, BCelectrophile said:

I have medium-high stats (3.9, no mcat yet) and mainly just want to broaden my opportunity and get myself into med school no matter which one it is.  UBC would be nice but so would UofA or UofC (or anywhere else), I have no preference. I have sort of gotten a sense that UBC is a very competitive school for both IP and OOP, and Alberta schools less so. If I could apply as IP to all three then that would be fantastic, but I don't think that I can, so its more of a sense of which gives me a better chance as IP.

 

And you're right about UofA's indecisiveness, lol.

I would transfer to UofA. As you said, Alberta IP is probably a bit better, plus you may be able to keep your BC status right? 

[BCelectrophile]

Yeah technically I could but it seems pretty dishonest. Keeping BC services card and qualifying as an AB resident both require that you "make your home" in the province. There is no hard, fast rule about this but I think it could work against me to try and play the system like that... I will have to phone UofA, UofC, UBC and the AB and BC governments to get some info

[frenchpress]

 

2 hours ago, BCelectrophile said:

Yeah technically I could but it seems pretty dishonest. Keeping BC services card and qualifying as an AB resident both require that you "make your home" in the province. There is no hard, fast rule about this but I think it could work against me to try and play the system like that... I will have to phone UofA, UofC, UBC and the AB and BC governments to get some info

The ones to focus on phoning are the UofA and UofC, to find out if living in the AB for a year while keeping your BC health care will meet their definition of establishing residency. UBC is much more clear cut about their residency requirements. You have to have a valid BC services card (i.e. BC health care) throughout the application process to be eligible. I am pretty certain they won’t give you a different answer, as they’ve been very strict in the past. 

There is one other way to be considered as an in-province applicant for all three schools: become a resident of the Yukon, NWT or Nunavut. That’s probably a much less desirable move for you though.