why choose U of T?

[Guest CTU24]

Hi all,

 

Now that acceptances have started to role in, I've decided to create a separate topic for people to ask questions who are lucky enough to have a choice about where to go. This way we won't clog up the acceptances link. I hope any other lurking U of T meds will help me out here 'cause my attendance on this board is sure to vary...it's summer after all.

 

Now if my memory hasn't atrophied (boy I'm a geek) from disuse yet, I think the last Qs had to do with the clerkship schedule and the research time in the first 2 years.

 

Now I just finished first year so can't give you that much accurate info on the clerkship program except my biased opinion...so I hope some UT clerks can help me out. As for the rumour that U of T clerks don't do anything b/c of the U of T hierarchy, I find this extremely hard to believe. We have a tonne of teaching hospitals and clerks are spread all over the place, so there may be more of a hierarchy but there's also way more opportunity. Also for this rumour to be true, a student would have had to gone through multiple clerkship programs...so I doubt this rumor holds up.

 

As for the clerkship scheduling, it's not the best at first glance but doesn't really bug me. There are several clerkship rotations you get to choose from in second year, and by then most people have explored stuff in the first 2 years and have an idea about what they want to go into. So for me, I'll know what to leave until later and it won't really affect me at CARMS.

 

AS for research opps, there are a tonne. The faculty also upped funding this year, so not only is it pretty easy to get hooked up but it also pays decently. I'm not sure about this program you're talking about, but I can say that if people do research on it, you'll be able to get involved in it at U of T. Wanting to do research and not being able to simply doesn't happen here.

 

Hope that answers everything and if some clerks can represent it would be appreciated

 

CTU24

[Guest bfong07MD]

Hi, I've been accepted to UofT, Western and McMaster. Being from Toronto, UofT was my undoubted first choice (even in light of UWO's first-call clerkship) until UWO offered me a scholarship for $20,000 per year for 4 years. Now I'm leaning more towards Western because my family is not well-to-do and I could definitely use the money.

 

I'm wondering what's the typical annual cost of attending meds at UofT (tuition, living expenses downtown, books, etc) and how much financial assistance can be expected from bursaries, grants etc.

 

Also, I'd like to know how choices of med schools for undergrad will affect competitiveness for residency positions. Any other basic pros and cons for attending UofT would be greatly helpful as well (things like scheduling of classes, atmosphere, clerkship etc).

 

Thanks for all your help!

[Guest Ollie]

Congratulations on your multiple acceptances!

 

I just finished first year at UofT, and I am very happy here. But I have to say that you would have to be crazy to turn down 80 G's!!!

Your minimum budget at UofT would be at least $30,000 per year depending on your living expenses (rent could run you between $500-$1000 per month).

You are going to get a quality education no matter where you go. The only impact school will have on residency is if you are going for something super competitive like plastics, derm, ophtho, etc. If you are interested in those and want to do residency at UofT, then you might want to think about coming here. But if you're not sure, or are interested in something not as competitive, I really don't think that school is going to make a big impact in the long run.

Remember that $80,000 is not just $80,000, it's also all the interest that you will be saving from not having a line of credit. I guess the scholarship is taxed, but you will likely get all or most of the tax back with the deduction for tuition.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[Guest bt99]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was actually thinking of starting a thread like this, but your 2 posts have addressed a lot of the issues I was concerned about.

 

One thing I was wondering about was opportunities for rural experience. The reason I ask is that I've been extremely fortunate in receiving acceptances from both UofT and UWO, and I had initially been leaning towards the latter due to its unique (as I perceive it) rural program (and I didn't really expect an acceptance from UofT). However, there are other areas where I think UofT would suit me better, so if there were rural opportunities to boot, that would make the decision easier.

 

Any insight on this issue would be much appreciated. Best of luck to all those still waiting!

[Guest CTU24]

tonnes of people (almost every other person I talk to) in our class are doing 4wk+ rural electives this summer through various rural programs. We don't have any mandatory rural electives, but it is pretty easy to set one up if you want one and the funding is there.

 

I think at U of T we have pretty good access to rural medicine initiatives, so if that's what you want a taste of you can definitely get it here.

 

CTU24

[Guest sparkle2005]

I was hoping to get some opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of U of T and Mac, as I've been accepted to both, and am finding it to be a really tough decision. Absolutely any information at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Guest Nikhila]

just to add to CTU24's post (by the way have a terrific summer with your bros, safe travels), in terms of UofT being geared towards specialized fields vs. rural, I do find that because we are located in the hospital district and many of the hospitals house super-specialized tertiary care facilities, there is a 'specialist aura' if I can call it that. That being said, there is nothing in UofT's curriculum persay that can be construed as focusing more on specialized fields rather than rural. In fact, there are many rural initiatives available to UofT med students. I am doing a 4 week elective this summer in a very small town in SouthWestern Ontario. And like CTU24 said, sooooo many people in our class took advantage of the rural medicine elective opportunities.

 

To respond to the person caught between 80 THOUSAND DOLLARS and U of T, I unequivocally say, TAKE WESTERN!!!!! Being in debt sucks alot, speaking from personal experience. You are looking at $30,000 for sure for the first year. And Ollie brought up an excellent point about saving on interest. You will receive an excellent education at either school. Only you won't have the substantial stress of a substantial debt hanging over your head. That's just my $0.02

 

Have a great summer and congratulations to everyone, you made it!

 

Nikhila

[Guest Ollie]

I was hoping to get some opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of U of T and Mac, as I've been accepted to both, and am finding it to be a really tough decision. Absolutely any information at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Congratulations of your acceptances! As I'm sure you know, UofT and Mac have very different programs, so I think you should base your decision on which program you think you could learn best in, as well if you would prefer a 3-year or 4-year program. Hopefully you got a good idea at your interviews from talking to students about how both schools work. First year at UofT is a lot of work, but I have really enjoyed it! Good luck with your decision!

 

Rural stuff: As well as summer pre-clerkship electives, I think that you can also do some clerkship rotations and definitely electives in rural communities.