The reason UofC is for me......

[Guest happy2bme]

I thought this might be a fun thread while we wait in the upcoming month for interview notices. So post your reasons serious or fun for choosing UofC!

 

My reasons include:

 

Intensive three year program, I am convinced I want family practice so the longer elective times over summer etc. given at other schools are not essential for me as I have already have had some opportunities to network in other fields of practice.

 

Calgary has a rep for possibly having a more diverse student student age/experience/backgrounds than UofA. I'm older than 25 with an varied background so I think this may be a easier school to transition to. True? or False?, who knows....

 

Location, location, location

 

Calgary Flames are still looking alright, I want the chance to fly the little car flags again!

[Guest HP]

I agree on all points...and if I were lucky enough to be able to choose between the two, the Flames might be the deciding factor! :lol

[Guest WindsorBoy]

I am OOP and I would like to attend U of C because I have visited the school and love it. My friends go there so I visit every year and the fact that parents are moving there this year means I can live at home and have my Mommy make my lunch everyday...lol! Also, the three year curriculum is nice as well...the whole medical process takes long enough so saving that year is nice!

[Guest not rex morgan]

Well, I didn't do med school at Calgary, but I'm a resident here now.

 

I know the program was just ranked 14/15 on McLean's list, so that may come up in an interview. From what I've seen of the clerks, there are some fabulous ones clinically, and some horrifyingly terrible ones. Most students have a good base level of knowledge. The ones who excel in clerkship are the ones who wrap their head around the idea that they are going to be doctors and are using clerkship to prepare for residency. They are proactive, read up around their cases, take good histories and physicals, and formulate good assessments. Most notably, the good ones follow up on their patients, and essentially act as the following doctor (ie make sure tests were done, know the results, know what to do with them). The good ones don't have to be told specifically what to ask (some clerks function on autopilot and only do what they were told). The good ones don't have to be told to write an OR note, or orders.

 

What I'm saying is that Calgary is a good program if you actively use it with your goal in mind of preparing to be a doctor. If you are the type of person who functions well independantly, and want to do a three year program, this is the one for you. If you need alot of direction, another school may serve you better.

[Guest marbledust]

I know the program was just ranked 14/15 on McLean's list, so that may come up in an interview

 

Except it wasn't the medical program that was ranked, but the entire school.

 

I am personally not a fan of U of C for a number of reasons, but I do question that ranking. Every year Calgary ends up near the bottom. The value of this yearly ranking has already been discussed at length in other threads. But something to think about in terms of U of C and other schools that are ranked both high and low:

 

A few years ago I chatted with a Dean and a VP academic about this. They both suggested the low ranking was in part due to the U of C's open hostilty towards the Macleans people and flat out refusal to coooperate with the magazine. How much of that is true, I don't know.

 

As for good and bad clerks, you find them at every school.

[Guest Breanne]

I also like the fact that U of C is a three year program,. U of C also places a lots of value on doctor patient interaction, and students are required to participate in activities to learn how to improve this interaction. This is a very important aspect of becoming a good doctor, and especially important to me because I am interested in family medicine. U of C also works on the pass fail system, which creates less competition among students. I have heard from others that this is a big problem at U of A. U of C's program allows students to begin seeing patients during their first year. I have been told by a student that this makes learning much easier, because instead of learning about something in first year and then going back a having to relearn in again in third year when you are seeing a patient, you can learn it once and have a stick in your mind when you see a patient with this problem. I also like how their curriculum is set up, I feel I learn something better and more quickly when I am just focusing on that one subject. And finally I live in Calgary and was born here and love the city.

[Guest MDmmmsure]

Hi everyone......

 

Just to comment on what Breanne said. I am a first year medical student at the UofA, and so far, I have not seen any competitive attitudes. The system works like this (as far as I know......silly, but they don't even mention the honors grade at the beginning of the block....every block is stated as "pass-fail"); the top 15% of the class will receive honors for the 'entire' year.....not per course.....that means that you have to excel for the entire year (or at least when things average out, and who knows how they do this, you must be in the top 15%). Basically, from those that I have conversed with that received honors, you get a letter in the mail during the summer stating that you have 'made the deans honor roll' for the previous year. The majority of us realize that there are many other ways to make yourself competitive for carms (it is still debated whether or not honors in the first two years is required for more competitive specialties - however, the plastic surgery director at the UofA mentioned at a recent talk that marks in the first two years really tell the selection committee nothing about an applicant, as many schools across Canada are entirely pass/fail...interpret as you like). It seems that, at least in our class, people are studying to become good doctors (you will need to know what you are studying!!!), and not to get an 'honors' designation. Hope that clarifies things!

[Guest kayak22]

U of C is appealing in many ways. I too am from Calgary and did my undergrad here. My family and my husband are here and after having been in Ontario for my Masters, I realized how much I missed Big Sky country. I believe in staying well rounded and enjoy the outdoors tremendously. I too have heard that the U of C has a diverse student population with varying age groups and different back grounds. This was also evident when I did my 2nd degree and I can tell you that I had the opportunity to meet and study with some of the most incredible people I have ever met...I look forward to replicating the experience if at all possible. Family medicine is appealing, however, the chance to explore the different specialities is required before coming to a final conclusion and I feel that the U of C will be capable of providing those experiences. As for the ranking in Macleans...there are rankings for everything, and I chose not to make my decision on a magazine, rather on what is important to me in my current life situation and whether the university of choice can fulfill that which I require! Best wishes to everyone...good thread!

[Guest happy2bme]

ooooooooohhhhhhh I have another reason to stay in Calgary!

 

20 degrees to the positive on November 22!!!!

[Guest happy2bme]

I decided to revive this thread of reasons to choose UofC, whether they be seriously academic or fun.

 

my today's reason for wanting to stay is ........

 

Craves - the cupcake store in Kensinton where the chocolate cupcake with peanutbutter buttercream icing is to die for.

 

and

 

the Bak centre, that is a very nice independant learning centre that the med school has. All the specimens and texts organized nice and neatly in their respective subjects. Sweet!

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

When I decided a few years ago to definately pursue med school, I decided I want to jump right in. Calgary's 3 year, patient contact from the start system, fits the bill perfectly. None of this sitting around in classes for 2 years before seeing a stethescope thing. Plus I think I'm made for the independent learning system. I wrote the MCAT a few years after graduating and everyone said I would do horribly since I would have forgotten everything by then. I took that as a challenge, studied my butt off and ended up 97th percentile (after a 3.5 to 3.6 gpa). Not trying to brag, but simply saying that I think I can handle the studying on my own thing.

 

One year less of med school = 1 year less of living off loans, and 1 year closer to paying them off. Who doesn't like that?

 

A few other random reasons:

-close to family

-slightly lower cumulative tuition (I think?)

-as high tech and comfortable facility as any other I've seen (blows UofA's 'dungeon' lecture hall out of the water)

-Free compilations of all essential notes for a course provided.

-Free palm pilots with that fancy medical terminology/pharmacology software.

-Mon AM and Fri PM independent study time!

-Don't have to find a summer job.

 

My only hang-up is that I don't know what specialty I want, and 3 years is a short time to decide. Hopefully the extra shadowing opportunity will make that up.

[Guest jess from etown]

hey hey

 

i was on feb 26 and i only had 9 people meaning i got person number one twice. i was actually thinking about this because there was one guy (read: horrible interviewer) and i was thinking once with him was enough for me - i would hate to have him again. i have no legit knowledge on what they actually do, but my speculation is that they might be able to see if one interviewer repeatedly scored people lower and somehow adjust for that....

 

again, it's just my guess...

 

jess

[Guest jess from etown]

sorry i posted the above in the wrong thread...