Guest vanillarasberry Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hi there! I've been lucky enough to get into several schools this year, but I've narrowed my choices down to Ottawa and Queen's. The problem is I just can't decide which one to accept! As far as programs go, both seem great. However, I like the fact that Ottawa, unlike Queen's, has an exam after each block. The laptop program seems pretty cool too . The only thing is - I've grown up in Ottawa, attended U of O for undergrad and wouldn't mind a change... Is anyone else facing the same decision? Any input would be really appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maelswarm Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hey, Ottawa's curriculum was very attractive to me, and I *almost* picked UO over UT (but in the end went with UT, I hope I haven't sold my soul!! OT6 ) The laptop program makes it really easy to study, anywhere you want (with internet). You can go onto the anatomy and histology websites and see labelled prosections or slides. There are also a lot of online textbooks (like Kumar & Robbin's Pathological Basis of Disease) so you won't have to carry binders of notes with you. You get to go through all your core rotations before CaRMS applications, whereas Queen's doesn't even start clerkship until January of 3rd year! Ottawa has a lot of big hospitals and research centres (cancer centre, heart institute, children's hospital, and a neurologic centre too I think). Queen's doesn't have that many hospitals. Also, clerks at UO are first call for a bunch of rotations. If you've lived in Ottawa for a while, then you won't have any problem staying there. Since I've been in Toronto for the past 10 years, moving to a smaller city wasn't very attractive. Queen's would be even smaller than Ottawa, and without many of the "bonuses" of living in the nation's capitol. Did you get UT too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vanillarasberry Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Thanks Maelswarm...you make some good points. No, I didn't get U of T (at least not yet, my other choices were Mac and Calgary) - either way, although the thought of living in downtown Toronto is really appealing and the hospitals there are impressive, I think I'd prefer to stay closer to home (I love Ottawa) - having said that, Kingston is quite close to Ottawa but is still a new environment, which is something I may need (although the novelty of living in a new place might wear off pretty quickly..I don't know :\ ). I'm probably going to visit Kingston this Friday or Saturday, so if there are any med students interested in taking an hour or so to maybe show me around a little/ talk to me that would be really appreciated (message me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doctags Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Dont you have a deadline to decide between the two schools??? I thought that had passed long ago:rollin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coleflower Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hi Vanillaraspberry To add my 2cents to the pro-Queen's side... The laptop thing: sure, at Ottawa it's great that they set you up with the laptop and software, etc... but at Queen's you have flexibility! All of our notes are posted online before lecture so you can easily have them on your laptop in class if you want (a lot of our class choses this paperless option). We also have wireless in most of the classrooms (though not all). The online textbooks: if you pay your $20 to join the CMA you have access to a myriad of online textbooks including most of the ones recommended for 1st year, anyway. Exams: it's a trade-off, for sure. at Queen's you don't have to worry about the exams every block so if you want to go out of town on weekends, you don't have to worry about the exam next week. It is a crunch at the end of the term, but if you are able to discipline yourself and study a little bit as the term progresses, it's not that bad (and there are only 2 exams plus clinical skills OSCE every term). And of course, Kingston is less than 2 hours from Ottawa so you're not really that far away. Alot of our class commutes to their SO's in Ottawa on weekends. hmmm. I think that's enough for now C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vanillarasberry Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Thanks Coleflower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sensfan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 hey doctags - if you get off the waitlist, they give you 2 weeks to decide (ie. the offer expires 2 weeks after it was made). so like, i got my offer on june 7, and i have till the 21st to send it in - you know, gives me lots of time to rob a bank to come up with the thousand bucks they're asking for so assuming vanillarasberry got off the waitlist at queens, he/she probably still has like 10 days to decide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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