McGill vs Western for medical school

[telus555]

I am having a hard time choosing between McGill vs Western (Unspecified campus) for medical school, and wondering if anyone has some insight or advice for me given the following:

I am fully bilingual and I prefer Montreal best as a city, along with the convenience of having everything nearby. Also, McGill is more widely known internationally and will be several thousand dollars cheaper to attend. Although it is farther away from Toronto than London, I would probably use my time very productively on the train/bus ride when visiting home.

However,  I would like to settle in or near Toronto further down the line, and I'm not sure if going to an Ontario school has any significant advantage to that end. It would be nice to live closer to Toronto as well since my family and s/o live there (If I get London campus), although I am not sure if I will necessarily have time to visit Toronto much more often if I am in London vs Montreal. 

Also, I have thought about which might position me better for the more competitive specialties I'm interested in, like surgery, cardiology, and radiology. Although I can't be sure which area of medicine I would like to pursue at the moment, I'd like to have the best shot possible at more competitive specialties when the time comes.

Finally, I believe both programs are pass/fail and both have excellent pre-clerkship and clerkship, but I would be interested to hear if there are any major strengths or weaknesses that might stand out for each school that I may not have considered.

Overall, if anyone can offer advice for which school may be best suited for me, it would be much appreciated. And feel free to message me privately as well if you prefer. Thank you!

[Sweesy]

22 minutes ago, telus555 said:

I would like to settle in or near Toronto further down the line, and I'm not sure if going to an Ontario school has any significant advantage to that end.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought where you do your residence will impact this more than your undergrad, if at all.
 

[James Nystead]

25 minutes ago, Sweesy said:

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought where you do your residence will impact this more than your undergrad, if at all.
 

50% stay at home school for residency; a further 25% stay in the home province

Where you practice after residency depends on your field, job availability, and requirement to do a fellowship

[ihsh]

I go to Western (London Campus) and I would say that in the pre-clerkship years it's definitely possible to visit Toronto often. I personally went to Toronto every 3-4 weeks and I know of someone who visited the GTA every 1-2 weeks. Depending on how frequently you plan to visit, a Via pass may be worth it regardless of whether you end up choosing Western or McGill.

I don't know much about the chances of matching to competitive specialties versus McGill, but do keep in mind that cardiology is an internal medicine sub-specialty. If you are interested in dermatology, Western may be more difficult since we don't have a dermatology residency position.

[TDP]

 

2 hours ago, telus555 said:

I am having a hard time choosing between McGill vs Western (Unspecified campus) for medical school, and wondering if anyone has some insight or advice for me given the following:

I am fully bilingual and I prefer Montreal best as a city, along with the convenience of having everything nearby. Also, McGill is more widely known internationally and will be several thousand dollars cheaper to attend. Although it is farther away from Toronto than London, I would probably use my time very productively on the train/bus ride when visiting home.

However,  I would like to settle in or near Toronto further down the line, and I'm not sure if going to an Ontario school has any significant advantage to that end. It would be nice to live closer to Toronto as well since my family and s/o live there (If I get London campus), although I am not sure if I will necessarily have time to visit Toronto much more often if I am in London vs Montreal. 

Also, I have thought about which might position me better for the more competitive specialties I'm interested in, like surgery, cardiology, and radiology. Although I can't be sure which area of medicine I would like to pursue at the moment, I'd like to have the best shot possible at more competitive specialties when the time comes.

Finally, I believe both programs are pass/fail and both have excellent pre-clerkship and clerkship, but I would be interested to hear if there are any major strengths or weaknesses that might stand out for each school that I may not have considered.

Overall, if anyone can offer advice for which school may be best suited for me, it would be much appreciated. And feel free to message me privately as well if you prefer. Thank you!

it is a bit risky accepting western before knowing if you got london which i believe you wouldn't know until after you accept. it seems this year compared to previous years there is a lot of unspecified offers making me believe western has done some over offering. this is just a theory of mine given the fact that even some people who picked windsor as their first choice are also unspecified http://forums.premed101.com/topic/108928-switching-first-choice-campus-for-an-unspecified-campus-offer/. anyway im just saying that the chances of getting london may not be as high. now if you got london, then traveling to toronto would be a lot easier. in terms of making it easier to be able to settle down there, i'm not an expert but I don't think there is a significant advantage as i do know some people who had to move out of province for their residency. you could do a rotation in uoft either way since you have family there. I think doing your residency in toronto is your best bet but if you're choosing something competitive it might be really hard. look into the spots https://www.carms.ca/program-descriptions/. both are excellent schools, mcgill does seem a bit more prestigious. personally i would go to mcgill because montreal is a really nice city and you would save a lot of money in the long run (med school is expensive enough already). best of luck and congrats on your offers!