UofT (St. George) or UBC (VFMP) - 3 days to decide

[platypusQK]

Hi everyone! Feeling super grateful and torn about making this decision and would greatly appreciate any insights students or alum can share, about the factors below or any others you would consider.

Location/environment: I've lived in the GTA for most my life and went to UofT for my master's. I love hiking and being in nature and have heard Vancouver is a beautiful city, but I've never actually visited BC. Based on photos, wow! I hope to live in Vancouver or surrounding areas at some point to see if I'd like to stay long-term (right now I think I would), but I'm wondering about the pros and cons of moving for med school versus during summers or for residency (no guarantee of course) or future practice. Will there will be fewer opportunities to relocate in the future (i.e., if not now, how likely in the future)? As a side note, are UBC faculty members open to supervising students from other schools for summer opportunities? 

Social support: My family and friends are mostly in Toronto/Ontario. Attending UofT means I can visit home regularly (and have easy access to a piano, which is quite important to me)! I am also happy to live independently and meet new people. Have others made the move and do you feel it was a good decision?

Curriculum and daily schedule: Apart from the spiral curriculum, are there other key differences between the schools?

Clerkship and residency: Currently open to a wide range of specialties. Would it be challenging to match to UBC for residency if I attend UofT, or vice versa, given the uncertainty around visiting electives and at-home advantage? I have also heard it's more challenging to get hands-on experience at UofT St. George due to more learners. I don't have much knowledge about clerkship at either school so any insight would be most helpful.

Cost and financial aid: Annual tuition and fees are approx. $20K for UBC and $25K for UofT. OSAP covers around $16000 for UofT through grants and loans. I would receive the same amount as an OOP UBC student (less grants, more loans). Other expenses (travel, living) might be higher in BC because I may not need to rent in Toronto until daily in-person activities resume.

Community: Although the application process is imperfect, one of the things I appreciated most about UBC was their efforts to holistically assess applicants. I wonder if this reflects in the community, having classmates from different walks of life? I have also heard UBC is more collegial and UofT is more competitive, are these false stereotypes?

The main pull factor for UBC is the location (or my perception of it) and the main pull factor for UofT is family/friends. At the end of the day I feel deeply thankful to have the choice to join either community.

Thank you for reading this painfully long post! Excited to meet fellow 2025s and wishing you all well!

[bearded frog]

I posted something similar when someone was asking about Ottawa vs UBC, and unless someone knows of anything unique about the programs, it comes down to living situation and targeting residency/work. It's up to you if you'd rather be close to friends and family or get a fresh start in out west and experience a different part of Canada. You're also correct there is a home school advantage to residency matching, so usually people recommend to go where you eventually want to do residency, and by the same reasoning, work, if given the option. That's not to say you couldn't match to the other university in theory.

[shikimate]

Favor UofT.

For school, go to UTSG for ease and comfort. Do elective in Vancouver, if you like the place, do residency there and stay there, or just do locum there once you finished everything.