Need some guidance US vs trying Canada again

[drhopeful111111]

Hi all,

I'm super confused about what to do:
Some background/stats:
3.85 2year GPA
508 MCAT 130 cars, 124 in a section expires after another round 
MSc 2 pubs
2 big community ECs
some random ecs that any classic MD hopeful in ontario racks up like hospital hours, TAing and such 
This was second cycle and got WL from Mac I basically only applied here. 
I was lucky enough to get accepted into a school in the states a few weeks ago. I am hesitant to go because it'll be completely different/Money, but also recognize that I dont have infinite time and am getting older and would just like to finally be able to study what i like (medicine), and going allows me to do so. 

my plan right now is to go to the states and try for mac again and switch over if i get in. 
However, a small but loud part of me wants me to risk it all and redo the MCAT for a better score so I can apply to Western and hope I can make it to western, while also hoping i can get a high CARS score so i can still apply to MAC. The issue here that some people have pointed out is that i haven't written the MCAT in a while and that ive been out of the undergrad courses and the knowledge base for a while as well, so why risk the 130 cars that currently makes me okay for mac. 

So essentially, stick to the states+mac plan or try to go for western + mac

Anyways sorry for the long post and hopefully that wasnt too confusing of a read - 
really appreciate any guidance here. 

Thanks! 

[MDee2B]

Med admissions is a lottery. Congratulations on getting accepted. I think your plan to go to the states is a good one.

Risking it all and not going to the states, with the intention of applying  only for Mac or western next year doesn’t seem like such a great idea imo because 

1) you’re losing out a year of income down the road by postponing your entry to med school. Sure the states are expensive, but when you factor a year of lost income as an md into the equation, all of a sudden it’s not as costly a route in the long run.

2) you’re not casting a wide enough net imo if you’re only hoping to get into two schools (western and Mac). Med admissions is a lottery and I think a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

good luck!

[Bambi]

I agree completely with MDee2B. Acceptance is both a privilege and a gift that might never come your way again. Don't risk non-acceptance. I would go for the States if it was me.

[gogogo]

Can you defer the USMD acceptance to next year? That way, you can retry for Canada risk-free. 

[shikimate]

I thought in 2026 USMD will be IMG in Canda, so CaRMS will be difficult, but if you want to stay in US and assuming you aren't going to crazy competitive specialty there you should do just fine. Sometimes you just gotta make the leap and go somewhere you aren't familiar with if you want to get ahead...

Alternatively if you really really do not want to move to US, you could try to gain in province residency in places other than ON and try again in Canada. 

[drhopeful111111]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to talk about this with me.

I've given this some more thought and have decided to go. 

I couldn't defer and do the MCAT as my school could potentially see the new MCAT score since they are all on the AAMC site. 
I realized that perhaps I'm just running away from the anxiety of the new situation. 

I hope to get in here in the upcoming year to make it easier on my family but everyone's right the if I let this go and not ending up with any thing would leave me and my family devastated. 

I still think about saying screw it to everything and cracking the old mcat books but best to just move on and get life moving. I'm a bit older and what not. 

Thanks @shikimate for this info I didn't realize that was the case. Super scary. I don't want anything fancy. I likely will want to do FM. hopefully this helps me get a residency either in the States or here. I know people often dislike FM but to me the parts that people don't like about it - the secretarial aspects etc etc is what I like. i want to help people be able to navigate these complex healthcare systems while also helping them in a medical capacity. But yeah a few years ago the right move would have been to move to Alberta haha, hingsight 20/20. Do you happen to know if getting a FM residency would be super hard in Canada as an USMD? The info online says its not bad but this is pre-USMD to IMG status. Thanks in advance. 

Best

[zoxy]

3 hours ago, drhopeful111111 said:

I hope to get in here in the upcoming year to make it easier on my family but everyone's right the if I let this go and not ending up with any thing would leave me and my family devastated. 

If you could afford a USMD definitely don't wait for the crap-shoot of Canadian MD admissions. A year of physician earnings comes reasonably close to the tuition disparity between the two countries anyway. And that's assuming you do get into a Canadian school next cycle which isn't a given.

3 hours ago, drhopeful111111 said:

Do you happen to know if getting a FM residency would be super hard in Canada as an USMD?

A USMD shouldn't have trouble matching to FM with how many IMG FM spots there are. If you were interested in another specialty and hell bent on coming back to Canada for residency, it would be much harder without having access to CMG spots from 2026 onward. But even then if you didn't match in Canada, you could do your residency in the US and come back to Canada for practice.

3 hours ago, drhopeful111111 said:

I realized that perhaps I'm just running away from the anxiety of the new situation. 

The US is fine, most of it is not THAT different than Canada. Canadian media oftentimes over-blows how different the US is.

[shikimate]

You can always apply to US FM as well, not hard at all to match into if you aren't picky about location.

[Findanus]

The old adage "a bird in the hand..." applies here.

 

Congratulations on your acceptance! I hope you enjoy the Land of Opportunity!