hs to undergrad and OOP

[Guest Eleven]

Hello, I am a high school student from Alberta, firstly, thanks for setting up such as awesome message board, I'll be coming back for sure in the years to come...

 

Anyways, I'll be graduating HS this year and I have to choose an undergrad uni. I've been looking into them quite a bit and I basically have my choices down to two schools, the UA and McGill. I was leaning towards McGill, but then I noticed the whole OOP quota system for med school, so I would basically be giving up Alberta citizenship at the UA, would this mean that I'm a Quebec resident and would have better chances at McGill? Or would I just not have a home province when applying to med school? Any thoughts on this guys?

[Guest marbledust]

If you graduated from high school in Alberta U of A considers you an Alberta resident (residency as opposed to citizenship - at least until Alberta becomes its own country

p) For medical school admission purposes to U of A or U of C, you will be fine

 

I don't know how it is in Quebec, but when I attended university in BC I could not be considered a BC resident for student loan or heath care coverage purposes because I was a full-time student. My student loans and health care coverage continued to come from Alberta for the 2 years I spent in BC as a student. You won't lose your Alberta residency by attending Mcgill.

 

However, if you are getting a student loan you won't qualify for provincial undergrad loans and grants unless the program you are taking out of province isn't offered in Alberta. You might still qualify for federal loans though - which tend to be much smaller.

[Guest Lactic Folly]

You'll also want to take into consideration grade conversions when you apply to med school, which may or may not be in your favour.

[Guest CareBear15]

I'm pretty sure that in order to be considered a Quebec resident you have to own property... i.e. you will be considered OOP for meds because you graduated from an Albert highschool.

[Guest aneliz]

As a general rule, to be considered a resident of any province you need to satisfy one of the following:

 

1. You attended high school in that province

2. Your parents maintain a permanent residence in the province

3. Your spouse maintains a permanent residence in the province

4. You lived in the province for 1-2 years WITHOUT attending a post-secondary institution

[Guest Eleven]

Thanks for the help guys, this only seems to complicate my decision though... what do u guys think of the two school?

[Guest Eleven]

McGill seems like a more competitive environment, so would it be that much harder than the UA to get a desired ~4.0 for med admissions?

[Guest Draff]

I read another thread for the UBC med school where someone was considered a dual resident. I attended high school in BC for 2-3 years, and I graduated from an Ontario high school... am I considered both a BC and Ontario resident?

[Guest Ollie]

Here, from UBC's website is their resident criteria:

 

A BC resident is someone who has met one of the following criteria:

 

Has lived in BC for 24 continuous full months immediately prior to the application deadline; or

Has attended secondary school (grades 8 to 12 inclusive) in British Columbia, or attended for a minimum of three (3) years and had a permanent home in BC (secondary school transcripts must be submitted); or

Within the last five years has attended a university in BC for at least two years; or

Was born in British Columbia and attended a minimum of five years of school in BC. The applicant must also have resided in BC for at least one continuous year in the last ten, unless the applicant has been living and working overseas on a work visa or with the Armed Forces, and has been a resident in BC prior to entering the Armed Forces; or

Has attended residential secondary school (grades 8 to 12 inclusive) in BC, even if his/her permanent home is in another province (secondary school transcripts must be submitted); or

Has been a resident in BC for five years at any time for any reason and has resided in BC continuously for at least one year in the last ten; or

Is a resident - under any of the above terms - of the Yukon or NW Territories, or Nunavut.

 

NOTE: An applicant is NOT considered a resident of BC if he or she is over 19 years of age and has never lived in BC, even if his or her parents have moved to BC. Applicants who fall outside these criteria, and who feel their circumstances are not illustrated above, can request individual consideration in writing by October 1st.

[Guest Draff]

Ah, thanks for the information.

I'm a little confused by this statement though (with the placement of the 'or'):

 

Has attended secondary school (grades 8 to 12 inclusive) in British Columbia, or attended for a minimum of three (3) years and had a permanent home in BC (secondary school transcripts must be submitted);

[Guest Ollie]

Yeah it's definitely confusing if your situation isn't clear cut. Your best bet it to contact them directly and ask.

[Guest Eleven]

I got like 5 days left, and still haven't made a decision... where would you guys go, Mcgill or the UA? and why?

 

 

Thanks

[Guest Lactic Folly]

I just finished reading an excellent book titled Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions by Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa. It takes the body of research on decision-making and describes a procedure for making decisions in everyday life.

 

In short, it talks about how to define your decision problem, clarify your objectives, create alternatives, think through the consequences of each alternative, make tradeoffs when you can't achieve all your objectives at once, and deal with uncertainty, risk tolerance, and future linked decisions.

 

I know this isn't much in the way of practical advice, but I thought I would mention it for future reference (and hopefully provide some food for thought).