How hard is it to get into American med school?

[Guest AKangaroo]

Hi, Im at UofT (1st year). I was looking over the requirements of Canadian medical schools and found that most of them don't need Physics and more than one half general and organic chemistry. But, American medical schools require physics and more higher level chemistry (some of the schools require me to take English course as well, UWO too). I previously planned I won't take Physics and more chemistry because I was better off taking biology courses. (I am not taking 1st year physics now)

 

I have questions regarding American medical schools and schools outside Ontario. I saw that medical schools outside Ontario have very low success rate for applicants outside the province. Would I need to apply to those schools that are outside Ontario, so should I take required courses for these schools? Is there chance for me in those schools?

 

Also, concerning American schools, how many Canadians do American schools take? Of course, people here won't know how many exactly, but is the success rate high enough that it is even worth trying to American medical schools?

 

Should I bother taking 1st year physics in my 2nd year? It has a high course load I heard from people taking it now, and that it is very hard too. I have the textbook now and see that it looks so hard - Is there anybody from UofT who took PHY138 and have experience getting decent marks? I don't know if my friends are all bad students but they are struggling so bad. I am afraid of taking it. Should I take it to meet the requirement of American schools?

 

Thank you so much for reading!

[Guest lizard11]

I know UofT has several beginners Physics courses. Did you take physics in high school? Because there's a course offered which introduces basic principles in physics at UofT, and I think that would be good for the MCAT, but I don't think it suffices for the american requirements.

 

Taking physics also helps for the MCAT

 

I'm in the exact same situation as you - i don't really want to take chemistry, and i've already completed my first year without having taken physics. I think it's a good idea to apply to american schools if you can afford it.

[Guest Madz25]

Your chances of getting into a med school outside of Ontario depends on your strength as an applicant and the applicant pool. If you feel you are a strong candidate, then you should go for it. If you want to keep your options open for any school outside of Ontario, then I suggest that you keep up with the prerequisites for those schools.

 

I don't know how many Canadian students US med schools accept. US med schools weigh the MCAT more heavily than do Canadian schools. An excellent MCAT should help you more when applying to US schools than Canadian schools. I, myself, have found it easier to get accepted to a US school. You need to determine yourself if it is worth applying to US med schools. Are you a strong applicant? Can you afford the tuition fees and living expenses?

 

Nobody can tell you if it is worth applying to a school outside of Ontario or to a US school because that totally depends on you, what you want, and your strength as an applicant. I found it worthwhile to apply to a US school but I have friends that did not.

 

For schools outside of Ontario, what are your chances of getting an interview? For instance, look at the way applicants are given interviews (ie. Queen's and Manitoba have MCAT and GPA cutoffs, Saskatchewan has a GPA cutoff, UBC has a point system based on academics and extracurriculars etc). See if you have a shot at making the cutoffs or if you have other qualifications that make you a strong applicant.

 

Bottom line is, if you want to keep your options open then you should take whatever courses are necessary to meet the requirements for the med schools you are interested in. You don't want to be kicking yourself in 2 years for not having a prerequisite and thus, not being able to apply to a certain school.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Madz

[Guest moo]

Madz is right. I've known people who have gotten in in one country and not the other. You have to pick what's right for you. I've known people who've chosen to go to top US schools over cheaper schools in Canada (one girl in undergrad went to Hopkins over UBC, Harvard and UT, another guy went to Vanderbilt over UT, one of my friends in first year came here over Mac). There are some safety schools down here that many Canadians apply to and go to if they can't get into a Canadian school but it is important not to lump all US schools into one category like Canadian schools.

 

As for physics, I would definitely take it. It opens more doors for you. I'm not aware of the physics requirement in Canadian schools but I would imagine it would help for the MCAT at the very least and it will allow you to apply to US schools. Don't be afraid to take it. It's a fairly benign course. (Of course, I also did math and physics in undergrad)

[Guest ct401]

moo, whhich ones are these "safety schools" that you're speaking of in the states?

[Guest moo]

Rosalind Franklin/Chicago Medical School, New York Medical College, St. Louis Univ, Med College of Wisconsin are a few I can think of.

[Guest FungManX]

why would these be considered safety schools?

are the GPA / MCAT requirements not as high?

[Guest BlazinKhan]

Hey, I'm at UTM and the Professor here for PHY135Y5 is very good in that he teaches it to you in a way that its easy to understand. Furthermore, HE MARKS the tests and is VERY lenient since he gives tonnes of part marks. Long as you know the basic procedure for the question you will get 7/8 out of 10. He is very helpful, approachable and unlike any other Prof. He even comes into labs to make sure the TA's are doing their job properly. So basically if you do want to take first year Physics, you should take it at UTM as its a free 20 minutes bus ride from UofT St. George.

[Guest bananaboat72]

i have the equivalent of PHY110 on my u of t transcript...i hope this is acceptable, it included a lab. lizard11 are you referring to the magic of physics? i definately don't think that would be acceptable.

 

one of my bigger issues at u of t is which inorganic chm to take..i've already taken chm139, but i'm debating between chm217 and chm220. chm217 has lab, but i'm not sure its exactly what the schools mean by inorganic. the course code is analytical chemistry, but i just can't find a better solution.