Guest violetk Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 Those of you who are going to school in U.S. do you get loans from canadian government? And how much? Any advise would be appreciated. V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 The only gov't loans I got were from the BC government, 6000/yr. The rest was financed through bank loans with my parents cosigning. I will owe about 150-160k CAD after all this, which I don't consider too bad, especially looking at the recent tuition increases across the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DillonMD Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 Hey Moo, Do you know if it makes a difference in going to a US school vs Canadian for residency? I've heard from a few Canadian residents/physicians that if you went to a Canadian school and applied for US residency, you would have to return to Canada for two years after your residency before you can continue your work in the US. I wonder if it makes a difference if you went to a US school (if you are a Canadian citizen), whether this policy is the same?! If you know anything about this please comment. thanks. DillonMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 Sorry, I can't really answer that for you. I think most PDs are aware of Canadian schools, but there are other political issues that may come into play when ranking applicants. Also, you will need to get an H1B visa to stay in the US after, otherwise with a J1, you will have to return to Canada. Also, coming from a Canadian school you will not have a Social Security Number which will delay the processing of your application for a visa, etc. However, with that said, it's very doable and many Canadian med grads match into the US every year. Just be prepared for some headaches if you do not have US PR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DillonMD Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 Hi Moo, I know that you are doing med school in the US but are you thinking of coming back to Canada for residency? If you stay in the US to do your residency, wouldn't you have to come back to Canada for two years afterwards anyways? (I heard that is a mandatory visa policy for Canadians) Unless it makes a difference if you went to a US med school?? You know anything about this policy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 Eventually, I do want to end up in Vancouver-Seattle area, so I'm looking at possibly doing residency in Canada. The visa situation is this: you can get two visas in the US. One is the J1, the second is the H1b. The H1b is the one you want but is harder to get. It helps if you went to school in the US because you already have the F1 student visa, which you can extend for a year for "optional practical training" and during this time you can apply for your H1b. (Also you already have an SSN which is needed for this process... it can take 2-3 months to get an SSN in the first place.) For the J1 you need a statement of need from the Canadian gov't. The J1 is easier to get, but you must return to Canada afterward for two years. For the H1b, you can stay and work in the US after and apply for a green card (=permanent residency status... so you get all the rights of a citizen except that you can't vote and won't carry a US passport yet). That's what people mean when they say it's easier to get a US residency after having gone to a US school. Now, you will hear otherwise from other people. most notably, if you head to the caribbeanmedicine.com forums, the administrator there will tell you that it makes no difference if you go to a US or caribbean school if you want to practice in the US (and if you are Canadian). This is complete and utter nonsense. First, you will gain a lot more respect graduating from a US school than an offshore school from PDs. Anyone who will argue against that is insane. Second, you will already have your F-1 visa, which, as I said, you can extend for a year while you get the paperwork necessary for the H1b. If you graduate from a carib school you will not have the F1, and as such may have to sit out a year. Third, you will have a much better chance at matching at an academic center or university, where there is no cap on the H1b visa. (There is a cap of 195000 visas annually.) Finally, it is advantageous to go to a US school over a Carib school simply because it is easier to go back to Canada if you want to, because all US schools are LCME accredited. Bottom line: if you want to practice in the US: go to a US school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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