why queens ?

[Guest pedrito]

Hi guys,

 

If asked on the interview "what makes Queens med school special ?" or "why Queens ?" what would you say ? I have a bit of a hard time coming up with the answers and I have read quite a bit or material on Queens so far. Thanks a lot.

[Guest Jase133]

Top 10 reasons for choosing Queen's

 

10. You like the small city life

9. World class anatomy lab

8. Need a change from _____ city

7. You want to go to medical school and Kingston apparently has one

6. Queen's is known for its supportive atmosphere, class, faculty and you like these things

5. The restaurants here are fabulous

4. You like drinking, and the students' main activity here is drinking

3. Easy lay at Victoria hall?

2. You like the curriculum. It's a bit of PBL and a bit of lectures.

1. It was either doing Queen's Meds or grad studies - I want to choose Queen's Meds.

 

Hope these helps.

[Guest pedrito]

Thanks, Jase

 

This does help, its a good "top ten list"... Definitely does sound like a place to go, especially with the types of activities enjoyed by the students (easy lay at the rez, drinking -too bad my undergrad was in diffirent place Is the cirricullum pretty much indentical to, lets say Western or are there any specifics that Queens has ?

[Guest RAK2005]

Hey, we do other stuff besides just drinking at Queen's !! We also use hard drugs, sell our bodies etc. Seriously though, the class has done lots of other stuff together such as organizing trips to Raptors games, going to meds games, coffeehouses, a variety show and so on.

 

If you want to talk about why Queen's you can talk about things like a small class size, VERY supportive faculty, LOTS of bursary money (some classmates of mine got over $10,000 in monies that are NOT repayable!!). Kingston also is perfectly located right b/w TO and Ottawa, is right on Lake Ontario, has great summer watersports.windsurfing, is also known for having some really good reastaurants etc.

 

Here is a link for a curriculum overview:

 

meds.queensu.ca/medicine/...culum.html

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest JD]

You guys drive all the way to Toronto just to watch a Raptors game? Wow, sounds like a pretty hardcore group of b-ball fans (a good thing, too bad the team sucks this year).

 

Is it common to get a bursary if you've more than maxed out your OSAP? Or do you have to be in a huge amount of debt already before med school starts?

[Guest RAK2005]

Yeah we went to see them in TO, and the game we saw was their worst loss of the year (to the Celtics in November...). There are some REAL die-hard fans that drive down for almost every Fri and Sun. game, with season tickets lined up for next year. I pity the guy, the raps are breaking EVERYONES heart with their play ! But I digress...

 

Bursaries are awarded to "those who demonstrate financial need". So if you are awared the full OSAP (or other provincal student loans) amount you are likely to receive help, ESPECIALLY if you have previous loans. That being said even those who did not get bursaries are meeting with financial aid to see if they can provide help ! So Queen's really has gone a long way to give $$ to us poor students. I actually got enough to cover my tuition (minus student fees and books)... talk about a sweet surprise. Now I'm only $70 K in debt as we speak

 

From what I've heard from other people, Queen's seems to have (by far) the strongest and most well funded bursary program in the province which is a big plus. Also cost of living is less than TO, HAmilton and Ottawa and about on par with UWO (but you HAVE to have car by clerkship to go to Western).

 

I am from London and went to UWO for my undergrad and MSc and have found Kingston to be totally refreshing change. I found London to be pretty stale after living their for so long and the only things that really change their are the stores inside Masonville Mall. But how did I get on to this topic... I'm clearly rambling so I better get some caffeine.

 

Later

[Guest heyheyhey]

Hi, I hope I dont offend anybody with this question but I am curious. How diverse is the medschool at queens. To be more blunt is it all white? I grew up in toronto and would feel more comfortable with a diverse crowd and diverse interests.

Thanks

[Guest Queensmeds]

Queens is very white. It was a real shock coming from UofT

 

I know alot of my friends who got offers at UofT, Ottawa, Mac, didn't get offers at Queens. Interesting, none of them were white. I can tell (it subtle) there is alot of racism within Kingston and this obviously trickles into the community members and faculty who interview and judge applicants. Oh well at least there are other schools. I am partially white so I think I slipped through the KKKQueens filter. But I did get alot of questions about my background during the interviews. Ie your last name is "a white name lets just use Smith" but you have facial features that say otherwise.....no no I'm white trust me I said nervously. Whew!

 

Anyways good luck to you

[Guest Queens]

Let me give you an objective opinion - most Queen's meds would say that they are diverse : ). I know several Queen's meds students from VARIOUS years, but I go to Queen's for undergrad.

 

I would say that the diversity is there, however there is a certain "homogeniety" which exists in the class. Everyone seem, more or less, of the same "type" despite differences in race, culture, etc. It's hard to pinpoint what this is, but everyone I've spoken to (and some I know well) seem to have this trademark "Queen's" feel.

 

I guess it's just the profile of students they accept. After all, one of your interviewers will be a student, and he/she has a equal weighting on whether you will become accepted.

[Guest Liana]

What do you mean by Queen's med students being of a certain "type"? Are you referring to personality/attitude, or a certain sort of background (socioeconomic or otherwise)?

 

I know that I've seen a "type" of person who tends to choose Queen's for undergrad (based mostly on people I knew from high school, mind you, so it's not necessarily the best indicator), but I wasn't aware of the school actually selecting a certain "type" of applicant. In fact, of what minimal exposure I had to current medical students at interview weekend, the Queen's med "type", if there was any sort of generalization I could make, was in some ways similar to the Queen's undergrad type, and in other ways completely opposite. ie, the people I knew from high school who went to Kingston tended to be very self-absorbed, socially involved, but also highly concerned with impressions. The med students seemed to be similarly socially active, but they seemed to be more easygoing and widely accepting of each other.

 

I'm just curious what you meant by the "Queen's type"; ie, whether you think this is a product of the selectivity of the ad comms or just a certain type of student who applies there.

[Guest heyheyhey]

Ya, I got that impresion of queens being "white" (no offense), when I went for an interview. Also, since I am NOTICABLY not white I definetly felt that underlying tone of racism. I just wanted to see if I was the only one who felt that way or if other people do. Thanks a bunch for your honesty. I bet I can expect my rejection May 31st.

[Guest strider2004]

I'd say that my class is fairly diverse. It is a 2-way street so a lot of urban-minded students probably choose UT over Queens and it's not just Queens passing over ethnic minorities. Compared to Canada as a whole, Queens is definitely overrepresented in minorities. I mean that we have at least 10 orientals, maybe 10 south-Asians, a few West Indians in our class. It's not as diverse as GTA as a whole but more diverse than Kingston.

I'm chinese and find it quite comfortable around here. It's also nice to have a car because I can retreat to Pacific Mall in Toronto and get my asian fix.

 

The issue of diversity has come up this year and unfortunately OMSAS doesn't ask you for your ethnic background so we can't compare between the applicant pool diversity and the accepted/matriculated pool diversity. It would be an interesting study.

[Guest Queens 2003]

As a Queen;s minority student, I am amazed at the ignorance of many minority applicants on this board.

 

In the third year class, for example, there are 17 indians and 17 orientals...in a class of 75...that is 40% ish. The country is only 13% non-white...meaning whites, blacks and native indians are grossyly underrepresented.

 

RAcism in Kingston? I have personally not experienced it...but i'm sure it exists just like every other town. Much like heyheyhey's innate racism against poorer small town whites (despite being educated himself and having many opportunities in life) and a few other posters here.

 

At the very least...I'm know that the medical schools in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong (where there is a substantial indian minority which is discriminated against) are much less diverse than Queen's.

[Guest RAK2005]

Just to echo Queens2003, over 40 % of my class are visible minorities which is definately an overrepresentation of the general population.

[Guest JSS02]

Take a look at the class composites of the last 2 years: Meds 2005 and Meds 2004. They seem pretty "diverse" (racially) to me... actually, all of the people I know at Queen's them are non-white and I think they're all happy there. I guess I can't say for sure until I've been there (will interview there this weekend), but I don't see why I, a minority applicant myself, would feel uncomfortable there.

[Guest magic]

Hey I'm the diehard fan who goes to most of the games, Kuch there is no pity required bro. remind me to thump your kidneys when I get a chance.

[Guest magic]

I am an East Indian member of the 2005 class, I have a very hard time seeing how people are claiming a lack of diversity at Queen's and the Meds class in particular. Our class as well as the upper year classes are quite diverse: in the colours of our skin, our cultures, religions and our interests. There are many clubs on campus catering to all sorts of people. check out the myclubs tab at http://www.myams.org.

 

In conclusion I believe that the opinions expressed earlier, were perhaps misguided and I'm sure if you, like I, were to spend more time here, you would realize that there is a pleasant, diverse atmosphere here @ Queen's.

[Guest MJS2005]

As a member of the first year class in medicine at Queen's, I would like to express my serious concern with the unfounded opinions of heyheyhey, Queensmeds, and others who suggest that the Queen's admissions includes ethnicity as a criterion. This is simply not true.

The Queen's community takes great pride in its diversity. Queen's is diverse not only in ethnic backgrounds, but also in belief systems, sexual orientations, religion, creed, and colour. The admissions committee in the School of Medicine uses only academic excellence and personal potential as criteria for entry. This ensures that the best are selected for admission regardless of any other factor, such as race. Our diverse class will play an active role on the admissions committee next year when we interview candidates for the class of 2007. Please be assured that there are no members of our class who are racially motivated.

As a member of class council, I hear many complaints from the class. I am proud to say that not a single one as been related to discrimination from the faculty of any kind, including race.

In my five years at Queen's, I have not witnessed a racially motivated argument, heard of a racially discriminatory group, or felt tension between members of different races in general.

Members of all races and backgrounds should feel fully comfortable and confident considering Queen's as an institution to study medicine at. Your race will not be a factor in your admission standing nor will it adversely affect your time spent here at Queen's.

If you have concerns about this matter, I encourage you to visit our class website at meds.queensu.ca/~meds2005 and contact members of our class who will echo these sentiments.

[Guest chef]

If you're worried about race being an issue during the admissions process, there's really no reason to. We were specifically instructed not to consider race. religion etc. as one of the criteria.

 

As for Kingston being a white town, I'd have to agree with you. When I first got here and walked down Princess Street, I was wondering where all the other cultures were. But that doesn't mean I was discriminated against, ever. (I'm Chinese btw) I have never felt uncomfortable about my "race", and have not heard anyone else in my class being discriminated against.

 

I'm sure there will be isolated incidents here and there but i.m.h.o. these are pretty rare.

 

There are plenty of ethic restaurants of varying quality around town. Plus TOronto is only 2.5 hours away.....

[Guest Ian Wong]

Floating to the top...

 

Ian