QC Med Schools

[Prothrombin]

Both my cousins got accepted into Pharmacy at U Montreal but one of them is thinking about Med school. When I asked him if he's done a lot of Extracurricular work he told me in QC they don't take into consideration your EC's and only look at marks and interview. Is this true at all? I thought all Med Schools looked at your out-of-school involvement. He's got great marks but he doesn't have any extracurricular involvement, so I don't see how he could possibly get accepted into Med School.

[iwh333]

why don't you just take a look in the QC school threads and check stats of ppl who have been accepted?

[xi88]

extracurriculars are required everywhere.

[Guest Shim]

extracurriculars are required everywhere.

 

Not really. As USherbrooke, ULaval and UdeM do not evaluate extracurricular, a lot of people makes in with very little extracurriculars. However, you're boosting your chances by having some, as you have to write about yourself in Laval's QAS.

[_Yoda_]

Not really. As USherbrooke, ULaval and UdeM do not evaluate extracurricular, a lot of people makes in with very little extracurriculars. However, you're boosting your chances by having some, as you have to write about yourself in Laval's QAS.

 

Exactly.

 

Oh, and McGill does take into account your ECs.

[justletmein]

It is true, most Quebec med schools on the french side don't care about EC's (aside from maybe Laval because you have to write a short essay). It is unfortunate but many 18-19 year-olds who have never seen life outside of the library end up getting in because of their marks. The interviews are now MMI style at all Quebec med schools so you dont even get the chance to talk about your activities or accomplishments.

 

On the other hand, this fact should not stop you from pursuing EC's. For starters, it is EXTREMELY important at McGill, and on top of that I think it's important as a person to be well rounded and have different interests & activities. Your whole life should not revolve around getting into med school.

[thebouque]

Maybe laval doesnt care as much as mcgill about the ecs but it's still fairly important. People can get waitlisted or refused if they submit an inadequate essay (in which you talk about your ecs). Laval is the only french school in quebec that requires an essay.

[Prothrombin]

See now to me that's ridiculous. Becoming a doctor should not be solely about high marks. The admissions panel needs to have a good sense of an individuals personal goals/interests as well as their interest in the field of medicine in order to make some sort of a decent judgment on their candidacy. I understand that there are people out there with high marks and lots of EC's who only go into med school for the money but outside of Quebec I think the schools to a fairly good job of weeding out those who BS from those who are honest. Not caring about a persons EC's is mind boggling because then anybody with high marks can apply and essentially get in. Then it really becomes a free for all and makes it harder for those who really care about the joy of becoming a doctor to actually be a doctor because those with higher grades are getting thrown admission offers.

 

EC's for sure show how well a person is able to balance their grades with their passions, and shows that they are well rounded and are more diverse.

[Normand]

It's great to have EC. But if your grades are not good, it doesn't really show that you're able to balance academics with ECs.

 

I think so far the admissions committee is doing a great job selecting the candidates. But of course, there's always room for improvement.

 

P.S. All Quebec universities look at ECs. During the MMIs, there was a station where they specifically asked about what you do outside of school.

[Prothrombin]

It's great to have EC. But if your grades are not good, it doesn't really show that you're able to balance academics with ECs.

 

I think so far the admissions committee is doing a great job selecting the candidates. But of course, there's always room for improvement.

 

P.S. All Quebec universities look at ECs. During the MMIs, there was a station where they specifically asked about what you do outside of school.

 

Oh ok, that clears up a bit.

 

But yeah I completely agree that the admissions committee for the most part is doing a good job at selecting candidates, and I completely agree that you need to have BOTH good grades and great EC's to get accepted and that EC's alone will not get you in.

[justletmein]

P.S. All Quebec universities look at ECs. During the MMIs, there was a station where they specifically asked about what you do outside of school.

 

1 station which adds up to 10% of the MMI which itself usually counts a maximum of 50% so in the end it makes very little difference in your final ranking.

 

Laval definitely has the best system out of the 3 schools, but overall admission to the francophone med schools is flawed.

[Normand]

1 station which adds up to 10% of the MMI which itself usually counts a maximum of 50% so in the end it makes very little difference in your final ranking.

 

Laval definitely has the best system out of the 3 schools, but overall admission to the francophone med schools is flawed.

 

Well first of all, that station was worth 20%. Secondly, there was plenty of opportunity to talk about your extracurrilars in other stations during the MMI. For example, if a station talked about volunteering, then you could refer to your own personal experiences in that field. If another station asked about teamwork, then indirectly it will question your past experiences where you worked in a team. If you are a team player, then you should do just fine.

 

Having experienced the MMIs myself this year, I can tell you that refering to your own EC experiences during an MMI station definitely adds more credibility to what you say. In fact, MMIs are great because they makes candidates SHOW what they can do, instead of just TALKING about it.

 

Just my 0.02$