Canadian or International...?

[md2be]

Hi everyone,

 

I have found myself at a crossroads, and would appreciate any insight or advice you might have. I'm a mature student, 26 years old, completed a HBSc and MSc from U of T. As most U of T science students can relate to, my first couple years of undergrad were pretty terrible. However I eventually learned how to improve, earning a GPA of 3.64 and 3.91 in my last two years respectively. My masters degree wasn't the most productive (my lab hasn't had a publication since I began my degree in 2006!), but I had the opportunity to present at multiple forums/conferences and won awards for those presentations. In terms of ECs, I've been involved in numerous student councils, volunteering/leadership/mentoring opportunities, music, dance, etc. for many years. I currently work in clinical research, and have gained great hospital experience over the last year (my job requires assessment of patient symptoms and coordination of chemotherapy treatments, etc). MCAT 11/11/11/Q.

 

I applied to UWO, Queens, U of T, Calgary, Ireland. Rejected pre-interview from UWO (for the second last year of 3.6), Queens (for my Q) and U of T. Interviewed in Calgary, but I'm not confident about gaining a spot in the class with the recent rumours of a significant decrease in the class size. Also interviewed for RCSI (Ireland), and was offered a place in the class.

 

I'm undecided as to whether I should seriously consider Ireland as an option or not. I obviously would much prefer to stay in Canada for my medical education, however there are many factors that would influence my decision to go to Ireland (i.e. There's no guarantee I could have an interview in Canada next year, along the same lines, what could I do over the next year to significantly improve my Canadian application, also how difficult it would be to obtain a residency position in Canada from Ireland).

 

Have any of you been in a similar situation? What are your thoughts about medical education in Ireland?

 

Thank you for your guidance in advance!

[Adversary]

My friend is just finishing his MD in RCSI and will be going to internal med in Ontario so coming back is possible. I didn't think so until I heard the good news from him.

[Slashsev01]

honestly, Iam lost for words...

 

to stir some controversy all i will say is:

 

Canada sucks!!

I wish i had a green card

[123coco]

Med2be,

Have you considered Dalhousie? They'll compile your grad GPA as one year, and use your last undergrad year to qualify you for an interview. If these two years average out >3.7, you'll skip their first hurdle. Your MCAT score exceeds their cut-offs. Have you thought of re-writing the MCAT just to meet Queen's WS cut-off? Maybe you'll get into to Calgary this year and these will all be old worries.

 

If I was in your predicament, I'd beef up my Ecs, re-write the MCAT and apply again. If you got into to Ireland this year, you could probably get in next year again. Just my two cents!

________

NEW JERSEY MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

[Slashsev01]

i think u have all the right stuff..id invest the time for canada

 

You can always go to ireland (and they have more than 1 application period..so u will not be losing that much time)

[MicroMo]

I didn't know that about Dahl...what if you are OOP?

[MicroMo]

I am in a similar predicament.

I have a MSc from U of C and have applied in Canada for two years in a row. I applied thru OMSAS to the ontario schools my first time but didn't meet most of their cutoffs so I didn't reapply.

My MCAT is a 30S (8VR, 11BS, 11PS) and I am signed up to re-write it this fall but I am not 100% sure about it yet.

I didn't get an interview this year despite U of C interviewing around 600ppl. I talked to admissions and I was 0.5-1pt off from the interview cutoff (FML).

I have received offers from Limerick and Cork. I also got into U of Queensland last year but declined. So I am not sure if it is worth trying one last time in Canada or whether I should head abroad.

If I reapplied I am also not sure which schools to try this time around. U of C is an obvious one. But I am thinking maybe U of T since I am hoping on having a few more pubs from the research I am doing now. I know U of S looks at your Grad school GPA and your last year BSc GPA but I haven't gotten an interview from there before. Any thoughts on UBC or Dahl?! I always thought it was a waste of time/money for these schools because it is so competitive for OOP.

 

Any advice would be great!

[md2be]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I agree with the poster above, but I wonder what our chances are as OOP with only 9/81 spots allocated (And to answer your question, no, I didn't apply there this year unfortunately!)

 

Do you really think rewriting the MCAT is necessary with an 11/11/11/Q? The previous year a few of my friends got in with a Q, so who knows what might happen next year.

 

My ECs are pretty extensive...I've done it ALL, other than volunteering in Africa! I know it'll be only one more year if I improved my application (although I'm starting to run out of ideas of how to do this...) and reapplied, but I'm not getting any younger and would like to start working towards a medical education.

 

I've heard of people going to Ireland for a year and reapplying, but I'm not sure of the school's perspective on doing so...another thing to look into if May 14th doesn't turn out the way I hope.

[MicroMo]

I asked about the going to Ireland and applying while in a med program when I talked to the admissions people. She said some of their students had done that and they are not against it. She said it was up to the individual reviewer and how they feel about it (ie: well if they are already in med, give the spot to someone else OR they are already in and still want to come here, must be motivated).

It could go either way really...

[Melisende]

If you go to Ireland, coming back to Canada to do residency will be a hurdle. It is definitely possible to come back but it will be hard. If you look at the allocation of spots on the CaRMS website, there are very limited spots for IMGs especially if you are interested in something other than family medicine. The competition is intense. You need to be prepared that if you go to RCSI, there is a chance that you will not be able to come back to Canada to practice medicine.