How hard is it to get into French medical schools?

[azzurrifan87]

I'm a Quebec resident looking at medical school. Being form here I wanted to try the French schools. How competitive are they compared to McGill say and which ones are the easier ones to get into?

[samy]

I believe it is way more difficult to be admitted to McGill than the 3 French universities.

 

To apply in medshool at McGill (I applied for premed, but I think MDCM's application process is mostly the same) you have to write a C.V. + 3 short letters. Then, if the application commity have liked what you've writen, you get an inverview. The marks (Cegep R score for premed) do count for the selection, however for a small % only (15% I think?).

 

For Université de Montréal + Université de Sherbrooke, it is way more easy if you have good marks because the only criterion you need to satisfy to get an interview is your marks. A 33,8-34 > r score will guarantee an interview.

 

Montreal splits equally the overall score of the admission process between the interview (50%) and the marks (50%).

Sherbrooke : Marks (50%) , interview (35%) , TAAMUS (15%)

Laval : Marks (50%), interview (30%), QAS (20%)

 

TAAMUS is a standardised personality test. More details here : http://premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43946

 

The QAS is a 1000-1200 words essay in which you have to answer 3 questions about you and your future career as a physician. ( http://www.fmed.ulaval.ca/site_fac/fileadmin/template/main/site_fac/etudes/1er_cycle/NAS-QAS/QAS-2010-MED.pdf )

 

I think it would be easier to get into Sherb than in any other place if you don't have very good marks. The TAAMUS is a real joke and don't miss the Friday party the day before the test, the alcohol is cheap the cute future premed/med girls worth the stop (I have to mention that you don't need all your mental capacities for the test, I did it being hangover and got no problem at all)

 

Montreal is the easiest place to get in if you have very good marks because the score you'll get for a high r score(50%) can balance an average interview score(50%).

 

Laval can be quite easy too if you have ease with essays writing.

 

Just don't screw up the interviews, it can ruin your chance of getting into med.

 

Finaly, McGill is the hardest of the 4 to get into, well it's the one where luck if needed ! It's more like a lottery. You can't predict if you'll have an interview even with a very high r score and good ECs.

[Karma]

lol, it's not '' WAY MORE EASY" to get into french med schools. You cleraly don't know what you're talking about. The only difference was that you had to write the MCAT for Mcgill, but that soon will be gone.

 

You need plenty of extracurriculars for french med schools too. To apply to McGill you'll also need a slighly higher GPA. But other than that, it's not very different and certainly not way easier.

[azzurrifan87]

Also, I am an M.Sc candidate so CEGEP stuff doesn't apply to me. I have decent extracurriculars and hospital volunteer experience. Next week I"m doing some physician shadowing. Does that help in anyway?

[Noval]

From a CEGEP applicant perspective, Samy' point of view seems to be correct, I may say. But, it is quite different for university applicants.

[Karma]

I agree with Samy that McGill is the hardest one of the 4 to get into, but the 3 other french med schools are also VERY hard to get into. The truth is that there are no easy to get into med schools.

 

 

Sure, all the things you're doing help.

[Novus]

I agree with Samy that McGill is the hardest one of the 4 to get into, but the 3 other french med schools are also VERY hard to get into. The truth is that there are no easy to get into med schools.

 

 

Sure, all the things you're doing help.

 

I heard CEGEP Applicants have more chance on entering med since the waitlist goes a lot more far for them,is that true ?

 

 

OT:Yes it's harder to get in Medical Schools than other programs,but it's definitely not the hardest(Thinking about McGill Law School selection(170 places for 13xx applicants) or the NASA Astronaut Training Program (where 20 applicants get selected out of a crowd of 4000...)

[azzurrifan87]

I had a 3.54 when I finished undergrad because it was a tough program. I heard McGill looks at your program. How true is that? Could I still potentially score an interview with a GPA that isn't really competitive providing the other aspects of my application were strong?

[Novus]

I had a 3.54 when I finished undergrad because it was a tough program. I heard McGill looks at your program. How true is that? Could I still potentially score an interview with a GPA that isn't really competitive providing the other aspects of my application were strong?

 

I don't know for McGill but the 3 other French Med Schools usually give you an R-Score with that GPA,since you're from a difficult program,you could easily get a decent R-Score in a University and a bad score in another,their converting methods differ from each University.

All i can say is,just apply to all of them and you'll see if luck smiles to you.

3.54/4.00 isn't THAT bad in some Universities.(Confirmation needed).

[thebouque]

I'd say it's quite hard to get into sherbrooke if you're a university candidate since university students represent only 20% of their class. I know a few people who got into McGill and who didn't even have a TAAMUS/MEM invitation for Sherbrooke.

 

Peace