To cgb!!

[Guest Tal]

Sorry, I didn't know how else to contact you.

I just read that you are a NS resident and you got into some ontario med schools.

I'm also a NS resident and have yet to meet anyone else doing this, so I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?

Did your out of province residency affect your applying in any way?

What kind of marks, MCAT, etc. do you have? (if you don't mind my asking)

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I'm not originally from NS but I did my UG out there. . . if you want to e-mail me any questions go ahead. My e-mail is jeffrey_rader@hotmail.com.

[Guest cgb]

Hey Tal:

 

Any questions you have, feel free to ask. You're right, I am a NS resident, and I completed my undergrad in NS as well.

 

Regarding my GPA and MCAT, I don't mind giving you that info, but the important thing to remember is that each school weighs those factors differently. For example, Queen's considers your two best years (usually) along with the MCAT when deciding who gets invited for an interview. After having received an interview, these factors are no longer considered.

 

GPA: cumulative - around 3.6

last two years - around 4.1 (on a 4.3 scale)

 

MCAT: 11/13/13/Q

 

My NS residence did not affect my applications to most of the Ontario schools. Queen's, UWO, and Toronto do not consider your province of residence in making their decisions - all applicants are considered equally regardless of their home province. In contrast, McMaster reserves only a few seats (relatively) for out-of-province (OOP) students. I did not receive an interview invite from McMaster or Toronto. I think a lot of people just assume that as an OOP student they don't stand a chance in Ontario, so...they don't apply. Actually, out of the people I know who have applied to Ontario, most have applied only to McMaster - which doesn't really make sense when you consider your chances of admission as an OOP at McMaster. I believe that it was only a short time ago that all the Ontario schools had policies similar to the one that McMaster still has. Things are changing though (not only in Ontario), so if you're interested in medical schools besides MUN and DAL don't think its impossible.

 

Here is what I know about other schools and whether or not they have OOP policies or they are open to everyone equally:

 

 

 

UBC - Policy (very few OOP)

 

Calgary - Policy (15% of seats for OOP)

 

Sask - Policy (less than 10 seats for OOP)

 

McGill - Policy (few OOP seats)

 

Queen's - Open to all

 

UWO - Open to all

 

Toronto - Open to all

 

McMaster - Policy (not sure about specifics)

 

Ottawa - Open to all (I'm pretty sure)

 

MUN - Policy (reserved seats for NB, PEI, and USA...not NS!!!!)

 

DAL - Policy (mostly accepts Maritime students)

 

I hope this helps, if you want me to make contact with you personally post an email address and I can contact you.

 

Good luck to you

[Guest Tal]

Thank you so much cgb for all your information !!

It really helps. I've heard a lot of different things from a lot of different people, but you were the first I've seen actually from NS applying to Ontario.

I had heard that most of the ontario schools did not care about your province of residence, I was just afraid that even if they said they didn't, they still kinda did, and I would have to "shine" a little above the in-province applicants (which I'm not sure I could with my gpa, and the fact that I'm applying after only 2 years of UG)

I'm also doing my undergrad in ontario, I don't think that'll affect anything though.

I really don't even want to apply to Dal (but I probably will, just in case) U of t and Western are my top choices.

I was thinking of trying to apply as an ontario resident, but if (as it sounds) you really don't think that it matters at those schools, then probably I won't.

Thank you again and congratulations on your acceptances!

[Guest cgb]

Hey Tal:

 

Regarding applying as an Ontario resident:

 

I'm fairly certain that each of the schools has a specific requirement that must be fulfilled in order for someone to qualify as an Ontario resident. I really can't help you on this one. I'm pretty sure that if you apply as an Ontario resident on one application you have to do so on all your applications to all medical schools in Canada. Again, I would check with the specific schools you're interested in regarding this. If I find an info on this topic I will let you know.

 

When I first applied, I was a little bit skeptical that I would stand as good of a chance as an in-province student. Thankfully, this did not hold true.

 

Thanks for the congratulations....I can't wait to start

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Hey Tal -

 

I was actually in the exact opposite situation from you: I grew up in Ontario, but did my UG in NS. I debated for a while in deciding my "home" address (that's pretty much how they decide provincial residency status. . . and yes, you do have to claim the same residency status for ALL schools. I'm not sure how they check, but it's probably not worth risking as they very well could check!) Eventually, I decided that since Dal was not my first choice, I'd apply as an Ontario resident and only to OMSAS.

 

It turned out that for my year, that decision was probably a mistake. None of the three Ontario schools I applied to (UWO, Queen's or U of T) gave consideration to provincial status last year, meaning my Ontario residency status was relatively useless. The NS residency status could have mattered, and mattered a great deal. Then again, it all worked out in the end (I was accepted at Western) so it didn't really matter.

 

Thing is, U of T and UWO decided DURING the application cycle to remove the preference for Ontario residents. And it really could have gone the other way. Also, for next year UWO has already stated they will be giving "preference" to applicants from Southwestern Ontario. I have no clue as to U of T. Don't worry though - for UWO, I don't think this "preference" will amount to all that much. . . maybe a few bonus points on the final assessment of GPA/MCAT/Interview (that's complete conjecture.) They did have a "preference" for the Meds 2004 class, and there are a number of OOP students in that class.

 

So in other words, at Dal being OOP could make a huge difference whereas for the Ontario schools it might make a difference, ranging from none to some. Hope this doesn't sound too confusing!

 

PS - BTW the OOP requirements for Dal is a 3.7 GPA in your last two years and 10/10/10/?? on the MCAT. They've typically interviewed 50 applicants for 8 spots.