UBC or U of T?

[Guest Linda]

I was hoping that Ian/Akane could help me out as well as anyone with some input on this.

 

I am interested in a specialty residency, where should I go to school? $$ isn't an issue...is there a difference between the 2 schools? I was also thinking of the US for residency.

 

thanks

[Guest Ian Wong]

Hi Linda,

 

We went over this topic a little while ago.

 

pub44.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm0.showMessage?topicID=173.topic

 

Regarding going to the States, U of T has a bigger reputation than UBC, but that isn't saying much. US folks are far less likely to be aware of the quality and differences between these two medical schools, and will almost certainly be completely ignorant of their curriculums unless they themselves attended a Canadian medical school.

 

The US has so many medical schools, that in general, for getting a US residency, your medical school that you attend is considerably less important than your class ranking, and ridiculously less important than your USMLE Step 1 score (a US Board exam usually written after Med 2), research background and publications, and away electives (in the States) with strong reference letters.

 

Also, the vast majority of grads from my school end up matching in Canada (probably 90% of those who matched). I was quite surprised discover that, but there really isn't a big draw to apply down to the States, with a large part of that probably being the difficulty in moving and re-establishing a network of connections.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3