American Premed for Canadian Students

[flyingace]

Hi there everyone,

 

I'm a Canadian who has been accepted to Berkeley, UCLA, and UPenn for various biology-related majors. Alongside this I've been admitted to McMaster BHSc and McGill. I was wondering what you think I should do? Will going to an Ivy League school for premed really help me out with both American and Canadian med school admissions? I haven't decided if I want to study medicine here or there, but I'm wondering if leaving will give me a disadvantage in admissions at schools like UofT. Thanks =)

[future_doc]

I would not complicate life by going to USA for undergrad. Life is complicated enough as it is.

[flyingace]

I think the complicated part was getting accepted in the first place =P I'm just wondering what differences (if any) it would have on my medical admissions chances. It's mainly just that the number of research and internship opportunities available seem pretty amazing at all of these institutions. While BHSc is an excellent program, I'm not sure if its as renowned internationally? I'm from Western Canada and it's definitely not super super huge here

[KMMD]

If you want to go to med school in Canada, I would stay in Canada for undergrad. It is just easier with determining GPA, full course load and residency. To be honest, I haven't looked in to it personally but I have read some stories on this forum about people having weird course loads in the states that don't qualify as full course loads for schools including U of T (so you can get the weighing formula). It may be a different story if you want to go to medical school in the states, but here it doesn't matter what school or program you do as long as it's accredited.

[future_doc]

Complicated to start and remains complicated. Your grades would need to be assessed and I imagine that WES would become involved to determine the value of your GPA. Much higher tuition but I guess you are cool with that.

I wouldn't do it but it is your decision. It is not as if you are going to study in Afghanistan. Internships are available here and indeed, we can go for US summer internships/research. Harvard & De Bakey come to mind.

[flyingace]

Oh I wasn't aware that GPA or course load wouldn't convert directly, I guess I assumed that the Canadian and American systems were so similar it wouldn't make a difference. So you wouldn't say that the prestige of the undergraduate institution would make a significant difference in Canadian admissions?

 

Sorry, just one last question, but,

If I was to decide to go abroad for premed, would I be separated from the rest of the Canadian applicant pool and evaluated as an international applicant for Medical School (I'm still a Canadian citizen of course)?

[sgt.pepper]

Take that McMaster BHSc acceptance and don't look back.

 

hahah QFT

[NLengr]

If you think you wanna stay in Canada if you do decide to apply to med, stay in Canada.

 

Hell, unless you have a free ride scholarship or have loads of money to blow, stay in Canada. If you decide to do a masters or phd, you can always go south then. Seriously, don't put yourself into monstrous debt. It's just not worth it for a BSc.

[DFlint]

Hi flyingace

 

I had this decision last year and I chose to go to an American school, I found out some things and well, now realize that I should have examined my options more carefully.

 

1. If you go to the United States, you will not qualify for the UofT weighting formula as it does not apply if you do an undergrad in the US (I asked this directly via email and got this response)

 

2. The GPA conversion will be quite funky. In the US, one typically needs a 93 for an A which is different from in Canada. If you can get the US school to show percentage grades on your transcript though, you're good.

 

3. It will likely help if your goal is US Med school (This is not 100% certain but US Med Schools are much more likely to consider school prestige) (As well, you are at an advantage as some US medical schools prefer students who did undergrad in the US)

 

4. Being in a foreign country can be weird. I didn't expect this when I decided to go to a US school, but it is a factor. I have had numerous people tease me about being Canadian and even though it is light hearted, it can still occasionally be a culture shock.

 

5. Be prepared to do a lot of paperwork... I didn't realize this either, but I had to get a US social security card, will need a new drivers license... stuff like that can be weird.

 

If you want anymore advice from someone who chose the United States, reply to this or PM me.

[JB.]

I am currently going to a US schoold for my UG. I got a really good scholarship and it's closer to me than any Canadian schools (I live in a bordertown). It was a huge culture shock for me too, but social reasons aside, go to a Canadian school for your UG if you want to go to a Canadian med school. There are some situations where it's better to do what everyone else is doing. I think this is one of them.

[astrogirl]

Go to the States if you want to. I did my undergrad in the States (also because I got a really good scholarship and it was the most affordable option), and while I wasn't planning on applying to med at the time, I didn't have any problems. There are a few other people in my class who also did their ug in the States and they didn't have issues either. Yeah, there are logistical things to deal with (the stuff DFlint mentioned), but it's not an insurmountable obstacle, and if you decide the school you'd really like to go to is one of the American ones, don't let the logistical issues scare you off from doing what you want to do. It won't make you an international student for Canadian med schools (although I guess there is that UofT weighting issue that DFlint mentioned, but for the UofC at least they'll treat your degree as exactly the same as a Canadian one), and you do not need to get a WES evaluation of your transcript for any Canadian school despite what people will try to tell you on here.

[flyingace]

Thank you all so much for the replies, what an amazing forum! To be perfectly honest I've visited Hamilton and the city itself drives me away from BHSc more than anything else; I'm more of a big city person.

 

Can someone please explain what the UofT weighting formula is? I apologize for my ignorance but I really am very new to this forum =) I have friends at a number of American schools and they've all felt the culture shock too so I expect to experience it as well if I do go, the paperwork shouldn't be a huge issue though, an annoyance but not a deterrent. Mainly I just don't want to close any doors, while I realize how INCREDIBLY difficult it is to get into a top American Medical School, I don't want to make it even harder. Beyond that, Penn has really top-notch networking which I feel will be very helpful in the future.

 

Astrogirl, that's a huge relief, I actually live in Calgary so UofC or UofA are both pretty likely destinations. I'm glad they don't start looking at you as a foreigner just because you've done your UG abroad. If you don't mind me asking, what about grading differences as well? My research has shown me that Penn is really quite notorious for grade inflation and that helps its medical applicants (around 85% of them make it into medical school). Is grading generally easier in the United States than Canada?

[notjk]

Thank you all so much for the replies, what an amazing forum! To be perfectly honest I've visited Hamilton and the city itself drives me away from BHSc more than anything else; I'm more of a big city person.

 

Can someone please explain what the UofT weighting formula is?

Visit http://www.md.utoronto.ca/admissions/information/faq.htm, it talks about it in good detail.

 

I apologize for my ignorance but I really am very new to this forum =) I have friends at a number of American schools and they've all felt the culture shock too so I expect to experience it as well if I do go, the paperwork shouldn't be a huge issue though, an annoyance but not a deterrent. Mainly I just don't want to close any doors, while I realize how INCREDIBLY difficult it is to get into a top American Medical School,

 

you should visit the student doctor network forums as well~

 

I don't want to make it even harder. Beyond that, Penn has really top-notch networking which I feel will be very helpful in the future.

 

Astrogirl, that's a huge relief, I actually live in Calgary so UofC or UofA are both pretty likely destinations. I'm glad they don't start looking at you as a foreigner just because you've done your UG abroad. If you don't mind me asking, what about grading differences as well? My research has shown me that Penn is really quite notorious for grade inflation and that helps its medical applicants (around 85% of them make it into medical school). Is grading generally easier in the United States than Canada?

 

and lastly do read the stickies, and use the search function~

[cclawfjj]

Mac BHSc offers are out already? I doubt it, but I could be wrong. You are from out-of-province afterall.

[flyingace]

thanks for the link and i'll check out the other forum, the stickies on this site are actually super helpful!

 

yes out of province applicants have been receiving them all week, I have friends in BC and Nova Scotia who've gotten them as well

[astrogirl]

Astrogirl, that's a huge relief, I actually live in Calgary so UofC or UofA are both pretty likely destinations. I'm glad they don't start looking at you as a foreigner just because you've done your UG abroad. If you don't mind me asking, what about grading differences as well? My research has shown me that Penn is really quite notorious for grade inflation and that helps its medical applicants (around 85% of them make it into medical school). Is grading generally easier in the United States than Canada?

 

This kind of depends on the school and what you're studying. I was in physics and not planning on applying to med school so I wasn't ever too concerned about my grades. But some physics departments, including the one I was at, are notorious for deciding that the rest of the world is suffering from a grade inflation epidemic and keeping their averages low because they don't want to be like that. My GPA was pretty low. But from what I've heard, what you've heard about Penn (and similar schools) is pretty accurate, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to get good grades if that's what you're actually trying for from the beginning.

[IamIDP]

Ivy League schools would be advantageous only if you decide to stay in the US, not for Canadian med.

[Jochi1543]

You are considering passing up California for Hamilton?

 

LOLLOLLOLLOLLOL

[dy727]

i say,

 

go to a place where you'll enjoy spending your late teens early 20s at.

 

are you 100% sure about med school in canada? if you are 100% and you won't look back on anything, go to mac bhsc or mcgill. Either one is fine as long as you stay on top of your game. In terms of difficulty mac bhsc and mcgill is roughly similar.

 

med school is only a part of your life. now is to really focus on how you want to live out your next 4 years --> consider the location, uni culture, etc

 

that said GPA is pretty impt in Canada so if you want to go to an american school and come back to a canadian med school, you should be on top of your things in making sure your GPA >3.8.