I grew up in Springwater ontario, does this count as "Northern?"

[Little John]

I grew up in Springwater. Is this North enough for NSOM?

[jojoluvsu2]

Email NOSM to be sure, but I would say no. I have heard (very unofficially) that Parry Sound seems to be the level of the "northern boarder".

[Wayward son]

I grew up in Springwater. Is this North enough for NSOM?

 

I agree with the previous comment that you should email NOSM to know for sure.

 

However, I should also say that as far as I know there is no such thing as "North enough for NOSM." I assume you mean far enough north to receive northern context points. My guess is - no. There are also context points for rural living, but I checked the ROI (rural ontario index) for Springwater and it is only a 32 (out of 100)....which is not very good (probably too close to Barrie and the population of SW is pretty substantial compared to most Northern Ontario communities). For a comparison Hearst and Red Lake score 95 and 98 respectively and are definitely very north. Experience has shown that gaining admission without either northern or rural contex points is exceedingly difficult.

[benhc911]

Just for reference, rurality (unfortunately in my mind) isn't as big of a factor as Northern Residence... if it was there wouldn't be such a huge percentage of Sudbury and Thunder Bay students...

 

While definitely not official, in our sessions we periodically talk about the NE and NW LHIN, the boundaries of these might give you an idea... but of course its just a component in all of it... they just want to pick students that will practice here.

[lwu018]

According to NOSM's website, under the Community link, (http://www.nosm.ca/communities/general.aspx?id=1614) it would seem that the southern most community affiliated with their program is Gravenhurst. Also, I am from Minden Hills (about an hour east of Bracebridge) and I am aware that my area is not considered part of Northern Ontario.

 

NOSM has published their class profiles from previous years (http://www.nosm.ca/classprofiles/) and I unfortunately have to agree with benhc911 that our chances of getting offers seem much lower than candidates from Northern Ontario. Nonetheless, there is still some hope for us yet I find it helpful to remain optimistic while acknowledging the reality of the situation and preparing several back-up plans.

[Real Beef]

Email NOSM to be sure, but I would say no. I have heard (very unofficially) that Parry Sound seems to be the level of the "northern boarder".

 

I have noticed NOSM is quite veiled in their responses regarding context. Knowing their boundaries and typically what is Northern Ontario is helpful.

 

Some information I dug up:

 

The context score is based on algorithm that assigns a score to an applicant based on the community or communities of residence while living in Canada. This algorithm is not published as it is felt that applicants will then submit fraudulent information on their residential history in order to obtain a better score.

The context score is calculated by a computer program that has been developed by a Laurentian University Professor in conjunction with the Office of Admissions. The Laurentian Professor has been hired each year as a consultant to aid the Office of Admissions in the calculating of this context score.

 

As I have mentioned many times that after an outright rejection I was told that my context score was low. I was told that at 5 years you are given certain number of points and after 10 years you get more. That is too simplified given the fact that it is a complex algorithm suggesting you would get additional points/scoring given even incremental increases in northern residence and rural residence.

 

Anyhow this application cycle prior to applying I sent them the following email:

 

Hello,

 

I am preparing my application and was curious as to whether I am considered a Northern Ontario resident. I have lived and worked in Northern Ontario, on Manitoulin Island for going on 6 years.

 

 

I noted that many of the posted internal scholarships have 10 years in NO as the cut off for eligibility and wondered whether this was similar for NO resident status. I understand there is nothing I can do about my length of stay in NO however I still wished to understand whether my context would be considered weak, moderate or strong, When I first applied to NOSM I had only lived in NO for two years and knew that this was a severe weakness at the time.

 

Now I have been here for 6 years, completed a graduate degree while working full time to raise my GPA to a 3.9 (with the additional 0.2) and hope that this will have sufficiently improved my application to be a successful candidate.

 

 

Thank you ahead of time for any insight you can provide.

 

Their response:

 

Dear XXXX,

 

Thank you for your continued interest in the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).

 

To answer your first question, we cannot pre-assess your application context score.

 

We are looking for a concrete, demonstrated interest in living and working in northern Ontario, and/or other rural, remote or northern urban communities in Canada. Volunteer experience, work experience, extracurricular activities and research are all areas one can endeavour to demonstrate this interest.

 

The applications to NOSM are initially screened and scored based on three components: one) the GPA; two) the application questionnaire & autobiographical sketch and; three) context. The context score is based on where you have lived and are living in Canada. The value of each component is approximately 1/3. It is the combination of the scores from these three components that will determine if one advances to the interview stage.

 

However, it is important to be aware that the mandate of the Admissions Committee of NOSM is to reflect the demographics of Northern Ontario in the medical school class. To this end, a modest advantage is given in the admissions process to applicants who are from northern Ontario and other parts of rural and remote Canada as well as Francophone applicants & Aboriginal applicants.

 

Our admissions policies are based upon our mandate to be socially accountable to the cultural diversity of the region. Evidence of this mandate can also be found in the School's curriculum, administrative structure, research program, student demographics, continuing education program, and more. Thus, the aim is to admit applicants such that our class profile will reflect the demographics of the population of northern Ontario. It is the intention of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to maximize the recruitment of students who are from northern Ontario and/or students who have a strong interest in and aptitude for practicing medicine in Northern urban, rural and remote Canadian communities.

 

We do not disclosure the manner in which an applicant's context score is calculated nor do we provide an exact length of time in which an applicant must resident in northern Ontario or other rural and remote regions of Canada. Furthermore, we cannot tell you/guide you on how/what you should do in order to demonstrate a strong interest in and aptitude for practicing medicine in northern urban, rural and remote communities. This is entirely up to you.

 

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Admissions again at admissions@nosm.ca

 

Best regards,

Admissions and Recruitment

Northern Ontario School of Medicine

Email: admissions@nosm.ca

http://www.nosm.ca

Toll Free: 1 800 461 8777

[Real Beef]

LOL .... you see what I am saying about veiled responses and why I dont think you will get a decent answer from them. Probably you will get some slightly modified version of the email I posted.

[lwu018]

Originally posted by Beef

LOL .... you see what I am saying about veiled responses and why I dont think you will get a decent answer from them. Probably you will get some slightly modified version of the email I posted.

 

I completely hear you beef about the lack of transparency with the context score. I also talked with NOSM about their methods in calculating the context score, but, similar to your experience, I was not able to obtain much useful information. I suppose their reasoning for not disclosing is fair enough, but I do admit that not disclosing such information can be frustrating since it creates a large amount of ambiguity on the strength of our application.

 

I must admit though that, despite the lack of transparency in the context score calculation, I have found NOSM's admission committee to be far more helpful, caring, and accommodating than most of the other Ontario medical school's admissions committees.

 

By the way Beef, I've been through Manitoulin island and I have to admit I'm jealous that you've had the opportunity to work there for the past 6 years. I fell in love especially with Little Current as it reminds me a lot of my home town, but slightly bigger. Manitowaning certainly has charm as well.

[Real Beef]

By the way Beef, I've been through Manitoulin island and I have to admit I'm jealous that you've had the opportunity to work there for the past 6 years. I fell in love especially with Little Current as it reminds me a lot of my home town, but slightly bigger. Manitowaning certainly has charm as well.

 

LOL ... thats the first time Ive had anyone say they were jealous of me working on Manitoulin Island. Most people think I am crazy to be "wasting" my late twenties-early thirties in a town of 1500 people and a large island of only 14k people. Honestly I do love it, hence the reason I bought a house here ... it is a very charming place. Since you know the area I actually do live in Little Current, bought a nice century home that two doctors have lived in previously ... thought I should make that three doctors

 

Manitowaning is also appealing from a tourist perspective but is kind of on the decline ... I wouldnt want to live there anyway. I would only live in Little Current (LC) really as it is has a bit more than all of the other communities including the swinging bridge which can get you the hell off of the island in a hurry if you are getting small town stir crazy. Lately I seem to be getting my fix of city life from conference and other professional development trips to Sudbury, Thunder Bay and my personal trips to Sault Ste Marie so I get the city craving out of me and am happy to return to LC. I wouldnt be able to get the place I have for under 400-500k in the city and with the 1/2 acre lot I have in town that would just not happen in Sudbury, TB or SSM without being 500k+ but on Manitoulin you can still get some real steals in real estate with century homes with some aesthetic upgrades needed only.

 

However despite the charm and appeal people see of Manitoulin when they visit (in the summer) it does become a frozen hell in the winter forcing the serotonin and all other 'happy' neurotransmitters down in your head if you let them.