How do medical schools verify applicants' in-province status?

[nauru]

Many medical schools in Canada have complicated rules about who qualifies as an in-province applicant and who doesn't. For example, minimum time of continuous residence, (not allowed to have taken a vacation abroad in that time?), not allowed to have been a full-time student during that time, must have one parent who did this, that or the other thing, or perhaps just sort of have 'lived in the province' for a certain number of years before applying.

 

How do they verify these things? I mean, if someone lived in the province but lived with a relative or subletted then they won't have a lease with their name on it. Bank statements are a possibility, but then anyone can just change their address with different banks to different addresses in different provinces, and sign up for e-statements to avoid the chance of identity theft (and just pay for print-outs of historical statements when asked, if the time comes for verification).

 

Anyone have any ideas of how they check? Since it's well established that being considered an in-province is one of the most important factors affecting the probability of being accepted to most of Canada's medical schools.

[future_doc]

Unsure about verification but simply being honest is the way to go. If you need specific clarification, e.g., no lease b/c at Aunt's home, etc., just write to adcoms of the school concerned.

[nauru]

Of course I'm honest in my application and follow the rules, that isn't really the topic of my question though.

 

My question is about how they verify in-province status, like they verify GPA, verify ECs, and verify MCAT score. Arguably, above a certain (moderate) level of GPA/MCAT score, in-province status is more valuable than a higher GPA. And outside Ontario, having in-province status is a bigger boost to a medical school application than 50,000 hours doing virtually all the ECs you can name. So it would be odd to verify ECs but not verify in-province status.

[ralk]

It depends largely on what the school considers "In-Province". Some schools use attendance at a university within the province. Western uses high school attendance for their regional preferences, insisting on a high school transcript. You'd have to check each one on its own, unfortunately, to get the full picture - as you say, they each have complicated rules about what qualifies!

[future_doc]

Of course I'm honest in my application and follow the rules, that isn't really the topic of my question though.

 

My question is about how they verify in-province status, like they verify GPA, verify ECs, and verify MCAT score. Arguably, above a certain (moderate) level of GPA/MCAT score, in-province status is more valuable than a higher GPA. And outside Ontario, having in-province status is a bigger boost to a medical school application than 50,000 hours doing virtually all the ECs you can name. So it would be odd to verify ECs but not verify in-province status.

 

Yes, I assume you are honest. Verifying ECs is a random exercise. Your IP status is a matter of fact. Should anybody cheat and eventually get caught, they will be thrown out of med school even in their 4th year if it were to come to the attention of the administration, that is why I said just be honest.

[nauru]

Right, so back to topic. Anyone else have a view on how medical schools verify in-province status? What about the schools that just say live in the province for x years to qualify? There may be no document that conclusively proves residence status since no citizen needs a permit to live in whatever part of the country they want (except maybe registered sex offenders and parolees, who I assume would not be eligible to attend medical school).

[nauru]

I know you're looking for a standard answer, but I don't think there is one. I think it depends on the province and the school.

 

For Quebec I can tell you that I had to submit my proof documents and there would have been a major problem had I not been able to prove my residence.

 

What were these "proof documents" specifically?

 

I figure if around ten or twenty people from around the country just chime in with their own experience in their own province, then we'll have something approaching a complete answer to the original post.

[future_doc]

If may be different for those of us who go OP for undergrad studies and then return home to Quebec for further studies.

[kylamonkey]

I moved to the Yukon 2 yrs ago to get IP status in AB (and eventually SK). I contacted the schools at that time and asked them exactly what I needed, and I made sure I did what I needed to do.

 

I was subletting from family when I first came here, so I signed up for a land line phone in my own name. It was expensive, but it is my absolute proof that I was here. I got a driver's licence right away. To do so I needed to have a utilities bill (land line in my name) and a sublet agreement. So I got those squared away.

 

All of this paperwork is filed and ready to go if I need it. I was a little bit paranoid about making absolutely sure I had everything in place, however, I really doubt I'll need it. I got a job, 2 of my 3 references are from here, I have T4s, a bunch of verifiers are from here too. Actually, it's interesting becuase I think your ECs will tell the story if they are verified. Your ECs will be taking place in the area where you lived.

 

UofA said that they may request a copy of paperwork showing residency if it came down to it. I confirmed with them that my phone bills, cell phone bills, and application for a driver's license would be enough, and they said it would be.

 

Oh, and in BC I am considered IP becuase I went to school there for so long. They have my transcripts so that's the verification. If I was claiming IP status based on my high-school graduation from a BC school, I would need to submit a copy of my high school transcript!

 

Sk (and maybe MB?) is kind of weird because you may have to prove you lived there as a little kid, if you are claiming IP based on that. I think they have childhood residency as part of their requirements.