Where do you need to be located to be considered

[cometed]

well I have a question because I've heard several different things that you need to be located to really have a shot at NOSM. do they only consider you if you have lived in northern Ontario or will they still consider a rural as I grew up outside of northern Ontario but in a small town of 200ish in the middle of no where.

[lwu018]

well I have a question because I've heard several different things that you need to be located to really have a shot at NOSM. do they only consider you if you have lived in northern Ontario or will they still consider a rural as I grew up outside of northern Ontario but in a small town of 200ish in the middle of no where.

 

Context (i.e. where you lived and are currently living, and potentially Francophone and / or Aboriginal status) counts for approximately 1/3 of your pre-interview score. With that said, it's certainly an uphill battle to be accepted if you don't have at least a moderate to high context score.

 

Unfortunately, no one can say what is required to receive a moderate to high context score as that information is not disclosed. However, I think it is clear that the majority of context points are awarded for having lived / living in a Northern community rather than in a rural community. I've heard from several students currently attending NOSM that the majority of their colleagues are from Sudbury or Thunderbay. The stats on NOSM websites also confirms NOSM's preference for applicants who have lived in Northern Ontario - http://www.nosm.ca/classprofiles/ . Another point, which is definitely more biased (so don't take it too seriously), is my own personal experience. I was informed by one of NOSM's admissions officers 2 years back that my context score for that year's application was relatively low. I threw out some guesses of around 3 - 4 out of 10 and the admissions officer thought it would likely be lower. I grew up in a town outside of Northern Ontario with an RIO in the low 60s - https://www.oma.org/PublicApp/nlp/NLPWF003.aspx (Note that the RIO is a tool used by MOH-LTC, not NOSM, to measure the relative rurality of communities in Ontario, although I'm assuming NOSMs formula has some overlap).

 

Nonetheless, it seems as though I was still able to get an interview with a relatively low context score, so I would say everyone with some rural living experience has a small chance at the very least, assuming other areas of their applications are strong. Actually, I remember running into a girl at last year's interview who claimed she had never lived in either a rural or Northern community! For myself, simply having had the opportunity to interview over the past 2 years has given me all the motivation I need to continue pursuing medicine, so even though I didn't get accepted in the end, applying was unquestionably beneficial for me.

 

All to say, I think it is certainly possible to make it to the interview stage (which can have some great benefits on its own) and even get accepted, although the odds are certainly stacked against those who have not lived in Northern Ontario.

[benhc911]

definitely some overlap between rurality and context, but lets not forget the massive number of Thunder Bay and Sudbury interviewees, these people score relatively low on the rurality score. I feel like their ideal is the overlap of northern and rural... Although growing up in the north, I never viewed Sudbury as either of those things

[Real Beef]

We REALLY NEED a sticky about context score/ northern status on this subforum ... it is practically asked every second new thread post ... not sure how to go about this though ....?

[bxylq]

We REALLY NEED a sticky about context score/ northern status on this subforum ... it is practically asked every second new thread post ... not sure how to go about this though ....?

 

Definitely a good idea, I think any of the "super moderators" can sticky a thread. I remember seeing a post in the CaRMS section where one said they stickied a thread. Maybe try sending one a PM?

[Real Beef]

sounds good. Will do.

[Birdy]

I'm curious about this myself, though I won't be applying to NOSM for two years yet.

 

I lived in a community that could only be reached by boat or plane for three years (in BC) then in North Bay for six years and have lived for the last five in PEI which faces all the issues of rural medicine, but I live a short drive from the capital.

 

I'm really curious how they'd evaluate me. I know you guys can't really say exactly how, but would those years in North Bay and BC actually count towards helping me?

[Real Beef]

I'm curious about this myself, though I won't be applying to NOSM for two years yet.

 

I lived in a community that could only be reached by boat or plane for three years (in BC) then in North Bay for six years and have lived for the last five in PEI which faces all the issues of rural medicine, but I live a short drive from the capital.

 

I'm really curious how they'd evaluate me. I know you guys can't really say exactly how, but would those years in North Bay and BC actually count towards helping me?

 

As you mentioned no one can give you a quantitative response however I can say that I was not even given an interview with slightly over 1 year in N. Ont and did not even receive an interview later when I had over 6 years in N.Ont plus some improvements in other aspects (Masters-thus increase in GPA by 0.2) I not only got an interview but was accepted right away! So although it is difficult for me to know how much of a contribution the extra time in N.Ont gave as exposed to my completed masters, extra junk on my Autosketch (i.e. research experience and so on) needless to say it contributed to the whole package ... thus my long winded story to say your 6 years in N.Ont will be more significant than you think while your PEI will count towards little due to your proximity to the capital as I was given seemingly no real credit for living in rural Nova Scotia for 10 years with the capital 1 hour away.

 

Beef