How hard is it to get into Toronto internal med?

[wat_da_ell]

I know that internal got more competitive in the last few years and that U of T is always hard to get into. I was wondering if someone could provide an insight as to how competitive exactly it is to get into internal at U of T? Especially, for someone who didn't do medschool in Ontario?

 

Also, what can someone do to improve their application beside doing an internal elective there and getting good grades during clerkship. Any tips? What's the typical profile of the internal med resident at U of T?

[burrb]

UofT internal is competitive because it's in Toronto and it's a great program (although I raise my eyebrow to the lack of night float..)

 

It's also competitive for non-UofT med students because they do like their own and the rumour is the last few years roughly half the class has been from UofT med.

 

That being said, if you really want to go to UofT, do a bunch of your electives there and get good reference letters!! Three solid reference letters from UofT medicine staff will go a loooooooong way. I think the interview itself is only worth 30 something % of your final grade so what you look like on paper is a pretty big deal.

 

Other than doing a lot of electives there and getting awesome letters of reference, I don't think much else has a huge impact on you getting in. If you're from out of province, demonstrating that you have a good support network in/around Toronto will also be to your advantage. Research is nice but that big of a deal unless you're first author on a high impact RCT/extremely impressive research portfolio. Extracurriculars? I don't think anyone cares much, unless once again you did something very impressive.

[A-Stark]

UofT internal is competitive because it's in Toronto and it's a great program (although I raise my eyebrow to the lack of night float..)

 

Ehhhh... 1 in 4 call has its downsides, but at least you don't lose an entire week most of the time while on night float. There may not be an ideal arrangement, but being up all night and sleeping all day isn't optimal for an entire week. At least not for me!