In-Province-Residency For Med/dent (My Experience)

[StriveP]

I moved to Alberta last year for in-province residency and landed multiple interviews there + acceptances. Not much info is out there about whether it's worth moving to another province and if it really works so I thought it was important to share my experience for those who are seriously considering this. 

 

Last year, I was in the same position as many others who have decent MCAT/DAT score or high GPA but weren’t able to land any interviews in Ontario. After noticing a few threads last summer and a Maclean's article about moving to a different province for medical school admission, I started considering the benefits of moving to a different province for residency requirements. For those who don’t know what this is, each medical/dental school has their own number of admission seats reserved for students within their province. Unfortunately, only McMaster medical school in Ontario reserves seats for students who reside in Ontario. Some medical schools like Western and Ottawa allow easier admission only to those who grew up in the city that the school is located in. And even those are extremely difficult to gain admission into since you still need competitive GPA and MCAT cutoffs.  Fortunately, I gathered enough courage to move from Toronto to Edmonton last summer without knowing anyone there. Reflecting back today, I realized it was probably the best decision I’ve made in my life.

 

Like many of you who are reading this, I lived with family my entire life and this was my opportunity to venture out. I learned not only how to live by myself but also how to network with others. More importantly, I landed interviews for every medical and dental schools in Alberta. And no, I was not the only person who did this. Over the time I spend there, I met more than a dozen individuals who had the courage to move from their respective provinces to Alberta for residency requirements. Fortunately, all of us got an interview and majority of us got into at least one school this year. The best thing about moving there was the amount of interview practice we got due to the high volume of people practicing for interviews there. To put into perspective, most people in Edmonton that I met were practicing for interviews even before interview invites were given out (unheard of in Ontario) since the odds of getting an interview were so high in Alberta. For the University of Calgary medical school, 1300 Albertans (those who classified as in-province including those who moved there) applied last year and 436 were offered an interview. That’s a 33.5% chance of getting an interview at the University of Calgary and consider this, GPA is only 20% (they even drop lowest year) and MCAT is 10%. Your extracurricular activities were weighted 60%. I’ve even met people who had under 27 on the MCAT with less than 3.8 GPA who were interviewed here. The University of Alberta was a bit more competitive since they weighted GPA and MCAT more heavily but it was very similar odds of getting an interview since they also removed the lowest year and weighted ECs very highly. From my time there I learned the competition to get into medical school was much MUCH less than in Ontario and can get in with even a 3.4 GPA.

 

Unfortunately, recently the University of Calgary medical school “caught” on to people moving there for in-province residency and changed their residency requirements from staying in Alberta for “12 consecutive months from the first day of first day of classes (of the year for which they are applying)” to “24 consecutive months from the first day of first day of classes (of the year for which they are applying)”, you can find more info on Dr. Ian Walker's blog. However, the University of Alberta is still keeping the old requirement of staying in Alberta for “12 consecutive months from the first day of first day of classes (of the year for which they are applying)”. And fortunately, both University of Alberta and Calgary are now requiring only the new MCAT. This is a good thing since it’s similar to a bottleneck effect where all of the high MCAT scores from the old MCAT are no longer accepted, causing those people to write the MCAT again. Therefore, for next year expect less applicants and the same number interviewees as last year, so a higher chance of getting in.

 

Considering the above changes made this past year for the University of Calgary, it is important to note that in the past most people chose to move to Alberta because Alberta had 2 medical schools and 1 dental school with a total of about 320 and 32 seats for medical school and dental school respectively. Unfortunately, if you move to Alberta today you will only be eligible for the University of Alberta as an “in province applicant” with 162 seats for their first-year class. Considering that, today UBC is probably the best option since all you need is a BC care card (takes 6 months to obtain) and then you can literally go wherever you want and even move back to your home province if you wanted to. The only thing the medical and dental school in BC will ask for is the BC care card before the deadline of the initial application. And they even accept the old MCAT! For UBC med, last year 2322 applicants applied and 655 received an interview, which is approximately 28% of getting an interview! That’s much MUCH better than any school in Ontario! For those who are wondering why I chose Alberta over BC last year, it was simply because it takes a while to get the care card and it wasn’t enough time to get it before the deadline of the application since I decided to move late that summer. 

 

Reflecting back on this journey, it was worth it. All of my friends who were skeptical are now still in Ontario either doing a masters because they don’t have the courage to move to another province/want it BADLY enough or can't due to financial restraints (this is what they told me). Face it, I know my friends aren't getting into any Ontario medical schools with their current stats, like ever. So unless you got stellar GPA or MCAT scores that meet the cutoffs you aren't getting into any Ontario schools. And doing a masters or another undergrad is not worth it because it's not going to help you get into medical school unless you ever get those stellar stats, at least in Ontario. The point that I’m trying to get across is to be REALISTIC and if you TRULY want to go into medical or dental school, you sometimes have to be prepared to do ANYTHING it takes. This includes putting yourself in the best odds even if it means moving to another province in order to get an interview. Once you receive an interview, then it's all up to you since med/dent schools don't differentiate between you or any of the other in-province applicants (they don't care if you moved and is why 11/13 of the people I met got into at least 1 school in Alberta). The thing that pushed me over the edge to make this move was when I realized that I would have to move one day, either today or during medical/dental school or during residency, so why not now? It was a good way to take a break, better than doing a masters in my opinion. So I hope this helps for those who were considering doing this. If you have any questions feel free to inbox me or comment below. Good luck! 

 

Edit:  Please note that dental school is as competitive in Alberta as Ontario, so it's better to move to BC if your goal is dentistry. 

Oh and I forgot to mention in Alberta all of your A's get converted to a 4.0 and not a 3.9. And UBC follows a % scale where getting a B+ or B won't hurt your GPA as badly as using the OMSAS scale.

 

UBC Stats (2322 applicants applied and 655 received an interview):

 http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/files/2014/12/Interim-Statistics-2014-15-MED-2019.pdf

UBC In-province rules:

http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/selection/b-c-residency-definitions/

University of Calgary (1300 applicants and 436 received an interview stats on page 6) + (In-province rules on page 8): 

http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/applicant-manual-2015-2016-june-16.pdf

Maclean's Article:

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/rx-get-out-of-town/

 

 

2016 Update:

Despite getting into the schools I wanted, I was able to land some nice interviews in the US but got waitlisted at Harvard and Columbia (the cycle I moved to Alberta). So I took a year off and decided to reapply to get into my dream school.

 

One thing I want to particularly update is that every province gives different student loans to for Medical/Dental students. Ontario gives $10,000/year, BC gives $17,000/year, Alberta gives $40,000/year. This means that when I go to Harvard next year, the government of Alberta will be giving me $160,000 INTEREST-FREE over my four years to cover my tuition fees + living expenses! And the bank will give me a loan of $250,000+ on top of that provincial loan. This comes out to 410k of my tuition being covered. That's ALOT of money! If I stayed in Ontario, I would have only gotten $10,000/year which is peanuts. So keep that in mind before you decide what you want to do. 

[amichel]

Yah, but the admission rate in BC is pretty similar to the OVERALL admission rate in Ontario. Alberta is slightly better.

 

Just using the % interviewed to compare them doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

As someone from BC, telling people to go get in province status and then leave seems really disingenuous and unfair. I understand UBC has chosen to leave the door open for that, but I still don't agree with it.

 

As far as Alberta, I feel like if people are willing to uproot their lives and move to a new province then more power to them.

[StriveP]

Yah, but the admission rate in BC is pretty similar to the OVERALL admission rate in Ontario. Alberta is slightly better.

 

Just using the % interviewed to compare them doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

As someone from BC, telling people to go get in province status and then leave seems really disingenuous and unfair. I understand UBC has chosen to leave the door open for that, but I still don't agree with it.

 

As far as Alberta, I feel like if people are willing to uproot their lives and move to a new province then more power to them.

 

It's difficult to compare the overall admission rate in Ontario to BC because most schools in ontario doesn't even reserve any seats for Ontario students and you can have mediocre stats and still gain admission to UBC, Alberta, and UofC med. Just to clear this up Queens, UofT, Western, and Ottawa doesn't reserve any seats for Ontario students. So you can't compare the "OVERALL admission rate in Ontario" to BC. The only school that gives Ontario an advantage is McMaster which receives 5000 applicants with 200 seats (90% reserved for out of province).  

 

And using % interview is probably the best measure because getting an interview in Ontario is much more difficult than west coast schools since they Ontario schools don't look at ECs as heavily. It's mainly about GPA and MCAT cutoff scores. And it's a universal method of comparing because after the interview stage, it's all up to the applicants performance and every school has an interview process. I hope that helps.

 

Oh just for kicks, this is what The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada had to say on page 1:

" For those applicants who are free to move to any location where a place may be offered, chances of success in gaining admission may be considerably enhanced. Those who apply to only one faculty of medicine have the smallest chance of being offered admission " Source: https://www.afmc.ca/pdf/AdmissionRequirementsfor2015_en.pdf

[amichel]

It's difficult to compare the overall admission rate in Ontario to BC because most schools in ontario doesn't even reserve any seats for Ontario students and you can have mediocre stats and still gain admission to UBC, Alberta, and UofC med. Just to clear this up Queens, UofT, Western, and Ottawa doesn't reserve any seats for Ontario students. So you can't compare the "OVERALL admission rate in Ontario" to BC. The only school that gives Ontario an advantage is McMaster which receives 5000 applicants with 200 seats (90% reserved for out of province).

 

And using % interview is probably the best measure because getting an interview in Ontario is much more difficult than west coast schools since they Ontario schools don't look at ECs as heavily. It's mainly about GPA and MCAT cutoff scores. And it's a universal method of comparing because after the interview stage, it's all up to the applicants performance and every school has an interview process. I hope that helps.

 

Oh just for kicks, this is what The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada had to say on page 1:

" For those applicants who are free to move to any location where a place may be offered, chances of success in gaining admission may be considerably enhanced. Those who apply to only one faculty of medicine have the smallest chance of being offered admission " Source: https://www.afmc.ca/pdf/AdmissionRequirementsfor2015_en.pdf

Yes you can compare them. Because unless you believe that non-Ontario students get into Ontario med schools at a higher rate than Ontario students (which I don't think is true), the proportion of Ontario students who gain admission to Ontario schools is the same as the overall success rate in Ontario.

 

Also, please rethink your wording about people at those schools (including mine) having "mediocre stats". It's quite rude.

 

U of A has an entering GPA to rival any Ontario school. UBCs was 87% which, if you did a direct conversion (which you can't really, but let's estimate) is at least a 3.9. Can you have a lower MCAT for these schools? Yep. But that's true for lots of places in Ontario too.... You can have a dismal GPA and get into Western. I wouldn't call any of their students mediocre though.

 

As for U of C, yes, our numerical stats are lower but my classmates have such amazing accomplisments to their names. Everyday I am impressed (and wonder how I got in!). So I wouldn't encourage people to assume that they can come here with their "mediocre" stats and very easily get in.

 

And that quote is speaking about people attending any school they are admitted to. Not moving to get in province status. Read it again.

[StriveP]

Yes you can compare them. Because unless you believe that non-Ontario students get into Ontario med schools at a higher rate than Ontario students (which I don't think is true), the proportion of Ontario students who gain admission to Ontario schools is the same as the overall success rate in Ontario.

 

Also, please rethink your wording about people at those schools (including mine) having "mediocre stats". It's quite rude.

 

U of A has an entering GPA to rival any Ontario school. UBCs was 87% which, if you did a direct conversion (which you can't really, but let's estimate) is at least a 3.9. Can you have a lower MCAT for these schools? Yep. But that's true for lots of places in Ontario too.... You can have a dismal GPA and get into Western. I wouldn't call any of their students mediocre though.

 

As for U of C, yes, our numerical stats are lower but my classmates have such amazing accomplisments to their names. Everyday I am impressed (and wonder how I got in!). So I wouldn't encourage people to assume that they can come here with their "mediocre" stats and very easily get in.

 

And that quote is speaking about people attending any school they are admitted to. Not moving to get in province status. Read it again.

 

I guess my wording is a bit off and I apologize for that but I never said that I believe non-Ontario residents get into Ontario med schools at a higher rate than ontario students. And I'm not trying to undermine any school, they are all difficult to get into. It's just that Alberta and BC schools weigh ECs much more heavier than Ontario schools which gives everyone a fair ground to compete = good thing. Oh you're definitely right that UofC's class has amazing accomplishments, I've only heard positive things about their alumni and I heard there are even olympians in their class! Kudos to anyone who can get into that school.

 

Either way, all i'm saying is that moving to Alberta or BC was worth it especially for those who will never have a chance in ontario even though they have decent stats. Moving doesn't guarantee anyone an interview, but it gives you a chance. If you think otherwise, that's perfectly fine and i'm not here to argue. I just wanted to share my experience since a lot of people have been asking me. Everyone who moved last year that I met ended up getting an interview and 11/13 of us were accepted to at least 1 med or dental school (none of us got any med interviews in Ontario this year or last year). 

[Borborygmi]

Just to throw a bit into the discussion as well--it's important to consider the different qualities that different schools tend to look for in their applicants. There are schools that place greater emphasis on academics, schools that place greater emphasis on more difficult-to-measure personal qualities, other schools that have a mix, and still others that weight MCAT performance greater than GPA in their considerations. I think the spectrum of schools in Canada is beneficial, but also makes comparing them quite difficult. I have classmates at UofC with some pretty mind-boggling personal accomplishments and I feel lucky (and confused!) that I'm part of their cohort and I can't say I've met a mediocre person in my class. The bigger bottom line is that there will always be more highly qualified applicants than there are spots. 

 

I understand your sentiment regarding moving to other provinces that aren't Ontario. However, I don't think the ability to gain admissions in a province other than Ontario is so black-and-white for the reasons I stated above.

[GH0ST]

I guess my wording is a bit off and I apologize for that but I never said that I believe non-Ontario residents get into Ontario med schools at a higher rate than ontario students. And I'm not trying to undermine any school, they are all difficult to get into. It's just that Alberta and BC schools weigh ECs much more heavier than Ontario schools which gives everyone a fair ground to compete = good thing. Oh you're definitely right that UofC's class has amazing accomplishments, I've only heard positive things about their alumni and I heard there are even olympians in their class! Kudos to anyone who can get into that school.

 

Either way, all i'm saying is that moving to Alberta or BC was worth it especially for those who will never have a chance in ontario even though they have decent stats. Moving doesn't guarantee anyone an interview, but it gives you a chance. If you think otherwise, that's perfectly fine and i'm not here to argue. I just wanted to share my experience since a lot of people have been asking me. Everyone who moved last year that I met ended up getting an interview and 11/13 of us were accepted to at least 1 med or dental school (none of us got any med interviews in Ontario this year or last year). 

 

I think otherwise

 

Another medium that other people can consider is pursuing a graduate degree in AB (only if you are interested in post-undergrad education... I wrote about this in a blurb somewhere else), even if that means taking a gap year.

 

The biggest problem I have, besides the fact that your rude language reflects your attitude towards others (not want it "BADLY" enough... with that logic let's all go to the Caribbean if we can't get in anywhere, "mediocre stats" ... it may be relative, but ON schools also can drop a year, or look at 2YGPAs etc and you bring no evidence of grade inflation/deflation, and last I checked the average GPA is still quite high here........is this a joke?), is that once they stay here (say for a year or two)... what are they going to do? Sure some may work... but where? Unless your degree has a greater probability of employment (which is debatable with a general sciences degree) and you have some connections to research/government/industry, some will take classes or do lower barrier of entry jobs. Personally, I'd rather work towards a graduate degree than move somewhere else just to gain IP status and improve my probability of interview, as I find pursuing higher level education to be much more worthwhile (unless you have already secured a relevant job).

 

I'm curious how you made use of your gap year then? Did you work? Did you attend classes?

 

You make the argument that you will move out eventually.. so why not now? That logic is weak in the sense that you can move out anytime, anywhere.... whether that's going your own way at your university dorm blocks away from your parent's house or across the country. The argument that it's a good opportunity to be more independent is moot.... you can do that regardless of where you are. At the end of the day....... the only benefit is to potentially gain an increased probability of an interview. It's not moving out and experiencing new things, or networking etc........ it's just to play the game (and you're fairly good at it).

 

At the end of the day people will do what they have to and I can respect that, but I prefer to play video games...... not games in the real world.

 

- G

 

EDIT:

 

"All of my friends who were skeptical are now still in Ontario either doing a masters because they don’t have the courage to move to another province/want it BADLY..."

 

Are you kidding me? Your "friends" may have a multitude of reasons (like the pursuit of knowledge at their preferred institution) for staying, even if they didn't have "financial strains".... that doesn't mean they don't have the courage to move out (as if moving out is analogous to working as a first responder, putting themselves at risk daily for the potential benefit of others, even if it doesn't happen). By the same logic.... you don't have more courage just for moving out when others didn't. People throw around this word (along with things like "hero" or "dignity") way too loosely.

 

/rant

[plane]

I guess what concerns me is that this post borders on being an advertisement of a growing way to trump the system. Its success narrative will no doubt inspire another applicant or two to try their luck by moving to AB or BC to satisfy residency requirements. While there is no question that moving takes courage and maturity, preference for in-province applicants by medical schools has a resolute purpose: to mitigate Alberta's and BC's issues with physician retention and distribution.

 

As is anyone's right, no one is and will be at fault for moving to another province, so this is more of a plea: I hope everyone is aware of the unintended consequences of over-exercising your freedom of mobility, at the expense of any province. As aspiring health care professionals, I hope we realize that "resolving physician shortage" isn't just another line that you move on from after the interview.

[Bambi]

I congratulate StriveP both for the acceptance earned and for posting of the details of this available option. Strive is neither the first nor the last to move province on the way toward success. You are doing a service to the community for highlighting this option.

[PurpleS]

I guess what concerns me is that this post borders on being an advertisement of a growing way to trump the system. Its success narrative will no doubt inspire another applicant or two to try their luck by moving to AB or BC to satisfy residency requirements. While there is no question that moving takes courage and maturity, preference for in-province applicants by medical schools have a resolute purpose: to mitigate Alberta's and BC's issues with physician retention and distribution.

 

As is anyone's right, no one is and will be at fault for moving to another province, so this is more of a plea: I hope everyone is aware of the unintended consequences of over-exercising your freedom of mobility, at the expense of any province. As aspiring health care professionals, I hope we realize that "resolving physician shortage" isn't just another line that you move on from after the interview.

 

This is so important. We should remember why each province/school have their own residency policies. At the end of the day, these institutions have a responsibility to serve their community by trying their best to ensure that the physicians they train remain to practice. Some may say it's unfair because it gives these applicants an advantage, but from the school's perspective, what's the point in investing money and time training physicians that are not going to stay and practice? I understand that residency policies may not be the best way to ensure retainment, but it's probably the best thing they have aside from mandatory legal obligations.

 

If one moves to gain IP status, I sincerely hope they seriously consider remaining in that community to practice.

[GH0ST]

This is so important. We should remember why each province/school have their own residency policies. At the end of the day, these institutions have a responsibility to serve their community by trying their best to ensure that the physicians they train remain to practice. Some may say it's unfair because it gives these applicants an advantage, but from the school's perspective, what's the point in investing money and time training physicians that are not going to stay and practice? I understand that residency policies may not be the best way to ensure retainment, but it's probably the best thing they have aside from mandatory legal obligations.

 

If one moves to gain IP status, I sincerely hope they seriously consider remaining in that community to practice.

 

At the very least stay for some time before you consider leaving. Your ON schools didn't give you a chance but you have one here in AB... you owe them at least that much for the opportunity. Unfortunately, the people that are willing to move to secure IP status, generally speaking, couldn't give a damn about serving the community as opposed to their own interests first.

 

- G  

[StriveP]

Another medium that other people can consider is pursuing a graduate degree in AB (only if you are interested in post-undergrad education... I wrote about this in a blurb somewhere else), even if that means taking a gap year.

Doing a masters in AB doesn't qualify you as an "In-province" resident. And if you want to do graduate work, go for it. We need more scientists these days.

 

ON schools also can drop a year, or look at 2YGPAs etc and you bring no evidence of grade inflation/deflation, and last I checked the average GPA is still quite high here........is this a joke?), is that once they stay here (say for a year or two)... what are they going to do? Sure some may work... but where? Unless your degree has a greater probability of employment (which is debatable with a general sciences degree) and you have some connections to research/government/industry, some will take classes or do lower barrier of entry jobs.

Ontario schools that look at best 2 years like Western have a MCAT cutoff of 12 Biol, 11 Verbal, 9 Physical, anything under in ANY section will disqualify your application. As for Ottawa, the GPA cutoff is 3.85 but literally everyone has above a 3.9+ for an interview on the OMSAS scale. Oh and in Ontario medical schools use the OMSAS scale where a A = 3.9 NOT a 4.0. SO your when you apply to ontario medical schools your GPA will drop. And to answer your other question, you can either work, do part-time courses or travel (Alberta has an incredibly beautiful landscape). I'm pretty sure most people would rather move to another province for a year or less if that dramatically increases their chance to get into med school than stay in Ontario and work/do masters degree with the same odds of getting into a med school.

 

Personally, I'd rather work towards a graduate degree than move somewhere else just to gain IP status and improve my probability of interview, as I find pursuing higher level education to be much more worthwhile (unless you have already secured a relevant job).

Alright that's good for you but most people would rather get into medicine earlier than spend an extra few years on a master/PhD. Not everyone is like you and I mentioned my friends were doing a master's degree because they thought it was going to improve their odds, like most people they wouldn't want to do research their entire lives.

 

I'm curious how you made use of your gap year then? Did you work? Did you attend classes?

I worked part-time and took a few classes. It was easier to find a job here than Toronto, at least in Edmonton.

 

The argument that it's a good opportunity to be more independent is moot.... you can do that regardless of where you are. At the end of the day....... the only benefit is to potentially gain an increased probability of an interview. It's not moving out and experiencing new things, or networking etc........ it's just to play the game (and you're fairly good at it).

Bingo. Applying to medical school is a numbers game and if others are following the system and playing by the rules, then what's wrong with it? The medical schools make the rules and all I did was follow the rules. You're welcome to move to Ontario...oh but I forgot Ontario only has 1 school that reserves seats for Ontario students.

 

At the end of the day people will do what they have to and I can respect that, but I prefer to play video games...... not games in the real world.

Your career is not a game. It's disadvantage for those who live in Ontario where you don't have any seats reserved for you other than Mcmaster. An Albertan and a person from Ontario has the same odds of getting into all the Ontario schools except McMaster, so it's just unfair for Ontario students. It's funny how despite this, I only met 2 people out of 50+ people in Edmonton who landed an interview in any Ontario school. 

 

"All of my friends who were skeptical are now still in Ontario either doing a masters because they don’t have the courage to move to another province/want it BADLY..."Are you kidding me? Your "friends" may have a multitude of reasons (like the pursuit of knowledge at their preferred institution) for staying, even if they didn't have "financial strains".... that doesn't mean they don't have the courage to move out (as if moving out is analogous to working as a first responder, putting themselves at risk daily for the potential benefit of others, even if it doesn't happen). By the same logic.... you don't have more courage just for moving out when others didn't. People throw around this word (along with things like "hero" or "dignity") way too loosely.

No this is what they said. Now a few of them already moved to BC to do what I did because they regret not doing this earlier.

 

[amichel]

Did you actually just say that because some people abuse the system, everyone should do it? Just no.

[StriveP]

Ops double posted, how do i remove this post?

[StriveP]

Did you actually just say that because some people abuse the system, everyone should do it? Just no.

The medical schools set up their own rules and i'm confident they follow ethical guidelines. If they set it up in a way that people are free to do it, then it's not abusing the system. Manitoba medical schools have a rule where you have to be in the province for 3 years straight to get residency. So BC and Alberta medical schools could have easily set this rule up, but they didn't. 

 

Anyways I'm here to share my experience for those who want to do this.

 

Edit: I may have been a bit harsh.

[amichel]

The medical schools set up their own rules and i'm confident they follow ethical guidelines. If they set it up in a way that people are free to do it, then it's not abusing the system. Manitoba medical schools have a rule where you have to be in the province for 3 years straight to get residency. So BC and Alberta medical schools could have easily set this rule up, but they didn't. UofC even acknowledges this happens all the time and heck even Dr. Ian Walker (Director of medical admissions at the University of Calgary) did this! He moved to another province to gain residency and he ended up staying there. So if you want to complain, complain at your own institution at UofC because this isn't the place to do it and I don't set up the rules.

 

And It's ridiculously funny how all the Albertans are offended. If they actually read it, i'm telling people that they should move to BC and NOT Alberta because of the recent changes made. So I don't know why these people are so offended.

I was just quoting what you said, which you've since edited.

 

U of C just changed to two years because they don't want people to do exactly what you're saying, or at least want only really committed people to do it.

 

I'm from BC and go to school in Alberta, actually. So that's why I'm "offended".

 

It's all the complaining about how unfair Ontario is (by you and others) that is bugging me rather than anything else.

 

As I've already pointed out, the overall admission rate in Ontario is actually quite similar to most other places in Canada. (Manitoba, sask and the maritimes excepted - it's hard to become IP there anyways)

 

Please don't tell me again that you can't compare because Ontario doesn't reserve seats because I've already pointed out mathematically that that's not true.

 

Now, what is true is that different schools favour different combinations of statistics. Ottawa favours high GPA but doesn't care about the MCAT. Western favours high MCAT and doesn't mind so much about GPA. Actually, Ontario has far more "second chance" policies than elsewhere.

 

If your strengths fit more with non-Ontario schools, fine. Then move there. But don't tell everyone it's because Ontario admissions are so unfair and it's so much easier to get in elsewhere. It's not because Ontario is unfair. It's just because there are a variety of admissions policies across Canada.

[GH0ST]

I was just quoting what you said, which you've since edited.

 

U of C just changed to two years because they don't want people to do exactly what you're saying, or at least want only really committed people to do it.

 

I'm from BC and go to school in Alberta, actually. So that's why I'm "offended".

 

It's all the complaining about how unfair Ontario is (by you and others) that is bugging me rather than anything else.

 

As I've already pointed out, the overall admission rate in Ontario is actually quite similar to most other places in Canada. (Manitoba, sask and the maritimes excepted - it's hard to become IP there anyways)

 

Please don't tell me again that you can't compare because Ontario doesn't reserve seats because I've already pointed out mathematically that that's not true.

 

Now, what is true is that different schools favour different combinations of statistics. Ottawa favours high GPA but doesn't care about the MCAT. Western favours high MCAT and doesn't mind so much about GPA. Actually, Ontario has far more "second chance policies than elsewhere)

 

If your strengths fit more with non-Ontario schools, fine. Then move there. But don't tell everyone it's because Ontario admissions are so unfair and it's so much easier to get in elsewhere. It's not because Ontario is unfair. It's just because there are a variety of admissions policies across Canada.

 

We're not gonna get anywhere with the OP.......... he wants to cling on to the notion that it's so difficult to get into med school in ON that if people want to improve their chances everyone should move West. It's not even about moving to either BC over AB or vise versa........ it's the fact that the OP thinks playing the game is what's best for people who were unsuccessful their time around and that he's doing people a favour. It's clear he didn't understand the intended purpose of these quotas and got "serving their communities" confused with "serving myself." 

 

 

 

This one is hilarious......

 

"The medical schools set up their own rules and I'm confident they follow ethical guidelines. If they set it up in a way that people are free to do it, then it's not abusing the system. Manitoba medical schools have a rule where you have to be in the province for 3 years straight to get residency. So BC and Alberta medical schools could have easily set this rule up, but they didn't. So if you want to complain, complain at your own institution at UofC first because this isn't the place to do it and I don't set up the rules."

 

Call it what you want ..... you're straight up going after loopholes to gain the upper hand. While there's nothing inherently wrong with pursuing your dreams..... romanticizing your method, followed up by pretending to know anything about policy change (even if we worked right now to get it to where MN is at, it will take time and people backing it to work ... and that's not even including various confounders like MN is geographically closer and less of a commitment for students to move there) is insulting to the political process.

 

While we're at it........ why don't you complain to your medical schools for not being as lenient and "fair"? Saves on the U-Haul and/or airplane ticket.

 

 

 

If you worked part time and attended a few classes during the year, you cannot possibly earn enough to afford rent + living expenses unless you have previous savings/assets or a parent trust fund. It's also unfortunate that AB has had an economic downturn and are hiring less compared to the previous years, so there's less potential now if someone were to come here. Not many people at the end of the day can really do what you did. I also doubt that with how much it costs in ON that I can move there without having a stable job and some assets of my own established first........ but thanks for giving me your blessing to come. I quite enjoy the display of courage and potential networking opportunity if I move to ON, but f@#$ it's probably not worth my time if moving didn't increase my chances for med school since I'm in. /s

 

 

I'd like to conclude with this (afterwards I'm just gonna stop commenting on this thread before this completely derails).......

 

"Alright that's good for you but most people would rather get into medicine earlier than spend an extra few years on a master/PhD. Not everyone is like you and I mentioned my friends were doing a master's degree because they thought it was going to improve their odds, like most people they wouldn't want to do research their entire lives."

 

People don't just pursue grad degrees for the pursuit of knowledge, but it also opens doors to work in various alternative careers which ... god forbid... come people consider instead of going into med. As if research is all you do as a graduate student or you're stuck doing that forever....... what an insult to all professionals with graduate degrees (setting aside the fact that getting exposure to things as a grad student also helps builds character...... well unless it's not courageous enough for you)

 

That said I totally appreciate your heart-throbbing encouragement man! I didn't even have to move to ON to get your approval!

 

- G

[amichel]

@amichel- You didn't point out mathematically anything. And I never said Ontario schools don't reserve seats. Now seriously stop wasting my time and flaming my thread because it's not going anywhere. Same goes to you @Ghoststalker154.

And look I'm not here to argue with you both. If these are your opinions then I respect that and so be it. Like I said I made this thread to share my experience for those who want to do this. So I would appreciate if you stop wasting my time and stop flaming this thread.

Disagreement is not flaming. And I did point it out. I just didn't put in any numbers. I can if you want. But fine. Congratulations on your acceptances.

[Arztin]

I don't think there was so much flaming in here.

 

Playing devil's advocate, for applicants, I have to admit that it sure is a good option to increase their odds. I recently met a guy who got in med school in another province, and not in his home province, because he moved, and got the IP status in that province, while he kept IP status in his home province. If it wasn't for the move, he probably wouldn't have gotten a med school acceptance that year, because he was refused by the home province school he was applying to. Heck, I've heard about people who moved to Yukon to get IP status in 3 provinces...

 

The question becomes: Do you blame the applicant or the system?

[amichel]

I don't think there was so much flaming in here.

 

Playing devil's advocate, for applicants, I have to admit that it sure is a good option to increase their odds. I recently met a guy who got in med school in another province, and not in his home province, because he moved, and got the IP status in that province, while he kept IP status in his home province. If it wasn't for the move, he probably wouldn't have gotten a med school acceptance that year, because he was refused by the home province school he was applying to. Heck, I've heard about people who moved to Yukon to get IP status in 3 provinces...

 

The question becomes: Do you blame the applicant or the system?

I don't really blame anyone. I don't even always object to people doing this.

[Bambi]

What Strive & many others have done is follow the rules on their road to success, entirely legitimate, strategic, smart and they are to be congratulated!

[StriveP]

I don't think there was so much flaming in here.

 

Playing devil's advocate, for applicants, I have to admit that it sure is a good option to increase their odds. I recently met a guy who got in med school in another province, and not in his home province, because he moved, and got the IP status in that province, while he kept IP status in his home province. If it wasn't for the move, he probably wouldn't have gotten a med school acceptance that year, because he was refused by the home province school he was applying to. Heck, I've heard about people who moved to Yukon to get IP status in 3 provinces...

 

The question becomes: Do you blame the applicant or the system?

 

Yea exactly, only thing is with Yukon is you have to move there for 3 years but you get residency status in nearly every province in Canada. Either way it works and a lot of people will do this.

[Korra]

Yukon seems like a great option. But the problem is that, with people who didn't have med school as their main goal when they started or didn't even know about the advantages of going to Yukon, they might find about it too late. If you're 23, do you really want to move to Yukon for 3 years at that point? Going to Yukon straight out of highschool at 18 is something I wish I would have done.

[StriveP]

Yukon seems like a great option. But the problem is that, with people who didn't have med school as their main goal when they started or didn't even know about the advantages of going to Yukon, they might find about it too late. If you're 23, do you really want to move to Yukon for 3 years at that point? Going to Yukon straight out of highschool at 18 is something I wish I would have done.

Yea exactly and this is why UBC is probably the best option since you just need to be there for less than 6 months or how ever long it takes to get the BC care card and then you can move back home. A friend of mine told me you can get the card in a few months.

[Arztin]

Yea exactly and this is why UBC is probably the best option since you just need to be there for less than 6 months or how ever long it takes to get the BC care card and then you can move back home. A friend of mine told me you can get the card in a few months.

I find 6 months abusive though.

Some of my classmates pretty much never lived in Qc (left when they were toddlers), yet still got in as an IP. It's very highly possible that they wouldn't have gotten in if they were OOP for McGill.

Anyways, at the end of the day, as an applicant, you can only focus on your own CV and GPA. You can't do much else when it comes to policies of this kind.