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First Time Thinking About French Med Schools


Vicodin

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1) If you don't speak french almost perfectly (very fluid), you will 100% fail the interviews (which are in french).

 

2) Laval converts using a technique that is not a rule of three. Montreal seems to use a rule of three. Sherbrooke doesn't convert at all.

 

3) The university you attended does not influence your R Score. Completing your undergrad will net you a 0,5 bonus at Laval (not sure about this one) and Sherbrooke but nothing at Montreal. Also, your degree may not be considered equivalent to a Quebec biomedical science degree so you should inquire about that.

 

4) It's all in April.

 

5) If you start speaking english in the middle of a station at the MMI, you will 100% fail that station. They're very clear about the fact that the interview is in french and that there are absolutely no exceptions.

 

Regarding your R score:

 

Sherbrooke: A perfect GPA (4,3) in biomedical science doesn't seem to net an interview this year.

Laval: You will get an interview if your GPA is converted to 4,0 or better (as long as your degree is considered equivalent to a biomedical science degree from Quebec).

Montreal: You should get an interview even if your GPA is not converted but I think it is (as long as your degree is considered equivalent to a biomedical science degree from Quebec).

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1) If you don't speak french almost perfectly (very fluid), you will 100% fail the interviews (which are in french).

 

 

Plus ou moins selon moi... Si le français n'est pas ta langue première tu peux pendant les entrevues demander de clarifier des termes/mots que tu ne connais pas sans être pénalisé... En autant que tu communiques en français, mais pas besoin d'être fluide (je peux t'assurer que ce n'est pas tlm qui a un français fluide et ils ont été accepté)! C'est sur que si la personne ne fait aucun effort elle ne sera pas prise... J'ai même eu un évaluateur durant mes MEMs qui parlait lui même pas trop bien en français... l'important est de se faire comprendre! 

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Hi everyone,

 

I plan on applying to Quebec French med schools next year. I have never considered it until recently so I don't know anything about the process. I did lots of research last night, but now I have some things I'd like to clarify:

 

My info:

GPA 3.82 (I went to uni in Ontario and converted my percentage grades to McGill's GPA system so I'm guessing that's right and I shouldn't be using the OMSAS or any other conversion system right???)

Education 4 year university program (BioMedical Science) in Ontario, high school was in English

 

1) I want to see if I have my facts straight... UdeM requires passing a French test (~87% pass rate) in order to be considered for an interview but Laval and Sherbrooke only have a French test AFTER you're accepted right? Do Laval and Sherbrooke have any form of testing to test your French proficiency before interviews? Do I understand correctly that UdeM requires you to have done uni or post-secondary in Quebec? Sherbrooke and Laval don't?

French test: Udem yes & Sherbrooke no.  Not sure about rest.

2) How do I convert my 3.82/4.0 GPA to a 4.3 scale? I know 3.82/4.0 = x/4.3 but that gives me x = 4.11/4.3 and that seems too high to say I have a 4.11/4.3 GPA so I think I'm doing it wrong :( I have all my numerical percentage grades for my classes, just don't know where to find 4.3 scale to use for conversion.

To start with - A+=4,3 ; A=4,0 ; A-=3,7 .. 

3) I believe I understood that you get extra points for being in a BioMedical related field, having completed uni, and having studied at a well ranked university. So how many "extra points" do I get for my Cote R for having studied BioMedical science in a 4 year honours program at a good university in Ontario?

Cote R converts GPA depending on perceived difficulty of program (uni doesn't matter).

4) Interviews are in April for all categories right? I would be IP university category... did uni in Ontario but I'm a QC resident (been living here for over 12 months without studying in Quebec... already interviewed at McGill as IP this year).

Application is simple but relatively few uni spots (most are CEGEP).

5) I don't remember where but I heard somewhere that French med schools want you to prove you're francophone by either having grown up in a French speaking household, been born in French speaking area, etc. But I also heard that some people completely switched to English halfway through some stations and still got in?? Have you also heard of any stories of non-francophones getting in even though they messed up or stumbled in their French? My French is at the conversational level and I will spend the next year brushing it up to be more professional and grammatically error-free in speaking. 

Studying in French is not easy as a non-francophone.  I would make sure your French is excellent before applying if it is something you are seriously considering.  This is the best piece  of advice I can give.   

I understand the Cote R changes every year and there's no way to calculate it but I would like just a rough estimate of where I stand (stats and info above). Like would I have roughly a Cote R in the 20s, 30s, high 30s, 40s, etc.? I really don't know anything about where I stand :(

Don't know the details - but these kind of tables are used: http://www2.ulaval.ca/fileadmin/admission/Guides/table-etalons-automne-2015.pdf

 

I know this is a lot of questions so please answer whatever you can. I have done a lot of research myself but I am paranoid and don't trust my own understanding since I didn't know anything about this process ! 

 

P.s. feel free to respond in English or French :)

 

Merci 

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You do not need perfect French for the MEMFI (interview), rather you need to understand and make yourself understood. For UdeM, you need to pass that French test with a high score, which has emphasis on correct grammar. For Sherby, if you are accepted after the interview, you will be required to take a French course there in addition to first year medical school.

 

I never fully understood the R score calculation and the z score. The score you are assigned is not purely based upon your GPA, rather some programs are scored higher than others due to their perceived difficulty by these universities.

 

I am also unsure how they treat students from Ontario. I think, but do not know for sure, they want you to come from a family with a franco connection. You need to check this out for each of these medical schools to determine if you indeed qualify as an applicant.  

 

When I did the MEMFI my French was horrible as I had not spoken it for many, many years; in fact, there were 2 stations where I did not understand walking in. In one of these stations, I thought I understood the question and got a zero; for the other, an acting station, I improvised and fed off whatever the actor said. Notwithstanding all this, I was still accepted. French was definitely a challenge in med school but it is doable even though all exams are in French and there is no English whatsoever except for texts.

 

EDIT. See http://www.usherbrooke.ca/doctorat-medecine/admission/ which may assist to determine whether or not you even qualify as a potential applicant for Sherbrooke.

 

For Laval, see http://www2.ulaval.ca/les-etudes/programmes/repertoire/details/doctorat-en-medecine-md.html#description-officielle from which it appears that you need to do well in the same French exam as you would have needed at UdeM if you would be allowed to apply.

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1) If you don't speak french almost perfectly (very fluid), you will 100% fail the interviews (which are in french).

 

Not true,

 

My french was horrible, i could barely say a full sentence and i still got in. You do need to be able to communicate your thoughts, but a lot of people in my year got in with way below average french skills. You will have 4 years to learn french so dont worry about it ;)

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Not true,

 

My french was horrible, i could barely say a full sentence and i still got in. You do need to be able to communicate your thoughts, but a lot of people in my year got in with way below average french skills. You will have 4 years to learn french so dont worry about it ;)

 

If you're still confident in your ability to organise your thoughts in another language, sure, but if you can't structure your ideas quickly and then spit them out in french efficiently, you're cooked.

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Hi everyone,

 

I plan on applying to Quebec French med schools next year. I have never considered it until recently so I don't know anything about the process. I did lots of research last night, but now I have some things I'd like to clarify:

 

My info:

GPA 3.82 (I went to uni in Ontario and converted my percentage grades to McGill's GPA system so I'm guessing that's right and I shouldn't be using the OMSAS or any other conversion system right???)

Education 4 year university program (BioMedical Science) in Ontario, high school was in English

 

1) I want to see if I have my facts straight... UdeM requires passing a French test (~87% pass rate) in order to be considered for an interview but Laval and Sherbrooke only have a French test AFTER you're accepted right? Do Laval and Sherbrooke have any form of testing to test your French proficiency before interviews? Do I understand correctly that UdeM requires you to have done uni or post-secondary in Quebec? Sherbrooke and Laval don't?

If you did not do your high school in french, UdeM asks to you pass the French test before considering you for an interview. Laval and Sherbrooke will ask for the French test in the first year after acceptance. If you fail, no big deal, you'll only have to take a 1h30 french course every week for a semester or two I think.

(...)

5) I don't remember where but I heard somewhere that French med schools want you to prove you're francophone by either having grown up in a French speaking household, been born in French speaking area, etc. But I also heard that some people completely switched to English halfway through some stations and still got in??

See 1. Basically, if you did you high school/CEGEP in french, you are exempted from the French test in the three universities. If you can't prove you are a francophone, you have to pass the tests to prove that your French is sufficient to study and succeed in a French setting.

I am Francophone and I had to do the French Sherbrooke test as I studied Cegep in English. However I was exempted from UdeM test as I did high school in French...

 

Have you also heard of any stories of non-francophones getting in even though they messed up or stumbled in their French? My French is at the conversational level and I will spend the next year brushing it up to be more professional and grammatically error-free in speaking. 

There was a guy in my campus who could barely speak French. He had to take a year off to learn french and was allowed to resume his studies after. He is in 4th year now I think. Other people had conversational level french and did very well. It helps that all the text books are available in English. However, you'll have to learn how to translate everything in French for the exams.

 

I understand the Cote R changes every year and there's no way to calculate it but I would like just a rough estimate of where I stand (stats and info above). Like would I have roughly a Cote R in the 20s, 30s, high 30s, 40s, etc.? I really don't know anything about where I stand :(

 

 

I know this is a lot of questions so please answer whatever you can. I have done a lot of research myself but I am paranoid and don't trust my own understanding since I didn't know anything about this process ! 

 

P.s. feel free to respond in English or French :)

 

Merci 

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1) I want to see if I have my facts straight... UdeM requires passing a French test (~87% pass rate) in order to be considered for an interview but Laval and Sherbrooke only have a French test AFTER you're accepted right? Do Laval and Sherbrooke have any form of testing to test your French proficiency before interviews? Do I understand correctly that UdeM requires you to have done uni or post-secondary in Quebec? Sherbrooke and Laval don't?

If you did not do your high school in french, UdeM asks to you pass the French test before considering you for an interview. Laval and Sherbrooke will ask for the French test in the first year after acceptance. If you fail, no big deal, you'll only have to take a 1h30 french course every week for a semester or two I think.

(...)

The UdeM French test pre-interview is different than the Sherbrooke institutional test.  Sherbrooke tests only written French, whereas UdeM also tests written and oral comprehension.  I think Laval uses the same test as UdeM.

 

Have you also heard of any stories of non-francophones getting in even though they messed up or stumbled in their French? My French is at the conversational level and I will spend the next year brushing it up to be more professional and grammatically error-free in speaking. 

There was a guy in my campus who could barely speak French. He had to take a year off to learn french and was allowed to resume his studies after. He is in 4th year now I think. Other people had conversational level french and did very well. It helps that all the text books are available in English. However, you'll have to learn how to translate everything in French for the exams.

 

All tutorials, lectures and study notes are in French.  If you feel comfortable condensing and translating English into French, then no problem.  Some texts are only in French.

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Thank you everyone  :D

 

I emailed Sherbrooke and Laval asking about my eligibility. They both said I could get accepted if my grades are high enough, as I explained I did university in Ontario but am a Quebec resident now (interviewed at McGill med as a Quebec resident, so clearly I am a resident), but they can't comment on whether or not my BioMedical science degree = the same in Quebec so I guess I'll have to wait and see.... I'll just apply, got nothing to lose.

 

I have heard some people that interviewed at Ottawa med in the French stream had trouble understanding the interviewer's French accent. At Quebec med schools, do they have a pretty generic accent or is it really hard to understand for someone who speaks another dialect (i.e. France) ? I don't know what to expect because of what I heard about the Ottawa med French stream and also I have a bit, not much, of difficulty understanding some French med students in interviews, like the ones featured on the MD Financial Management Facebook page. Should I start practicing talking with/ hearing a Quebecois accent ? I know I'll get the hang of it if I start studying there, but for now I just mean leading up to the interviews.

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Thank you everyone  :D

 

I emailed Sherbrooke and Laval asking about my eligibility. They both said I could get accepted if my grades are high enough, as I explained I did university in Ontario but am a Quebec resident now (interviewed at McGill med as a Quebec resident, so clearly I am a resident), but they can't comment on whether or not my BioMedical science degree = the same in Quebec so I guess I'll have to wait and see.... I'll just apply, got nothing to lose.

 

I have heard some people that interviewed at Ottawa med in the French stream had trouble understanding the interviewer's French accent. At Quebec med schools, do they have a pretty generic accent or is it really hard to understand for someone who speaks another dialect (i.e. France) ? I don't know what to expect because of what I heard about the Ottawa med French stream and also I have a bit, not much, of difficulty understanding some French med students in interviews, like the ones featured on the MD Financial Management Facebook page. Should I start practicing talking with/ hearing a Quebecois accent ? I know I'll get the hang of it if I start studying there, but for now I just mean leading up to the interviews.

 

The interviews are all MMI (not panel like Ottawa) - I wouldn't say there is a specific accent (beyond Quebecois), it's just best to really try to immerse yourself in francophone Quebec in general to understand what is being said.  You can always ask someone to repeat, but try to get yourself to a point where you don't have to do this.  This would be invaluable should you be accepted as well - since you would have to do everything including clinical skills, etc in French...  So I would say live as a Quebec francophone as much as you can.

 

For UdeM, the test of verbal comprehension pre-interview involves a multitude of accents, mostly non-Quebec (I think it is the same for Laval).    I wouldn't take that as a gimme, but would look into prepping that as well (think you can do a practice one).  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can you find a summer job in Chicoutimi to immerse yourself in Quebecois? I'm fully bilingual yet I still can't figure out what the heck our friends from lac st-jean are saying... quoi?!

I lived in the area for a while, and I still remember spending the first week not understanding a word that was said.

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Can you find a summer job in Chicoutimi to immerse yourself in Quebecois? I'm fully bilingual yet I still can't figure out what the heck our friends from lac st-jean are saying... quoi?!

 

I did most of my med school in Chicoutimi. Yes there a enough summer jobs there. They also have French immersion programs in Chicoutimi during the summer: http://elf.uqac.ca/programmes/explore-fr/

Seems like a load of fun (I only saw them partying all the time ! ).

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