Canadian HS student: Choice between Queens and McGill with eye on Medical School. Thank you.

Hello and thank you for your insights. I am a graduating Canadian HS student. My Big Six score is 97. I am an international student. My goal is to attend medical school preferably in Canada. My family has a pending PR application and expect a decision any day. I have an acceptance deadline May 16th. I have offers from Queens Honors Life Science and McGill Life Science programs. Questions: I doubt we will receive word from the provincial government on our pending PR application in time for the May 16 acceptance deadline. I am uncertain as to which university will put me in the best possible position for applying to medical school in the future. What are the consequences if the PR comes in after the May 16th deadline? What are my options then? What are my acceptance options before the deadline? If the PR application is rejected, which university would position me best for medical school at the end of my undergraduate career? What are the advantages of attending a university in Ontario vs Quebec in terms of medical school placement? Which university would you choose if you were in my position? International medical students, professional counsel responses much appreciated. Thank you all for your thoughtful insights.

I’m not sure why getting your PR status after May 16th would be relevant to applying to medical school in 4 years time.

If you are unable to get permanent resident status in Canada then your chances of admission to a Canadian medical school in four years is virtually non existent regardless of what undergrad school you attend.

You are not only prolific but brilliant on this subject matter. May I ask, are you an admissions officer, medical professional, educator, Canadian official or a combination of the aforementioned, none of the aforementioned or other. If other, can you share with us? Thank you.

Canadian med school places are reserved to citizens/PRs. So if you have your PR at any point between now and 2022 you’re good.

I would pick McGill because if med school doesn’t pan out the name will take you further; you would however need to become fluent in French (if you’re not already) to have a shot at med school in Quebec, so plan to take classes.

Thank you for your kind response. The below was copied from my second thread on this board that hasn’t received a response. Would you still advise to go with McGill if no PR? My Bio and Chem averages are 98 and 99 respectively in AP. I want to stay in the sciences and fall back to a related medical discipline if no PR. Is it realistic track to become a landed citizen 2-3 years beyond my undergraduate career (Masters/PhD) then apply to medical school or is that also a pipe dream scenario? If no PR this round do you recommend we reapply? Odds? Please advise on my below concerns. Thank you.

Goal: Medical School. I am an International Student at a Canadian HS. PR pending, response due any day. Not fluent in French. I have offers from McGill, Queens Honors, McMaster, Innis College at UT all in Life Science, and health and medical science from Western. Which is the better science program for applying to medical school in Canada?

There are 5 medical schools in Ontario accepting 900 students each year. Quebec accepts 150 applicants from Quebec residents each year. Let’s say my PR is granted after I accept to one of the above schools; which of the above university programs would best suit a track for attending medical school in Canada? What strategy track would you advise if my PR comes in late around this coming Fall? I am trying to anticipate a PR grant scenario and a PR rejection scenario before I decide which offer to accept. Thank you so much for your input.

“Which is the better science program for applying to medical school in Canada?”

If you get your permanent resident visa for Canada, then the universities that you list are all very strong and will give you a good shot at medical school. If you do not get a PR for Canada, then the path to a Canadian medical school would be a very long one.

There are a few universities in Canada that admit a tiny handful of international students for medical school. This is a very long shot. Getting a bachelor’s degree from a Canadian university would allow you to get a work visa to work in Canada for three years. Sometime around the end of that three years you could apply for a PR visa with the help of your employer. This would add something like four years to the time that it takes you to apply for medical school, but I guess that this is also a possible path.

I don’t think that you can go wrong with any of the universities that you listed in post #5 above. However, if it were me I would go with either Queens or McGill. The choice however would be largely based on where I would want to live afterward. I might go with Queens if I did not speak any French not because of the quality of the school (which is excellent), but because there would be more spots for medical school in Ontario for someone who does not speak French. McGill is however much better known outside of Canada.

1° become fluent in French. Useful for Canada overall, mandatory for Quebec (loi 101 I think): you must be able to treat patients in either language. Make it a goal for the next 3-4 years in addition to keeping up with your native language if it’s not English (a third language added to French and English is useful.)
2° if you don’t get your PR through your parents, you can reapply with your degree. However it’d require you to work (in a hospital) for 2-3 years before you can apply to Med School. Would you be okay doing that?
3° you can’t really predict which would be best for med school. Essentially, it’ll be on you. You’re a good student, so will the other students.
4° Guessing you got into the Honours BA/BS at Queen’s (not Honors college like in the US?)
Inis isn’t very sciencey, rather artsy, but it’s a nice little community.
McGill has the greatest international reach (recognized in the US and Europe compared to the others, even more than UT).
5° McGill and UT are likely your strongest options in case you don’t get into. BMSc. at Western is the closest to your goal. So I’d pick between Western and McGill, unless you’ve visited Inis and liked it.

Thank you so much for your kind and thorough responses. My parents narrowed down the same choices: Queens and McGill for the following reasons— If the PR comes in we go with Queens because as you pointed out, there are more openings for Ontario applicants to medical school than Quebec. I took french classes but I’m far from fluent. If the PR does not come in we go with McGill because medical school would be out of reach and McGill might be a better springboard into graduate school programs just about anywhere. My parents also seem to think if I accept at McGill even without a PR my chances of becoming landed are faster than the other provinces. Is this a correct? If my parents do not get their PR is it possible to reapply. Is this frowned upon? Odds of getting a PR on the second go any better than getting into medical school as an international student?

Your odds of getting a PR after mcGill+2-3years in a job are guaranteed as far as I know.

Here’s a what if: Let’s say I accept the offer at McGill but the PR comes in later this year. Is it possible to transfer to Queens or McMaster for my second year or do you advise I stay at McGill? I’d like to live and work in Ontario. If the PR is rejected do you advise I stay at McGill work for 2-3 years then apply for my PR. I skipped a grade so I’m much younger than my classmates. I suppose I was classified as gifted. Thank you once again for your kind response.

I wouldn’t transfer from McGill though.

What is the best argument for staying at McGill in this scenario so my parents could understand why I think I should stay.

Nicer city/Environment, top university, better odds if med school doesn’t pan out, better odds of learning French which you’ll need anyway

I never gave washing out of med school any thought. You have a point. I’m guessing you’re from Quebec.My parents think if the PR comes in after I accept to McGill that my chances of getting into med school are better in Ontario that’s why they wanted to ask about transferring to Queens or McMaster. I’m not confident I’ll be able to get up to speed in a French only med school. I believe McGill is the only English speaking med school in Quebec. If I’m not accepted to McGill I don’t think my survival rate at the other French speaking med schools will be adequate.

You’re not limited to your province’s med schools, though. Any local advantage is related to where you graduated high school not where you went for college, and that’s really limited compared to GPA and MCAT scores.
No, I’m not from Quebec. But McGill has enormous prestige outside of Quebec/Canada and Montreal has been named the best city for students in the world.
In addition, developing French-speaking physicians in the English-speaking provinces to serve Francophone minorities is one of the current priorities, hence the mention of learning French as useful (you don’t need to attend a French speaking medical school but developing some fluency would be a big plus for you.)

I attended HS in Ontario. So I’m not limited to applying to medical schools in Quebec once my PR issues?

My parents are thinking why wait 2-3 years for a PR to issue in Quebec when I can apply to Ontario med schools right out of my undergraduate university.

No, once you have the PR, you can apply to all med schools. You’ll be a Canadian Permanent Resident. You will keep your local advantage based on your HS graduation for the one med school closest to your HS regardless of where you went to college.
You would only wait 2-3 years (in ANY province) if your parents don’t get PR and you have to get it on your own. The way to get PR would then be to graduate (from any Canadian university) and work 2-3 years.

There is some confusion here. My parents have information that leads them to believe I need to attend an Ontario university for in province status since I am an international student with no home. Can you point to some definitive information online I can show them that proves I don’t need to attend an in province university for in province status when applying to medical school? Thank you