<p>I've been admitted to the very prestigious McMaster BHSc program in Canada. It's extremely well known here in Eastern Canada, but I don't think its as well known anywhere else. Beyond this, I was accepted to Penn, Berkeley, USC, and Cornell. If I do go to an American school, I'd choose Penn. My dilemma right now is this:</p>
<p>I'm going into premed and know for sure that I want to be a doctor. McMaster has excellent grad school placement rates WITHIN Canada, but they aren't great outside of Canada. Personally it has always been my dream to attend an Ivy League medical school or another top school like JHU Med. Penn Med itself would be a dream come true! Would I be at a significant advantage as a Penn student? Keeping in mind that I'm ineligible for financial aid but my parents make ~300k/yr, what should I do?</p>
<p>As a sidenote, how is Penn for premed in general? How hard is it to keep up good grades? BHSc at McMaster is pretty well-known for being an easy program to get an A in. While I do like a challenge, I don't want to hurt my chances for becoming a doctor, its something I've wanted my entire life. Thanks for your help in advance.</p>
<p>Assuming that you are a Canadian citizen, the problem with your dream is that most US med schools do not accept internationals. Period.</p>
<p>And of those that do accept internationals, they only accept a ~handful per school. So the question you need to ask is whether attending Penn or Cornell or…will be of any extra value when you apply to Canadian med schools.</p>
<p>That’s a very valid point, I know that there are only around 200 internationals at US Med Schools in any given year (of which I’d expect only a relatively small fraction to be Canadian), but I’d still like to give it my best try and see what happens. I don’t expect it to be easy, I don’t even expect myself to have a great chance at getting in, I just want to give it a shot. With that said, I don’t think Penn or Cornell would put me at a DISADVANTAGE for Canadian medical schools, but again, I’m really not sure =/ I’ve focused on the realm of college admissions for so long that medical school admissions aren’t something I’m familiar with.</p>
<p>Given how rare it is for American schools to accept internationals, wouldn’t an American undergraduate degree give me an advantage (even if only a minute one?)</p>
<p>Honestly even if I return to Canada and end up at UofT or McGill’s Medical Schools I’ll be far from heartbroken.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that MCAT interviews in Canada require you to have thorough information on Canadian Health Care System. If you do your BS in USA, you would have to stay abreast of those and any other knowledge expected at MCAT interviews. Must admit, I am by no means very knowledgeable about this.</p>
<p>sorry vinsim I just saw your reply. I ended up choosing Penn =) the atmosphere seemed like its just too good to turn down. While Mac has great medical acceptance rates, health sci really is just a premed program, limiting my ability to grow and explore other fields. I<em>wanna</em>be_Brown, I did a lot of research on the topic and came out with the same answer, that a prestigious American undergrad education is a definite advantage, especially over a relatively unknown school like McMaster (as opposed to the University of Toronto with its amazing international reputation).</p>
<p>Hi captaincanada, Congratulations. Good choice.
I believe Penn treats Canadians as “instate”. Were you able to get that advantage without going through a lot of hoops? Were you able to get any scholerships?</p>
<p>Also, won’t they treat Canadians as “instate” for their MedSchool also?</p>
<p>I actually don’t think thats the case? I certainly haven’t seen it anywhere online and I still have to jump through the same hoops as all the other international students in terms of applying for a student visa and everything. Ivy League schools don’t have scholarships, but I was not eligible for financial aid. I’m lucky enough to have a family with a comfortable income so they’re still able to see me through without any impact on their quality of life. Keep in mind that as a private university I don’t think Penn does treat in-state students differently in general.</p>
<p>For me it ultimately came down to knowing I’d do best where I was happiest, and while BHSc is a great program, Hamilton and McMaster just aren’t for me.</p>