I am currently a senior in high school deciding where I want to go to college. I am a US permanent resident and a Canadian citizen. Because I am a Canadian citizen college in Canada is a lot cheaper. I want to go to UBC (in Canada), but I recently heard that is is difficult getting into a US medical school from Canada.
Is it a bad bad idea to go to Canada for pre-med if I want to go to med school in the US?
Will you lose your PR status if you go to school in Canada? Right now, your status may be dependent on your parents. Once you’re over 18 and out of high school, things may be different and may be affected if you spend too much time outside of the US.
JMHO, i think you should go to school in the US if you want to go to med school in the US.
Have a chat with your immigration lawyer about what you need to do to maintain your status if you spend extended periods outside the US. You need to know what the current situation is for this.
Canadian universities ‘count’ for us med schools (only foreign universities that do). However, taking the pre-med pre-reqs would be difficult since you would not be able to easily take classes outside your major.
Choose a university with multidisciplinary majors and some free electives - not sure it’s easy to find. Not sure at all UBC allows they Also, since you must take science classes, unlike in the us, you must major in a science (you won’t be able to take science classes in Canada if you’re not a stem Major).
Finally, the grading is different but you’ll get cut no slack.
Most of the US schools have premed advisor and some have committees. Check if you have the same with Canadian schools, you will be at disadvantage if you don’t have any.