Now that the cycle is done for both U.S and Canadian schools, I will try to update this page as often as possible. Hopefully the information here can benefit all future U.S or Canadian medical school applicants!
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 08/16/2011
Undergraduate college: Canadian University
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Summary of Experience:
Assuming silent rejection from now..... I love their secondary.....a school that really gets to know you better. It was also very fitting for me (i.e focusing on challenges as an immigrant)
Summary of Experience:
Withdraw from school due to already-existing interviews + it is a pain to get to Rochester from where I live. Further, I do not forsee myself becoming an international student at Mayo.
Summary of Experience:
I never was a big fan of McMaster Med. Having been to so many interviews in the States, I find that the concept of \\\"fit\\\" is very important to me. McMaster and its strong PBL focus just do not fit my philosophy of learning. Further, I expect at least 1 acceptance for all the other 7 schools I am currently waiting on. Therefore, adieu McMaster.
Summary of Experience:
Pro: I absolutely adore the Yale system, especially the flexibility of their program as well as the M.D research thesis. Also, the fact that Yale does not have grades or class rank is quite important to me. Finally, Yale is probably the only schools where, even in med, students have the opportunity to take classes outside of med. As an future MBA student, this is important to me as I would love to take some business classes.
Cons: The medical campus did not live up to my expectation. Everything just seemed very crowded. Also, New Haven is sort of in the middle of nowhere. It is difficult to get to, for starters.
Summary of Experience:
Post-interview rejection: It hurted, but life must go on...
Pro: Excellent program. It\'s very obvious that the students are able to pursue their own career goals and their missions. Its global connection is something that is very important to me (global medicine but also for my MBA) Harvard truly lives up to its reputation. I loved Boston too, safe and convenient.
Con: The dorm at Vandy was a bit old and out-dated. To a certain extent, I also felt that the students and the faculties seemed to be \"sheltered\" by Harvard\'s reputation. Finally, I am not too sure about the strong PBL focus. Personally, I am more of a traditional learner. Plus, PBL only works well when everyone is willing to put in the work. This maybe the case in first semester of first year, but I honestly doubt that students would have the same level of enthusiasm in PBL right before Step 1.
Summary of Experience:
Interview: Did not enjoy the interview. The interviewers were more trying to push me over the edge and see how I would respond rather than trying to get to know me.
Pro: The curriculum in Ottawa is very flexible. The students are very happy and content and it shows! The research intensity here is also relatively good as well (though obviously not at the Top 20/ Ivy level).
Con: I am not too sure about the strong family medicine focus. Apparently a third of University of Ottawa med graduates go to family medicine. Also, Ottawa\'s international connection is very weak. Also, why is it such that the lectures aren\'t recorded?
Summary of Experience:
Pro: I actually didn\'t expect WashU to be great, but it went far beyond my expectations. The students were warm, happy, and content. Despite of its reputation as being the high MCAT grabber, the students were very down-to-earth and chill :) The hospitals were also very nice (some of them quite frankly looks like hotels than hospitals). The research opportunity here, like most other top-tier schools, is abundant. Also, it is very obvious that the school tries its best to make sure that the students feel right at home.
Cons: The dorm at Olin was bad (though the room was quite large). I said it was bad because it\'s probably the first (and probably the only) dorm I know where there is no wireless internet access. I also have some concerns in terms of the safety of living in St Louis. Also, I don\'t like the idea of a graded system in second year. This puts extra pressure on me at least because I would have to worry about school grades on top of preparing for USMLE.
Summary of Experience:
Pro: The school itself has tremendous resources. Its international connections for rotations and abroad research as well as its Bassett rotations are absolutely amazing (and of course the top notch research going on here.....woahhh the ex-vivo transplantation was sick). The innovative curriculum is also very interesting (doing Step 1 at the end of third year and an extended 1.5 year for \"fourth year\").
Con: I have lived in New York City before and honestly, coming form Canada, I disliked it because literally you live in a concrete forrest with no trees at all. The dorm was old and everything (the admin office, the lecture hall....everything) just seems squished. Also, the neighborhood is largely hispanic and poor. This makes the place even less attractive to me. Please do not get me wrong. It is very important to serve the entire spectrum of patients. However, it is one thing to serve poor patients and another to live in an impoverished neighborhood for four years of your life.
Summary of Experience:
Pro: I LOVE Dartmouth. The faculty-student relationship is very strong and it shows. Dartmouth\'s main hospital, DHMC, is alos one of the most innovative hospital I have never stepped foot in in my life. The hospital would be the environment I would enjoy working in even given the intense hours of third year clinical rotations. Its fourth year UCSF hospital electives are also pretty sick.
Con: The major issue here is lack of research intensity. Let\'s be honest, Dartmouth Med is not a research powerhouse based on either either publication impact or NIH research funding. Secondly, the patient demographic is very limited here. As a fourth year med students said during our tour at the DHMC, the patients at the hospital are typically Caucasian. This maybe a detriment considering the importance of cultural competency in today\'s doctors. Finally, travel is a problem (though Dartmouth Coach is quite frankly the fanciest bus I have never been on)
Summary of Experience:
lol at the waitlist.. I actually wasn\'t planning on attending the interview because of Saint Louis acceptance a month before this interview (and the extremely high tuition and living expenses at Washington).
Pro: I really liked Washington D.C. The city is not too crazy like New York but, at the same time, one that has enough cultural diversity and attraction to be interesting and safe to live in. The program is also very good in the sense that they try to make sure that their students are trained to be DOCTORS through mini rotations that are available even in first and second year!! Proximity to NIH also means that there are tremendous research opportunities available indirectly by being in George Washington.
Cons: There are several issues I have with the school. First of all, I didn\\\'t find the students particularly enthusiastic about the program (perhaps it\\\'s because it\\\'s finals time and we were interviewing in the library). Secondly, the Honours/Pass/Faill system for both years sucks, especially when they put \\\"Honours\\\" as 90%> and \\\"Fail\\\" as <70%. Finally, the lack of financial aid for me as a Canadian student is also concerning.
Summary of Experience:
Pro: University of Toronto is essentially comparable to a Top 20 level (if not Top 10) school in the States. The resources here and international opportunities are endless both in terms of research as well as clinical rotations and electives. The cultural attraction of downtown Toronto is also amazing as well :)
Con: I don\'t like the large class size as well as the filled curriculum structure. Despite of what the admission video protraits, the truth is that Toronto med students are a lot more stressed out compared to other med students in the U.S or the Canada. Further, living in Toronto is incredibly expensive!
