Unlike many first-year students, Waterloo native Sanasi J. knows exactly what she wants to do with her future. “I really want to do something with my life that helps others,” she says. Her goal is to go to medical school and earn an md. “I think that helping people improve their standard of living through healthcare is something that I want to be a part of.”
It’s a worthy goal, but one that is quite difficult to achieve. The application process is grueling and standards are high. In 2012, successful applicants at the University of Toronto Medical School had an admission average gpa of 3.90. Most Canadian medical schools also require the Medical College Admission Test (mcat), a series of essays, reference letters, and a personal interview. It’s a highly competitive process. How competitive? In 2012, Maclean’s reported that prospective medical school students were moving across Canada in an attempt to take advantage of a quirk of the application rules; in every province but Ontario, medical schools strongly favour residents of their home province to fill a quota imposed by taxation laws. There are fewer spaces available to non-residents, and thus competition is stiffer. By moving and changing their place of residency, applicants compete for a larger number of spaces.
Students go to great lengths to boost their odds for success. Ashley H., a second-year student from London, will take the mcat this year, two years before she “needs it” to apply to medical school, in order to ensure that she has ample time to increase her scores by retaking the test if necessary. “All of my friends are doing it, too,” she adds. Other students join pre-med societies and hire tutors to prepare for the test. Michael R., a second-year student studying in the pre-med program at McMaster, emphasizes that having a solid gpa and high mcat scores aren’t necessarily enough to get in. “Grades are baseline,” he says, “It’s how you distinguish yourself from the pack that will make any difference.” He’ll volunteer at a dentist’s office this summer to build his résumé; Sanasi will fly to Saskatchewan to do research on respiratory health.
Most applicants will work hard, but most will be rejected. Across Canada, around 75 per cent of candidates receive medical school rejection letters. Out of the 3,052 students who applied to the University of Toronto Medical School in 2012, only 576 students reached the final interview stage of the application process. The maximum number of students admitted into the first year program is 259. Less than one-tenth of the initial applicants received a positive response. Competition gets even stiffer for more specialised programs. Aspiring clinician scientists might apply to the demanding nine-year University of Toronto md/PhD program, but the program only accepts 10 applicants from a pool of about 80.
Sandra McGugan, the administrative director of this program, offers the following words of wisdom and consolation to those dealing with rejection: “Most applicants will not receive an offer of admission, but this is not because of a weakness in their application, but because there are so few positions available. There are other programs and opportunities out there, and if someone is truly committed to becoming a clinician scientist, they should consider some of these other options.” While she speaks directly to applicants of her program, the advice resonates with the advice given by guidance counselors and registrars Canada-wide: “Always have a plan B!”
The pressures of the process often create a sense of failure well before the response arrives. “Well, I was half expecting it,” confessed one anonymous medical school reject, “I knew the average gpa of everybody applying was going to be ridiculously high. I’m probably going to re-write the exam and apply again next year or after my master’s.”
Ultimately, the very real possibility of failure isn’t enough to deter Sanasi. “I am worried that I’m not going to get in,” she confesses. “But in a way, I’m grateful because it’s made me see how badly I want to go.” She’ll continue to work hard and dream of making a difference as a doctor, despite the stress.
