Queens vs. Ottawa

[saturday]

Hi All,
Was wondering if you could give me some feedback on having to decide bw Queens and Ottawa -- they're both awesome schools and I'm having a tough time with it.
Thanks
Saturday

[LOCK]

Originally Posted by saturday

Hi All,
Was wondering if you could give me some feedback on having to decide bw Queens and Ottawa -- they're both awesome schools and I'm having a tough time with it.
Thanks
Saturday

Hey Saturday,

When I was deciding which med school to attend, I had queens ranked much higher on my list than Ottawa (i ultimately chose U of T though). After attending both interviews, I found Queens to be superior in a bunch of ways. The facilities are much better at Queens. The people (who I met anyways) were much nicer there and the current med students seemed much happier than at Ottawa. Then there are the cities themselves.... needless to say that Kingston is a much livelier town than Ottawa, and the med school there is actually positioned close to actual civilization. After doing my own research, Queens grads matched into much more competitive specialties than at Ottawa as well. The decision was pretty clear cut in my mind, but again this is just my opinion.

[aaronjw]

I wont speak to the med school aspect directly since i dont know but i will speak to your comment on kingston being more "lively" than Ottawa.

This is absolutely false. I've lived in Kingston and i've lived in Ottawa (just moved back to Toronto after 3.5years in Ottawa) and Ottawa is by far above Kingston in terms of life aspects whether it be night life or recreational.

Originally Posted by LOCK

Hey Saturday,

When I was deciding which med school to attend, I had queens ranked much higher on my list than Ottawa (i ultimately chose U of T though). After attending both interviews, I found Queens to be superior in a bunch of ways. The facilities are much better at Queens. The people (who I met anyways) were much nicer there and the current med students seemed much happier than at Ottawa. Then there are the cities themselves.... needless to say that Kingston is a much livelier town than Ottawa, and the med school there is actually positioned close to actual civilization. After doing my own research, Queens grads matched into much more competitive specialties than at Ottawa as well. The decision was pretty clear cut in my mind, but again this is just my opinion.

[LOCK]

Originally Posted by aaronjw

I wont speak to the med school aspect directly since i dont know but i will speak to your comment on kingston being more "lively" than Ottawa.

This is absolutely false. I've lived in Kingston and i've lived in Ottawa (just moved back to Toronto after 3.5years in Ottawa) and Ottawa is by far above Kingston in terms of life aspects whether it be night life or recreational.

Well again, as I stated, this was my own opinion. I really liked what Kingston had to offer, and the nightlife seemed great while I was there. I was also there for Homecoming and that was a surreal experience in itself. Nothing I experienced in Ottawa came close to this, but again, everyone is different

[Eleos]

I'm with LOCK. After interviewing at both, I also felt that the Queen's med students were a much more enthusiastic bunch. They kept saying how they have access to a lot of different resources and that the doctors there were very friendly and happy to teach them.

I have a friend who lives in Kingston and she was telling me how Kingston is a beautiful city. I didn't get that impression from Ottawa, but one student did tell me that their transit system was worse than TTC.

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Queen's > Ottawa, but that's just my opinion.

[Whodey]

I interviewed at both schools and I feel like in a bigger city like Ottawa, there will be lots more to see and do, and get a more diverse range of medical experiences too at the bigger center.

[sp1nz]

Originally Posted by Whodey

I interviewed at both schools and I feel like in a bigger city like Ottawa, there will be lots more to see and do, and get a more diverse range of medical experiences too at the bigger center.

Yea cause it's not like you're on the Queens waiting list, hoping people will drop their spot so you can get it yourself /sarcasm

Please keep your biased opinions to yourself

[kickserve]

Originally Posted by sp1nz

Yea cause it's not like you're on the Queens waiting list, hoping people will drop their spot so you can get it yourself /sarcasm

Please keep your biased opinions to yourself

Come on sp1nz, try to keep things civil

I understand this is a stressful time, but maybe just take Whodey's word for it, that this is his/her honest appraisal of the schools.

[Medlor2010]

I agree. Ottawa trumps Queens by far.