12/18/2025
Like many first generation, Canadians, my parents took jobs below their education level when they moved to this country. We were a typical middle income family and had a good life, but could not afford βthe finer thingsβ.
So naturally, when I received a 4 year fully paid academic scholarship to York University (they were trying to attract more science students back then), there was no question that that is where I would go for my undergrad.π€
During those few years, most of my friends were in business, and one thing that I heard repeatedly was that York was not a science school, that I should be at U of T instead and that I would never get into medicine with an undergrad degree from hereπ³.
Despite the anxiety it caused and my objections to my father, he was confident that there would be no issue (he knew the medical school requirements like the back of his hand lol), and so I stayed.
Iβm pleased to report that my father was right! I was able to get a perfect GPA from York and coupled with required MCAT marks I scored an interview to my number one medical school choice, the University of Toronto.π
1 in 2 applicants who scored an interview with U of T got in; it was just a matter of charming the interviewers, which was not a problem for yours truly π
The moral of the story: donβt let your vision get clouded by the noise of other people. Stay focussed on your goals, know the requirements, and put in the work Trust in yourself and in your path and whatβs seems impossible will become possibleπ«