Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

FinallyAccepted23

Members
  • Posts

    14
  • Joined

Everything posted by FinallyAccepted23

  1. I don't want to lead you astray from the forums and I apologize if it came off that way. There are still plenty of intelligent and experienced users here, it's just an especially stressful time for a lot of us. I also agree that the MMI isn't a psychological test designed to screen for these sorts of things. I would just rather have candidates who were at least met in person and gone through that process than random people who were never seen. These concerns do deserve to be voiced freely, in my view.
  2. My concern isn't with the MMI process at Mac, it's the lack of an in-person interview process at all this year. I agree this shows that the MMI is imperfect, but I disagree that it shows that the MMI can't screen for people like this. I would think that at least meeting the person and having them go through some challenging ethical scenarios is at least a better filter/check than not looking at all. For all we know, maybe the MMI filtered out a bunch of bad apples and only let a few through every year. Now any bad apples could get in. This is a fair argument. There is the criminal check, I'm just personally uncomfortable with the fact that there is no in-person screening. My intent isn't to rail on the school, it's just to illustrate why people such as myself are hesitant and doubting of the lottery process despite some people waving it off as being fine. I've seen many comments on here echo my concerns and they're usually followed up by people making fun of our concerns such as this: ...which does get a little frustrating.
  3. I understand that there are bad apples in every school and community. However, if bad apples show up in systems where people are screened in person for this sort of thing, then how bad would it get for a system where there is no screening beyond an initial numbers check? It's not necessarily about being smart or not, the merit argument is another one that's already been stated, I'm bringing up a separate issue that McMaster will not have met any of the students they're accepting face-to-face at all.
  4. EDIT: This post has been attracting a lot of negativity which isn't what I wanted to express. I decided to just remove it since it isn't leading to any productive conversation, especially during these stressful times.
  5. That still doesn't compensate for the stress involved with partaking in a 3 year program during these unprecedented times. I know that many individuals in med school are already worried about getting enough hospital experience when choosing their specialty, this issue will be even worse provided that covid and its repercussions will likely spill into the following year too. Also, from my understanding, going unmatched is something that's looked down upon. Not only are you in an overwhelmingly small minority, but such a gamble would also mean being 1 year behind the peers I went through medical school with. It just doesn't seem like a gamble I would be willing to take if I didn't have to.
  6. The problem with this is that it's all speculatory. I understand that you doubt it'll have an impact on the future of applicants such as myself, but the fact remains that this is one of the biggest controversies to come out of a canadian medical school in quite a long time. These are real issues which impact the decisions of those who don't want to start off their medical careers on the wrong foot. I'm putting myself in the shoes of a medical professional and unfortunately the consequences of McMaster's decisions have fallen on my shoulders as an applicant. In 4 years' time, it will have been too late. I feel like I need to get this off my chest because I see a lot of people downplaying the stresses that applicants such as myself are facing in the current lottery/covid situation.
  7. I don't think I need to point out that medicine is highly competitive, we all know this. Often times, the difference between a rejected candidate and one that gets an acceptance can basically come down to splitting hairs. Given that situation, I can definitely see the lottery factoring in to the situation. It's not just that either, keep in mind that McMaster has a 3 year program, which means you don't have as much time to choose your specialty. This is further compounded by the covid situation which will make it harder to gather clinical experience in some fields. As a medical professional, I would rather take the student who has more experience and has entered through merit, rather than a student who has less experience and entered from a coin flip.
  8. I've seen a few posts on this forum say that the lottery class controversy might not affect residency and general perceptions of McMaster physicians. This is a possibility, but I see this as cutting corners. After spending so much time accounting for every iota of detail in my application and ensuring I meet all the criteria of the schools, it just doesn't feel right to suddenly shrug off something as consequential as this. Like, many of us here worked our buts off to get 3.9+ GPA averages, but then it just feels wrong to be content with getting in by a coin flip and a compromised reputation. Premeds are used to being meticulous and even sometimes perceived to be neurotic (for better or worse), so why choose to be a part of the lottery class in the hopes that it might not influence you down the line (when it's currently the biggest controversy to come out of canadian medical schools in a long time) when you don't have to? I don't mean to rub anyone the wrong way, as I said it's a personal decision, this is just my thought process behind it.
  9. I'm actually in a similar situation, I got an offer to both Mac and Ottawa, but I'm sticking with Ottawa. This is a personal decision, but the way I see it this is one of the biggest decisions I'll make. Where I end up going will not just impact my next 3-4 years, but also stick with me for the rest of my career too, so I want to make sure I don't look back on this with regret. There's already so much negative news going around about the lottery class, both in medical schools and in the general public, and I decided that it wasn't worth being a part of that if I don't have to. I put all this work in to become a doctor and I don't want to start cutting corners now. That's just what I ended up doing though, everybody's different.
  10. I thought that way too, but apparently it's more of a hindrance. People tend to get to know each other early on then just split off into their own groups, that's been the constant I've heard from a lot of people from the different schools. Small class sizes just means that you'll have less people you can get to know. It's only in smaller places like regional campuses at Mac or Queens where I know a few of my friends are complaining about the gossip culture which isn't nearly as bad in larger class sizes. Just putting that out there since hearing that perspective from different people made me reconsider.
  11. It's still a big gamble, especially with the small class sizes and Kingston being such a small city. I've got a few friends in Queens and although they're overjoyed to be in med, they wished they had went elsewhere. The "family" dynamic of Queens apparently gets old pretty fast, small class sizes leads to a lot of gossip, and Kingston is lacking a lot of the fun you'd typically expect in larger cities like UofT or Ottawa.
  12. Been a premed lurker for years and kept track of this thread since I couldn't sleep lol. For those who got rejected or waitlisted, don't lose hope! Life is a long journey :). I got accepted to Ottawa and Mac. Definitely taking Ottawa, I lost a lot of respect for Mac after what they did and I'm hearing a lot of bad comments coming from med students in different schools. They really shouldn't have said they're using a lottery, especially now that it's reported in the news and all over social media.
  13. First time posting here, really excited about my offers since like many of you I've been dreaming of this for so long! Result: Accepted (to Hamilton) Timestamp: 8:03 AM cGPA: 3.96 CARS: 130 CASPer: Practiced a lot and I felt good about it. Also got accepted to Ottawa, which I will be taking over McMaster after what they did with the lottery. Year: 4th year undergrad Geography: IP I'm grateful for the offer but I just can't accept it in good faith given how badly Mac's reputation has fallen as of late. I have some friends in med school and word spread pretty fast about the Mac 'lottery class' across multiple schools, it's not something I want to be known for (especially if it affects residency and how patients or doctors view me). I also feel like I earned Ottawa while Mac was just a coin toss.
  14. Can't believe I'm making this! Result: Accepted!!! at 6:42AM Stream: English wGPA: 3.98 CASPer: Felt great, also got accepted to Mac but I'll be turning that offer down for Ottawa! ECs: Long and diverse! Interview: Felt confident coming out of it but I was worried since a lot of people I know who got accepted in prior years had negative interview experiences. Glad to see I was worried for nothing Year: 4th year undergrad Best of luck to everyone, I will be accepting this offer over Mac!! I don't want to be associated with the lottery class, especially now that it's been reported in mainstream media. I'm worried it might also affect residency and future physician perceptions with shadows.
×
×
  • Create New...