Woah! McMaster class of 2021 // From 3.84 - 3.87 cGPA

[TheOne]

McMaster has released its stats for the graduating class of 2021. The average GPA of admitted applicants has been 3.84 for many years. 

It just increased to 3.87, which is a significant jump.

What do you think, is 3.87 going to be the new norm?

Will the GPA become increasingly competitive at McMaster?

Do you think it will decrease over the next few years, or would you be willing to bet that it will continue to climb?

Are students getting smarter?! 

Why the increase... I must know!!!

 

[bigboydyo]

TBH this year's acceptance GPA has been ridiculously high for other schools too, such as McGill which has seen a historically high IP acceptance avg GPA of 3.88.

My take on this: People are starting to figure out CASPer so it's no longer a "roadblock" for certain folks. Previously, it was hard to do well on CASPer unless if you possessed some natural talent and understanding of ethical situations (in particular if your thought process was similar to what they were looking for), but with better resources out there practically everyone can learn the important points to raise to get a good CASPer. So with CASPer scores becoming more homogenous, it's back to GPA being the king factor. 

[44332211]

Also, Quebec has been cutting down on medical school spots (provincial politics) so that could explain why GPA is rising....not sure about Ontario, could be more applicants applying and CASPer is definitely becoming less of a hurdle.. unfortunately the trend does suggest that average GPA is increasing...we'll have to see what this cycle looks like to see if this will be the new norm

[TheOne]

5 minutes ago, bigboydyo said:

TBH this year's acceptance GPA has been ridiculously high for other schools too, such as McGill which has seen a historically high IP acceptance avg GPA of 3.88.

My take on this: People are starting to figure out CASPer so it's no longer a "roadblock" for certain folks. Previously, it was hard to do well on CASPer unless if you possessed some natural talent and understanding of ethical situations (in particular if your thought process was similar to what they were looking for), but with better resources out there practically everyone can learn the important points to raise to get a good CASPer. So with CASPer scores becoming more homogenous, it's back to GPA being the king factor. 

I didn't think about how CASPER could play into this... that may very well be. Suddenly my cGPA of 3.83 isn't looking too hot. What do you think- should I try to increase it?

[Briannaxox]

3.87 isn't that bad at all lol even 4.0 is easy. It's the percentage schools like usask and Ubc that are bad because a 90 doesn't look too good in a percentage system whereas it's a 4.0 in a gpa system which is a breeze. 

[TheOne]

23 minutes ago, Briannaxox said:

3.87 isn't that bad at all lol even 4.0 is easy. It's the percentage schools like usask and Ubc that are bad because a 90 doesn't look too good in a percentage system whereas it's a 4.0 in a gpa system which is a breeze. 

Man, I wish it worked that way. I have above an 88% GPA in percentage. As per the OMSAS scale, that ends up being just over 3.83. Unfortunately a 90% overall GPA does not = 4.0, nor does an 89% = 3.9. It depends on each specific course and how it converts into the OMSAS scale. 

[insomnias]

Meanwhile the U of A went 3.9 -> 3.89 -> 3.88 -> 3.81 -> 3.81 for IP students :p

[Pakoon]

2 hours ago, TheOne said:

Man, I wish it worked that way. I have above an 88% GPA in percentage. As per the OMSAS scale, that ends up being just over 3.83. Unfortunately a 90% overall GPA does not = 4.0, nor does an 89% = 3.9. It depends on each specific course and how it converts into the OMSAS scale. 

OMSAS rewards consistency, if all you scored was 85% across the board, then you'd have a 3.9, vs some who has a mix of 90's and low 80's who may be closer to a 3.85 range, it sucks but thats how the system plays.

[schpurp88]

there seems to be some errors on the doc, like it says on the bottom btw like it says 'Number admitted to the Class of 2020'. and the number of bachelors in progress and completed must have been switched. 

[MedMaybe3563]

1 hour ago, schpurp88 said:

there seems to be some errors on the doc, like it says on the bottom btw like it says 'Number admitted to the Class of 2020'. and the number of bachelors in progress and completed must have been switched. 

 

Good catch. Maybe this is selfish but I hope the stats are incorrect and drop back to what it's been for the past few years lol. Also only 4 OOP students. That's depressing.

[schpurp88]

i don't think the stats are incorrect, more people with 3.9+ were accepted this year and the acceptees were younger. this was the first time that the old mcat wasn't used, so you can see the complete distribution of the verbal scores. there were also less and less people with  less than 3.8.

[rmorelan]

59 minutes ago, schpurp88 said:

i don't think the stats are incorrect, more people with 3.9+ were accepted this year and the acceptees were younger. this was the first time that the old mcat wasn't used, so you can see the complete distribution of the verbal scores. there were also less and less people with  less than 3.8.

I would agree - and it isn't like mac is the only school that has had further increases in GPA requirements. 

[thestar10]

On 9/27/2018 at 8:37 AM, TheOne said:

It just increased to 3.87, which is a significant jump

a difference in 0.03 GPA points is hardly what I would call significant.

[rmorelan]

2 hours ago, thestar10 said:

a difference in 0.03 GPA points is hardly what I would call significant.

ha that is all relative it is exponentially harder to get higher GPAs afterall. It would remove something like 20-25% of the applicant pool using some rough statistics and data I have lying around.