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Should I even bother applying to Ottawa/Western?


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My OMSAS cGPA is 3.85 (due to one horrible semester, all other semesters are 3.9+). Both Ottawa (3.84) and Western (3.80) wGPA actually reduce my GPA. 

Am I right to think that applying to Western/Ottawa would just be a waste of the application fee due to my low GPA? I have good leadership ECs but only below average volunteering experience.

I got 130 CARS (517 total) and have yet to take CASPer.

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3 hours ago, RiderSx said:

Your GPA is too low for Ottawa unless you’re applying to the French stream. 

 

It’s completely fine for western, however. They only use a cut-off that’s been 3.7 historically and a higher GPA wouldn’t matter. 

wouldn't matter pre-interview, will matter for post-interview rankings. 

 

OP you should definitely apply everywhere in Ontario including Ottawa, unless money is a huge factor.  

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3 hours ago, ysera said:

wouldn't matter pre-interview, will matter for post-interview rankings. 

 

OP you should definitely apply everywhere in Ontario including Ottawa, unless money is a huge factor.  

I believe 3.84 is below Ottawa’s cut-off if OP is applying anglophone - it would just be a waste of money to apply. But it might be a good idea for OP to contact Ottawa and ask about the specific cut-off. 

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37 minutes ago, RiderSx said:

I believe 3.84 is below Ottawa’s cut-off if OP is applying anglophone - it would just be a waste of money to apply. But it might be a good idea for OP to contact Ottawa and ask about the specific cut-off. 

Ah ya apply wherewhere you meet the cutoffs then, i’ve never applied for ottawa so didnt know they had a high cutoff like that.

 

definitely apply for western if you meet the gpa and mcat cutoffs (this op does)

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21 hours ago, RiderSx said:

Your GPA is too low for Ottawa unless you’re applying to the French stream. 

 

It’s completely fine for western, however. They only use a cut-off that’s been 3.7 historically and a higher GPA wouldn’t matter. 

Hey, I understand I would make the cutoff for a file review, but what's the chance I get an interview? I know overall my chances aren't great regardless even with an interview, but if my application won't move forward due to my GPA, is there any point in applying?

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12 hours ago, zxcccxz said:

Hey, I understand I would make the cutoff for a file review, but what's the chance I get an interview? I know overall my chances aren't great regardless even with an interview, but if my application won't move forward due to my GPA, is there any point in applying?

I don't think anyone can give a good estimate of your chance of receiving an interview if you apply, since it's so dependent on who happens to review your file and whether they mesh with what you wrote. However, your chance of receiving an interview if you don't apply is 0. 

I'd echo ysera's advice to apply wherever you meet the cutoffs, unless finances are a barrier. There's a lot of chance involved in this process, so schools that would be 'low-likelihood' on paper can end up giving you interviews while schools you were theoretically a much stronger applicant for will give the rejection. And as a peripheral benefit, the process of writing Western's supplementary essays will make you think deeply about your ECs and experiences, basically giving you a headstart on interview prep. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/9/2019 at 6:37 PM, zxcccxz said:

My OMSAS cGPA is 3.85 (due to one horrible semester, all other semesters are 3.9+). Both Ottawa (3.84) and Western (3.80) wGPA actually reduce my GPA. 

Am I right to think that applying to Western/Ottawa would just be a waste of the application fee due to my low GPA? I have good leadership ECs but only below average volunteering experience.

I got 130 CARS (517 total) and have yet to take CASPer.

How does Westerns wGPA drop your GPA if they take your best 2 years and you only had 1 bad semester?

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