uOttawa wGPA Calculation Policy Changes

[lidocaine]

12 hours ago, jonbonezjones said:

Problem is, if they put so much emphasis on GPA like this, isn't it entirely possible that the entire class is composed of students with like 4.0s? Or am I missing something here?

Why is this a problem? If a student has been able to show consistent academic excellence, why should that not be rewarded instead of masked by a wGPA? 

[DrOtter]

It's hard to say if this change will lead to a class filled with 4.0s - that would depend on the weight they put on cGPA relative to other components. This change will allow for more distinction in cases where students have comparable ABS and CASPer scores, for example.

[yesandno]

Hi. Can anyone help with the 5 vs 4 courses per semester? I don't understand this: full-time academic year where the equivalent of four (4) courses per semester is taken is accepted and counted in the cGPA calculation only if the missing course/unit is completed either as an additional course within another academic year or as a summer course.

Scenario 1. Does this mean that if in the 1st semester I took 4 classes, then for the year to be counted for cGPA, I have to take 6 classes in the 2nd semester?

Scenario 2. What if I took 5 classes in my 1st semester and 4 classes in my second semester (9 in the year) and I don't take classes in the summer, then should I take 11 classes next year?

 

I am also confused with the clause "an additional course within another academic year." Does "another academic year" mean that my scenario 1 (see above) won't work and only the 2 scenario works?

[DrOtter]

3 minutes ago, yesandno said:

Hi. Can anyone help with the 5 vs 4 courses per semester? I don't understand this: full-time academic year where the equivalent of four (4) courses per semester is taken is accepted and counted in the cGPA calculation only if the missing course/unit is completed either as an additional course within another academic year or as a summer course.

Scenario 1. Does this mean that if in the 1st semester I took 4 classes, then for the year to be counted for cGPA, I have to take 6 classes in the 2nd semester?

Scenario 2. What if I took 5 classes in my 1st semester and 4 classes in my second semester (9 in the year) and I don't take classes in the summer, then should I take 11 classes next year?

 

I am also confused with the clause "an additional course within another academic year." Does "another academic year" mean that my scenario 1 (see above) won't work and only the 2 scenario works?

both of your scenario apply. However, Scenario 1 counts as a normal full-time year, since on average, you're still taking 5 courses/semester. But your interpretation of scenario 2 is also correct, if you're missing a course, or 2 (i.e. only did 4 courses/semester for both semesters), then you have to make up for that in the summer or another year.

Hope that makes sense!

[mynameisjeff]

If you took four courses per semester in a year but one was online, will that year not be considered in the wGPA?

[DrOtter]

1 hour ago, mynameisjeff said:

If you took four courses per semester in a year but one was online, will that year not be considered in the wGPA?

My interpretation of that is that it "could be" considered, if you make up the 2 courses in the summer or another year, since in normal circumstances, Ottawa allows for 1 online or pas/fail courses. But always best to confirm it with Admissions. 

[drager]

3 minutes ago, DrOtter said:

My interpretation of that is that it "could be" considered, if you make up the 2 courses in the summer or another year, since in normal circumstances, Ottawa allows for 1 online or pas/fail courses. But always best to confirm it with Admissions. 

I think they changed the requirement for online courses. If I'm understanding this correctly, we can have more than one online course per semester. 

Quote

In order for the academic year to count towards the cGPA calculation, a maximum of one pass/fail graded course per semester may have been completed in accordance with the five courses per semester each year requirement.  Therefore, an academic year in which more than one pass/fail graded course was taken in one semester is not considered in the cGPA calculation. On-line courses taken within the most recent three years of full-time study, which is used to calculate the cGPA, will be included in the assessment. Any on-line courses taken outside the most recent three years of full-time requirement will not be included in the cGPA. 

https://med.uottawa.ca/undergraduate/admissions/application-process/excellence-marks

 

[DrOtter]

24 minutes ago, drager said:

I think they changed the requirement for online courses. If I'm understanding this correctly, we can have more than one online course per semester. 

 

Oooh I didn't notice that haha. Sorry my bad. Well yeah, then online courses are effectively the same as normal courses (at least for this upcoming cycle). 

[TheDarkPassenger]

Interesting change.

I've taken 5 courses in each term from 2nd year to 4th year. I took a summer course during one of those years, which I didn't do so well in. Will this be incorporated into the calculation of my GPA, even if I have 5 courses per each regular semester?

Thanks

[TheDarkPassenger]

On 6/25/2020 at 5:30 PM, coaster_boaster said:

Yep, I can confirm. I emailed adcoms too and they said they will be using the cut offs from last year for this upcoming cycle: cGPA of 3.85 for Ontario applicants and 3.87 for out of province applicants

I got some clarification on this by e-mailing adcoms. They said:

"We anticipate that the minimum cut-off will remain the same at 3.85/4.0 for Ontario residents.

However, since this will be our first year using a cGPA it is very difficult to predict if there will be any changes applied to the minimum cut-offs."

So who knows...

 

[projectomaha]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:59 PM, TheDarkPassenger said:

I got some clarification on this by e-mailing adcoms. They said:

"We anticipate that the minimum cut-off will remain the same at 3.85/4.0 for Ontario residents.

However, since this will be our first year using a cGPA it is very difficult to predict if there will be any changes applied to the minimum cut-offs."

So who knows...

 

.

[TheDarkPassenger]

38 minutes ago, goldenelephant said:

It's a little misleading that different responses are being provided to different students. When my friend sent an email in June, they stated that the cGPA cut-off for Ontario residents applying to the English stream is 3.85, not that they anticipate that it will be 3.85 and that it is difficult to predict if any changes will be applied to the minimum cut-offs.

Yeah I wish it wasn't so ambiguous. I'm just below the 'cut-off' at 3.80. I don't want to end up applying if they are just going to end up discarding my application any way. I wish it was clearer.

[projectomaha]

On 7/6/2020 at 3:45 PM, TheDarkPassenger said:

Yeah I wish it wasn't so ambiguous. I'm just below the 'cut-off' at 3.80. I don't want to end up applying if they are just going to end up discarding my application any way. I wish it was clearer.

.

[eggsbenny]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if "most recent three years of undergrad" will include the summer before your earliest most recent year? For instance, if I graduated this year, would a summer course taken during the summer after 1st year undergrad count towards cGPA?

Thanks!

[premed72]

3 hours ago, eggsbenny said:

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if "most recent three years of undergrad" will include the summer before your earliest most recent year? For instance, if I graduated this year, would a summer course taken during the summer after 1st year undergrad count towards cGPA?

The summer after your first year is still technically your first year. So I'm pretty sure it will not be used in a GPA calculation that takes your last three years. If you're applying this cycle and have 2nd, 3rd and 4th year complete then this would be the case. 

[Neeph]

Hi all,

I am coming from a school that changed Winter 2020 to only pass/fail. Meaning I have 5 pass/fail for my most recent year. Given that the website says "a maximum of one pass/fail graded course per semester may have been completed in accordance with the five courses per semester each year requirement.  Therefore, an academic year in which more than one pass/fail graded course was taken in one semester is not considered in the cGPA calculation." 

Do you think that my most recent year will be excluded? Also if I took Spring 2020 classes would they be excluded as well? 

Thanks a lot guys

 

[I_Quit_JK]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:59 PM, TheDarkPassenger said:

I got some clarification on this by e-mailing adcoms. They said:

"We anticipate that the minimum cut-off will remain the same at 3.85/4.0 for Ontario residents.

However, since this will be our first year using a cGPA it is very difficult to predict if there will be any changes applied to the minimum cut-offs."

So who knows...

 

Is the 3.85/4.0 based on all four years of undergrad or the last 3?

[DrOtter]

1 hour ago, forgotten_bot said:

Is the 3.85/4.0 based on all four years of undergrad or the last 3?

Most recent 3 years at full-time course load.

[plimptonjr]

Hello all!

I have a bit of an unusual situation. I started my degree back in 2006 and, after a couple of years, left to pursue a career in community journalism. I just re-enrolled in my degree in September 2020, and am considering various academic opportunities going forward. The confusing bit is that the only time I actually took five courses in a semester (prior to currently) was in 2008. Then I have summer courses (two) during the summer 2020 semester, five courses for the fall 2020 semester and five (currently) for the winter 2021 semester. Although I'm third-year standing (because I took 4 courses per semester between 2006-2008), would I be ineligible to apply until I had THREE FULL YEARS of FIVE COURSES PER SEMESTER? Meaning, I would not be eligible to apply for entrance until the Fall 2023 class? Would that 2008 semester count anywhere in the cGPA calculation?? Thanks in advance for any help! 

[1997_axrlt]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if "most recent three years of undergrad" is taken for a same degree or can it be from different degree? Im currently in my second year of my second undergrad so I would like to know if the CGPA would be calculated base on my first and second year of my second undergrad or will they also take the last year (3rd year) of my first undergrad into the calculation of my CGPA?

Thanks!

[poorpremed]

10 hours ago, 1997vna said:

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if "most recent three years of undergrad" is taken for a same degree or can it be from different degree? Im currently in my second year of my second undergrad so I would like to know if the CGPA would be calculated base on my first and second year of my second undergrad or will they also take the last year (3rd year) of my first undergrad into the calculation of my CGPA?

Thanks!

Since this is a very specific question, you may have to email them about it. Unless someone has had the same experience as you and has gotten that information, anything else anyone says would be speculation. My guess is that they would include the completed years of your second undergrad and then fill the "3 year" requirement by taking from your first undergrad. Since you are in your 2nd year now, and if you are applying the current cycle (2020-2021) then they would not count your second year as it is not complete yet. 

[DrOtter]

10 hours ago, 1997vna said:

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if "most recent three years of undergrad" is taken for a same degree or can it be from different degree? Im currently in my second year of my second undergrad so I would like to know if the CGPA would be calculated base on my first and second year of my second undergrad or will they also take the last year (3rd year) of my first undergrad into the calculation of my CGPA?

Thanks!

They will look at both degrees, as long as each year qualifies as a full course load under their Excellence of marks criteria. So in your case, it will be 1st and 2nd years (2nd degree) + 3rd year (1st degree).

[ChriShe]

Hi guys,

I am confused regarding their instructions for pass or fail graded courses. 

 The website says "a maximum of one pass/fail graded course per semester may have been completed in accordance with the five courses per semester each year requirement.  Therefore, an academic year in which more than one pass/fail graded course was taken in one semester is not considered in the cGPA calculation."

 

In my program, there are internship classes that are worth 1 credit, others that are worth 6 credits. During my first semester, I took 3 x 1cr class (3 classes : 3 cr total of POF). In my second year, I took 1 x 6cr class (1 class : 6 cr total of POF).

Are classe count indépendant of credits associated? Or do we consider 1 class to be 3 credits?

[Excel-erate Your Breath]

I would like to ask about my own situation if anyone is able to provide some insight (I'm an OOP (BC) and would be going for Anglophone stream):

(All GPA's according to OMSAS scale):

- 1st year (3.63) = 36 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits in the summer
- 2nd year (3.31) = 31 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits in the summer
- 3rd year (3.98) = 30 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits during the summer
- 4th year (3.98) = 26 credits during Sept-April

If I was going to apply to UOttawa med, would that 4th year be eligible to be included in my GPA calculation?

I am aware of the fact that my most recent 3 years is still short of cutoffs (3.73ish), so I'm thinking about doing a 5th year to have my most recent 3 years be strong. But, I wouldn't do it if I would need to do both a 5th and a 6th year - it's not worth the tradeoffs imo (will already be applying to 10 other schools and I'm working full-time right now)

Thanks in advance for the clarification/help

[DrOtter]

12 hours ago, Excel-erate Your Breath said:

I would like to ask about my own situation if anyone is able to provide some insight (I'm an OOP (BC) and would be going for Anglophone stream):

(All GPA's according to OMSAS scale):

- 1st year (3.63) = 36 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits in the summer
- 2nd year (3.31) = 31 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits in the summer
- 3rd year (3.98) = 30 credits during Sept-April, 3 credits during the summer
- 4th year (3.98) = 26 credits during Sept-April

If I was going to apply to UOttawa med, would that 4th year be eligible to be included in my GPA calculation?

I am aware of the fact that my most recent 3 years is still short of cutoffs (3.73ish), so I'm thinking about doing a 5th year to have my most recent 3 years be strong. But, I wouldn't do it if I would need to do both a 5th and a 6th year - it's not worth the tradeoffs imo (will already be applying to 10 other schools and I'm working full-time right now)

Thanks in advance for the clarification/help

Just to be mindful, their Anglophone OOP cut-off usually hovers around 3.87 (I'm not sure if their recent shift to cGPA has changed this cut-off, but the interview thread doesn't appear to show that). 3.7 is their cut-off for the French IP and CNFS streams.

Your 4th year is not likely to count (if 30 credit is a full course load), since their policy requires a minimum equivalent of 80% full course load:

"A full-time academic year where the equivalent of four (4) courses per semester is taken is accepted and counted in the cGPA calculation only if the missing course/unit is completed either as an additional course within another academic year or as a summer course. Individual courses taken during a summer session are accepted and the mark obtained is counted in the calculation of the cGPA if completed during the last 3 years of full-time undergraduate studies leading to a bachelor’s degree. Any year with less than four courses per semester will not count as a full-time year of study. A full-time summer semester does not replace a semester of studies within an academic year (except for Co-op programs). AP, IB and transfer units are not recognized as fulfilment of full time studies requirement."