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Official "What are my chances for McMaster" Thread


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You should apply, but the 8 in VR will hold you back.

 

especially with the 32% emphasis on the VR... I strongly think that the VR average will go up to 11 or less than 11.30

 

I would still apply though. If you are confident with MMI's then you should definitely attempt.

 

 

I'm an Alberta student so I'm going to be applying to Calgary but gonna see how that goes as they also heavily weight the Verbal section.

 

I'm also applying to Manitoba, I have somewhat of a rural background (spent 4 years in a small town and did the last year of high school in a small town).

 

I actually wouldn't mind US med schools at all, but I'm not sure if many accept Canadians?

 

It's gonna be a tough call with the MCAT, I don't want to spend another summer studying for the MCAT as I would like to work and pay off some debt.

 

I made a list of the US schools who are Canada friendly as of 2012. I bought the package that had all the info and did a thorough research in an attempt to apply myself. Although I am not applying to the states this cycle, please refer to this link and have a look at the stats I compiled together.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArlB46Pi6-RmdGdnM0QyS3h3eC1qYlk2dlBUY3FoSmc#gid=0

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The 4% is only granted to people who have finished their PhD degrees. If you have completed all of your requirements but have not had your degree 'conferred', you can get a written letter from your supervisor stating that you are 'clear to graduate' and you will be granted the bonus. However, this is only the case if you have completed all your degree requirements.

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The 4% is only granted to people who have finished their PhD degrees. If you have completed all of your requirements but have not had your degree 'conferred', you can get a written letter from your supervisor stating that you are 'clear to graduate' and you will be granted the bonus. However, this is only the case if you have completed all your degree requirements.

 

makes sense, 4% is a lot for McMaster weighing.

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I made a list of the US schools who are Canada friendly as of 2012. I bought the package that had all the info and did a thorough research in an attempt to apply myself. Although I am not applying to the states this cycle, please refer to this link and have a look at the stats I compiled together.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArlB46Pi6-RmdGdnM0QyS3h3eC1qYlk2dlBUY3FoSmc#gid=0

 

Thank you sooo much trojjanhorse! This is gonna make things so much easier to keep track of! Sending much love your way xD :D

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CGPA 3.4 VR 11

OOP.

 

I'm guessing it's a solid no but it doesn't hurt to ask right :)

 

 

Actually its a "hell noo". :D just joking.

 

Unless you have a masters or PhD, I think your chances are close to zero. But only due to the fact that you are OOP. If you were IP, you would have had a decent chance with an excellent CASPER score.

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CGPA 3.4 VR 11

OOP.

 

I'm guessing it's a solid no but it doesn't hurt to ask right :)

 

Yea, definitely a no :(

Unless you're a rich mofo, give it a shot. I would do masters or more years of UG to increase grades. Your VR is amazing, but GPA is quite weak for Canadian MD. I would see if you apply for any other uni weighing formulas with the hopes of a much higher GPA. McMaster at the moment is a no go.

 

 

I think we need one of these threads for every med school. I don't understand people who double post in the official premed thread AND in each university thread.

That's a good idea, but too much to handle imo. Hopefully if this gets stickied, we would take further initiative of creating for each subthread.

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OOP 4th year undergrad

3.83 GPA

12/12/12S MCAT

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback guys :)

 

Definitely above average if you were an IP applicant. Since you're OOP, I'm not sure if this is competitive. Given the nature of your strong VR score and your above average GPA, I recommend applying.

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An easy way to calculate your chances is to convert your gpa and VR to z-scores. Personally, I assume a standard deviation of 1.2 for VR and 0.125 for GPA. I use mean of 10.55 for VR and 3.75 for gpa. For instance, 9 VR = 9-10.55/1.2 and 3.96 gpa = 3.96 - 3.75/0.125.

 

VR = -1.29167

GPA = 1.68

 

Thus, 1.68 - 1.29167 = 0.38833, which is above avg. chance.

 

I don't know how to count 1% for masters or 4% for PhD, but my guess is that each percent is about a standard deviation (or slightly less) of gpa. The SD values I got from a survey someone did last year and the mean data I got from McMaster's accepted applicant statistics. It's not perfect but it adds a way to figure out how well you should do on CASPER.

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I can't see it going back to the 50% CASPER weighting. I think it will likely stay as is for a while. They seem pretty proud of CASPER, so even if it doesn't work they will stick it out for a few years just 'cause.

 

Hmm, I think they will keep on fluctuating the distribution until they get it right (whatever right is in their opinion). 50% CASPer weight is a bit heavy. I think they did this to show other schools how much they believe in CASPer. Certainly got the attention of many. They will always keep VR and GPA equal, for some reason, it just makes sense to have these two parallel.

 

With the 32 32 32 1 4 scale, they have placed equal emphasis on all sections which IMO is more holistic.

 

This way, different schools can claim different students as top. A McMaster's ideal student won't necessarily be the best student at UofT and vice versa. Think about it. If all schools used the same formula, one school will end up being the elite school and a ranking system will exist. That's why UofT looks at your ECs and heavily weighs research experience. Queens with their VR, WS, and quality of ECs. I'm ranting here, so i'll stop. I just thought I would give my 2 cents.

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