chances

[DocMC]

My apologies if I am posting this in the wrong place. I really want to attend Schulich and I figure I will get better responses in this thread. I would like to know how heavily Western looks at reference letters and the ABS for an interview. I am a recent Western grad from BMSc. I have a Western GPA of 3.93 (yr 3 was 3.97, yr 4 was 3.88). My 1st MCAT was a lousy 28 (10/6/12) and I am retaking next week. I am also a SWOMEN applicant. However, I feel that my reference letters will be nowhere near "spectacular" or "exceptional" to say the least, and my ABS is not as stellar as the majority of Canadian applicants. I have 3 summers of hospital volunteering, about 120 hours of tutoring, a couple campus clubs, and one summer of volunteering in a research lab. Also did not have a job during undergrad (Yes, I know that is bad, but there are reasons for it). Would I still have a "decent chance" at getting an interview, assuming I meet the MCAT cut-offs for SWOMEN applicants?

 

Thank you

[WtsupDoc?]

I'm hoping that someone will correct me if I am wrong, but in sending interview invitations, Western only takes GPA and MCAT scores into account?

I believe that your EC's will be looked at after the interview invite step. As far as EC's are concerned, highlight what you have learned through the experiences that you do have. Don't be discouraged by the long lists of EC's found on this forum.

 

So my advice is rock your MCAT! Best of luck

[cdawso23]

I feel relatively certain that in least in terms of getting an interview, they don't look at your ABS or references. Basically, if you meet their minimum cut-offs (you can look up the past couple years cut-offs, they will likely stay in the region of those), you get an interview.

[punknsmasher]

My apologies if I am posting this in the wrong place. I really want to attend Schulich and I figure I will get better responses in this thread. I would like to know how heavily Western looks at reference letters and the ABS for an interview. I am a recent Western grad from BMSc. I have a Western GPA of 3.93 (yr 3 was 3.97, yr 4 was 3.88). My 1st MCAT was a lousy 28 (10/6/12) and I am retaking next week. I am also a SWOMEN applicant. However, I feel that my reference letters will be nowhere near "spectacular" or "exceptional" to say the least, and my ABS is not as stellar as the majority of Canadian applicants. I have 3 summers of hospital volunteering, about 120 hours of tutoring, a couple campus clubs, and one summer of volunteering in a research lab. Also did not have a job during undergrad (Yes, I know that is bad, but there are reasons for it). Would I still have a "decent chance" at getting an interview, assuming I meet the MCAT cut-offs for SWOMEN applicants?

 

Thank you

 

Get a 30 on your MCAT and you will get an interview.

[Pythagora]

I feel relatively certain that in least in terms of getting an interview, they don't look at your ABS or references. Basically, if you meet their minimum cut-offs (you can look up the past couple years cut-offs, they will likely stay in the region of those), you get an interview.

 

Yeah, Western doesn't seem to look at the ABS or references at all. For Western (and Mac too) you don't actually have to fully complete the ABS at all, you just have to fill in the titles and not the descriptions (although you would obviously have to to apply to other schools).

 

Any EC's come into play during your interview, which is really the deciding factor once you've made the cutoffs (from what I understand).

 

EDIT: Your GPA looks good so good luck on the MCAT . (And don't forget if you're SWOMEN you'll also get that extra flexibility)

 

Something else I'll add, in terms of EC's, its probably a better idea, for example, to be more involved in a single EC than to be in multiple. If you are more involved in say a leadership or executive position you'll probably end up with better experiences that you can draw from if you want to work it into an interview question like a "name a time where you exemplified skill X" type of question. A lot of people seem to really be focused on padding their resumes with tons of hospital/nursing home volunteering and work in research labs/completing thesis projects, but the nature of the EC's also shouldn't matter. The skills / experiences you gain are greater than something just being related to medicine, its not like you have to prove that you're interested in getting into medicine if you're in an interview. Also, being more involved in fewer things will probably also give you a better chance to get to know someone that would later be able to give you a good reference.

[uwodesperate]

My apologies if I am posting this in the wrong place. I really want to attend Schulich and I figure I will get better responses in this thread. I would like to know how heavily Western looks at reference letters and the ABS for an interview. I am a recent Western grad from BMSc. I have a Western GPA of 3.93 (yr 3 was 3.97, yr 4 was 3.88). My 1st MCAT was a lousy 28 (10/6/12) and I am retaking next week. I am also a SWOMEN applicant. However, I feel that my reference letters will be nowhere near "spectacular" or "exceptional" to say the least, and my ABS is not as stellar as the majority of Canadian applicants. I have 3 summers of hospital volunteering, about 120 hours of tutoring, a couple campus clubs, and one summer of volunteering in a research lab. Also did not have a job during undergrad (Yes, I know that is bad, but there are reasons for it). Would I still have a "decent chance" at getting an interview, assuming I meet the MCAT cut-offs for SWOMEN applicants?

 

Thank you

 

Keep your chin up! Just because you didn't have a job during undergraduate that does not make you a bad applicant!

[DocMC]

Beautiful. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

[DocMC]

Perfect. Now I just hope for the best next Friday.

[rmorelan]

Question about western requirement. I currently have only a single year with full course loads (GPA 3.96) and am thinking of using this year as the second full year GPA, but since I don't have marks yet... how is my GPA calculated? Just a single year?

 

we don't know exactly - but there would seem to be some disadvantage to applying conditionally that suggests that they don't use just that single area for all of your GPA score. That is fair after all as you would think someone with 2 years above cut off should be favoured somehow over someone with just one. People have speculated they just use a minimum GPA year of 3.7 as the placeholder.

 

None of this means of course don't apply - people get in under conditional acceptance next year and that GPA you are using is not bad at all

[uwodesperate]

did western change the mcat cutoffs? i thought the requirement was 11+ VR and not total 30+ with vr 8+? can anyone confirm this?

 

No one knows for certain what the cutoffs will be for the upcoming application cycle. As of right now they are presumed to be,

 

In the 2012-13 application cycle, a minimum score of 8 in any one section of the MCAT is acceptable as long as the combined score for Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Verbal Reasoning is 30 or more. The minimum score for the Writing Sample is O.

 

for SWOMEN applicants

 

and

 

For applicants from outside Southwestern Ontario, the MCAT minimums for the 2012-13 application cycle are as follows:

Biological Sciences: 10

Physical Sciences: 9

Verbal Reasoning: 11

Writing Sample: Q

 

for Non-SWOMEN applicants