NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Significantly fewer than last week. Everyone I know has heard back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwwwi Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Significantly fewer than last week. Everyone I know has heard back. Same here. Fingers crossed!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katakari Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Thanks for all the feedback. I'll compile them and pass them onto Admissions next year to try and make the process more pleasant for applicants next cycle. Good luck to everyone still waiting! And for those of you that received regrets, my only advice is to look at your sketch and essays and review who you selected as references- these letters are important and make sure you pick STRONG referees. There is no point in having a stellar application and useless refs. Assess your app for yourself after a few weeks and try and identify areas of weakness. And remember to keep trying. If it's meant to be, it will happen! I have heard that references don't matter too much. Is there any evidence for either perspective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 My understanding is that a reference will not get you into Medical school. But they can certainly keep you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have heard that references don't matter too much. Is there any evidence for either perspective? This was my understanding as well. Because the letters are so subjective... some references will "gush" more than others, some will really want you to get into medical school while some (like my supervisor) are annoyed you want to go into medicine instead of academia. Some will have a lot of time to write a really nice, comprehensive letter while others will not be able to spend a lot of time on it. I thought these were all reasons schools just use letters as "red flags" and less as a definitive measure of someone's character. I'd imagine U of T follows this too, seeing as they seem to pride them selves on being really fair... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmit011 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'd like to think references have a good effect My GPA is the weakest aspect of my application. I believe my references are awesomesauce (very strong). Despite the weak GPA I had an interview when I last applied two years ago (did not apply last year). Need to practice interview this time if I get an interview. I legitimately interviewed poorly for a number of reasons. I'm still hopeful for an interview invite, but I know interviews can change year to year. (Graduated grad student.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 ... I thought these were all reasons schools just use letters as "red flags" and less as a definitive measure of someone's character. I'd imagine U of T follows this too, seeing as they seem to pride them selves on being really fair... I think the grad applicants' supervisor letters must carry some weight. ...My GPA is the weakest aspect of my application. I believe my references are awesomesauce (very strong). Despite the weak GPA I had an interview when I last applied two years ago (did not apply last year). Need to practice interview this time if I get an interview. I legitimately interviewed poorly for a number of reasons ... I honestly don't think that much practice is a big help with the new interview format. The best thing to do is collect and organize your thoughts in the days leading up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Usual disclaimer that nothing I say is officially associated with Admissions. I have friends who did not get strong reference letters- they chose poor referees or those they knew for a very short time. Some of them got to see the letters afterwards and they were not at all good. I can't say how important this is in Admissions but it would make sense that you want stellar letters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 It would be difficult to imagine that they're not weighed. Sure they're subjective to a degree, but so are a lot of things that go into the application; GPA, one of the most important factors for admission, can be highly subjective, and so can the number and type of publications you get. I think UofT really shines in how they seem to look at everything in order to get a comprehensive grasp of the applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwr2013 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Any word on when the next wave of invites/rejects might come out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
une17 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Within the next couple of days seems like a good bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygella Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Usual disclaimer that nothing I say is officially associated with Admissions. I have friends who did not get strong reference letters- they chose poor referees or those they knew for a very short time. Some of them got to see the letters afterwards and they were not at all good. I can't say how important this is in Admissions but it would make sense that you want stellar letters... How were they able to see the letters? I thought they were confidential... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Some referees send them to you to read beforehand. Or you can ask them to see it. Most of them dont mind if its a good letter. I never hide any reference letters I write. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Any word on when the next wave of invites/rejects might come out? Well, they "hope" to send them today. Which means it could be any time from now until March 29th or 30th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 It would be difficult to imagine that they're not weighed. Sure they're subjective to a degree, but so are a lot of things that go into the application; GPA, one of the most important factors for admission, can be highly subjective, and so can the number and type of publications you get. I think UofT really shines in how they seem to look at everything in order to get a comprehensive grasp of the applicant. Not to sound too temperamental (although I suppose the waiting is making me grouchy), but are we maybe not exaggerating how wonderful this comprehensive assessment is? I agree that it's better than not looking at everything, but if they're still weighing academics at 60%, it makes little difference that something like a reference letter might be weighed at 1 or 2 percent. It's still a scheme that very, very heavily advantages people with good grades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 My understanding is academics include more factors than GPA. Academics include publications, scholarship, presentations, research experience etc. I could be completely wrong, but I dont believe 60% is purely GPA, or no one with a 3.5...3.6 would ever get accepted (and they do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g.app2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 What are people's wGPAs (grads) if ya'll don't mind sharing? Mine's a measly 3.65, but had a pretty productive MSc so hopefully that compensates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 3.71. In the same boat as you. Hoping my publication, quality grad degree from a top program and research record is keeping me alive. Also have a pretty sweet pre-med, post-grad job that I think will help. Or maybe Im the last file to be reviewed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Not to sound too temperamental (although I suppose the waiting is making me grouchy), but are we maybe not exaggerating how wonderful this comprehensive assessment is? I agree that it's better than not looking at everything, but if they're still weighing academics at 60%, it makes little difference that something like a reference letter might be weighed at 1 or 2 percent. It's still a scheme that very, very heavily advantages people with good grades. Academic really includes a lot of things (and a lot more things if you're a grad applicant) than simply your GPA. My impression of things is that UofT simply has a larger number of "things" that they look at when it comes to scoring applicants. I mean look at Queen's: If you don't get past a certain score on MCAT then they don't even bother looking at anything else. I really think that's unfortunate (for them and for applicants). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 What are people's wGPAs (grads) if ya'll don't mind sharing? Mine's a measly 3.65, but had a pretty productive MSc so hopefully that compensates. You can have a look in the interview thread (for those that received an interview). Mine was like 3.84, I think. I think being productive in your MSc is really helpful! At this point, no news is good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 My understanding is academics include more factors than GPA. Academics include publications, scholarship, presentations, research experience etc. I could be completely wrong, but I dont believe 60% is purely GPA, or no one with a 3.5...3.6 would ever get accepted (and they do). Does it include research experience and presentations? Also I haven't seen anybody get an interview below 3.8 this year... where are the people getting interviews with 3.5 and 3.6? I know people complaining about "the system" has been a huge issue, so I want to make it clear that I am NOT blanket-criticizing U of T's admissions system. I don't see how anyone could say it isn't a relatively fair way to assess people. But, like literally every admissions system, it has biases and weighs some aspects a lot more heavily than others. Being "comprehensive" means they look at every part of your application, but not that every part of your application is very important or can make much of a difference. If you have a low GPA, there seems to be little the rest of your application can do to make up for it. That's the impression I've got at least. Whether weighing academics heavily is good or bad, well that's an entirely different argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I know several people with 3.5 - 3.6 GPAs getting interviewed this year and last year. Not everyone posts on here, especially with those GPA. (feel inferior much? lol). It wouldnt make much sense for UofT to have a 3.0 Grad cutoff and only interview people with 3.8s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 What are people's wGPAs (grads) if ya'll don't mind sharing? Mine's a measly 3.65, but had a pretty productive MSc so hopefully that compensates. cGPA is 3.86, wGPA is 3.96, but I had an extraordinarily unproductive MSc, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
une17 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Applicants in years past have matriculated with relatively low GPAs (3.5ish), we just haven't seen it this year so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I know several people with 3.5 - 3.6 GPAs getting interviewed this year and last year. Not everyone posts on here, especially with those GPA. (feel inferior much? lol). It wouldnt make much sense for UofT to have a 3.0 Grad cutoff and only interview people with 3.8s. That's true, I'm only going on the people I know and the people who post on here. It's too bad people with low GPAs don't like to post... give people some hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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