How important is VR in your guys opinion?

[StayHappy]

I am IP and considering applying. However, my VR is only 9 (11/10 on PS and BS). Would this hinder my chances a lot even if my GPA is perfect (2.0) and my ECs have been deemed "above average" by other institutions?

[DarkGhost]

VR is worth exactly 10% of your pre-interview score, and is coupled with an assessment of your entire academic record for an additional 10%. Therefore, if you meet the cut-off (i.e. 8 VR) apply.

 

It goes without saying that your non-cognitive attributes score is almost 6x more important, so I wouldn't worry about your VR score.

[reation]

wait so..the VR cutoff for IP is 8?

[narwhale]

wait so..the VR cutoff for IP is 8?

 

From the Application Manual under the Minimum MCAT section:

 

Albertan applicants are not subject to the VR minimum.

[Tacrolimus]

The VR cut-off has been taken out this year, it seems. Last year, you were "pre-screened" if you didn't have 8 VR AND 3.4 GPA. OP, don't worry. As an IP, you still have a good shot. I think 9 VR might put you 1 standard deviation below (so score of 85), but it is easily recoverable with ECs and that 4.0 GPA.

 

P.S. Are you IP for both Alberta schools and BC? Huge advantage.

[StayHappy]

The VR cut-off has been taken out this year, it seems. Last year, you were "pre-screened" if you didn't have 8 VR AND 3.4 GPA. OP, don't worry. As an IP, you still have a good shot. I think 9 VR might put you 1 standard deviation below (so score of 85), but it is easily recoverable with ECs and that 4.0 GPA.

 

P.S. Are you IP for both Alberta schools and BC? Huge advantage.

 

I might be, not sure. Depends if I am able to keep my BC carecard. I think I can but we will see. BC hasn't liked me too much though over the last two years, and this year I actually had enough points to get an interview as an OOP so I don't care too much if I lose it.

 

Edit: would you mind explaining to me how the scoring for Calgary works? I understand that a score of 100 is given as the mean, and then 1 standard deviation adds or subtracts 15 points. In the end does the admissions office just add all the sections up and take an average to check if you met the cutoff?

[Vidhya]

I wouldn't worry about your chances with a 9VR and a 4.0 GPA if you are an in province applicant. Your VR score is okay and your GPA more then balances out that section. The personal attributes are worth 60% so that section will make or break your application.

[shematoma]

Has anyone ever applied (and been successful at getting an interview at least) with an MCAT score that has a really high VR, but very low BS/PS. I only ask because McMaster looks at VR only so I wrote the test to get a high score in that and not others. Now I’m looking at Calgary also but wonder if it will red flag my application in a bad way or if other areas will balance it out.

 

You'll probably get knocked in the subject academic part which is 10% of the pre-interview score. If your GPA is otherwise good, I wouldn't worry too much about it, although if you were a science major it could raise a few eyebrows if you scored poorly in the subject you majored in

[StriveP]

I may be going off topic but if your VR is 7 and GPA is 3.9+ (being IP)....would that effect my application heavily?

[mab1989]

I may be going off topic but if your VR is 7 and GPA is 3.9+ (being IP)....would that effect my application heavily?

 

There are people who have gotten in with lower VR if you look at stats, but it is rare. I guess you would have to do stellar on the other areas they are assessing. When I say that, I am assuming that you would have to be above the mean by a couple standard deviations in each section to make up for your low VR. Correct me if I'm wrong...

[StayHappy]

so safe to assume that 9VR won't kill my application then if my ECs are ok? Just doesn't seem like many people in the invited/accepted threads have a VR <10 but I guess this is a small sample size probably biased towards high scoring applicants

[StriveP]

so safe to assume that 9VR won't kill my application then if my ECs are ok? Just doesn't seem like many people in the invited/accepted threads have a VR <10 but I guess this is a small sample size probably biased towards high scoring applicants

 

9VR won't kill you. Your off by 1 point from the mean and therefore it'll be under 1 SD and combine that with the fact that VR is worth only 10%....So in short, I don't know why you are panicking.

[shematoma]

The way things are, you need to be slightly better than average to get an interview. In 2012-13, that was a score of 99.84 for an IP applicant.

 

Mean VR for IP applicants in the 2012-2013 cycle was 9.34, with SD of ~1.71.

 

Here's roughly where you'd stand for different VR scores in 2012-13:

 

7 = 79

8 = 88

9 = 97

10 = 106

11 = 115

 

Keep in mind VR component is just 10% of the pre-interview score, but you can see that if you need an overall score of 100 to get an interview, getting a VR 11 will give you a good head start, while getting a 7 or 8 means you need to make up some ground elsewhere.

 

Getting a 9 VR will result in a score of roughly 97, which won't make or break you but it's definitely not helping you get an interview, since it's below the overall score you need for an interview (~100). Thus, you still need to make up those 3 points elsewhere, but 3 points over the other 90% of your application isn't a big deal. Hopefully you have something else going for you if you've gotten this far.

 

All this, of course, only addresses 2012-13, when they still interviewed >600 applicants, but that was cut by about 100 this past year, so you need higher scores than before. Maybe the cutoff for an interview will go up to 105 this year, but the idea remains the same - you can calculate roughly where you'd stand in terms of VR and GPA by analyzing last year's stats and doing a bit of arithmetic

[LeBronto2019]

The way things are, you need to be slightly better than average to get an interview. In 2012-13, that was a score of 99.84 for an IP applicant.

 

Mean VR for IP applicants in the 2012-2013 cycle was 9.34, with SD of ~1.71.

 

 

That would be amazing for this upcoming cycle hopeful wishing!

 

I'm in a similar situation as OP with 3.96 and unknown verbal until Tuesday's release date even though my AAMC scores were between 9-11 for VR and it felt like my best section on my mcat. Seeing that it is Calgary, I am super concerned that my ECs aren't good enough for them. But it's just good to know that yes, 10% is solely for VR with a hint of evaluation for overall score, but with a good GPA and good ECs, there's always a chance

[StayHappy]

thanks for the help everyone. Rather than make a new topic I figure I'd ask my last question in here.

 

For the top 10 experiences, I have done a LOT of activities with one organization. I do some activities with the president of the organization and some with the vice president. The activities are totally unrelated (one involved with politics and legislature, one involved with community service etc). Would it be bad to have two separate entries on the top 10 for this since they are from the same organization?

[docmm]

thanks for the help everyone. Rather than make a new topic I figure I'd ask my last question in here.

 

For the top 10 experiences, I have done a LOT of activities with one organization. I do some activities with the president of the organization and some with the vice president. The activities are totally unrelated (one involved with politics and legislature, one involved with community service etc). Would it be bad to have two separate entries on the top 10 for this since they are from the same organization?

 

Tough call, it would all depend on your other entries. You want your 10 entries to really highlight your Top 10 Experiences (hence the name) and to hit all or most of the areas that they are assessing. There is value to going about it both ways. If you think you haven't demonstrated a great deal of leadership skills (for example) in the rest of your application and in one role in this organization you played a major leadership role, separating that from a more advocacy/community role in the same organization would be helpful. I would probably be more inclined to show a breadth of experience vs. separate one into multiple entries, but that is just my opinion. If you are doing it to simply fill a 10th entry I would stray away from this approach unless you really have to. If that is the case do some self reflection around the experiences you've had that might not directly come to mind that will showcase both your personality and the skills being assessed (this doesn't always mean a job or volunteer experience).