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Ottawa Interview Discussion 2015


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Those who received invites: is the time stamp the same as when you received it? Sometimes there can be a delay due to overloaded mail servers so something may be time stamped as sent at a particular time, but you receive it a bit later. For instance, I have an email in my inbox right now time stamped as 11:38 which I received at 11:52 according to my phone.

For me, the time stamp was correct. I got it on my phone and laptop email at the same time - no delay.

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How do we find out about the mock interviews?

I think the students create a thread on premed 101 and then you sign up. That's how it was done last year at least. If you're from the area, which I think you are, I highly recommend it.

 

For confirmation, I just replied to the initial invite email saying I'll attend with the date and time as well. That's what I did last year and this year too. About a week later I got an email with the interview package.

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I think the students create a thread on premed 101 and then you sign up. That's how it was done last year at least. If you're from the area, which I think you are, I highly recommend it.

 

For confirmation, I just replied to the initial invite email saying I'll attend with the date and time as well. That's what I did last year and this year too. About a week later I got an email with the interview package.

 

Do we know roughly when that thread is created? An estimated time would be great, so I can hopefully sign up for one of those few spots! 

 

Also, when do they tend to be? 

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I wish they would be more transparent about this process. I applied alongside my brother, we have the exact same ECs. Almost literally the exact same. He got an invite and I didn't. I'm not trying to sound super bitter, and I am genuinely glad for him and everyone else who got an invite, but the comparison kind of galls me. I just wish it was easier to understand WHY.

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Do we know roughly when that thread is created? An estimated time would be great, so I can hopefully sign up for one of those few spots! 

 

Also, when do they tend to be? 

Last year they created it on Jan 31st, so I would probably expect it fairly soon. That depends on the students themselves though. The signup starts on a certain day with a certain time and it fills pretty quickly!

 

This is the link to the previous thread http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/75734-uottawa-mock-interviews-2014/?hl=mock

 

Hope that helps!

 

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I wish they would be more transparent about this process. I applied alongside my brother, we have the exact same ECs. Almost literally the exact same. He got an invite and I didn't. I'm not trying to sound super bitter, and I am genuinely glad for him and everyone else who got an invite, but the comparison kind of galls me. I just wish it was easier to understand WHY.

Me too. I dislike that they exclude activities done outside of undergrad studies. I've only been an undergrad for 2.5 years; I have done a lot more in my life which will contribute far more to my future career than the last 2.5 years. Cuts me off at the knees a bit. But it is what it is.

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I wish they would be more transparent about this process. I applied alongside my brother, we have the exact same ECs. Almost literally the exact same. He got an invite and I didn't. I'm not trying to sound super bitter, and I am genuinely glad for him and everyone else who got an invite, but the comparison kind of galls me. I just wish it was easier to understand WHY.

 

Sorry to hear. Was his GPA higher than yours by any chance? maybe the references? Also, the responsibilities jot-note section under each activity plays a very important role in whether you get invited or not.

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Sorry to hear. Was his GPA higher than yours by any chance? maybe the references? Also, the responsibilities jot-note section under each activity plays a very important role in whether you get invited or not.

Yeah, his gpa is a 4.00 but my average gpa is a 3.94, so yeah, that wasn't really the issue. Idk if that was the difference. I doubt references either, we had similar references. As for the responsibilities, our ECs were the Same. And so were the descriptions. I'm just going to let it go to luck or something unforeseen tbh. Congrats to all who got an invite!

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reject

wGPA: 3.86???, not sure

Geography: ontario/non-ottawa

EC: if the rumour is true that Ottawa only looks at undergrad EC, then I'm disappointed but not surprised at all.

It's not a rumor. Ottawa has made is clear that they only look at undergrad EC...which is ridiculous but oh well.

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Yeah, his gpa is a 4.00 but my average gpa is a 3.94, so yeah, that wasn't really the issue. Idk if that was the difference. I doubt references either, we had similar references. As for the responsibilities, our ECs were the Same. And so were the descriptions. I'm just going to let it go to luck or something unforeseen tbh. Congrats to all who got an invite!

I'm  certain that  GPA made the difference and in their eyes, 0.06 is a fairly large difference. Ottawa places heavy emphasis on GPA and considering that everything else seems the same, GPA was likely the deciding factor. 

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My wgpa is 3.86 by my calculation and in the rejection email it says I met the academic cutoff. So I don't think GPA makes that much difference as far as interview goes.

Just because you meet the cut-off doesn't mean that your GPA becomes irrelevant. It simply means that your file as reviewed and not simply discarded. The way they phrase the message, it sounds like GPA doesn't matter after you meet the cut-off, but it does. 

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I'm  certain that  GPA made the difference and in their eyes, 0.06 is a fairly large difference. Ottawa places heavy emphasis on GPA and considering that everything else seems the same, GPA was likely the deciding factor. 

I completely agree. Between my first and second attempt, my GPA increased by about 0.04. I think that was the real difference maker in getting an interview.

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Just because you meet the cut-off doesn't mean that your GPA becomes irrelevant. It simply means that your file as reviewed and not simply discarded. The way they phrase the message, it sounds like GPA doesn't matter after you meet the cut-off, but it does.

 

 

I see, the wording of the email kind of threw me off as well. Thanks for the clarification!

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Yes, my email was cut off on the left side. But I know it is an interview invite at least.

 

The email always looks like that for some reason. I have two copies that both have that error.

 

Just because you meet the cut-off doesn't mean that your GPA becomes irrelevant. It simply means that your file as reviewed and not simply discarded. The way they phrase the message, it sounds like GPA doesn't matter after you meet the cut-off, but it does. 

 

Exactly

 

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I hope that everyone that mocks me for noting that GPA is not that important has seen how it is absolute king at Ottawa and Toronto (and to some degree MAC).  Anything below a 3.90, EVEN from OTTAWA now, means absolutely nothing.  An incredible number of 3.95+ have also been rejected. 

 

For FUTURE PREMEDS - DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO GET MAC HEALTH SCI or ANOTHER BIRD PROGRAM.  Taking a rigorous program MEANS NOTHING in the admissions process.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Now getting into MAC Health Sci is not super easy (you need at least a 90% HS average - which is actually pretty easy - but the supp apps are the difficulty).  But for SUPP apps, I know tons of people that hired agencies to write them (this is huge in the Asian community in particular).  Once you are in - you are set.

 

Do not for the life of you go to Toronto, or take engineering.  Even arts programs (historically seen as easy), are way too hard to get 3.9+ in.  The biggest thing to decide whether you get into medical school is the ease of the undergrad program you choose - not your hard work or what you learn doing undergrad.  Ignore this advice at your peril.

 

UWP

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I hope that everyone that mocks me for noting that GPA is not that important has seen how it is absolute king at Ottawa and Toronto (and to some degree MAC).  Anything below a 3.90, EVEN from OTTAWA now, means absolutely nothing.  An incredible number of 3.95+ have also been rejected. 

 

For FUTURE PREMEDS - DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO GET MAC HEALTH SCI or ANOTHER BIRD PROGRAM.  Taking a rigorous program MEANS NOTHING in the admissions process.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Now getting into MAC Health Sci is not super easy (you need at least a 90% HS average - which is actually pretty easy - but the supp apps are the difficulty).  But for SUPP apps, I know tons of people that hired agencies to write them (this is huge in the Asian community in particular).  Once you are in - you are set.

 

Do not for the life of you go to Toronto, or take engineering.  Even arts programs (historically seen as easy), are way too hard to get 3.9+ in.  The biggest thing to decide whether you get into medical school is the ease of the undergrad program you choose - not your hard work or what you learn doing undergrad.  Ignore this advice at your peril.

 

UWP

 

LOL

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I think the reason why the GPA requirements are so high from these two schools (UofT and Ottawa) in particular is because they do not have high requirements for the MCAT - and none at all in the case of Ottawa.

 

My hope is that in the future, there will be an way to standardize all the grades such that a 80 in a class where the average is a 55 will be viewed as the same as a 90 in a class where the average is 85 (considering SD and other grade distributions, of course).

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Not to downplay the importance of GPA, but I only had a wGPA of 3.89, and I recieved an interview as an OOO (IP) applicant. While I agree that GPA is crucial, having stellar grades is pointless when you do not have the ECs to demonstrate a school / life balance, and the desire to commit to an activty that you truly enjoy and believe you can learn something from. Just my 2 cents.

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