Ottawa Interview Discussion 2015

[Arttomed]

I think it is more than 40%, closer to 50%. At least in the day that I interviewed most students had min 2 other interviews. So I think number of people who get accepted and decline and also people who get waitlisted and decline is higher, specially due to the fact that Ottawa has many students with stellar GPAs who are getting many invites. 

[Candie]

How/do we know what the waitlist movement is like (is this information we have based on past years)?

 

Also, how does the waitlist movement differ from the english vs. french stream? I'm guessing for the latter that something like ~10 people get off the waitlist.. is that way off? 

[Challenge Accepted]

I think it is more than 40%, closer to 50%. At least in the day that I interviewed most students had min 2 other interviews. So I think number of people who get accepted and decline and also people who get waitlisted and decline is higher, specially due to the fact that Ottawa has many students with stellar GPAs who are getting many invites. 

 

I have no complaints about that, haha

[SpencerV]

How/do we know what the waitlist movement is like (is this information we have based on past years)?

 

Also, how does the waitlist movement differ from the english vs. french stream? I'm guessing for the latter that something like ~10 people get off the waitlist.. is that way off? 

It is purely speculation. But judging by the amount of movement on the forum its pretty easy to see that a lot of movement does happen. My guess would also be around ~50% of the english people interviewing for uOttawa will get an offer (whether they end up at uOttawa or take themselves off the waitlist because of an offer from another school)

[damha]

Is there any reason why Ottawa has a lot of waitlist movement? Or are all the schools in this same range as well?

[Belle_MD]

Do people recommend doing the tour and info session beforehand? I have studied at RGN before so I don't exactly need a tour haha but might be good just to go and meet people - its about 3 hours before my interview though....Just wondering if I should or not?!?

[Georgeytl]

Anyone know if there is a coat check/place we can put our backpacks and luggage?

[medafter30]

There is a coat rack for you to hang your coat. Regarding luggage/bag, I was advised that we can bring our bag in to the interview room if there are valuable things in the bag. Hope this information helps!

[DDS In Training]

Is there any reason why Ottawa has a lot of waitlist movement? Or are all the schools in this same range as well?

 

Most other schools are in a similar range. For more detailed information, refer to this report from AFMC <http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/ADMISSION_REQUIREMENTS_EN.pdf>.

[damha]

 

Most other schools are in a similar range. For more detailed information, refer to this report from AFMC <http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/ADMISSION_REQUIREMENTS_EN.pdf>.

There is hardly any data for many of the schools, including Ottawa  only one year and i'm sure things are different now compared to the 2008/2009 cycle lol. I wish there was an updated one. But thanks for the link, still interesting otherwise! 

[dreamcometrue]

I had my interview and claimed bilingual status. I am very uneasy because although I do speak French, during my interview when they tested the proficiency, I was so nervous that I  blanked and I am pretty sure what I said was barely comprehensible... Does anyone know the complete relevance of testing the French proficiency if applying to the English stream? I am scared they may think I was lying.. 

thanks!

[explorer888]

Anyone know how many French interviews were offered this year? Excluding CNFS? Thanks!

[Candie]

Similarly, does anyone know if they always fill up the available "roughly" 116 spots for English and 48 spots for French? (that's what the website said, last I checked)

How flexible is that ratio, e.g. could they accept only 30 or 35 people in the French stream this year?  How many people were in last year's entering class (in each stream), for instance? 

[SpencerV]

Similarly, does anyone know if they always fill up the available "roughly" 116 spots for English and 48 spots for French? (that's what the website said, last I checked)

How flexible is that ratio, e.g. could they accept only 30 or 35 people in the French stream this year?  How many people were in last year's entering class (in each stream), for instance? 

Those numbers seem pretty strict.

[dreamcometrue]

Do they tell us if we are in the "good" or "bad" waitlist? At the info session it was mentioned that they do not tell us our rank.

[SpencerV]

Do they tell us if we are in the "good" or "bad" waitlist? At the info session it was mentioned that they do not tell us our rank.

its in the wording of the email. one basically says "we suggest you make other arrangements" (bad waitlist) and one says "we will contact you if a spot opens up" (good waitlist)

[dreamcometrue]

No idea on the relevance of testing a bilingual claim? Is it a deal breaker if you claim bilingual status but happen to freeze?

thanks

[Heisencat]

No idea on the relevance of testing a bilingual claim? Is it a deal breaker if you claim bilingual status but happen to freeze?

thanks

Ah it's hard to say... Did you manage to say anything in French or nothing at all? Did they seem to understand what you said? Maybe you made some grammar errors, but were still able to get your point across? 

[Fleming]

No idea on the relevance of testing a bilingual claim? Is it a deal breaker if you claim bilingual status but happen to freeze?

thanks

 

Ah it's hard to say... Did you manage to say anything in French or nothing at all? Did they seem to understand what you said? Maybe you made some grammar errors, but were still able to get your point across? 

 

I agree, I think it's definitely dependent on how you handled it. The answer certainly didn't have to be perfect. In my case, the interviewer stopped me after I had only spoken two French sentences to tell me that my French was certainly strong enough (even though I really hadn't said anything complex). This tells me that they are looking for: 1. strong comprehension/aural skills and 2. a sufficient ability to communicate orally. As long as you were able to put together a semi-coherent thought in French, even if said thought was not particularly eloquent or even grammatically correct, you likely will not be penalized. 

[dreamcometrue]

Thanks for the info. I think my main problem was my grammar and said one word I didn't know in english (blanked on how to say it in french). I think/hope it was somewhat coherent. But I am definitely not 100% bilingual. Do you think they test the proficiency as a bonus type of thing?  I don't completely understand why they would test my bilingualism if I applied to the english stream anyways.

[rocketqueen]

Wow, that seems like a lot of waitlist movement for Ottawa! I hope it is the same this year as they do offer so few spots initially.

[Heisencat]

Thanks for the info. I think my main problem was my grammar and said one word I didn't know in english (blanked on how to say it in french). I think/hope it was somewhat coherent. But I am definitely not 100% bilingual. Do you think they test the proficiency as a bonus type of thing?  I don't completely understand why they would test my bilingualism if I applied to the english stream anyways.

Yes, I do believe it gives you an edge. It says on their website that all things being equal, they give preference to applicants who are proficient in both languages. Here's to hoping that our French skills end up working to our advantage! 

[dreamcometrue]

So, being not 100% bilingual would't put me at a disadvantage but would just put me at the same level as everyone else? in your opinion haha.

thanks!!

[Fleming]

So, being not 100% bilingual would't put me at a disadvantage but would just put me at the same level as everyone else? in your opinion haha.

thanks!!

 

I would say that the bigger issue would be whether they felt you were being dishonest on your application. If you were decent in your French answer, that would not be a concern because they really didn't elaborate on what level of French they were looking for. If, however, it was clear that you had very little French experience and checked "both" anyway, that would be problematic. 

[dreamcometrue]

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