Chances Of Getting An Interview (In Province)

[jmg1234]

Hi

 

Just wondering if anyone can give me some direction on the chances of me getting an interview for Med. 

I haven't written my MCAT yet, but assuming I score well. 

Experiences include: volunteering in 3 labs, volunteering as an international peer mentor, intramurals, international exchange, tutor for at-risk youth, extremely involved in religious activities and youth groups 

 

Currently enrolled in a MPH graduate program 

 

Overall GPA (worst year deleted): 3.80 

 

 

[VolumeOverload]

There's really no way to give you any meaningful feedback.  At this point there's just a few too many unknowns to speculate on your chances of receiving an interview. 

 

Your GPA looks strong but you don't have an MCAT score.  We also have no idea what your classes have been like.  All of these factor into your subjective academic assessment.

 

How well your activities address the R1-7 criteria depends on how you write them.  Reflect on these experiences and think about how they lend themselves to fullfiling the CanMEDs roles.  In the past, there have usually been a few people on this forum that offer to review top 10s closer towards the application deadline.  This may be useful for you. 
 

[fastrunningfish]

Honestly because 70% of the application is subjective there is no way to predict how someone will score your activities. For instance my scores between last year when I just tested out the whole app process and put minimal effort in and VR 9, to this past cycle which had more research and volunteering and in my opinion was better written, CARS 130, scored about the same in total. I know my ECs must've been alright as I received an interview at UofA and subsequently was accepted with average gpa and mcat. Personally a lot of my top ten revolved around varsity athletics, time commitments, organization, leadership, team work etc. Basically didn't change the topics, maybe added a section, same reference, and my score in organization/leadership dropped about 30 pts, or almost 50 percentiles. I just want to showcase that a lot of the application is just luck. If the evaluator has shared experience with you, has a better understanding of the tasks you've done or values the activities, this will effect your score. For my own app I think the difference between years in certain sections, was that the two different file reviewers didn't see the athletic commitment and everything surrounding that equally. 

 

So do everything you can, but a lot is just going to be luck of the file reviewer draw!

[End Poverty]

Hey,

 

These are all really great extra-curriculars activities. When you are writing your Top10, make sure that you reflect deeply on how these activities helped you develop professionally and personally, as well as try to relate these activities to CanMeds. Best of Luck!!

[BernieMac]

On 7/8/2016 at 9:10 PM, fastrunningfish said:

Honestly because 70% of the application is subjective there is no way to predict how someone will score your activities. For instance my scores between last year when I just tested out the whole app process and put minimal effort in and VR 9, to this past cycle which had more research and volunteering and in my opinion was better written, CARS 130, scored about the same in total. I know my ECs must've been alright as I received an interview at UofA and subsequently was accepted with average gpa and mcat. Personally a lot of my top ten revolved around varsity athletics, time commitments, organization, leadership, team work etc. Basically didn't change the topics, maybe added a section, same reference, and my score in organization/leadership dropped about 30 pts, or almost 50 percentiles. I just want to showcase that a lot of the application is just luck. If the evaluator has shared experience with you, has a better understanding of the tasks you've done or values the activities, this will effect your score. For my own app I think the difference between years in certain sections, was that the two different file reviewers didn't see the athletic commitment and everything surrounding that equally. 

 

So do everything you can, but a lot is just going to be luck of the file reviewer draw!

 

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[End Poverty]

For U of C, I don't think GPA nor MCAT matter much to get an interview. I had way below average CARS score and GPA, yet I got an interview invite. Nonetheless, CARS and GPA may play a role in getting finally admitted to the  school ( as pretty much you have to meet the minimum requirement of  a total score of 205 to get waitlisted, and any extra boost to your total score would be helpful).  I would think it is a great idea to not fret about numbers at this point, especially if you can't control these numbers anymore, and  instead try to show them how you developed your maturity and insight over the years. At the end of the day, when you become a doctor, it is probably your experience, empathy, and bed side manners, as well as your ability to connect with patients that would matter more than your GPA.  Best of Luck!!

[BernieMac]

On 7/16/2016 at 8:05 AM, premedcal said:

For U of C, I don't think GPA nor MCAT matter much to get an interview. I had way below average CARS score and GPA, yet I got an interview invite. Nonetheless, CARS and GPA may play a role in getting finally admitted to the  school ( as pretty much you have to meet the minimum requirement of  a total score of 205 to get waitlisted, and any extra boost to your total score would be helpful).  I would think it is a great idea to not fret about numbers at this point, especially if you can't control these numbers anymore, and  instead try to show them how you developed your maturity and insight over the years. At the end of the day, when you become a doctor, it is probably your experience, empathy, and bed side manners, as well as your ability to connect with patients that would matter more than your GPA.  Best of Luck!!

 

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[End Poverty]

Hey Yeslcan55, It seems that you are worried about stats and numbers, and its totally understandable. At u of c, GPA/MCAT are not the major determinant about whether you will get an interview invite or not. I know people who have 4.0 and did  not get an interview invite, as well as people with a much lower GPA, who got an interview invite. Reviewers look at files holistically; they look at your circumstances, background, achievements, commitment to the community work, as well as passion about advocacy work.   At U of C, you will probably be fine with a GPA of 3.6+ and an average MCAT, if you have great extra-curricular activities . Best of Luck!!

[MSWschnoodle]

thanks for the response, can you clarify what GPA and MCAT you had? I ask because if you look at the 2016 interview thread it seems like the vast vast majority of people offered an interview had 3.8+ and 90% percentile+ MCAT....I know there is a big bias in terms of who posted their stats but there is not much to go on because the medical school has not posted any stats for the past 2 years...thanks

 

 

I am going to echo what premedcal said. Honestly, it's not worth your time obsessing over GPA and MCAT scores (I know it's tough not to - I spent plenty of time trying to extract meaning from every statistic posted). If you are still a student or looking to write the MCAT then the only advice you'll get is "score as high as you can/keep your GPA as high as possible" which isn't terribly helpful as I suspect that was/is already something you were/are doing. If you have already written the MCAT (and don't want to rewrite) and you have finished your courses then your GPA/MCAT are not really things you can do much about. Unless you have a major problem in either the GPA or the MCAT department it is probably not worth concentrating on these numbers. 

 

60% of your application at U of C is weighted based on non-cognitive attributes. Focus your energies on creating an awesome Top 10 write up. Use the CanMEDs as a guide. Work on your ECs if you need to. This will give you far better payoff for your efforts. Concentrate on building a strong Top 10 and recruiting strong references.

 

I understand there has been no GPA information posted for the last 2 years... but if you look at the historic stats the GPA average for all applicants has sat in the 3.7-3.75 range for many years. The average GPA for successful applicants has hovered around the 3.8 range. At the admissions info nights last year Dr. Walker stated that after you reach about the 3.7 GPA point there is no real difference in likelihood for admission except you'll see a slight bump when you hit 4.0. I can tell you that people with GPAs under 3.8 get in because my GPA was lower than that and I know several other people in the same boat. Ultimately as long as you make the GPA and MCAT cutoffs you have a fighting chance at getting interviewed. 

 

It's also worth remembering that there is a certain amount of luck involved in the whole application process. Dr. Walker has likened the process to buying a lottery ticket in the past and while it certainly isn't all chance (you have to have a certain level of accomplishment to be able to even buy a ticket, after all), there is an element of chance and luck built in to the process. All you can do is concentrate on building the very best application you can. 

 

If you still want to hear more about admission averages then it's probably worth your time to either go to or watch the admissions info night session when it happens. I honestly found it really valuable. Dr. Walker talked a little bit about the various admission statistics and gave some really good advice on how to make your application as strong as possible. You will always find a posting bias on the internet when it comes to stats, but Dr. Walker is pretty transparent and willing to answer just about any question (provided he has an answer for it) at the info night.

[BernieMac]

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[MSWschnoodle]

I'm going to assume you are already using CanMEDs to write up your Top 10, but if you aren't that would boost your R1-R7. Also, give multiple people a copy of the CanMEDs and a copy of your Top 10 before you submit it and ask them to read it. That can be hugely helpful.

 

Something I did for my Top 10 (and I have no idea how I scored, so take it with a grain of salt): I focused on how the experience impacted me or changed me as a person. I spent very little time talking about what the activity was and instead focused on how it transformed something about myself and made me a hopefully better person. I also tried to pick things that were really representative of who I was as a person. I basically chose experiences that would leave my reviewer with a solid sense of who I was beyond being a person who wants to get in to medical school. I also talked to numerous people when I was picking these items to get suggestions and feedback about whether or not they felt a certain experience/accomplishment was something that spoke to who I am as a person. 

 

Unfortunately this advice might have been more helpful if I knew my R1-R7 score... sorry! Like I said, take all advice on the internet, including mine, with a grain of salt.

[End Poverty]

I approached mine like MSWschnoodle, and I scored quite high in R1- R7, except in Intellectual curiosity. 

[reation]

does anyone know what the cut-off overall score to get an interview was for this year?

[fastrunningfish]

can I ask what your GPA and MCAT was, thanks 

My Calgary Gpa was 3.81 , my overall mcat was 513 with cars 130

[jmg1234]

What did you do for the "Description" part of Top 10? Should I talk about the organization and what it is as well as my role, or just focus on the role? I feel that in my "Impact" I do touch on my role. I'm just struggling with the 250 character count and am not sure what they want us to say for it. 

[FutureAmazingDoc]

Hello everyone,

 

Probably my first post ever on PM101. So bare with me as I formulate my question.

I have seen/read a lot of your earlier posts on what are the chances of getting an interview and finally acceptance at UofC. I thought I would share my story and get some insight as well.

I have an engineering background, graduated from UofC four years ago, GPA around 3.4 (not so great), have 4 years of professional working experience, registered as a Professional Engineer with the provincial association, completed an internship, two international exchange programs, currently volunteering at the hospital. I am still preparing for MCAT, assume average scores.

 

With these stats, do you think it is worth it applying to UofC? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[*Pixie*]

Hello everyone,

 

Probably my first post ever on PM101. So bare with me as I formulate my question.

I have seen/read a lot of your earlier posts on what are the chances of getting an interview and finally acceptance at UofC. I thought I would share my story and get some insight as well.

 

I have an engineering background, graduated from UofC four years ago, GPA around 3.4 (not so great), have 4 years of professional working experience, registered as a Professional Engineer with the provincial association, completed an internship, two international exchange programs, currently volunteering at the hospital. I am still preparing for MCAT, assume average scores.

 

With these stats, do you think it is worth it applying to UofC? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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