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What Did You Do Differently After Being Rejected From Interviews The First Time?


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Hi everyone,

 

So it has been a difficult few weeks getting rejected from Queen's. I was really counting on getting an interview especially after the positivity from fellow applicants, friends and family about my chances. Of course, I understand that nothing is guaranteed and that this viewpoint is really subjective and sometimes even candidates far better than me are rejected. 

 

In terms of numbers:

cGPA: 3.72 

2 Year GPA: 3.96
MCAT: 128 /127/130/129

Some ABSs which I feel represent me and as a result I had stuck with long term:
Long time member of club on campus (since first year and now president), some other clubs memberships, 2 different clinical research positions (voluntary but no pubs), TA, student mentor within my program, and part of a town young group for 3 years, etc.

 

My question for you all: for those of you who were in my situation and tried again the subsequent cycle for Queens, what did you do different? Did you do other extracurricular or even work that would diversify your application? I mean I never thought about doing things like sports or music because I honestly don't enjoy them at a competitive level and gave up playing piano many years ago... I just don't think I have it in me to do something I don't particularly like. Anyways, I would appreciate any advice or insight!

Thanks in advance  ^_^

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To preface this, I'm a first time applicant, with a 2 year GPA and MCAT score much lower then yours –so I'm definitely just guessing; but I think Queen's really values very diverse ABS experiences. 

 

I think that the way ABS entries are described also affects things. This may be exactly what you did, but make sure that you give objective quantifiers of activities whenever possible, talk about what you achieved, how you acted, and be sure to still sound humble.

 

Good luck next year!!! 

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This is my 4th year in a row applying. My first two cycles I received no invites. 3rd cycle I received a Queen's interview. This year I received interviews from Queen's and McMaster.

 

I finished my UG in 2012 so the GPA I've been applying with has been identical for all four of my applications (2 yr wGPA~3.83, cGPA 3.53). For my last three cycles, I've applied with the same MCAT score (11/10/12).

 

The most dramatic changes in my ABS were more publications and changing my phrasing in the descriptions to showcase how my experiences related to the CanMeds roles.

 

I understand how frustrating it is to receive rejections but I would definitely say do not give up if pursuing this career is your passion. Eventually, with hard work and maybe a bit of luck it will hopefully work out and you'll get the opportunity to showcase yourself in an interview. Good luck in your future applications!

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You could have the exact same application next year and get an interview/eventual acceptance. Queens might be the most unpredictable school with respect to interview invitations. With all due respect to current Queens students, I would bet that a chunk of them would not even receive interviews had they applied again this year just due to the sheer randomness of the review process.

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You could have the exact same application next year and get an interview/eventual acceptance. Queens might be the most unpredictable school with respect to interview invitations. With all due respect to current Queens students, I would bet that a chunk of them would not even receive interviews had they applied again this year just due to the sheer randomness of the review process.

A lack of transparency doesn't necessairly mean it's random. I know of quite a few repeat interviewers. Admittedly, there are also those who don't get reinterviewed, but that will be due to changing criteria, and not randomness.

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Hey there, I applied last year to Queen's with no dice but got an interview this time around, and I know I definitely changed my strategy for tackling the ABS. Last year, I felt as though I was following the CanMEDS almost TOO much, it was too rigid and had no life to it. This year, though I did add a few more keynote speeches and research, my EC's etc were primarily the same. What I changed is HOW I displayed them - I tried to tell a story. I used the ABS to my advantage and painted a picture of my passions, even if I had to use multiple entries to convey that. Basically, I made myself look HUMAN. I took the focus away from looking "good" and zeroed in on looking like a person with a dream and a passion to pursue medicine. 

 

Hope that helps :).

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A lack of transparency doesn't necessairly mean it's random. I know of quite a few repeat interviewers. Admittedly, there are also those who don't get reinterviewed, but that will be due to changing criteria, and not randomness.

Just because someone interviews twice does not mean they will receive interviews again. Yes it is not completely random but strictly looking at pre-interview criteria, Queens is the most subjective relative to other Ontario schools.

 

Toronto/Ottawa are very GPA heavy schools.

Western essentially only needs a good MCAT.

2/3 of McMaster's pre-interview score is objective and CASPer supposedly has high test-retest reliability.

 

100% (supposedly) of your pre-interview score at Queens after meeting GPA/MCAT cutoff is based on file reviewers' opinion of your ABS/LORs. There is certainly a higher level of randomness associated with Queens interview invites.

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I think it just seems random from the outside. UBC's application process is similar in the sense that an applicant's Non-Academic Score can fluctuate yearly sometimes dropping a large amount of points which can be the difference between making the interview cut-off and not. Characteristics the schools look for can change year to year, as well as changes in the application pool but from the outside it seems arbitrary. 

 

I read in one of the Dean's blog posts (from maybe 2011 I think) that the Queens adcom critically reviews about 1000 files after the GPA/MCAT cutoffs and they interview ~500. So arguably somebody who just made that top 500 one year can not make it another year due to a slight shift in the ABS calibre of that year. It's obviously a subjective process for all med schools when evaluating the ABS but I definitely wouldn't say random. 

 

Finally I think applicants overlook the importance of how you write your ABS. This likely makes a difference when comparing two applicants with similar activities. 

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I think it just seems random from the outside. UBC's application process is similar in the sense that an applicant's Non-Academic Score can fluctuate yearly sometimes dropping a large amount of points which can be the difference between making the interview cut-off and not. Characteristics the schools look for can change year to year, as well as changes in the application pool but from the outside it seems arbitrary. 

 

I read in one of the Dean's blog posts (from maybe 2011 I think) that the Queens adcom critically reviews about 1000 files after the GPA/MCAT cutoffs and they interview ~500. So arguably somebody who just made that top 500 one year can not make it another year due to a slight shift in the ABS calibre of that year. It's obviously a subjective process for all med schools when evaluating the ABS but I definitely wouldn't say random. 

 

Finally I think applicants overlook the importance of how you write your ABS. This likely makes a difference when comparing two applicants with similar activities. 

Queens received +4k applications this year, I would imagine more than 1000 met the GPA/MCAT threshold. There is no doubt that some subjectivity is present at every school, however my point was this is more pronounced at Queens.

 

Consider an applicant with a 4.0, MCAT that meets all cutoffs, ideal ECs, and is good at writing CASPer. If all aspects of their application remains the same year to year you would expect them to have a similar score on the objective components pre-interview at every school. But due to the nature of the file review at Queens, their ECs are very much open to interpretation by different reviewers and even if they are very good, they may not be what their reviewer(s) that year are looking for. At every other school they have other aspects of their application to save them that are determined objectively.

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Sure I agree, I think the point is that subjectivity is not the same as randomness. Reviewers are trained in what they do and most schools (those that review ECs) go to great lengths to ensure that the process is as objective as possible and in accordance with the schools' mandates. 

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Sure I agree, I think the point is that subjectivity is not the same as randomness. Reviewers are trained in what they do and most schools (those that review ECs) go to great lengths to ensure that the process is as objective as possible and in accordance with the schools' mandates. 

I agree that most schools probably do train their reviewers very well and I should have been more clear because I did mean to say "subjective" and not "random".

 

However, if it's true that Queens only assesses ABS/LOR/interview for both pre- and post-interview ranking, then it is the only school in Canada where the entire process is 100% subjective (please correct me if I'm wrong). It's impossible for reviewers to be completely objective and unbiased using only these specific criteria no matter how much training they get. 

 

So, I guess it would be more appropriate to say there is a greater element of "luck" with Queens as opposed to "randomness" relative to other schools.

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I think it just seems random from the outside. UBC's application process is similar in the sense that an applicant's Non-Academic Score can fluctuate yearly sometimes dropping a large amount of points which can be the difference between making the interview cut-off and not. Characteristics the schools look for can change year to year, as well as changes in the application pool but from the outside it seems arbitrary. 

 

I read in one of the Dean's blog posts (from maybe 2011 I think) that the Queens adcom critically reviews about 1000 files after the GPA/MCAT cutoffs and they interview ~500. So arguably somebody who just made that top 500 one year can not make it another year due to a slight shift in the ABS calibre of that year. It's obviously a subjective process for all med schools when evaluating the ABS but I definitely wouldn't say random. 

 

Finally I think applicants overlook the importance of how you write your ABS. This likely makes a difference when comparing two applicants with similar activities. 

 

I got an interview at UBC as an OOP applicant and didn't get one at Queen's, they were worded relatively similarly on both applications. So I think I would err on the side that Queen's is a bit more subjective than UBC, especially bc your whole pre-interview is essentially dependent upon ECs/LOR after you meet the academic requirements.

 

Whereas UBC actually weights your GPA as part of the equation, Queen's doesnt do that... So you can know if you have decent odds at UBC, whereas you can know you will meet Queen's academic requirements and still not receive an interview.

 

That being said I do know people who have received 3 consecutive interviews at Queen's in 3 subsequent years, so that makes it seem like they are looking for something at least. Who knows.

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I got an interview at UBC as an OOP applicant and didn't get one at Queen's, they were worded relatively similarly on both applications. So I think I would err on the side that Queen's is a bit more subjective than UBC, especially bc your whole pre-interview is essentially dependent upon ECs/LOR after you meet the academic requirements.

 

Whereas UBC actually weights your GPA as part of the equation, Queen's doesnt do that... So you can know if you have decent odds at UBC, whereas you can know you will meet Queen's academic requirements and still not receive an interview.

 

That being said I do know people who have received 3 consecutive interviews at Queen's in 3 subsequent years, so that makes it seem like they are looking for something at least. Who knows.

Yes, UBC is definitely less subjective- I brought it up because their NAQ grading is just as subjective as Queens. Getting an interview though is less of a black box though for sure - if you have a high GPA at UBC you can almost guarantee that you will interview because the amount of NAQ points you need to meet the cutoffs gets lower and lower the higher your GPA is. But every year there are people who's NAQ scores decrease despite the fact that they thought they improved/added activities- this may also seem 'random' from the outside but they explain that it depends a lot on the competition and varying qualities they look for, which changes year to year. 

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