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Lower GPA acceptances?


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Is there anyone here who got into U of T with a lower GPA (3.9 and under) and no graduate work? My wGPA is about 3.9 and it's the weakest part of my application. I just finished 4th year, didn't apply to any med schools this year and will be taking a gap year and applying this upcoming cycle. I'm feeling a bit discouraged looking at the stats and just want to hear the perspectives of people who've been in my shoes, especially with regards to how you overcame this feeling of hopelessness (if you experienced it) and what you think helped you stand out and get in despite having a lower than average GPA. If you'd rather message me instead of posting here, that also works. Thank you, I really appreciate it! 

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This guy named Jeff got in with a 3.61. He had a consulting company write his essays mainly. Not sure if hes a troll.

I know of one individual a couple of years ago that messed up his 1st and 2nd year pretty badly. His 3rd year went very well but it was obviously not going to compensate enough for him to maintain a competitive GPA. He got in. I think he wrote an Academic Explanations Essay though. 

I am also in your shoes but I have some pretty extenuating circumstances regarding my GPA but at the same time I don't reject any personal responsibility for my performance. I have looked into the process at quite a bit of depth so I can tell you what your chances are with or without the essay.

If you aren't writing the AEE then you need at absolute minimum a 3.88 to 3.9 GPA to be competitive. They use GPA as a cutoff but that cutoff is something they won't tell you. That number comes from the trends I've seen in previous cycles and mainly intuition so take it with a grain of salt. I however think its a fairly accurate number based on the high GPA averages that UofT typically yields in. 

After the cutoff, it goes to your ABS and Essay review and then you are given an interview based on that score. 

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3.93 is definitely competitive to get an interview at U of T. The class of 2T0 had an incoming average of 3.95, so you are not far below that. There are also many other components to the admissions process (LORs, ABS, Brief Personal Essays)

Just to add, GPA is assessed competitively at U of T. It is the MCAT which is assessed non-competitively (i.e. you just need to meet the min cut-off of 125 on each section). Have a look at this video for more insight into the admissions process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbbBTaQizxs

Good luck!

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2 hours ago, sandorclegane said:

3.93 is definitely competitive to get an interview at U of T. The class of 2T0 had an incoming average of 3.95, so you are not far below that. There are also many other components to the admissions process (LORs, ABS, Brief Personal Essays)

Just to add, GPA is assessed competitively at U of T. It is the MCAT which is assessed non-competitively (i.e. you just need to meet the min cut-off of 125 on each section). Have a look at this video for more insight into the admissions process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbbBTaQizxs

Good luck!

Thanks for this! The video cleared up a lot of my questions - loving the transparency. Is there any way to know what the breakdown is for the pre-interview file review score? 

 

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1 hour ago, penguin04 said:

To the OP, you'll be fine. UofT's official cutoff is 3.6 but they publically state you need a 3.8+ to be competitive. I got in without a grad degree with a wGPA of 3.87 during the infamous 3.96 average GPA year. 

Thank you! I feel a lot less overwhelmed. Also, congratulations, that's incredible. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think helped make you such a strong applicant?

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1 hour ago, _gettingthere_ said:

Thank you! I feel a lot less overwhelmed. Also, congratulations, that's incredible. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think helped make you such a strong applicant?

Lots of ECs and life experience? I think what helped me with my app is I was able to demonstrate that I was a candidate that they would want and it worked. Craft a good application (in addition to a great GPA) and you're most of the way there :)

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10 hours ago, penguin04 said:

Lots of ECs and life experience? I think what helped me with my app is I was able to demonstrate that I was a candidate that they would want and it worked. Craft a good application (in addition to a great GPA) and you're most of the way there :)

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. :) I'm feeling pretty good about my ECs, so I guess the next step is to figure out how to present them and myself in the best way possible! 

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13 hours ago, _gettingthere_ said:

Thanks for this! The video cleared up a lot of my questions - loving the transparency. Is there any way to know what the breakdown is for the pre-interview file review score? 

 

Unfortunately, they keep the pre-interview file review score calculation a secret process. All I know is that for the selection process, it counts for 50% and your interview counts for the other 50%

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On 6/18/2017 at 11:02 PM, sandorclegane said:

Unfortunately, they keep the pre-interview file review score calculation a secret process. All I know is that for the selection process, it counts for 50% and your interview counts for the other 50%

Ok, thank you for clarifying! :) I'm hoping GPA isn't worth TOO much of the first 50% haha

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20 minutes ago, PeanutButter1 said:

Hello, I'm a little confused by the GPA. Firstly is it only undergraduate courses that are included in the GPA? And secondly, if a full-course load was never taken are you even eligible to apply? Or does the lack of a full course load only disqualify you from the wGPA? Thanks

I'm not too sure about your first question, but most likely only your undergrad GPA is used. If they used graduate GPAs, then Master's and Ph.D students would have to be evaluated differently since Ph.D students have no courses, but Masters students do. If you do a Master's, I think you have to meet a minimum 3.0 graduate GPA but beyond that, I doubt it's considered. TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, THOUGH! I haven't done graduate studies.

I'm more sure about your other questions. You are still eligible to apply to U of T even if you haven't taken a full-course load. However, if at any point in your undergrad, you did not take a full-course load, then you are disqualified from the wGPA formula. Your cGPA will be used instead.

 

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@_gettingthere_

I watched that video and I e-mailed the registrar of UofT. UofT GPA is assessed competitively at a cutoff. It is not ranked. They have a competitive cutoff each year and once you meet that cutoff, GPA doesn't matter. I am 100% sure on this. I worked with another user to get a grasp of the competitive cutoff last year and it was around 3.88 to 3.89. Years don't fluctuate that much, statistically it would be very unlikely. 

Im sure youve watched the video but to sum it up: GPA cutoff screening --> MCAT cutoff screening --> ABS/Essays scored out of 20 and they rank that to give out 600 invites. This is assuming your application is complete. 


Also, @medicineballislife, your chances are up in the air like everyone else and that is worth applying for. They judge your circumstances however they wish. The lady at the admins office told me that if you write an AEE, thats the first thing they look at before even looking at your GPA and then they decide what to do with your GPA. They are considerate but they also uphold personal responsibility. 

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On ‎2017‎-‎06‎-‎17 at 8:15 PM, _gettingthere_ said:

Is there anyone here who got into U of T with a lower GPA (3.9 and under) and no graduate work? My wGPA is about 3.9 and it's the weakest part of my application. I just finished 4th year, didn't apply to any med schools this year and will be taking a gap year and applying this upcoming cycle. I'm feeling a bit discouraged looking at the stats and just want to hear the perspectives of people who've been in my shoes, especially with regards to how you overcame this feeling of hopelessness (if you experienced it) and what you think helped you stand out and get in despite having a lower than average GPA. If you'd rather message me instead of posting here, that also works. Thank you, I really appreciate it! 

Move to Montreal for a year and apply to McGill as IP where you have a shot at being competitive assuming your CV & personal narratives are good.. 

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On ‎2017‎-‎06‎-‎24 at 7:22 PM, Hammmmmy said:

@_gettingthere_

I watched that video and I e-mailed the registrar of UofT. UofT GPA is assessed competitively at a cutoff. It is not ranked. They have a competitive cutoff each year and once you meet that cutoff, GPA doesn't matter. I am 100% sure on this. I worked with another user to get a grasp of the competitive cutoff last year and it was around 3.88 to 3.89. Years don't fluctuate that much, statistically it would be very unlikely. 

Im sure youve watched the video but to sum it up: GPA cutoff screening --> MCAT cutoff screening --> ABS/Essays scored out of 20 and they rank that to give out 600 invites. This is assuming your application is complete. 


Also, @medicineballislife, your chances are up in the air like everyone else and that is worth applying for. They judge your circumstances however they wish. The lady at the admins office told me that if you write an AEE, thats the first thing they look at before even looking at your GPA and then they decide what to do with your GPA. They are considerate but they also uphold personal responsibility. 

Did UofT specifically tell you that GPA is NOT ranked, but assessed competitively? I doubt it is assessed competitively at a cut-off, because one user reportedly got in with 3.61 wGPA. There were also a few other users who got in with <3.85 wGPA in 2016.

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3 hours ago, uofthopefulzhou said:

Did UofT specifically tell you that GPA is NOT ranked, but assessed competitively? I doubt it is assessed competitively at a cut-off, because one user reportedly got in with 3.61 wGPA. There were also a few other users who got in with <3.85 wGPA in 2016.

You don't know if that user wrote an Academics Explanation Essay. Those things have the potential to get 3.6 GPA students in. I know of another person with a similarly low GPA that got into UofT as well. He showed me his OMSAS gpa and did not qualify for the weight scale either. I attached the e-mail from the registrar onto this post for confirmation of what I'm saying. 

Screen Shot 2017-06-28 at 11.48.22 PM.png

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12 hours ago, _gettingthere_ said:

Thank you for this! Very reassuring. If you don't mind me asking, what strengths do you think helped you get in?

I think the diversity of my ABS, had many long-term commitments, involved in some unique activities due to my MSc and also had an average research background (many years of research with abstracts, poster presentations - however no 1st author at time of application). 

I feel Toronto is pretty holistic in their file review process. I also interviewed at UBC as an OOP applicant, so perhaps my ECs were slightly above average. 

I think with a wGPA > 3.85 you have a solid shot, just have to have a bit of luck after that point and hope that as others mentioned, that you are above the competitive GPA cutoff!

Best of luck! :) 

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