Habital Posted July 22, 2017 Report Share Posted July 22, 2017 OMSAS states that "At least 1 referee should be a non-academic/character referee." Can anyone elaborate on what "non-academic" means? I was planning on asking the Student Life Advisor at my CÉGEP for a letter of reference (basically, he was in charge of non-academic student activities), but would he count as academic since he is affiliated to a school? Also, if I'm applying to the French stream, does it matter if my reference letters are written in English? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_jacob_45 Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 I think that sounds fine as a non academic reference....and I think reference letters can be in English or French regardless of stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald_Duck Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 They can be in either language, and that should be fine! Try to pick people who know you really well and can personalize it (someone you volunteered for, you did EC activities with, etc.) Mr Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premedstudent0307 Posted July 30, 2017 Report Share Posted July 30, 2017 Can you have 3 references that are non-academic and from the same organization? I have been working for the past year and have built amazing relationships at the organization. Would it look bad if all three of them were from the same place? (from different people of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted July 30, 2017 Report Share Posted July 30, 2017 I would think at the very least one of your references should be academic. Personally, I would not select 3 non-academic references, they will likely overlap each other and there will be a gap in leaving out an important attribute - your scholarly, academic abilities as this is an essential part of the package. Does it matter that your referees come from the same organization? Absolutely not in my opinion; so long as each referee is credible and does not merely give a laundry list of adjectives and validates by examples the credentials attributed to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatMedGyal Posted July 30, 2017 Report Share Posted July 30, 2017 At least for Ottawa, I don't think not having an academic reference matters (they already know you have a great GPA..). As an accepted candidate, all of my references were non-academic but varied (one from work, one from volunteering and one from my pastor with whom I do benevolent work). The important thing is that they know you well and together bring different aspects of your abilities that will most accurately depict who you are. IMO Each reference should have some degree of overlap (for consistency of your inherent qualities) but they shouldn't all tell the same story. Non academic and from the same organization should be fine. However, interview your three people to get the gist of what they would say (what qualities and event of you stood out the most) and you'll see if all three are unique enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald_Duck Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 Id have to agree with the deer, although picking from the same place is convenient it can feel redundant/overlap. Try to get people that know totally different aspects of your life. Then again its not graded against others so it dosent really matter.. Keep in mind your referees dont only submit a letter, they fill in a survey from 1-5, asking if they would recommend you, language proficiency, etc. So the choice of individual is very important. Mr Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDmaybe99 Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 I have a question regarding referees. I applied through OMSAS 2 years ago, do they keep the referees in my file or do I need to ask my referees to re-submit what they had filled out 2 years ago for my application? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyAndHopeful Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 26 minutes ago, guest2017 said: I have a question regarding referees. I applied through OMSAS 2 years ago, do they keep the referees in my file or do I need to ask my referees to re-submit what they had filled out 2 years ago for my application? You'll have to ask them to resubmit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupchatt Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 whens the deadline for submitting references? oct 1 or dec1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlange Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 On 9/7/2017 at 11:16 AM, rupchatt said: whens the deadline for submitting references? oct 1 or dec1? I was wondering this too. On the website it says Oct. 2 as the "official" deadline, but I have heard cases in past years when referees sent the letters around December.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habital Posted September 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 The deadline for the University of Ottawa is December 1st. If your referees require more time, they may send their references by mail to OMSAS. Ottawa needs to receive those references by December 1st though, so make sure that they plan out the time required for mailing, and processing by OMSAS; I'd say at least a week before the deadline. If this is your case, when you input your referee's information on OMSAS, do not input their email. This will automatically allow you to download the printable version of the reference, which you can then send to your referee to fill out and mail. If not, the online version of the references are due for October 2nd along with the rest of your OMSAS application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somebowdy Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 29 minutes ago, Habital said: The deadline for the University of Ottawa is December 1st. If your referees require more time, they may send their references by mail to OMSAS. Ottawa needs to receive those references by December 1st though, so make sure that they plan out the time required for mailing, and processing by OMSAS; I'd say at least a week before the deadline. If this is your case, when you input your referee's information on OMSAS, do not input their email. This will automatically allow you to download the printable version of the reference, which you can then send to your referee to fill out and mail. If not, the online version of the references are due for October 2nd along with the rest of your OMSAS application. Where can I find this info? I looked on their website but couldn't find it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habital Posted September 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 If you email admissions, they will tell you it is December 1st: admissmd@uottawa.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somebowdy Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 Just now, Habital said: If you email admissions, they will tell you it is December 1st: admissmd@uottawa.ca Thanks. It's weird that they don't post it on their site.. unless I just have really bad vision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habital Posted September 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 They "highly advise" that you send in references through OMSAS by October 2nd. They prefer to receive those online references, as it is easier for everyone. However, their official deadline is December 1st, and you won't be penalized if your reference is sent through the mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupchatt Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Can they send references online after oct 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habital Posted September 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 I doubt it, as you will need to submit your online OMSAS application for review by October 2nd. However, it is my first time completing the application, so I would check with admissions if I were you since I'm not certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenpanda123 Posted September 24, 2017 Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 can reference letters be mailed or submitted online after the October deadline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald_Duck Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 I believe both are doable, the referee would mail it to OMSAS, or they can prob submit it even after the deadline through the link they receive, although that Im not 100% of. You can email the email address at the bottom of this webpage for specific questions: https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/omsas-referees/ Mr Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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