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uOttawa Interview 2018 Discussion


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51 minutes ago, premed_thr0waway said:

More than likely just sent out in alphabetical order (i.e. last names ending with "A" before last names ending with "L")

yeah they are not going to do anything to reveal ranking in anything they do. So much of this stuff we try to read patterns into it is just random, random, random. 

There was one year that the last batch of something related to admissions was sent out (on purpose vague here) was done in that order just because the office admin liked the colour purple and those were in a purple file folder. Seeing the overthinking being down around that on the forum put a lot of things in perspective for me :)

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1 hour ago, rmorelan said:

yeah they are not going to do anything to reveal ranking in anything they do. So much of this stuff we try to read patterns into it is just random, random, random. 

There was one year that the last batch of something related to admissions was sent out (on purpose vague here) was done in that order just because the office admin liked the colour purple and those were in a purple file folder. Seeing the overthinking being down around that on the forum put a lot of things in perspective for me :)

This process has made me very neurotic, so I tend to overthink every possible detail lol. Thanks for the reply!

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1 hour ago, Monocyte said:

This process has made me very neurotic, so I tend to overthink every possible detail lol. Thanks for the reply!

of course :) I mean a degree of paranoia is important in sense to make sure you don't miss a single one of all their rules, or drop the ball in any class etc, etc. 

So in a way it is healthy - although from time to time I have to make sure if I see it I rein it in if at all possible. 

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Hey everyone,

On my ABS I included "French as a secondary language" Certificate for taking it up until grade 12. It's been 4+ years since I've spoken a lick of French but just wanted to ask if something like this could be tested on the interview (perhaps being too paranoid).

This is from the e-mail: Please note that if you voluntarily declared bilingualism (English and French) on your application, you will be tested on the interview day. Tbh, I don't even really remember declaring it elsewhere, nor can I find it when I review my current application. Just wanted to cover all my bases

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4 hours ago, mamabear said:

Okay I still haven't received an email from the school.

Anyone else in this position, or was in this position?

I checked the spam folder, and still nothing :(

Please help

Email them with your OUAC Number letting them know the situation. You should then get emailed the rejection/invitation email.

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9 hours ago, PD23 said:

Hey everyone,

On my ABS I included "French as a secondary language" Certificate for taking it up until grade 12. It's been 4+ years since I've spoken a lick of French but just wanted to ask if something like this could be tested on the interview (perhaps being too paranoid).

This is from the e-mail: Please note that if you voluntarily declared bilingualism (English and French) on your application, you will be tested on the interview day. Tbh, I don't even really remember declaring it elsewhere, nor can I find it when I review my current application. Just wanted to cover all my bases

I doubt this counts. I'd check if you put English or Both under languages spoken (I realized after getting the email that I put both, so I'm just practicing a bit). Even if you did, people have been telling me that it doesn't actually hurt you if you said you were bilingual and fail the French test, it just doesn't give you an advantage.

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35 minutes ago, Comprehensible said:

I doubt this counts.

 

This is pure speculation, but bilingualism might be seen as somewhat preferable from an admin committee of a program which teaches with both English and French streams. I might suggest calling or emailing the admissions office so you don't surprise them on the interview day. Congrats on your interview! 

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1 hour ago, Cross said:

This is pure speculation, but bilingualism might be seen as somewhat preferable from an admin committee of a program which teaches with both English and French streams. I might suggest calling or emailing the admissions office so you don't surprise them on the interview day. Congrats on your interview! 

What I was saying is that them saying they had a certificate in high school counts as bilingualism.

I said I spoke both languages, so it definitely does count. I didn't hit the box by accident, I just didn't realize at the time that saying I spoke both languages counted explicitly as "bilingualism", as I think there's a difference between being able to communicate and being bilingual. Luckily, my French is quite good, I just need to practice a bit. I can follow a radio broadcast, and am comfortable having a conversation as long as the other individual doesn't have an unusual accent, so I think I should be OK, just a bit out of practice (yay 5.5 years of bilingual school and 4 years of extended french).

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2 hours ago, Daddy said:

 

Email them with your OUAC Number letting them know the situation. You should then get emailed the rejection/invitation email.

I emailed them middle of the night because I was panicking, and then I woke up this morning to a rejection email. 

Definitely not good news, but at least I know for sure now. 

Thanks for your help

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Who knows anymore tbh :lol: I remember having a confirmation from admissions at the beginning of the year that they are taking all 3 so the interview package could have been a reused document from last year, who knows 0.o I thought their website was also updated to reflect this as well. Or, they could have changed this from when I was last informed.

But really what matters at this stage is interview score for sure.

Mr Duck

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22 minutes ago, EthicsForBreakfast said:

Hey @Donald_Duck idk if you answered before but you're hella busy so if not I figured I'd try again lol :$ . Declining an interview doesn't count as one of your three strikes the same way interviewing and failing would, right? 

Why not contact the school directly? Honestly, if I was the admissions committee, I would count it as a strike unless you have a viable reason for doing so (i.e. interview conflict, illness, personal crisis, etc.) 

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1 minute ago, premed_thr0waway said:

Why not contact the school directly? Honestly, if I was the admissions committee, I would count it as a strike unless you have a viable reason for doing so (i.e. interview conflict, illness, personal crisis, etc.) 

1) I sent an email asking and have yet to hear back. Considering I have to answer by Monday, that option is getting sketchy.

2) I have called the admissions line and get a voicemail roughly 90% of the time. I cannot have her call me because I am in school 8-4 and we would end up playing telephone tag so there is no point in leaving a message. 

3) From my understanding the 3 strikes system exists because if you fail an interview thrice, you have screwed up at the stage when they met you in person and got to know you on a heightened level. I guess the school assumes something is wrong with your character (as if your admission isn't heavily dependent on those simply applying with you at the time). You can however apply as much as you want if you are declined an interview. I sit in the middle at the moment which is why I am looking for some semblance of an answer. 

4) I don't want to fly to Ottawa to interview if I won't be losing a strike because it's expensive and I've pretty much committed to something else for the next year. If it counts as a strike though I may as well go for it and at the least get interview experience or a really, really tough decision to make. Honestly I'd rather just not, so I'm hoping to bail at this point without consequence. 

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1 minute ago, EthicsForBreakfast said:

1) I sent an email asking and have yet to hear back. Considering I have to answer by Monday, that option is getting sketchy.

2) I have called the admissions line and get a voicemail roughly 90% of the time. I cannot have her call me because I am in school 8-4 and we would end up playing telephone tag so there is no point in leaving a message. 

3) From my understanding the 3 strikes system exists because if you fail an interview thrice, you have screwed up at the stage when they met you in person and got to know you on a heightened level. I guess the school assumes something is wrong with your character (as if your admission isn't heavily dependent on those simply applying with you at the time). You can however apply as much as you want if you are declined an interview. I sit in the middle at the moment which is why I am looking for some semblance of an answer. 

4) I don't want to fly to Ottawa to interview if I won't be losing a strike because it's expensive and I've pretty much committed to something else for the next year. If it counts as a strike though I may as well go for it and at the least get interview experience or a really, really tough decision to make. Honestly I'd rather just not, so I'm hoping to bail at this point without consequence. 

I can respect that, you're gonna make someone very happy. Do you receive a strike if you accept your invite and cancel later?

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1 minute ago, premed_thr0waway said:

I can respect that, you're gonna make someone very happy. Do you receive a strike if you accept your invite and cancel later?

Thanks. I definitely have no intention of leading them on because someone should absolutely get my spot. The UK accepts master's students on a rolling basis. I applied in October and so I got in in October and I had to accept that pretty early on. Because both programs are extremely competitive I went for both at the same time in hopes one would work. Now that one has and I've had ~4 months to get used to the idea my mind is pretty much made up. RIP OMSAS fees though lol.......... it was an expensive feel good moment to get that email I suppose 

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1 hour ago, brady23 said:

I would still go for the interview if you can. It's just the experience that can really help you out, and gives you options in the case you do get accepted. Everything changes year to year - the applicant pool, who's evaluating your app, etc.

I’ve experienced a UOttawa interview and would prefer to have as many shots to get in as possible after my master’s since I’ll likely be a better candidate then. Additionally, options are nice but if you turn down an actual offer I’m pretty sure some blacklisting will come with it. Plus if I get into med I want to be ALL in like the people on these forums. I don’t want to be giving up an amazing opportunity elsewhere because then it will make my experience bittersweet. I can have both in the order of masters then med but not if I do it vice versa. Therefore I think my future self will appreciate me throwing in the towel at this stage. 

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I would highly advise not to skip on the interview. Doing an extra year of whatever studies will cost a lot more than paying for a cheap flight to come here. Once you get accepted to any med school in canada you will have a very hefty line of credit for which you can comfortably rely on and pay back when studies are finished.

Good luck

Mr Duck

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6 hours ago, EthicsForBreakfast said:

I’ve experienced a UOttawa interview and would prefer to have as many shots to get in as possible after my master’s since I’ll likely be a better candidate then. Additionally, options are nice but if you turn down an actual offer I’m pretty sure some blacklisting will come with it. Plus if I get into med I want to be ALL in like the people on these forums. I don’t want to be giving up an amazing opportunity elsewhere because then it will make my experience bittersweet. I can have both in the order of masters then med but not if I do it vice versa. Therefore I think my future self will appreciate me throwing in the towel at this stage. 

Hmm, not sure about this - I know the interview is basically worth 100%, so would a Master's really make you a better candidate? You can always do the masters after medicine as well. I just know people who've gotten interviews one year, and then don't manage to get it the next, which is why I think it might be worthwhile to attend. But obviously you've put a lot of thought into it and I'm not in your shoes, I'm just putting in my two cents :) 

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