DarkGhost

You know, you're absolutely right. About my patronizing comment, that is. Did you notice right away that I was being sarcastic, or did it just come to you now? Actually, now that I think about it, I could have worded it better. Maybe used a little more urban slang, or an outrageous amount of sTyliZinG ... Definitely something to think about next time. I've also been working on my presumptuous wording (I'm really glad that came across), and if it ain't sanctimonious, why bother, right? I wasn't insulting you, or anyone else, I'm sorry you had to take it that way.

It's kind of funny that you responded to my question, with another question, but fine, I'll rephrase my original point. Logically speaking, if many intelligent people gather at the UofT, then the only possible inference is that not as many intelligent people gather anywhere else. Of course, in an ideal world you would try to quantify "many" for clarification purposes, but if we take it at face value (i.e. by definition), you either mean a large number of intelligent people, or the majority of intelligent people. The latter would be undeniable fallacious, but even the former is quite rid

Okay, when you decided to respond to a question I directed towards someone else, you assumed their position, unless you state otherwise. Anyway... I would consider rereading that post, because I was clearly directing my comment towards you, not the OP. However, on that note, I wasn't saying that anyone didn't have a social life. I was saying that just because you, or whoever else, doesn't like to go out and participate in organized activities with loved ones, doesn't mean no one else does. For example, if one of the Dafour-Lapointe sisters applied to medical school, do you think she'd

If you know upfront that you want to live and practice in the States, then I agree, it's far more advantageous to go there for your medical education. However, if you want to keep your options open, there are ways to make yourself more competitive as a Canadian medical student. Clerkship exchange programs or international clinical/research electives, and visiting scholar programs (for PhD holders or MD/PhD students) are a few that come to mind.

In an attempt to understand your point of view, are you saying not many intelligent/intellectual people gather at other universities, or that there's more of them at UofT? Both are wrong, but at least when people get rightly offended they'll know which point to dispute.

What are you even talking about? For starters, I was not talking to the OP; I was talking to you. Specifically your claim, and I quote, that "EC's are just another hoop to jump through," for which I strongly disagree with. Extra-cirruclars are anything you do outside of work and academics, from playing intramural sports with your friends, to white water rafting on the weekends, to going to local fundraisers with family members. In general, they're things people like to do, so calling them 'hoops' is ridiculous. Now I do realize that there's a tendency for pre-medical students to l

It's been a long, long time since I emailed UofC admissions regarding this matter. But, your UCAN GPA should be weighted, and if it's not weighted properly, you need to email them. I do recall them saying that you can still submit your application and inquire afterwards, but I'd make sure I was fully advised before doing so.

MCAT score?

... What? This is anecdotal evidence, of course, but I went to a small university (~5000 undergraduates) without a medical school, and I never experienced this 'disadvantage,' nor did I hear of it affecting anyone else in my graduating class. The problem with these statistics is they don't take into account the number of students who applied from each institution. Without that information they're merely 'interesting facts,' not something to draw hard conclusions from.

I'm going to be a bad coach in MathToMeds eyes here Do you take the time to review every passage and the answers you gave? By that I don't mean quickly reviewing it and moving on. Do you really sit down and ask yourself, 'what was I thinking when I answered this question? what part of the passage was I fixated on? how did I read this passage? why did that lead me to this answer (right or wrong)?" It's this incredibly tedious process that can drag a passage out for an hour or more, but it made a huge difference for me, and I've read that it has been a good strategy for others as well

Maybe you can't, but some people actually participate in activities with their friends and family.

I don't think this is necessarily the best mentality to bring to an application. By this logic, are you not already 'using' countless people to get into medicine? Why would it be okay to 'use' the living, but not the deceased? Unless we're simultaneously subscribing to the thought that it's disrespectful to acknowledge they ever existed, none the less impacted us. In which case, I have no rebuttal. I don't deny that there's a fine line to walk, because you don't want to be manipulative. Your application shouldn't read like a tragic novella, in an attempt to guilt admission committees

If it even need to be said, it's called Non Academic Qualities. As in things that make who you are and will actually contribute to your practice of medicine. As someone who has served on an admission committee, I could care less what you DO; I care about the genuine traits and skills those things developed in you. From the OPs post, he developed empathy. If you look to the evaluation criteria, you can further reiterate my point that it's who you are that matters, not what you 'did.' Now, my sarcastic comment comes from a place of finding it just ridiculous to suggest that sport, or

Unless something changed since last cycle, you need a reference for each category.

This a purely speculative opinion, but I don't think a tutor would be able to help you. A good tutor may be able to effectively organize, present information, and answer questions in a way that helps you learn. But, unfortunately, the VR section isn't about knowledge, it's about reading, processing, understanding, and applying information that may, or may not, be true. Or to put it more eloquently, it's testing your ability to analyze information in context. Where the context is often the authors interpretation of that information. The only way you can get better at that is to furt