Class size to increase to 125

[Guest Jerika81]

I heard a reasonably reliable rumor that within the week there will be an announcement to the effect that the class of 2009 will be increased from 100 to 125.

However, I must qualify this by saying that there have been similar rumors before and nothing has happened. I think it was from a pretty good source though so we'll see...also, please don't call U of C and ask them about it or I'll feel really bad for causing a stir.

[Guest happy2bme]

within the week you say...... unless I hear it or see it in print, I'm not getting my hopes up like last year. the 100 vs 125 thing almost killed me last year, especially due to be waitlisted last year.

 

but if it's true..... yahoo! 288 for 125 spots!, good odds!

[Guest HP]

Maybe this is coming down from the government with all the other post-secondary news. There have been stories in the Herald about new post-secondary spots and new profs being hired all over the province, hopefully this is part of it.

 

I'm kinda psyched, I hope this is true! ~20 more in-prov spots would be great!!

 

Gotta keep the hopes down until something official comes out, but thanks for sharing, Jerika!

[Guest arjuna83]

288 for 125 spots!, good odds!

 

If you consider the in-province and out-of-province ratios, it amounts to:

 

106 places for ~200 Albertans interviewed

19 places for ~85 out-of-province interviewees

 

Very good odds indeed!

[Guest happy2bme]

So in the interest of fact finding...I went to the alberta gov website to the news release on March 28, 2006 on the increase in post secondary spots for 2006-2007. It list the colleges/universities and how many spots per discipline/program. And low and behold under the heading of UofC there exists a row for Doc of Medicine with a pretty little number 25 beside it. Be still my beating heart....

This still is not in stone until it comes from the Faculty of Medicine at the UofC, but I do find this tidbit of info encouraging.

 

And so we wait.................

[Guest happy2bme]

from a news release from UofC on march 28, 2006

 

"This increase in medical student spaces is a vital investment in the future of our province and its health care system," said Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock. "The University of Calgary's medical program is one of the best in the country. This expansion will enable it to produce an even greater number of well-educated physicians able to meet the demands of Alberta's growing population."

 

"We're pleased the government has responded to our request to increase the number of medical seats to 125,” added Dr. Grant Gall, Dean of Medicine. “This will allow us to train even more outstanding physicians, benefiting communities across Alberta."

 

The spaces will be open this fall. Other approved programs and expansions include Master of Law, Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Nursing, Master of Architecture, and several programs in language education, which respond to the government’s Enhancing Second Language initiative."

 

 

Seriously they can't be leading us on this year!!!

 

Can they???????

[Guest marxkarkis]

i really hate to be that guy, peeing in the shower so to speak...

but the estimates on the odds for interviewed applicants seem to assume the faculty won't increase the number of interviews offered in some proportion to the increased number of seats in the class.

sorry to harsh your mellow, my bad :evil .

really, its still good news.

[Guest happy2bme]

interviews for this year have all been completed by MMI for a total of 288 interviews.

 

It's too late to add another set of interviews for this year, next year you might see 3 interview days instead of this years two, but not this year.....

 

The increase is SUPPOSED to take place for this entering class, so all in all the best odds ever if indeed this information is correct about the increase.

[Guest try2dstress]

I *distinctly* remember Dr. LeMay hinting to this on the day I was interviewing. He said multiple times something like 'your odds are really good at getting in this year - 40% at the least but probably more...but i can't comment on this further.' I thought it was really odd that he kept saying this, then I thought he was just referring to the fact that since people have multiple interviews and thus you may stand a better chance. I also thought he might just be trying to relax us before the MMI. But then after about the third time he said 'your odds are really good, etc' he slipped in a 'all I can say is watch the news'. Then I got confused...thought maybe they would be opening up new seats but wasn't hoping too much...but it might materialize it seems! And a 25% increase at that...wow!! Here's keeping my fingers crossed. Everyone I met interview day seemed like they'd make great classmates. Good luck to all of you!

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

Right thread for this post...

 

Here's the link to that earlier quote for the skeptics like me:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/march06/more-spaces.html

 

I calculate that 52% of in province interviewees (assuming a full 85oop interviews were done, and they still get 15% of seats) will get an offer. Plus some of those will also get offers at UofA, or out of province, so it does look good this year!

[Guest mg83]

Wait... just to make sure i'm not hallucinating....are you guys saying that the seat increase is FOR SURE for this years entering class? So how many in-prov student's were interviewed...anyone know off hand....and then...out of this 125...how many are inprov. seats?

[Guest openarmed]

No body will spoonfeed you

[Guest jgray2]

on a related note, this would have been an awful april fool's joke

[Guest marxkarkis]

my bad

ive been fired from the math police.

i was on the fractions and probabilities squad but my inability to subtract 3 from 2009 was inexcusable.

thats great though, nice work to u of c and the AB gov. for the quick action.

[Guest HP]

:rollin jgray2, yea I thought about that too!

[Guest JMD500]

mg83,

 

85% of the available seats are reserved for in prov students, the remaining 15% are offered to OOP students. With the understanding that you've applied to med school, I trust that you can do the math. The total number of interviews that have been offered this year is somewhere around 288.

 

JMD500

[Guest mg83]

why are people being so hostile to my question. i'm sorry if i don't obsessive compulsively keep track of the numbers game like openarmed and jmd500 but i really didn't know how many spots are allocated and such. This is a forum people...you know...ask questions....get answer (rather than flippant remarks). sheesh...cut me some slack.

[Guest mg83]

thankx for the breakdown JMD500...i got my calculator out and worked out the numbers....

[Guest JMD500]

mg83,

 

In no way did I intend my post to be hostile. I'm sorry.

 

JMD500

[Guest happy2bme]

Mg83

 

While I don't condone being flippant.. I think that openarmed was trying to get across that before you ask a question you really should read all the posts on the topic. In the case of your answer it is already previously given in the posts at the beginning of this topic.....

 

Now having said that, I also have been guilty of skimming over responses and asking the same question over again... usually people just tell me to reread the posts. LOL.

 

cheers!

[Guest mg83]

i was joking...seriously i'm not that sensitive....darn...its so hard to convey sarcasm on this thing. I really bad for skimming and i really try not to get too caught up in the numbers. JMD500....i'm sorry for my comment...it really was intended humerously...sorry if i offended you. It was all meant in good fun cuz we all obsess over this stuff. Cheers guys....hopefully you'll all get to know my personality when we're in school together :b

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

Hate to be the bearer of, well not bad but... indeterminate news:

 

I asked Adele herself today (that nice lady who handed out the essays on interview day) about the seat increase, and she said that THEY don't even know for sure yet if it's happening this year. They (the admissions office staff) saw the UofC announcement too, and actually had to ask if they were supposed to fill more seats, and were told, like the rest of us, to wait and keep an eye on the website.

 

So... it's not official yet, although I really have to think they've already decided (why make that last announcement otherwise), and are just waiting for some momentous timing to let everyone know - at least I hope so.

 

I commented on how good chances were for the in province list this year if it goes through, and she agreed that "yes, we may really have to scrape the bottom of the barrel this year" with a pointed look at me. :lol That's Adele for you. It's almost looking to me this year that if you're in province, you're either getting an acceptance or a waitlist in May (now any of us who do get the reject will feel really bad).

 

BTW, 288 interviews, 75 OOP (give or take a few according to what I've been told)

 

(for the lazy or mathematically challenged)

75 OOP for 15 seats = 20% accepted OR for 19 seats = 25% accepted.

 

213 in prov for 100 seats = 47% accepted OR for 121 seats = 57% accepted.

 

Here's the 'I'm bored, let's see how much I can speculate to improve our odds section:' Last year (I think UofC got through just under half it's in province waiting list of 125 (let's say 50 people to be conservative - and that was the slowest moving waitlist year they've had in a long, long time - average is 2/3 of the list)

 

213 interviewed - 50 declining = 163 people competing for 100 or 121 seats: that's 61% or 74%. Horray for the bottom of the barrel!

 

Either way I have to say it's good year for an Alberta resident to have been interviewed at the UofC.

[Guest happy2bme]

Yes the bottom of the barrel......I guess I 'm part of the leftover sludge from last year! I just hope I've fermented enough to start rising closer to the top for this May.

 

Seriously, if they do increase the seats and I still don't get in I will feel definitely wounded.....My Ego, what's left from last year, will be completely decimated!!! LOL

[Guest Stalin]

According to the U of C medical school communication or u of c officer, the class size is definately going up. When I asked if the class size is going up to 125, the officer merely stated that it is "most certainly going up." I think it is definately going up, and all comments otherwise are non-sense.

 

With regards to the number of interviews granted at u of c being 288- wrong, or it least it was communicated differently during my interview. The Doctor who gave a little speech before my round of interviews indicated that "270" were being interviewed this year.

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

With regards to the number of interviews granted at u of c being 288- wrong, or it least it was communicated differently during my interview. The Doctor who gave a little speech before my round of interviews indicated that "270" were being interviewed this year.

 

I don't think very many doctors, regardless of their standing on the admissions committee were involved in the administrative details of organizing interview schedules, nor are they going to spend time double checking their numbers for pinpoint accuaracy for a simple interview day speach. The 288 I heard (several times) was right from the admissions office: 2 days with 144 people each - in fact I was standing right there in the administration office watching while they rescheduled my interview with a good old pencil and eraser marking up a sheet with, I presume 144 slots on it. I remember them quite distinctly fretting over the fact that this year with MMI's they had to send out the exact number of interview invites for the spots available (while in past years they could just invite everyone who fell around the cutoff and round up a few more interviewers). In any case, they were the ones concerned with the details who would know.

 

It's conceivable the final number was a bit lower becasue of cancellations or no shows, but I doubt it changed much. It hardly matters anyway, except to argue percentages.

 

I agree that the class size is most certainly going up, but to say a comment from the admissions office is nonsense (these are the people who take the ranked names off the list and send them either an invite, waitlist letter or rejection - if they don't know about extra seats when that time comes, then they ain't gettin filled) is, frankly, nonsense. It might take the powers that be awhile to make it official, since it's not a lot of extra work to send 25 extra acceptance letters instead of waitlist letters, and they're probably waiting until they've taken care of all the important details, like teachers, seating and other resources for the actual education of 25 extra people. I'm sure we'll hear something soon.