Final Transcript

[Guest Downupdown]

Even though western may not have received our final transcript would we still receive a conditional acceptance of sort (if the case may be)? Or do they wait until the transcript is in? (i.e. I know we have until june 30th, so will they only notify us only after it has been received)

 

thanks in advance..

[Guest UWOMED2005]

You will get a "conditional acceptance of sort (if the case may be)" BEFORE your transcript is sent in. That acceptance will be revoked if your last year falls below the GPA cutoff (3.65.)

[Guest downupdown]

Lets say I get my transcript in before may31st, and this year is higher than the last, will they use that new mark as a measure of ranking (i.e. since marks count for 25 percent of the ranked pool calculation, will they use this final year as a ranking indicator)?

 

thanks.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

As far as I know, the answer is no. The decisions have pretty much been made already - it's just a matter of waiting for the mailout. If there truly is new and pertinent information, it is possible to appeal the decision. . . you'll have to ask about that at the UWO specific forum (http://www.mni.uwo.ca/discus) as I have no clue as to what that entails.

 

Don't worry though. . . GPA doesn't make that great a difference in the end (the cutoff GPA of 3.65 is close to 20/25 for the 25% GPA portion.)

[Guest juniper]

so we should get a 3.65GPA in the final semester, or the final year?

 

for eg., i might not have a 3.65 for the winter semester, but i will have >3.65 GPA for this year (average of fall and winter)

 

thanks y'all

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Don't worry Juniper. . . you're fine. It's 3.65 for the YEAR, not the final semester. If you have that 3.65 you're gold.

[Guest applicant]

Just in case, I thought I'd ask this anyway...is 3.65 last year's cut-off, or is that this year's applicant pool cut-off for sure? - I was just told by someone that it changes slighty year to year, and that one year it was 3.60?

 

thanx!

[Guest juniper]

hey

 

thanks for your input. i had another question: do you get ranked according to your final yr GPA on the admissions list? or is this GPA used in the 25% calculation?

also, would someone get the upper hand if they had a 3.8 vs. someone who had a 3.65 (barely made the cut off)???

 

thanks y'all

[Guest rmac77]

Good luck to all applicants... if you stick with it your dream will come true!

I am applying for 2003 and have a few questions (these may have already been answered, so forgive me if that is the case). I am wondering if I should re-write the MCAT. I have the minimums, and pretty good WS (S) and VR (10), however my other marks are not the greatest in the other sections. Does anyone know when Western will release next years minimums (also, do you foresee the minimums changing)? In addition, do they look at all sections after interviews for the final selection?

I was on the waiting list a few years ago, however screwed up my last year. I am going back to increase my marks, and am wondering if Western will look at my final year for the GPA portion. I have read that they will take the highest year... if my last year is the highest, will it be the one that is used?

Thanks, and again, good luck!

[Guest JSS02]

I've asked about this before, and the GPA used for ranking purposes (calculating your composite score, deciding between applicants on the waitlist, etc.) comes only from your best year. They usually don't receive your marks for the final year until AFTER they've made their decisions already, since final marks aren't due until the end of June. So someone with a 3.8 would have an advantage over another person with a 3.65 only if the GPAs for their best years were being compared.

[Guest mying]

The 3.60 (last year) was announced before we even had our interviews. The year before that was a 3.65 and this year they have already announced you must meet the 3.65 again. It won't change.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Unfortunately, Western doesn't decide on minimums until they see the applicant pool. They make a decision on what minimums to set based on what would bring in a good interview sample size (usually approx 400 - about 430 this year.) So they won't release that info until next January, most likely.

 

S and 10? Definitely good enough for VR and WS. As long as you have 9s in the other sections, those MCATs should be good enough.

[Guest daisy]

Hi, I was wondering - I took 6 classes instead of 5 in the first term of my final year (had to finish up honours prereq's) and unfortunately the grade that I got in my sixth class for that term is bringing my final year GPA down to below 3.65 - will Western drop the grade of that sixth class since they only require that you take 5 full year classes? If that's the case, then I should be good to go if my conditional acceptance arrives. If not, then I guess I don't stand a shot even it does, right?

Does anyone know what they do in a situation where the applicant takes > 5 credits in their final year?

Thanks very much.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

That's a very interesting situation. I honestly have no clue. I would definitely call Barb and/or Darla at the UWO meds admissions office - the phone number can be found in your OMSAS book, on any of your UWO materials (ie interview invitation,) or the UWO medicine website.

[Guest Beaver]

I daisy

 

I know someone who faced the exact situation and yes they will drop your 6th course. So as long as 5 full courses =3.65 you will have no problem. Of Course call to confirm, but I'm almost 100% on this one.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Yeah Daisy. . . I did a little more looking into it and I'm pretty sure they take the best FIVE courses in deciding your GPA.

[Guest Jimmy]

It says right on their website that they take the best 5 full courses. No doubt about it!

 

Regards.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey guys,

 

Not to be a wet blanket, but I just thought I'd throw my two cents in. Firstly, I'm not entirely convinced that in a situation where a student was taking an overload of courses (a road I have been down...3 times!) that they take your best five in calculating your GPA for that year. I'm remembering back to earlier in the year when someone on this board pointed out that UWO was implementing changes to its admissions policies (for Sept 2003), not the least of which was in considering the GPA for a full-time year where more than 5.0 credits were taken, the GPA for that year would consist of the grades obtained from the best 5.0 credits, ignoring those grades from courses above and beyond 5.0 credits (ie: can drop your lowest course from GPA calculation if you're taking 6.0 credits). I believe, unless I'm mistaken, that this "reform" will be in place for next year's admission cycle. There are, of course, other "reforms" having to do with the essay course thing, etc., but aren't these posted on the UWO site already (which would explain Jimmy's finding)? I'm sure that in the old policy for considering and deriving the GPA of a full-time year, UWO considered grades from ALL courses taken, (so long as it was greater than or equal to 5.0 credits) beit from 5.0 courses, 5.5, 6.0 or even 6.5.

That's just what I think, though, and I'm no one, so as UWOMED2005 said, the best route is to get it straight from the horse's mouth and call admissions. Just my thoughts though- sorry to alarm anyone unduly. And sorry in advance (if and when I'm probably proven wrong) for spreading false information. Note to moderators: If shown to be wrong, please feel free to delete this.

 

Best of luck!

 

Timmy

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Good point, Tim. I've heard it straight from one of the admissions reps (Ambrose) that it is the best 5, not all 6 credits, used in the gpa calculation. . . but it's possible there is a confusion considering the changes for next year, and the fact those changes are already posted on the web. Calling the admissions office directly is definitely a good idea.

[Guest Daisy]

As it turns out,when I e-mailed the Admissions officer, he/she told me that they will take the GPA of ALL the courses. Next year, apparently, i.e. for 2003, they will take the best 5 FCE. So basically that little glimmer of hope I had for this fall has been snuffed out...

Does anyone know if there's any possibility this can be appealed - IF in fact I do somehow manage to receive an acceptance? Afternall it's not as if this rule was clearly spelled out for this round of admissions (judging from everyone's uncertainty re. this isssue) and since by making it a rule for 2003, they obviously believe it to be a valid point.

Thanks,

Daisy

[Guest Beaver]

Thats weird because I know someone who took 6 courses in his final year and the 5 best courses made the final year cut off whereas the 6 course average did not make it. He ended up gettting an acceptance letter so either the admin staff screwed up, they didn't check the final year (I doubt this one) or they dropped the worst grade, or a combo of everything!

 

I guess its really important to check with the admissions staff.

[Guest juniper]

beaver,

 

the person can get an acceptance letter b/c the GPA used is that of years already completed.

but the acceptance itself is conditional on last yr's GPA.

is your friend attending UWO?

if so, i whole-heartedly agree with your suggestion!

 

J.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey Daisy,

 

That's a pretty cold way to have your UWO dreams shattered-are you certain that you will come in below the 3.65 minimum?

At least you know you will be fine for interviews, etc., next year, assuming you have to reapply for 2003 admission. Best of luck to you in the future!

 

Tim

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Hi Daisy,

 

SO sorry to hear that. When I asked our class admissions rep, he was pretty sure they'd base it on the best 5, not every course. He might have been mistaken. . . though it's also possible the admissions people at UWO were mistaken in their e-mail (admittedly less likely). There's so many little rules and exceptions, that sometimes mistakes in information are made.

 

I'd suggest waiting on this until you hear back on June 1st. It might all work out after all. . . but there is an appeals process for Western admissions decisions. I don't know all the details, and it's supposed to be used only when "new information comes to light". . . but this might qualify. As I suggested, I'd wait until you get info on June 1st, then possibly contact our class admissions officers if there is a problem. They'll know more about the admissions appeal process. I'd rather not give out their e-mail addresses online, but you can find them on our class webpage (http://www.mni.uwo.ca/meds2005) under "Council" and "List of Council Members and Contact Info." I'd also suggest waiting until June 1st to contact them (Ray or Ambrose) simply because we are in the middle of exams until the 31st, and they're more likely to respond after exams. Alternatively, try making a post about the appeals process on the Western Medicine specific forum (http://www.mni.uwo.ca/dicus - choose "MEDS2006 Admissions") - Ray and Ambrose monitor that forum, but not this one.

 

Good Luck,

 

JJ Rader

[Guest Daisy]

Hey guys - thanks so much for your support and suggestions. Yup, unfortunately with six courses my final year GPA is 3.62 whereas with five courses it is 3.68. Sad stuff. But anyway I will definitely wait till June 1 to get really bothered and embittered by this.

 

If I do reapply to UWO next year - what do you guys recommend? With the new rule in place (for 2003), my final year GPA makes the 3.65 cutoff - my only concern is - what if next year the GPA cutoff becomes 3.70 (then I'd be screwed again!) Does anyone know - has 3.70 ever been the cutoff in recent years? My other option is to do the "special year" and take more courses but I'd really rather not do that - I think I'd prefer to work and get more experience in a health care field.

 

Sorry guys, to bother you with my problems but as Tim said - this has been a rather cold way to have my UWO dreams dashed. Anyway any input/advice would be much appreciated. Good luck with exams.

Thanks very much,

Daisy