Aug 2003 MCAT scores are up! SEVEN in verbal!

[Guest physiology]

Hello Everybody,

 

I got a 7 in the verbal, but a "S" in the writing sample (I guess I can write, but I can't read"), so I shouldn't bother applying to Western right?

 

I know last year the cutoff was a 9 in the VR, but can a high WS compensate for a below average VR?

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but in the eyes of UWO, one section below the posted cutoffs cannot be compensated for by high marks in other subtests. Seeing as how the VR cutoff has been 9 for the past few years, the 7 you have in VR would gain you an automatic rejection letter once the cutoffs are set, assuming the VR cut is set at 9 or even 8. Although, in theory, the cutoffs are determined by the applicant pool, there is still a (extremely slim) chance that they may drop down to 7 in VR, but all things considered, judging from the cutoff trends from the last few years at UWO, I'd seriously doubt that it would drop that far. My advice would be to keep your $75 and not apply to UWO. Again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest Relf]

Hey TimmyMax...do you think I should apply with these scores?

 

PS: 10

VR: 08

BS: 11

WS: Q

GPA: 3.8

 

I dont know whether I should take the chance....if someone else gave me the "go ahead", maybe I could justify taking a chance on the $75....

 

-Aran

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey Eran,

 

My hotmail is being wonky, so I'm going to post my reply here because it's a little more reliable.

Thanks for your question. Your situation is a very tough call. It looks like you have the GPA and stuff, but it's just that VR score that may prove to be an Achilles heel. On the one hand, the VR cutoff has been 9 for the last few years, but on the other hand, it is set by the applicant pool each year, so it could change. As for whether or not it will drop to an 8 this year is impossible to predict. My advice is to check in on the VR cutoffs for UWO from the last couple of years or so and then make the call yourself. I can't recall a year when the cut has been 8, but at the same time, you can't win the game if you don't play. So I guess my advice would be to apply anyway, but don't get your hopes up too high. You may very well get a big surprise come January in terms of an interview invite, and I can tell you from personal experience that it sucks when you don't apply to a certain school because you're afraid that your MCAT marks may not be up to snuff- in retrospect, I guess I could have been a member of the UWO Class of 2005, but it really doesn't matter now, plus the guys in 2006 are much better looking anyway thanks in large part to me, but whatever. Of course that was in the dark ages when we couldn't find out our scores until a couple of days AFTER the deadline. So I say go for it- the potential $75 loss may be a kick in the pants now, but I'm sure that you'll be successful somewhere else, if not UWO, and years from now, when you've got some serious 5-digit student loan debt, that $75 loss will be nothing but a splash in the pan.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest UWOMED2005]

With a high WS score (ie S or T), someone could have made it into the class of 2005 with a VR of 8.

 

I hope we are not considered the 'dark ages' yet. Though I still have only met a very limited number of people from the class of 2007, and Medsci + the LRC seems like a distant memory for me.

 

Wow, I really am in clerkship.

[Guest aneliz]

The cut-off scenario run for the class of 2005 has been retired...permanently. So, yes UWOMEDS, you are part of ancient admissions history! The 'added' score cut-offs were used only for the class of 2005 as an 'experiment' and were such an incredible headache for everyone involved that it has been resolved to never do that again. And, it has not been done with either the 2006 or 2007 class - we all had a straight, no-adding required cut-off.

 

The cut-offs are always determined by the strength of the applicant pool and are a strict cut in each of the subtests. They have been as low as a 7 in VR before...but not for many years. I would not expect the cut to be significantly different from last year - although nothing is for sure at this point! Cut-offs will be set for the 2008 class in late Jan, so we really can't tell you anything *for sure* about your chances. If you have good scores in all of the other categories and a strong GPA, I would say go ahead and apply...because you can't get in if you don't apply....and you will kick yourself come Jan if the cut is an 8 in VR!

 

Good luck!

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Sorry, I mean 'Dark Ages' in terms of having to submit applications without knowledge of our MCAT scores at the time of submission- example: October 15th OMSAS deadline and October 19th (or so) MCAT score release date for the August exam. Man, how things have changed!

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest medicator007]

Yeah I remember those dark ages... blind submissions.... cost me a pretty penny for schools that my "M" virtually eliminated me from receving an interview at.... distant memories.

[Guest BananKing]

I was just wondering if UWO uses MCAT scores as a competative criterion or is it used strictly as a cut-off? Eg. Would a person with a 10 10 Q 10 have an extra edge off a person with a 9 10 Q 10?

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

The MCAT score comprises 25% of the final evaluation score. It is used mostly as a cutoff (ie: missing the cutoffs = automatic rejection letter), but it does have a part in the final score. That being said, although the MCAT does comprise 25% of the final score, bear in mind that simply achieving the cutoffs does not earn one a score of 0/25. It is more like 18 or 19 out of 25. Therefore, in the scenario outlined, someone with a 10 10 10 Q score versus someone with a 9 9 9 Q score would be at an advantage, but that advantage would be very slight in the grander scheme of things. The interview is worth the most, at 50% and it is really what will make or break you, becuase unlike the GPA and MCAT sections of the final evaluation, it is (in theory) possible to earn a 0/50, which would make gaining admission impossible. There have been people with very strong MCAT scores (like 40-somethings) beign flat-out rejected or waitlisted at UWO, just as there have been many people who had only the cutoffs who have been successful. So in conclusion, once you make the MCAT (and GPA) cutoff, don't worry about it because there is really nothing you can do about it anyway. Rather, concentrate on acing the one aspect of your final evaluation that you can have a direct effect on- the interview.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest lcloh]

UWOMEDS2005:

 

Your year was the only year in the last 5 that has had a VR of less than 9

 

Edit: and as Aneliz has pointed out, is due to the strange formula they used that year (single and then combined cutoffs). The other years have been, Meds 2007 had 999Q, Meds 2006 had 999P, Meds 2004 had 989Q, Meds 2003 had 989P.

 

Your class (Meds 2005) was 888P, but then needed VR+WS>21 and BS+PS>19, so theoretically an 8+S = 21 in your year would have done it.

 

But I stress, that's been the one and only anomaly in recent memory where a person with a VR of <9 could actually get in (they could also have gotten 7+T)

 

L.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

True. I offered our class just as an example that nothing is set in stone. I wouldn't argue that someone with a 7 or 8 would have a very good chance at an interview, but there is the chance and if $75 isn't that big a deal, you would be really kicking yourself if you didn't apply.

 

BTW - when I was applying, 'recent data' in the 200 edition Black Book listed the GPA required for Western as being in the 3.54 range. This past year was 3.7, wasn't it? Things do change year to year!

 

The minimums won't be set until late Jan or early Feb. Everything until that is just speculation.