2020 Interview/Invite Thread

[neuro_gal4]

4 minutes ago, premed0821 said:

If we didn't hear anything regarding CASPer does that mean we made the cutoff?

Did they contact people to tell them their CASPer was not good enough?

My speculation is the people who got contacted  ~ a month ago did not pass the -1.5SD cut off, and then they later decided to increase the cutoff based on the significant amount of applications, but did not inform those who were past the -1.5 but below whatever they chose as the cut-off. Just my two cents though 

[PopShoppe]

OOP - Rejection

GPA: 3.9

MCAT: 518

Maritimes Essay: Fairly weak perhaps, I have a very strong familial connection to Newfoundland but not the Maritimes themselves. Talked moreso about "Atlantic Canada" and the aspects of the program that fit with my learning style/I had experience with/was interested in. Guess it wasn't enough.

Not sure how my CASPer factored in at all but curious to see what others have said about the cutoff being raised. Doesn't give me much hope for the other schools with a CASPer requirement :/ 

[anonpremed00]

On 10/29/2020 at 6:35 PM, neuro_gal4 said:

My speculation is the people who got contacted  ~ a month ago did not pass the -1.5SD cut off, and then they later decided to increase the cutoff based on the significant amount of applications, but did not inform those who were past the -1.5 but below whatever they chose as the cut-off. Just my two cents though 

.

[neuro_gal4]

4 minutes ago, anonpremed00 said:

I think you're right, but I'm extremely discouraged with my IP rejection now knowing that this is likely what happened -- especially since it was stated on the website that your CASPer score only had to be within 1.5 SD when applications were due.

I know, it's really unfair. Schools shouldn't be able to change the cut-offs mid application cycle, but I guess they have that advantage since we never see our CASPer scores. Sorry to hear about your rejection  

[spriCan]

Any guesses as to why there would be a *significant* increase in the number of apps this year? Is it due to a lower mcat cut-off? 

[llandermm]

OOP - Invite (1:09 EST)

GPA: 4.0

MCAT: 514

Maritimes Essay: Wrote about how I went to Dal for camp in high school and it really impacted my life, but my experience was not unique to NS or the Maritimes. I talked more about I felt really welcomed by the profs and staff at Dal and how they helped me grow as a person.

I thought the Casper went average, I got cut off a couple times and felt that I did about the same as last year, a cycle from which I had no interviews

Feeling really grateful and wishing the best for everyone this cycle!

[Taco]

IP (NS) invite

[Philosesquipedalian]

Hiya, I cannot believe I finally get to post on this thread! 

OOP (Ontario) - Invite!!! (1:09pm EST)

GPA: 3.9

MCAT: Much above cutoffs

CASPer: Thought it went really well!

Maritimes Essay: I was honest about having no familial/residential connection to the Maritimes, instead I focused on my lived experiences and challenges similar to those faced by marginalized communities in the Maritimes; this was my 'intrinsic' connection. Furthermore, I explained what drew me to Dalhousie and why it was the right fit for me.

Congratulations to everyone that received invites, and best of luck to those still waiting on invitations from medical schools; I'm looking at you OMSAS.

[hello224]

2 hours ago, retawxy said:

I think OOP was still dependent on the maritimes connection essay rather than CASPer. I think the CASPer cutoff can be used to explain IP rejects, who are supposed to be guaranteed an interview once they pass cutoff.

I agree. I got a MUN interview but not Dal with a similar essay (and obviously the same Casper). 

[Philosesquipedalian]

2 hours ago, 09mmd15 said:

Oh hmm that's really interesting... crazy to think that the OOP 3.9+ and 510+ applicants all had CASPer below whatever cutoff dalhousie had decided for this cycle, even if they made the cutoff the mean score instead of 1.5 SD below it. I'd be really interested to know how big a role CASPER played in this year's cycle... @all OOPs that received an interview: how did CASPER go for you guys? Would you consider it one of the strengths of your app?

To answer your question, I believe it went really well for me. I was able to answer all of the questions, and re-read/edit some responses.  I think it was the result of a combination of working on my typing speed (80ish wpm; nothing too spectacular), making note of my personal experiences that would be relevant to answering the personal CASPer questions, and using the PPRDJ approach to answer ethical prompts. Finally, the hardest thing I had to convince myself of was not getting tied up over misspelling a word or forgetting a comma; time is limited and little mistakes do not affect scoring (at least according to CASPer's assessment protocol). 

Hopefully that provides some anecdotal insight!  On the topic, I do believe beyond the CASPer cut-off, the Maritimes essay was the key decider for OOP invites. Some members have highlighted the subjectivity involved in the process, I would add that it is definitely possible for someone to have a strong connection but to not have articulated that well enough, resulting in the unfortunate rejection. It may not be the connection itself, but rather how it was communicated.  

[retawxy]

34 minutes ago, hello224 said:

I agree. I got a MUN interview but not Dal with a similar essay (and obviously the same Casper). 

Same.

[marsaturn20]

OOP - Rejection

GPA - 3.8

MCAT - 506 (old score, didn't meet the Sept 12 deadline for my retake, but it didn't really matter)

Maritime connection: Although I didn't have a very strong maritime connection, Ithought this was strong enough. I talked about my rural experiences growing up and how it inspired me to come back to rural communities to be of service. 

Overall, I was expecting this rejection, but it definitely stung a bit. 

Congrats to those who are invited and I'm sorry to the IP applicants who got a R today. It's VERY UNEXPECTED, and you all didn't deserve such treatment from the school

 

[FutureMD7]

4 hours ago, 09mmd15 said:

Oh hmm that's really interesting... crazy to think that the OOP 3.9+ and 510+ applicants all had CASPer below whatever cutoff dalhousie had decided for this cycle, even if they made the cutoff the mean score instead of 1.5 SD below it. I'd be really interested to know how big a role CASPER played in this year's cycle... @all OOPs that received an interview: how did CASPER go for you guys? Would you consider it one of the strengths of your app?

I thought my CASPer went terribly and expected to be excluded based on that, but somehow got an invite.

[Iskandar]

Time Stamp: Thursday, October 29, 2020 - 2:04pm

GPA: 3.9

MCAT: 509 (127/127/127/128)

IP/OOP: IP

Rejected....

I might just be speculating here but I would love for other IP rejection to confirm these stuff with me. I am IP but not by attending a Maritime High School but by living in a Maritime province for 12 consecutive months, this met their requirement to be IP. However, I was never asked to show any verification for my residence in a Maritime province. Also, After having submitted by application, I saw that a step was added on my app of the non-maritime essay. I had already submitted my application, so I just shrugged it as it being an error of some sort. Finally, in my rejection email, they say the reason for my rejection is because of the amount of NON-MARITIME APPLICANTS. But I am IP, so this should not be a legitimate reason for me. I believe that they might have made a mistake by not recognising IP applicant who did not due their high school in the maritime but simply live there. I emailed them and waiting for a response but I would love to know if anyone else believes himself to be in a similar situation

 

[acshep]

22 minutes ago, Iskandar said:

Time Stamp: Thursday, October 29, 2020 - 2:04pm

GPA: 3.9

MCAT: 509 (127/127/127/128)

IP/OOP: IP

Rejected....

I might just be speculating here but I would love for other IP rejection to confirm these stuff with me. I am IP but not by attending a Maritime High School but by living in a Maritime province for 12 consecutive months, this met their requirement to be IP. However, I was never asked to show any verification for my residence in a Maritime province. Also, After having submitted by application, I saw that a step was added on my app of the non-maritime essay. I had already submitted my application, so I just shrugged it as it being an error of some sort. Finally, in my rejection email, they say the reason for my rejection is because of the amount of NON-MARITIME APPLICANTS. But I am IP, so this should not be a legitimate reason for me. I believe that they might have made a mistake by not recognising IP applicant who did not due their high school in the maritime but simply live there. I emailed them and waiting for a response but I would love to know if anyone else believes himself to be in a similar situation

 

I also did my high school outside of the maritimes but have lived there my entire life. I have not heard anything back (no rejection or invitation) and am worried they have considered me out of province. If I don’t hear anything tomorrow I’m also going to email them because I haven’t gotten an email at all and I seem to be the only one. I’ll post here if I get any response but it seems like they haven’t been great at responding. 

[AutumnYellowJacket]

Although I definitely understand the frustration from a lot of the OOP applicants, please try not to let it get to you personally! Applying to OOP med schools is such a low percentage payoff statistically, and sometimes it's hard not to feel like it's a rejection of you as a person. 

But, just think of the numbers, and that might help take the sting off it! Say there's 10 OOP seats at Dal (no idea what the actual numbers are), but there could well be 500 OOP applicants, especially this year with COVID throwing off all previous years estimates for literally everything. It's really hard to tell without stats from the admissions office, but I don't believe that that number is too far fetched, and if anything could even be higher, but lets say it's 500 for this example. That means you have a 1:50 chance of getting in (assuming you're all perfectly equal candidates). Basically you need to beat out 49 other people to get one of those spots. That's a crazy ratio, and at a certain point, deciding between those top candidates is going to be a matter of luck anyways. And then we all know that we're NOT all equal candidates. Thinking about all the people I know that are applying to med school, if you put me up against any one of them, I'd feel confident that I'm the better candidate. Against two? Absolutely. Five? Sure. Ten? Maybe. Forty nine?!? Not so much. I still think I'm a pretty good one, but 49 people is so many different experiences and lives lived! All one of them has to do is edge me in just one area of my application, and I'm toast.  (You can play this exercise with the exact numbers if you have them, but I suspect that in real life, the ratio is even higher. I'm also aware that this is for the final seats, not just interviews, but this is a thought exercise that I use when I get rejected) 

From Dal's perspective too, just imagine how crazy it has to be with that number of people applying, that they've got to set the cutoffs insanely high, and only let people with 4.1 GPAs and 529 MCATs in. It doesn't mean you're not an amazing candidate, it's just a matter of OOP pool saturation! Competition to med school has always been insane, and I can't imagine this year has gotten any better than previous years. They have to rely on imperfect statistical measures to boil your life down to a few numbers, despite who you are as a kind, compassionate future healthcare provider. I know it hurts, and it's always tough seeing others succeed when you believe you should be there too. This rejection sucks, but keep your head up, and know that the system rejected a number, not you. Wishing you all the best of luck! 

 

And kudos to everyone who DID receive an invite, IP or OOP! I hope you smash that virtual MMI with all the rage 2020 deserves. 

[hygge4]

Does anyone know if MCAT/GPA was used as a competitive assessment for the OOP applicants? Based on their email to me it seemed like they were just used as cutoffs which I didn't know

[acshep]

Interview or Rejection: Interview

TimeStamp: OCTOBER 30th - 10:13am AST (after emailing them out of concern for not receiving anything yesterday)

GPA: 3.7

MCAT: 522 

Maritime Connection (/OOP, IP): IP 

[justamom]

Rejection  

GPA:4.0

MCAT 516 

OoP 

 

[Taco]

Does anyone know how many applicants they are interviewing?

[SmallTownGal]

5 hours ago, Taco said:

Does anyone know how many applicants they are interviewing?

I read somewhere that their interview capacity is 384, but not sure if that is accurate this year or not.

[MDloading]

Invite!!

IP NB applicant

504 MCAT

3.9 GPA

[Waffles312]

For those of you who received an Interview invite, does anyone know what the deadline to complete Section 3B of the application is?

[sr9]

1 hour ago, Waffles312 said:

For those of you who received an Interview invite, does anyone know what the deadline to complete Section 3B of the application is?

The email says 3b is due November 4th and 3a is November 6th but in the actual portal, the deadlines for both 3a and 3b are listed as November 6th. I uploaded 3b today to be safe!

[Nutella]

For those who uploaded a photo for 3A and wear glasses, did you guys keep them on, or take them of ( since it says passport style)?