2020-2021 Interview/Regrets

[miniaturebeaker]

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[coolmom]

Just now, Raisin Bran said:

Wow, awesome! Do you mind if I PM you about your experience in family law?

Of course! Happy to chat  

[miniaturebeaker]

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[AlteplaseStat]

Time Stamp: 1:04pm MST
Result: INVITE!
GPA: 3.72
MCAT: 507 (126/125/127/129)
Current/Past Degree: BScN
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): various volunteer positions working with vulnerable communities, a couple strong leadership positions, allied health employment. I tried to really “be myself” in the written portions of my app so they could get a tiny sense of “me” as a person aside from just my ECs. 
CASPer: unsure as it’s hard to gauge, seemed okay-ish

This is my second time applying, last year I didn’t get an interview. The UofA is my first choice institution, so I’m extraordinarily grateful for an opportunity to interview this year! 

[justkillmenow]

Time Stamp: 3:04 PM EST
Result: Regrets
GPA: 3.86 (for UofA)
MCAT: 509
Current/Past Degree: Final year MSc. 
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16: I thought pretty diverse and comprehensive; got a 7/17 last year for UofA and this year I was in the 50-75th percentile for UBC for non-academic activities. Employment: nanny + 3 service industry, Leadership: hospital volunteer role trainer/coordinator, student union representative, co-chair of campus mental health organization + equity organization. Volunteer: senior care home, homeless shelter, math tutor at community centre, campus radio broadcaster. Life experiences: research assistant during undergrad exchange, audio engineer for science podcast, 2 research projects (Master's thesis + independent study), longterm soccer. Personal highlights: Talked about master's research in more detail, travelling across Australia in a campervan, undergrad exchange experience in Hong Kong 
CASPer: Idk seemed fine

[ilovetea]

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[AbrahamLinkedin]

Hello friends!

Congrats to those who got invited.

Anybody else on here rejected after receiving invitations in previous years? I'm an Alberta resident and got an interview at Mac this year, but got rejected from UAlberta. Super confused. When did you all submit your cGPA Calculation on your application? I just noticed it not completed earlier in the month and did it last week and I'm thinking that could be a reason (among many) I didnt get an invite?

 

For reference, here's an abbreviation of my stats.

 

Result:Reject
GPA: 3.96
MCAT: 514 (128/129/129/129)
Current/Past Degree: 2nd year Masters
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): I filled out 16/16. 3 Years research, pretty diverse ECs and experiences
CASPer: Apparently good enough to get an interview at Mac as an OP despite never getting an interview there in the past two years.

 

Thanks everyone! Keep at it

[jtharg09]

time Stamp: 1:04 PM MST
Result: Regrets
GPA: 3.67
MCAT: 511
Current/Past Degree: BSc Kin (in progress)
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.):  filled out 16/16; long-term volunteering at sports med clinic and animal shelter, long-term work experience with children, academic scholarships, no research. Pretty diverse volunteer and work experience but mostly focused on sports and kids.
CASPer: unsure, felt good after writing

First-time applicant, of course I'm bummed I didn't get an invite but my application status hasn't been updated yet, not sure what that means? Good luck to everyone else!

[garceyues]

Time stamp: 1:04PM MST            
Result: Rejection  (I also got the "Should an interview position open up you may be contacted at that time" so I think its sent to everyone)
GPA: 3.84
MCAT: 512
Current/Past Degree: Graduated
Geography (IP/OOP): IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): I thought this was my strong point. Oncology research job (multiple conference presentations), work with vulnerable populations through interning at a hospital and some related non-profits/rural communities, after school teaching job where I design curriculums/lessons/experiments for science and programming/VR classes, lead researcher on a provincial study to develop healthcare info tools for vulnerable populations (first author publication, studentship award, multiple conference presentations). Employment implementing psychological and speech-language-pathology interventions for youth with a multidisciplinary clinical team, work in fast-food and warehouse/shipping job from a long time ago (couldn't fit these last few on my app.) Long term leadership experience in a financial literacy non-for-profit that I went through during my youth where I developed an original product with some highschool students,  leadership position in a charity where I oversee multiple committees/several hundred volunteers/organize an annual event for several thousand people/work with professionals & stakeholders at my uni and in the public & private sector (particularly proud of this one), leadership role in a mental health film/initiative that showed at a local theatre, lead researcher on a national affirmative action study. Drug injury awareness program volunteer, big brothers and sisters, first aid responder, psych lab researcher where I have worked on multiple studies (2nd author publication submitted for review, conference presentation). Long term sports and fitness involvement across multiple roles, part of a political leadership program, spoke about an experience I had growing up and how it shaped me. Also had some student group exec junk that I left out of my app because it ultimately wasn't meaningful to me. 
CASPer: Really no way to say, it felt alright I guess. Didn't prepare much but I felt ready from last year. 

 

This definitely hurts a lot, I put my all into this app and was playing around with my write ups for months on end . Honestly I don't know where to go from here. A few people I know IRL and some generous people from this site helped review my activity write ups to ensure I was putting my best foot forward, so I guess after two cycles of Rs at U of A its safe to say they aren't that strong (very grateful to everyone that helped me though, friends and strangers alike ). With subpar stats as well I'm not really sure where to go from here or how to improve my app. A second undergrad is such a time consuming and risky investment, and who knows how well I can do on the MCAT between work and all my other activities. I think if I get the R from U of C this might be the end of the road for me as I can't just keep applying and putting the rest of my life on hold with the wages I earn. 

[3betafish]

2 hours ago, albertahopeful21 said:

the Application ID is different from the student ID, you can find it in the payment reciept email! I couldn't submit the form when I put the student ID under application ID so just for anyone else who is confused LOL 

Anyone know what the subject was to find this email? I can't find my receipt! Thanks in advance.

[STDRM]

25 minutes ago, 3betafish said:

Anyone know what the subject was to find this email? I can't find my receipt! Thanks in advance.

University of Alberta Payment Confirmation

[3betafish]

Time stamp: 1:04PM MST            
Result: Invite
GPA: 3.81
MCAT: Around 515/ 126 CARS
Current/Past Degree: BSc., Masters
Geography (IP/OOP): IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): I don't have a score to share, but I filled out all the slots they allowed (all 16 activities). I have a lot of awards from graduate school, various volunteering experiences with communities I am a part of, and I've been working from a young age so I have a lot of random job experiences. Many years of research experience as well.  

CASPer: Felt it went decently well!

 

 

[wanderforhelp]

Time Stamp: 1:04 MST
Result: Invite
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 518 (129/129/130/130)
Current/Past Degree: BScN 2018
Geography (IP/OOP):  OOP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): I filled out all 16 - highlights were mostly employment/healthcare related including:

• ER RN x 4000ish hours across 2 different hospitals, both rural/remote although as an OOP I couldn't apply rurally
• Working at a coffee shop x 3800 hours, 1300 of those in a leadership role
• Co-chair for a council within my health authority 
• Nurse lead for modification of Code Blue protocols during early Covid at my hospital
• Poster presentation in university
• Research assistant for a healthcare-related quality improvement project
• Volunteering x 200ish hours supporting people experiencing homelessness 
• Trauma nurse presenter supporting teens to avoid distracted/impaired driving
• Practicum in northern Canada working with Indigenous populations to provide emergency and primary health care

CASPer: Felt meh about it. I'm a quick typer though so I did answer all three questions for almost every station. 

Really happy to see that U of A appreciates non-traditional student paths - I had a strong narrative in my application because my life already revolves around healthcare, but I was worried that a lack of more traditional research/volunteer hours would impact my application. Excited to interview! 

[retawxy]

Time Stamp: 3:04 EST
Result: Regret
GPA: 4.0 (Alberta)
MCAT: 520 (130/131/130/129)
Current/Past Degree: 4th year BSc
Geography (IP/OOP):  OOP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): filled out all 16 but I know they are not as strong as other applicants. Rejected from Queens and Western so probably on the weaker side. Please see my other posts for details.

CASPer: Good enough for MUN and Manitoba OOP. 

[Nik-]

Result: Reject
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 513 (127/128/129/129)
Current/Past Degree: BScN 2017
Geography (IP/OOP):  OOP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.):

- extensive experience working as a nurse in both the hospital and public health settings (still currently maintain both commitments) with participation on QI and Health/Safety committees. Demonstrated exceptional growth in the public health service as I was team leads for groups of senior staff and have been promoted to manage the infectious disease program within 1 year as the youngest ever manager.

-extensive work experience all throughout university working as a personal support worker in community care and peer tutor hired by my faculty

-extensive volunteering experience in the hospital and elementary school settings throughout high school and university, respectively

-leadership roles in meaningful projects throughout my career such as implementing sharps bins and their maintenance throughout my city while working in the public health service

-participation in research relevant to my area of work through the university of Manitoba addressing infectious disease transmission in the prison setting

-Plenty of other miscellaneous items important to me including: long-term participation in recreational athletics, barbering, automobile club, and the ability to speak another language. 

I obtained much feedback on my typed responses from many different people (ie: friends/family to physicians) and felt these were very strong as they resonated well with all.

Casper: Lots of preparation was put into this one (~5 weeks). I've been successful in the past for the nursing exam but never for medicine. 

References: strong, including one from an accomplished physician

 

Overall, I have to say I'm disappointed in Alberta after this one. Last year my activity score was 8/12 and with the growth I've experienced over the last year, I felt it would've been raised to a 9 or 10 to tip me over the edge. Funny that I can spend all day long providing direction to physicians in my community but can't actually become one myself.

MCAT was done in spring 2018 so I believe I have one more application cycle left in the tank before closing the curtains on this journey.

[OlDutchie]

Time Stamp: 1:04pm MST
Result: Invitation
GPA: 3.99 
MCAT: 512 (130/126/129/127)
Current/Past Degree: 4th Year Biology
Geography (IP/OOP): IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): Answered 14/16 (Need to work on leadership).
Hundreds of hours volunteering in multiple respects (pro bono tutoring, soup kitchen/service, big brothers big sisters, helping at institution). Worked during high school; focused on education during university. Thousands of hours involved in music performance for group (10 ensembles across the years) and solo, as well as time-practiced. Years of working-out and learning about fitness as a hobby.
CASPer: It went really well; didn't complete one answer. 

[BobBuffaloMarley99]

time Stamp: 1:04
Result: Accepted
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 528
Current/Past Degree: BSc 04',MSc 06', PhD 09', BEd 11', GDL class 5, forklift license, WHMIS
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employmenct, research, etc.): I recently decided to change career paths from being a conquistador. Although I was apprehensive at first most of my crew passed of scurvy and because we had no oranges I decided to be a doctor. 
CASPer: For I have sailed the sea's for many a time at once, this was no challenge for beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy come naturally. 

 

[CantaloupeSeeds]

time Stamp: 1:04pm MST
Result: Rejection
GPA: 4.00
MCAT: 518 (130/128/129/131)
Current/Past Degree: BSc. Psychology (Honours), Currently in 4th year
Geography (IP/OOP):  In-Province
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.):

• Research continuously from Summer 2018 to Summer 2019 and have been doing my honours thesis from Summer 2020 onwards
  • Research awards, no manuscripts, no conferences, no proper presentations (one department level symposium)
• Long term, but low cumulative hour volunteering as a day care type worker for poor/teenage pregnant women (150 hours)
• Club work, I know these are weak but I genuinely enjoyed working with them (300 hours combined)
• Employment as a grocery clerk (200 hours), employment at an amusement park (shoutout Calaway Park lmao) with 100 hours
• Very close personal story about taking care of my mother while she was going through chemo
• Several academic scholarships (Louise McKinney, PURE, Bursaries)
• Mentorship (only around 20 hours)
• Woodworking as a cute quirky hobby (30 hours)

CASPer: Probably not great, OOP mac rejection and a queens rejection and a, hehe, UofA rejection

 

Don't know where to go from here, I gotta get more (and higher quality) ECs and stop being a sociopath :pp

[PunkRockerForLife]

time Stamp: 1:04 MST
Result: Invite!!!!!
GPA: 3.48 ...right!?! (UofC’s gpa is a 3.61) (4th yr 4.0 gpa with 30+ credits)
MCAT: 516 (129/128/129/130)(506–>513–>516)
Current/Past Degree: BSc 2020
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP (rural applicant)

CASPer: (41-60% for Manitoba OOP) Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employmenct, research, etc.): 

filled all 16 entries. Lots of life experiences and not health related.

volunteering: 2 yrs missionary work in England before my undergrad, 8500+ hrs. Led a couple clubs that did volunteer work for two years. Established a free English class for a underserved immigrant population. Volunteered through my local church for the last 5 years. Coached kids basketball. 

Leadership: regional manager for 1 year as a volunteer missionary and trained new volunteers. Led a men’s organization through my church. Club leaderships.

employment: Tech support & Sales at the Apple Store. Door to door sales. Lab technician. Irrigation tech.

Awards: Deans’s List 2x

Research: Research assistant for 1.5 years. Presented a poster at two conferences.

personal life/hobbies: Husband & Father. Love drumming and running. 
 

I really told my narrative and shared some tough personal life experiences.   

To those rejected don’t give up! I was never a top student until I figured it out my last year of university. I took the MCAT 3 times. I got top grades during my last year while studying for the MCAT, while doing extracurriculars, while my wife was pregnant and sick, while working a few hours/wk to pay the bills and avoid debt, and then everything with COVID. My interview invite with a low gpa is evidence that your story matters, stay resilient! You can do it!

[PirouetteCacahuete]

Time Stamp: Too lazy to check. Same as everyone probably 

Result: Invite!?
 

GPA: 4.0 
 

MCAT: 519

Current/Past Degree: BSc Biomed

Geography (IP/OOP):  OOP
 

ECs: Minimal volunteering, few hours of shadowing, some service work, lots of rural work experience & work. Bench research, some awards & grants.
 

CASPer: Bombed it and was rejected from all the places that have a copy of this particular test. I am 100% shocked.
 

My phone wouldn’t let me « unbold » my text. Sorry if thats hard to read.

[starmay]

Time Stamp: 1:04 MST
Result: Invite!!
GPA: 4.00 (based on UofA, Ucalgary was 3.99)
MCAT: 517 (129/126/131/131) - definitely weak in CARS
Current/Past Degree: MSc
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP 

ECs: Last year I scored 4/17 (very disappointing). This year I filled 16/16, but tbh I feel like my ECs are pretty average. Employment, student researcher (several funded positions), residence advisor, digital consulting and some retail work. Leadership: mentorship roles, Teaching assistance, campus tour guide, and some other university positions. Volunteering: Clinical research, general hospital volunteer, recruitment event at university and within the department. Also many research awards, scholarships, and presentations but no publications. I really tried to show my personality through my descriptions and reflections to get that extra point. If you over-analyze things like I do, you'll notice the activity score is out of 17 so I figured they might give an extra bonus point for things that stand out.

CASPer: No clue at all. I answered all of the questions but I always feel like I never said enough... last year I did not get any interviews from schools that needed casper other than UofA. 

This is my second year applying, last year I got waitlisted after the brutal online panel interview but after a very long summer did not make it off the waitlist. I am so thrilled and thankful to get another interview this year. 

I wish everyone interviewing the best of luck. To those who were unsuccessful, don't let this one bump in the road define you and your worth if you feel like this is the journey you want to pursue keep on going and if not, the field of medicine can have every qualified applicant in another role. I've been telling myself all these things for over months now after many rejections last year. 

[theevilsloth]

time Stamp: 1:04
Result: Regrets
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 516
Current/Past Degree: BSc 2019
Geography (IP/OOP):  OOP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employmenct, research, etc.): 3/16 in 2019, 8/16 in 2020, ??? for this year. Got an interview at Queens.
CASPer: Didn't get interviews at uOttawa with a 3.95 or mac with a 3.84/128, got a Queens interview. Who knows. 

[coffee_pls]

time Stamp: 1:04pm
Result: Regrets
GPA: 3.96
MCAT: 517 (129/127/130/131)
Current/Past Degree: BSc Psychology (2021)
Geography (IP/OOP):  IP
Extracurricular Activities score /16 (awards, achievements, volunteering, employment, research, etc.): various consistent volunteering activities, various sorority leadership roles, 2 summers of research with vulnerable population (no publication yet), competitive sport 
CASPer: Not sure, felt alright 

Not sure what happened:/ I felt like I outlined my application quite personally and described what I gained from each experience.

[polymerase325]

anyone knows when we will receive the feedback form for those rejected? 

[gin_and_myoclonic]

20 hours ago, garceyues said:

This definitely hurts a lot, I put my all into this app and was playing around with my write ups for months on end . Honestly I don't know where to go from here. A few people I know IRL and some generous people from this site helped review my activity write ups to ensure I was putting my best foot forward, so I guess after two cycles of Rs at U of A its safe to say they aren't that strong (very grateful to everyone that helped me though, friends and strangers alike ). With subpar stats as well I'm not really sure where to go from here or how to improve my app. A second undergrad is such a time consuming and risky investment, and who knows how well I can do on the MCAT between work and all my other activities. I think if I get the R from U of C this might be the end of the road for me as I can't just keep applying and putting the rest of my life on hold with the wages I earn. 

I just wanted to pop on here and tell you that if this is your dream, DO NOT GIVE UP <3 Take some time off, take a year to re-group, but I believe in you. 

A few points, my fine internet homie: 

- Dr. Walker (the past dean of admissions @ U of C) said in some video I watched last summer: "if you've applied 3 years in a row, and have not received an interview, that's when it's time to rework your application". It sounds like you are 2 cycles into this process, and as we all know, it is a process indeed. You're not alone <3 

- Apply to more schools!!! It sounds like you're applying where you're IP, which is U of A & U of C. Last year, I too only applied to 2 schools, and did not get any invites. This year I applied to 5, and so far have 2 invites -- 1 IP, 1 OOP, & waiting on U of C. I'd encourage you to apply elsewhere It sounds like you are a solid writer, and your stats are perfectly good for med IMO. Many interview with lower! (I know applying more broadly is easier said than done, but, it can be done!)

- If med is your dream and you don't think you can spend more time applying (which I can imagine is a really tough decision) consider the USA, UK, or Australia! I have a friend who went to the UK, and is now back in Canada practicing as a physician in BC. This route has its own challenges, but at the end of the day, you would still be a doctor. 

- Sending you virtual hugs because I know how much this sucks. Again, these are just some thoughts, but I honestly hope they help because you sound like a solid applicant and I am rooting for you (come on U of C!!!). Feel free to message me if you ever wanna chat