People who were successful in their uofa applications, any advice?

[confused_student]

I've pretty much almost completed my application but I'm having some doubts. From the threads here and the information that uofa released on the accepted applicants, I feel they really look for excellence. You either need to have stellar grades or rockstar EC's and I have neither. My gpa is not a 4.0, its not super high. My MCAT is okay, hovering around average. And in terms of my EC's theres nothing revolutionary. I feel with my EC's, I have a number of personal experiences to talk about and they provide a lot of context for them as well as help to show why they're meaningful to me. I also feel that although they aren't spectacular, I have learned a lot from a few. 

Is there anyone here who got in or got an interview with just an average application? Nothing super extraordinary but good enough to get in? Any tips on how to portray yourself when you don't have something awesome to brag about?

[offmychestplease]

No one gets in with an average application regardless of what they may say when 2000+ people apply for 160 seats.

If one feels they don't have good EC's/casper/references then they likely had 3.90+ and 515+. At the same time if someone feels their GPA/MCAT were not too strong (but still competitve range) they likely had very strong interview/EC's/casper/references/graduate degree bonus. 

The median stats for those accepted IP last cycle was 3.92, 515 and OOP was 3.94, 518. Make of that as you will.

All you can do is put your best foot forward and hope for the best. 

[UnicornHair]

This past cycle my friends with 505-508 and around 3.7-3.8 gpa got into UofA. I got into UofC with a MCAT around that range (and 124 CARS). You have to be average in a group of highly accomplished people. Its natural to have doubts. In fact, I had a lot of self doubt the entire year that I was waiting on interviews, then interview decision. Its okay! At the end of the day, try your hardest to put forward the best application you can (it sounds like you have done that). Good luck!

[Med2be]

On 9/27/2021 at 12:07 PM, offmychestplease said:

No one gets in with an average application regardless of what they may say when 2000+ people apply for 160 seats.

If one feels they don't have good EC's/casper/references then they likely had 3.90+ and 515+. At the same time if someone feels their GPA/MCAT were not too strong (but still competitve range) they likely had very strong interview/EC's/casper/references/graduate degree bonus. 

The median stats for those accepted IP last cycle was 3.92, 515 and OOP was 3.94, 518. Make of that as you will.

All you can do is put your best foot forward and hope for the best. 

Gonna piggy back off of this. Looking around my class I can say that everyone is very accomplished.. even if they don't think they do. (Imposter syndrome lol).

Our class has a range of people with top 1% academics, research etc, to people who have lower academics but with very unique and diverse life experiences. I fall into the latter - a very low relative GPA and MCAT, but I think I had unique experiences. 

 

End of the day, you just have to apply, and continue to build yourself up. Try and bring your best foot forward and show off who you are in your application and just wish for the best. You do have to keep in mind like ^ poster said, there's 2000+ applicants for 162 spots. While the school looks for excellence, it also looks for people who are real, committed, and ready to contribute to the class and society. Mix that in with a good amount of luck and see where it lands you.