what does it take?

[Guest gettin discouraged]

I am trying my best... well hopefully not my best yet, to get into Med School, but this is the second time I have failed to get in. Both this year and last I got an 18 on my interview and my 2 year is slightly better than 85.5. Last year I was wait listed and this year straight rejection. I thought with the lowering of the interview pass mark, my chances would be better, not worse. And if I am not mistaken, someone was on here saying they got an 18 with a 90% 2 year average and weren't even wait listed (Can anyone confirm this. I can't find the post anymore, and I want to know if it is true). My question is what is needed to get in this year? If anyone can report the lowest acceptance score they have heard that would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[Guest ilikeblue]

I was in the same boat as you. I failed my first interview...did marginally better my 2nd time(19) --last year I was quite choked because the interview average went up to 21....which made it one of the toughest years to get in. My average is pretty much where you are sitting at...but this year I focused my energies on my interview. I analyzed where I went wrong in my prior attempts and tried to improve upon my performance or make drastic changes.

I know where you are coming from...because I was really bummed out not getting in last year....I didn't want to do anything because I felt I had no more energy...but eventually I picked myself up and gave it another go..and here I am;) . If you need any help/advice drop me a line. I would more than happy to help you out

[Guest bm99]

Hey...I know how you feel. This year was probably one of the toughest years to get in, even tougher than last year. I had about at 86% 2 yr and a 21 but got rejected. If you were wondering what the standard was to get in, Im guessing you would need about an 87 (based on results from friends) for a composite score so even I woulda been about a point short although we have similar grades and I have a slightly higher interview. It's hard considering based on what Ive heard from last year, I woulda been in easily along with the person who had 90 + 18 as last year the minimum score was around 85.

 

When the pass mark for the interview was made 15, I had thought that this would mean lower than average interview scores. However, I also remember hearing that many high marks were given (many 21s and 24s)along with a lot of very low marks so that may explain a reason that it was quite tough to get in. It seems as if the interview panels significantly rewarded the candidates that performed well and the pass mark was probably changed to keep the failure rate consistent with previous years (about 12%).

 

I guess the bad news for people like us is that there is no reason for it to get any easier in the coming years. But, like the letter says...if you are still interested in medicine, keep trying! I know I will.

[Guest ctscan]

yup, that was moi. And from what I hear, I wasn't the only one. Well what can you do? C'est la vie.

[Guest gettin discouraged]

Not sure if this is of any interest to any of you, but I just heard from a friend of mine who as far as I know has about an 84.5-85%avg and got a 21 on the interview who got waitlisted. I mean there is a good chance they won't get in off the list, but their stats are not as good as some of yours and they are on the list. Does anyone know of a male/female quota? Last year's admission was 30 and 30. I am not saying that it exists, but unless someone is calculating their avg wrong, something fishy is going on. Just thought you may want to know that. adios.

[Guest ctscan]

even though that IS interesting, from previous experience I know that being waitlisted is virtually the same as being rejected. Of course there are the lucky few who are waitlisted and accepted, but the key word here is "few". Whether or not I was waitlisted, I'm still disappointed as heck.

 

I know of a guy who was waitlisted for 4 years in a row and he's still not in.

[Guest d00b]

bm99,

you said, " If you were wondering what the standard was to get in, Im guessing you would need about an 87 (based on results from friends)".

 

I was just wondering if you knew acutal scores from anyone who got in with a low 87 or if you were just making an educated guess.

[Guest bm99]

hey d00b,

 

nah, that is just my best guess. I know people around 86 that got rejected and I also know a fewn people around 86.6 that got waitlisted. The weird thing is that even thought I know many people who got early offers for admission, I don't know anyone who got accepted last week.

[Guest blacklightning]

Hi, I'm sorry about everyones bad news, I know what its like... I was waitlisted last year. Anyways, 87 sound about right because I was accepted and my score is 87.4

 

Anyways, good luck every and I hope you get the call

[Guest bm99]

"Not sure if this is of any interest to any of you, but I just heard from a friend of mine who as far as I know has about an 84.5-85%avg and got a 21 on the interview who got waitlisted. I mean there is a good chance they won't get in off the list, but their stats are not as good as some of yours and they are on the list."

 

 

I agree, that is interesting. I did have a higher avg. and a 21 but got rejected. Are you sure of their numbers? Also, maybe there is some other reason for that person being waitlisted instead of rejected? Older student/ has masters perhaps?

[Guest sasky]

Does anyone know the # of early vs. regular acceptances? Does anyone know if they changed the weighting of their application criteria? Mods, can you give us any insight into the stats, etc.? Knowing this info will really help out with letting us know where we sit. Thanks!

Sasky

[Guest kosmo14]

I won't comment on specifics of # of acceptances and acceptance stats as I believe this to be confid. info. that the college may not want to give out. They may choose to, but it is not my place to make that choice for them. If you really want to know you may want to contact the office yourself.

 

As far as the weighting goes, absolutely nothing has changed. It is still 76% academic and 24% interview. With this you can see that ther is a possiblity that there is a varying rancge of academic scores that would be accepted depending on the interview score, and therefore saying a 87% cutoff is completely incorrect to say. I will give the example I give every single year at this time:

 

Person A- academic average: 90% (.90 x 76= 68.4)

interview score :17/24

Total score: 68.4+17= 85.4

 

Person B- academic average 84% (.84 x 76= 63.84)

interview score: 23/24

Total score: 63.84+23= 86.84

 

Person B gets in person A gets the "thanks for coming out letter".

 

As I have said there is NO specific academic cutoff except the 78% required to apply. It is truely the interview that makes the biggest difference due to the small variation in academic averages. Work on the interview people, and quit focusing so much on the specific academic % as I know people in medicine currently that got in with low 80s but very strong interviews.

 

I hope this clears up all of the misconceptions around acceptance at the UofS. It is actually pretty open and basic.

[Guest ilikeblue]

I think the prior post was referring to the total score you calculated and not the GPA(2 year avg). Reading all these posts and talking to other applicants I think hes right about the 87% combined score this year being the rough cutoff. I'm pretty sure the minimum total score accepted a couple of years ago was around 83-84ish....last year around 85-86ish and this year I'm guessing its going to be 86-87ish.

 

You are right about the importance of the interview. I am the same person as I was 2 years ago...with the same volunteer and work experience and motivation for medicine. After two tries I just had to dig deeper, rethink my strategy for this last interview. Its a one shot deal every year....so although marks are important, put in enough time to prepare for your interview. Anyways good luck to those on the waitlist...I hope things work out for you guys.

[Guest d00b]

I agree ilikeblue, I believe the posts so far have been of the total admission score, not the 2 year average. Based on the above posts, the actual cutoff has to be somewhere between 86.8-87.4.

 

I hate to beat this subject to death, but for the sake of the waitlisted people, is there anyone who has been or knows anyone who has been accepted with lower than an 87.4 total admission score (.76x + interview) ???

 

Many thanks.

[Guest pazas]

For the two year average, is it the last two years or the best two years, if you've finished a degree?

 

Thanks.

[Guest kosmo14]

best two full years.