Guest rubberoduck Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 Just wondering how many people are starting on their application to OMSAS yet. This is a nightmare. While Ottawa is a good school and everything, the autobiographical sketch alone is driving me crazy. It took me 4 days to complete it, and that is just one school. One more thing, Ottawa's instruction says that there is adetailed autobiographical sketch in addition to the sketch. I'm guessing that it's the form with all the details, but I don't see any essay-type questions. so I'm just wondering, for those of you who have applied to ottawa, is there no essay for this school? btw, western's application is a joke. all it asks for is which highschool you went to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest squeegy80 Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 for those of you who have applied to ottawa, is there no essay for this school? nope, no essay. At least not last year, so I'm guessing things haven't changed. Ottawa's instruction says that there is adetailed autobiographical sketch in addition to the sketch. Yes, you get more room in the Ottawa application for your sketch, compared to the general OMSAS sketch. So you have to do 2 sketches in total if you're applying to Ottawa. And by the way, 4 days for a med school application isn't long at all. I'm sure I spent well over a week on some of mine. My advice would be to get multiple people to look over your sketch to make any minor adjustments and give alternate points of view. Also, since you're done it so early, wait a couple weeks and then go back yourself and see if everything is as good as can be. Don't underestimate the importance of the sketch!! A top notch one can go a long way! Good luck squeegy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubberoduck Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 thanks squeegy about the sketch, I guess I've taken it rather lightly. It seems rather insignificant. Just entering a bunch of activities and describing what you did. Is it that important to get someone to look it over? I mean I've had enough trouble writing them, I don't want to put someone through the same pains (except for the admissions committee, since they asked for it) also, ottawa and Mcmaster want verifiers to your activities. I suppose I can contact a bunch of people to verfiy more recent ones (within 2 years), but some of the things that I've done like 4-5 years ago cannot be verified because I'm sure those people are no longer there (for example, the teacher who conducted our choir during highschool has left the school in the same year that I graduated; and one job I worked at for over 3 years, I believe the owner has left the country to establish elsewhere). So what happens if I can't find verfiers? Should I just leave it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Icarus Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 You will definitely need verifiers for all activities. I was accepted this year and I know for a fact that some of my verifiers were checked. I suggest finding someone else to verify your activities. For example, I had my best friend in highschool act as a verifier for some of the activities that we both participated in. They will not look for a reference from these people, they just want to be able to verify that you actually did what you say you did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest satsumargirl Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Yeah I had the same problem with verifiers from years ago. Ottawa said they were understanding in the matter. I had put my Mom down as a verifier for some of my high school stuff with an explanation that such and such a person was no longer there etc... In some instances (e.g. job) I wrote the name of my then supervisor but also wrote...this person is no longer there and provided the name of the current person in charge. (if they really want to they could verify that at least that person existed) In terms of importance of the sketch....I would say since that is your only opportunity (prior to an interview) to convey to the ad coms who you are and convince them to give you an interview, it is very important! Good Luck Sats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blinknoodle Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 For the Ottawa sketch, I definitely agree that one should spend some quality time with it.. Ottawa will look at everyone's sketches above a certain GPA, but based on your sketch alone, you will be ranked and invited for an interview. One year, my friend simply included what they asked for - like hours/week, summer/school term, club/team, etc - and didn't get an interview. The next year, she had a nearly identical sketch but was more meticulous in including a more thorough description of her involvement, and received an interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Hey there, I agree re: time is well spent on the UofO sketch. The year I received an interview (last year) I had spent a multitude of hours on it, cramming in every pertinent detail and ensuring that the descriptions were cogent. Good luck, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nby Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 I'll agree with that, polish your UofO sketch. I did a half assed job on mine (and my EC's were good), and did not receive an interview, despite my competitive academics. It was an oddball on my applications, accepted at 2 med schools and waitlisted at another, but that half assed EC sketch meant not even an interview at UofO. POLISH YOURS but don't cry for me, i'm still headed to my first choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubberoduck Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 does anyone have an example of a "polished" sketch? I mean there is a very severe space restriction. I had to be very concise with what i write, and simply cannot imagine how i can possibly "polish" so few words as for verifiers: 1. do we need verifiers for the awards? I mean I keep those certificates and placques. And for employment, I have some of my old payroll stubs to substantiate 2. awards and achievements: I listed 5-6 awards that I received throughout highschool. who should I name from my highschool? guidance counsellor? and for awards from university, my registrar? 3. extra-curricular activities: is it ok to name things that are not competitive? i.e. I'm a regular biker (good exercise and gets you around fast), can I list that as an EC and use my friend/family for verifier? I had no idea that there is so much emphasis on the detailed personal sketch. how is OMSAS going to verify each and every one of them? sounds ludicrous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubberoduck Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 one more thing. a lot of these EC's and awards I can back up with documents. It's difficult to track back to those people in charge so many years ago. How can I verify those claims with these papers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Icarus Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 as for verifiers. . . 1. i would definitely find people that can be called for verification. they will not contact you for proof, so your pay stubs, etc. won't help much. 2. i would put someone who personally remembers that you recieved the awards or completed activities. attempting to contact the correct person in the registrars office for verification might be tricky. 3. it's fine to name things that are not competitive. OMSAS does not verify any of your activities. a few of my verifiers were contacted directly by the school i interviewed with a week before they sent me an offer of admission. i.e. it is much easier for the individual schools to contact verifiers for the applicants they intend to accept as opposed to OMSAS contacting all of the verifiers of every applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4shattered4 Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 I just had a related question regarding verifiers. If they do check, will they just confirm the amount of time/type of activity you put on your application (to check that it was not a complete lie) or will they actually talk to the person and use that conversation as a basis for their offer ~ almost like a reference person type of thing? It would definitely not be good if some volunteer coordinator from a hospital you volunteered in Gr. 11 does not remember the exact details of your volunteering experience and the person from the department isn't there anymore =S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest little endian Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 Someone called your verifiers? What school did you get accepted to? Nobody ever called any of my verifiers after I went to all that stinkin trouble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blinknoodle Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 I know someone who was called.. and although it was for a scholarship (and not for medical schools), they simply asked about the person's involvement (hours per week, duration, involvement, etc) without any prompts or further conversation, so to be on the safe side, I would let your referees know exactly what they will be verifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest satsumargirl Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 I just had a related question regarding verifiers. If they do check, will they just confirm the amount of time/type of activity you put on your application (to check that it was not a complete lie) or will they actually talk to the person and use that conversation as a basis for their offer ~ almost like a reference person type of thing? I believe it is just to confirm that you actually were involved with the activity. I guess if you weren't and you essentially lied on your application then they might rethink an offer. Otherwise it's just to confirm that you are who you say you are. I believe in the application package it says that you are supposed to inform your verifiers that you've listed them in regards to your med school application...but not tell them specifically what you wrote, or something like that. I had informed the more recent verifiers or the ones I thought were more important so if they did get a call it wouldn't be a big surprise. To my knowledge none were called though. As for an earlier post .....references for awards/scholarships, if you can think of someone best to put someone down than nobody at all. I had listed research supervisors who knew I had received whatever award. And surely for jobs you would have a contact and not just your pay stubs. Even if it's a retail job where there is a new manager, somewhere they have a record that you were employed there. Just call and let them know they may be asked to verify your employment with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubberoduck Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Thanks for all your input~ I finally found a science teacher from highschool who can verify my awards and such. I spoke with him and he would also verify my non-science awards with the guidance department so that he can represent them if the need arises. As for the job issue, I took an administrative assistant job at a very young age for 3 years. It was a valuable experience, but it was at a small company where I worked directly with the owner of the company (hence admin assist) who has left the country to pursue other goals. Since it was such a long time ago, and the company is no longer there, I would not know how to verify that. I read that somebody used their family/friend for a verifier. Is that ok in my case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest satsumargirl Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 You could double check with the programs you are applying to. But I also had an employment position with a company that no longer existed. I just wrote that the company was out of business and so I had no contact but could get in touch with my mother if they needed verification. In this case I wasn't too concerned if they just disregarded the entry entirely if there was no verifier since it was not one of my more outstanding entries. i.e. I don't think that job said too much about me! I guess I felt it was better to have someone as a verifier (even if it was my mother) than nobody. I think Ottawa understands it may be difficult to have verifiers for everything. But I'd make sure the more key entries on your sketch have legitimate verifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubberoduck Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 does anyone know, for the questions on OMSAS, whether the character count include spaces or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jixe Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 btw, western's application is a joke. all it asks for is which highschool you went to. I love Western. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Elaine I Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 Yes, the OMSAS computer system counts spaces as characters. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.