Queens GPA

[Guest idreamofmeds]

I was wondering why Queens sets their GPA cut-off so low (in comaprison to the other schools) Are the same people being interviewed at most of the five schools in Ontario, so that's how low they have to go to ensure they can fill all the spots?

[Guest JSS02]

3.6 isn't that low... the U of T cutoff is around that, though realistically, they say most people need in the mid 3.7s or better to receive an interview. Mac's is 3.0, Western's 3.7, and Ottawa has some cutoffs below 3.6 depending on your location of residence. Also, Queen's has the highest verbal cutoff (10) which, when combined with the GPA cutoff, is enough to cut the applicant pool down to the 400-450 people they want to interview.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Based on what I heard (and saw) at the UT Symposium last night, Queen's determines their cutoffs using the following criteria (Note: Queen's moderators, please feel free to edit for inaccuracy; this info is from Dr. Ellis' presentation last night):

1st - GPA cutoff- all 1,500 or so applicants are ranked according to their GPAs from highest to lowest. The bottom half is eliminated from the applicant pool, which explains why the Queen's GPA is 3.59 and not higher.

2nd - MCAT cutoff- with about 750-800 applicants remaining in the pool, the MCAT cutoff is set such that about 450 will qualify for an interview. Those above this cut are moved forward for an interview while the rest are eliminated. Since the remaining pool is 750-800 students, the MCAT cuts are understandably a little higher than at UWO or UT- they have to be to pare this number down.

3rd - interview- all previous data is DISCARDED (all applicants are equal at this point, regardless if their GPA was 3.59 or 4.0). The weighting for admission decision is 50% personal interview and 50% PIF, letters and autobiographical sketch(?).

So that's how Queen's admissions works in a nutshell. I hope this explains the GPA and MCAT cutoffs people were concerned about.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

P.S.: I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes with this post, merely I meant to share what I learned last night with everyone!

[Guest QM6]

Hey all,

 

Yep, exactly what JSS02 and TimmyMax said. I think that third point's especially important - top grades/MCAT will _not_ distinguish you from anyone else past the interview and get you in (whereas, for example, final selection at Western is 25% GPA / 25% MCAT / 50% interview). I suppose that putting so much weight on personal stuff for admissions might make Queen's selections process a bit more of "black box", but hey, it works!

[Guest Ian Wong]

Floating to the top...

 

Ian