Graduate applicants

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

I'm hoping to apply to Queen's this year and as such, I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on one factor within the Queen's selection process for me.

 

I was just having a look at their website re: the GPA cut-offs during the selection process. Ceteris paribus, my last two undergrad year GPAs (per OMSAS calculations) fit Queen's current minimums. However, in the event that these GPA cut-offs head towards the stratosphere and I no longer fit the bill for that type of cut-off green light, I'm looking at Queen's policy for applicants who have completed graduate work. It mentions that graduate applicants are considered further based on specific criteria in the event that their GPA does not fit either of the two cut-off methods. So the question centers around the criteria: does anybody have any notion as to what they may be and/or how they are assessed? Any info would be appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest IronChef]

I actually asked the same question during my interview because I was a grad applicant at the time. The "official" response from the faculty member is that Queen's does not look at graduate students any different when evaluating the applicant pool. She did say, however, that in some cases, applicants with border-line marks and/or MCATS will be looked at by a seperate committee where things such as extracurricular activities and grad studies will be taken into consideration. If the applicant has good non-academic qualifications, an interview may be granted.

 

Hope that helps...

[Guest Monica411]

Hi Kirsteen,

 

I'm currently doing my master's right now and I enquired about the same issue. From what I remember, Ms.Cumpson said that you need 3 years at or above the GPA cut-off. This can be a combination of undergrad and graduate years. My assumption is that the grad year would be the full-time course work. I didn't ask about finer details since I started the masters part-time, my undergrad years don't meet the cut-off (circa 3.3) so I think my only hope is UofT without redoing undergrad.

 

Hope this helps (though I'm not sure if it does)

Monica

[Guest Jo]

At the interview session, the dean or associate dean of the program made a presentation and he talked about the different steps in the selection process. The first, he said, is the computerized MCAT/GPA cut-off and this is strictly abided by for students without graduate degrees (I know super candidates who have gotten rejected because of poor verbal marks on the MCAT).

 

However, for students with a grad degree, he said that exceptions can be made if they are borderline. I'm not sure how lenient they are, but for sure, they can look past the GPA if u have a grad degree... I got the impression that they are pretty strict about the MCAT rules though. I've never heard about grad marks being taken into account as Monica mentioned, but it might be worth calling them up to find out for yourself..

 

By the way, Kirsteen, I doubt the GPA will go much higher next year... They seemed ok with interviewing more people this year (460 I think they said at the session) instead of raising the cut-offs. Plus, there should be more seats next year.

 

Cheers.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for your responses; I appreciate it.

 

I ended up sending a wee note to Admissions and they filled in a few blanks. Apparently it is only the undergraduate years which they use for calculating the GPA for the two best years (if you don't meet the GPA cut-off with your entire academic record). Also, it is the average of those two years that they use to see if you meet the cut-off, not each of the two years separately. They will not use graduate courses in the calculation of your GPA at all. Finally, those years do not have to contain 5.0 courses; they will permit you to use years which have a minimum of 4.0 courses in the calculation.

 

As to exactly how graduate applicants are treated differently if they don't meet the above, you guys provided more info than they--they didn't have a response to that query at all.

 

I didn't inquire as to the staidness of the MCAT cut-offs, but that would be interesting if they were a little more lenient there. Anyone have any evidence of that, i.e., know of any grad students who were slightly below the MCAT cut-offs but were successful in gaining an interview? Hopefully, as of August, that will be a non-issue!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Crazytime]

Let's say you did one undergrad degree didn't meet the two yr cutoff. Then did two years in a new degree, could you apply after the two yrs in the new degree or would you have to complete the second degree or be in the final yr. of completing your second degree?

 

Thanks alot

[Guest Monica411]

I really think Queen's should clarify there policy wrt graduate applicants. It does not appear to be consistent and it would be awful for a student to base their decisions on what one admissions officer says only to find out it was not accurate!

[Guest Ian Wong]

Floating to the top...

 

Ian