Ummm Queens cutoff

[Tornado]

Is it just me, or was the cutoff on the queen's page earlier this summer 9,9,9, for each section of MCAT?

 

http://meds.queensu.ca/undergrad/admissions/the_cutoffs

 

But now Verbal is a 10???? What's going on?

 

Thanks for the help.

[Ollie]

Queen's cutoffs are not determined until after all the applications for that year are received, because the cutoffs are determined by the applicant pool. IIRC cutoffs are usually announced around January.

[Kuantum]

Queen's cutoffs are not determined until after all the applications for that year are received, because the cutoffs are determined by the applicant pool. IIRC cutoffs are usually announced around January.

 

True. So, that would mean this years applicant pool was better at verbal. I would expect these numbers to be the same for this year, or maybe the sciences going up by one a piece.

[Tornado]

Thanks for the replies... has it been 9, 9, 9 before or was it always 9, 10, 9?

 

Cheers

[Kuantum]

Last year it was minimum 9 in each section with a total of at least 32.

[Tornado]

Great. Thx again... just making sure I didn't totally imagine that.

[scarface]

I've noticed that Queen's academic cutoffs have been rising steadily over the years. At one point it was GPA 3.5 ish and MCAT 29 ish, but now GPA is almost 3.7 and MCAT is 32. And no, the double cohort effect doesn't explain the gradual increase in cutoffs over the past 10 years.

 

Also notice that the more recent versions of the MCAT (AAMC 7-9) are more difficult than the older ones (AAMC 4-6, which are more difficult than AAMC 1-3). So even though the MCAT has become more difficult, the cutoff has still increased.

 

Obviously, this means the applicant pool is getting stronger every year, but if this trend continues, eventually one will need a cumulative GPA of 3.9 and an MCAT of 36 to qualify for an interview at Queens. Does this speculation sound a bit outlandish? Can someone care to comment?

[Kiel]

Should those who are planning to apply in future years expect increases in MCAT scores and GPA?

[Kuantum]

Probably, but not significant increases. I could see GPA cut-offs around 3.80 and MCAT cut-offs around 11, 10, 11, Q. But that probably won't be for a while.

[Kiel]

What is awhile??

[scarface]

I look into my crystal ball and see Queen's cutoffs approaching the previous poster's estimates in approximately 2012 (maybe with a lower writing sample cutoff, and higher combined total).

 

3.8 Cumulative (without dropping ANY courses/bad years)- that's approaching Ottawa's current GPA cutoff for in province/non Ottawa applicants (and that school only uses a weighted formula of 3 recent years and doesn't use summer courses). Let's not forget Ottawa is the non-MCAT school, so their GPA cutoff for in province/non Ottawa will be 3.9ish by 2012.

 

I previously forecasted a 3.9 cumulative for Queens (but now I realize that seems unreasonable since a 4.0 in most schools gets converted into a 3.9 unless you get 90 or above in that course). Let's say 3.8 cumulative and 3.9 last two years, for Queen's admission in 2012.

 

Take home point from this message- getting into Queen's med school is far more difficult nowadays than it used to be. Do as well as you can in school and on the MCAT!!!! These cutoffs aren't going to get any lower!!!!

[Charms]

Last year it was minimum 9 in each section with a total of at least 32.

 

really? i though it was 9 for bs and ps but 10 for vr (not that it matters now.. but had it been 9 for vr, i probably would not have taken the mcats again..)

[Smurfette]

Hmm, I wonder whether Queen's will choose to change it's policy of giving out interviews based strictly on GPA and MCAT's to also include EC's and stuff so that they're cutoffs don't get ridiculously high. Many other schools seem to be taking that approach.

[The Law]

It will definitely be interesting to see what happens.

[Kuantum]

Yea, it would. However, even if they don't change their policy, averages are still going to increase anyway. Take Toronto for instance, an average GPA of 3.87 last year. That's relatively high and I think it will probably still increase.