High School

[shrink]

Any idea why UWO asks you which secondary school you went to? I can't imagine why it would matter... Do you think they favour certain schools, such as private schools or something? Or maybe they're just gathering stats...

[Dayne67]

I think it probably does matter. I think that's how they determine whether applicant is from the SWOMEN areas. Applicants from Southwestern Ontario tend to get a bit of an advantage (i.e. lower MCAT and GPA cutoffs) in the application process.

[silverjelly]

I think it probably does matter. I think that's how they determine whether applicant is from the SWOMEN areas. Applicants from Southwestern Ontario tend to get a bit of an advantage (i.e. lower MCAT and GPA cutoffs) in the application process.

 

Yep - to Western, it matters a great deal.

 

Man, I hope I got that Q in WS.

[TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Yes, applicants who attended high schools from Southwestern Ontario are given an advantage in terms of having lower MCAT and GPA cutoffs than the rest of the applicant pool. These are the so-called "SWOMEN" applicants.

Most other schools favour applicants from either in-province (vs. out-of-province) or the surrounding area, so this is not something that is unique to UWO.

UWO doesn't consider home addresses in determining who qualifies as a special "SWOMEN" applicant because quite frankly, home addresses are easier to fake (ie: all you need to do is sign up for a post office box in the given city- it's been done in the past, trust me!) whereas high school attended is not.

[Kiel]

Is that just for highschool? Say you attended UWO for undergraduate studies. Would you be classified as a SWO applicant?

 

thanks a lot!

[The Law]

It's only for those people who went to high school in SWOMEN areas (Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth, Oxford, Middlesex, Lambton, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Norfolk and Essex Counties).

[aneliz]

That's right... SWOMEN applicant status is determined by where you GREW UP (ie originated from) and that is being determined by what high school you attended. Doing your undergrad at UWO does not give you any advantages and does not make you a SWOMEN applicant.

[Kiel]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[mac_attack]

SWOMEN status means you can have lower scores on the MCAT or soemthing....so a benefit to you if you qualify.

[Kiel]

SWOMEN status means you can have lower scores on the MCAT or soemthing....so a benefit to you if you qualify.

 

THANKS.......

[crackers]

Until recently, Western was a "national" med school, with no preference given to local students or higher qualifications or quotas for out of province students. As a result, my class had about 7 people from BC, 3 from Quebec, a couple from the Maritimes, which added to the diversity. Since Western's mandate is to supply physicians for the southwestern Ontario area with an emphasis on rural physicians, they have recently begun to focus on SW Ontario applicantswhile remaining a "national" med school. The reasoning is that people from a rural area are more likely to return to a rural area to practice...