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hey all- I got rejected this year- sadly. I'm hoping to have a more competitive WGPA- can you guys share your WGPA for those interviewed- apparently they were ridiculously high this year?

 

You just have to meet the cutoff (depending on your geographic location) in order to have your sketch reviewed. Obviously, the higher your GPA the more competitive you are in terms of your score, but I would just aim to meet the cutoff (or higher if feasible) and work on improving your sketch.

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This year was slightly different than others.. previously, like eise said.. your wGPA once past the cutoff gets your sketch reviewed and that determines your interview status.

 

This year, it's the same thing, but once your sketch is evaluated that's weighted 50% and your wGPA makes up the other 50% and the combined score is used to grant interviews.

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second question-

for interview/wgpa score- post-interview- does the sketch come back into play? And finally- for the interview scoring- is it still 3, 3.25, 3.5, 3.6, 3.75 or 4/4, and that is added to your WGPA and divide by 2? In the past the interview score was what ranked people first such that a 3.75 interview with a 3.6 gpa would beat someone with a 3.5 interview and a 4.0- has that changed now?

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Yes I think it's bumped up the GPAs in the interview pool.

And yes, I am PRETTY certain that your first scenario - that is post interview 50% interview score, 50% GPA - is what will be used this year, it's still not completely certain. and yes previously it was 100% interview score which followed the numbers your posted.

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The wGPA's use to hover around 3.85 for those not from Ottawa and not from an underserviced area as defined by the UO office.

 

It'll probably be awhile until the numbers are posted so just try to finish up this year the best that you can :)

 

Another option, if you're set on Ottawa, is to go into a graduate program as that is a whole other kettle of fish application process.

 

Good luck :)

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thanks 0T6 :) one more questions: if people from Ottawa are interviewing with lower GPA's, b/c of lower cut-off's, doesn't that put them at disadvantage when the final admissions process is carried out (50%interview, 50% GPA) compared to say OOP people with WGPA 3.9? merci

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thanks 0T6 :) one more questions: if people from Ottawa are interviewing with lower GPA's, b/c of lower cut-off's, doesn't that put them at disadvantage when the final admissions process is carried out (50%interview, 50% GPA) compared to say OOP people with WGPA 3.9? merci

 

This is a good question. Keep in mind though that this may just affect a small portion of applicants from Ottawa region who barely met the wGPA cutoff as there may be a bunch of them who have high wGPA (3.8-4.0).

 

I wonder if a tie-breaker would be used after 50% interview/50% wGPA formula based on where you come from (those residing in Ottawa region and/or also speaking French being given preference).

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thanks 0T6 :) one more questions: if people from Ottawa are interviewing with lower GPA's, b/c of lower cut-off's, doesn't that put them at disadvantage when the final admissions process is carried out (50%interview, 50% GPA) compared to say OOP people with WGPA 3.9? merci

That is a very good point! I think this might be one of the issues they are dealing with during the possible switch to this new rating scheme. Also, perhaps the GPA's are rated on a linear type system. Perhaps people from Ottawa get extra points (in an attempt to keep physicians within Ottawa). I don't think anyone really knows for sure. The one thing I do know is that 0T6 will keep you updated with whatever the new changes are (if they come to fruition).

 

Good luck! :)

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The thing that bugs me with the 50/50 system is that I think, for this year at least, that it would mean some people wasted time & money to go to an interview when they really never stood a chance. For instance, in the CNFS program, they interviewed 28 people to fill 8 spots. If you're the one with the lowest GPA and they do the 50/50 method, even if you did the best interview of the whole bunch, you wouldn't have that great of a chance of getting in... Wouldn't that be a waste of your time and the admission committee's time ?... Maybe, for that system to work, they would have to reduce the number of people who did get an interview...

 

Also, I thought it was preaty nice to go into the interview without worrying too much about other people's GPA and where I stood. I just went in thinking "this is my chance", rather than "I wonder if I do have a chance"... Not a big deal, but I did like that feeling :) I'm sure for others, though, less weight on the interview would mean less stress on the interview day, so I guess they're a good side to both methods...

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I do like the fact that GPA is considered. One thing I would like to add to this debate is that even though it's 50/50, I still think it means that the interview makes or breaks you to a great extent.

 

If you think about it, the range of GPAs is 3.4-4, with most probably being in 3.7 and 3.8 and up.

 

Now, I'm not sure how they score interviews on the 4 pt scale, but I,m sure they use the range a lot more. Hence, even though its weighed at 50%, the interview is your greatest chance to distinguish yourself from the rest and get admitted. If you do amazingly well, you'll get in no matter what. It's when it comes to closer calls that this new policy will make a difference and I still think it won,t have as much of an impact as most ppl think because of the aforementionned reasons.

 

However, that being said, I do agree that schools should be responsible and not make a ridiculously high amount of ppl travel large distances for an interview. I think this puts financial strain on some applicants and that you should have atleast a 1/3 shot when you get an interview. This is especially true when the interview is not the sole deciding factor in the admissions process.

 

Well, those are my 2 cents!

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I like the 50/50 split. I've known several people get into Ottawa Meds who are academically atrocious but pulled off a very charismatic interview. I simply don't think this is right.

 

Also, I don't like the panel type interview since each panel has a different approach and grading varies according to the panel. Some panels are stone-faced and others are very relaxed. This would alter the interviewees performance significantly. I'd prefer if Ottawa switched to the MMI like many of the other schools have done. It's more standardized and simply more fair. The panel interview has simply been shown to be very unreliable. To have such an unreliable tool as the sole indicator at the interview stage would be ridiculous. 50%MMI and 50% gpa would be ideal.

 

Zuck

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Zuckerman, I agree with you on many points. McMaster currently does 60ish MMI and the rest GPA, which I think is balanced..I think it gives the people with a good GPA confidence knowing that they bagged the 40ish gpa score but they STILL have to perform in the interview, this system, I think, makes many people happy. It also gives people with lower gpa's a good chance.

 

About the schools not making people travel large distances and spend money or what not, I don't think that's a valid point b/c it's like getting a visa to travel, you find people do extraordinary things like stay at the office for hours to get a stupid paper allowing them to fly...Why?..because they need and want it. It's the same with med school, It's an inconvenience that everyone in some way has to go through, some worse than others but you get my point. At the same time, people who kinda know they have no chance would still travel a long long way and basically do anything for an interview... Us pre-meders are straight up desperate.

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About the schools not making people travel large distances and spend money or what not, I don't think that's a valid point b/c it's like getting a visa to travel, you find people do extraordinary things like stay at the office for hours to get a stupid paper allowing them to fly...Why?..because they need and want it. It's the same with med school, It's an inconvenience that everyone in some way has to go through, some worse than others but you get my point. At the same time, people who kinda know they have no chance would still travel a long long way and basically do anything for an interview... Us pre-meders are straight up desperate.

 

I do see your point. I don't think traveling to an interview is much trouble at all compared to the potential benefits. I just meant that if someone doesn't stand any chance to begin with, they shouldn't get an interview offer... Even if people would probably travel anyway, logically, it wouldn't make any sense. I had imagined that everyone must do relatively well at the interview so there wouldn't be that much variance, but maybe that's not the case, as someone else pointed out. I actually have no idea how much variance there really is. If there's lots and you still stand a chance to get in with the lower GPAs, then I totally agree with you! I was just worried that, especially with such programs as the CNFS, where the range of GPA scores vary from 3.4 to 4.0, the lower GPA people were interviewed for nothing. Either way, if that were the case, this would surely be a temporary problem, as they would make the necessary ajustments in the coming years... and I guess it can't hurt to get a boost of self-esteem from an interview offer :)

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I like the 50/50 split. I've known several people get into Ottawa Meds who are academically atrocious but pulled off a very charismatic interview. I simply don't think this is right.

 

50%MMI and 50% gpa would be ideal.

 

Zuck

 

I also think ABS should count, like at U of T. That way, those with lower GPA's but with astounding ABS (which can get many an interview) still have a chance.

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