mistah_g Posted August 22, 2007 Report Share Posted August 22, 2007 Hello everyone, I've seen/read several times that the MCAT cut-offs in previous years for Western for the verbal reasoning section has been 10. My MCAT is 14/14/9, which would be a decent score save for the stupid VR So my question is: should I apply to Western for this coming year? Will I have any chance? My grades and ECs are good, but I'm not sure about the MCAT. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDoc Posted August 22, 2007 Report Share Posted August 22, 2007 Holy ish, that's an awesome score. The cutoffs last year required a triple-double (10's in every section). The cutoff is much lower for those in southwestern ontario). This cycle's cutoffs will be posted early next year (after the OMSAS deadline, to capture as much $$$ as possible from applicants). Your case is the extreme one that shows the weakness of their policy. (Even worse would be someone with a 45P or something). Go ahead and apply if you have the dough, but I doubt they will lower their cutoffs . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted August 22, 2007 Report Share Posted August 22, 2007 I would apply (and you will most likely get a pre-interview rejection since it's probably done automatically by a computer) BUT western's policy allows you to appeal decisions. I think your 14/14 would probably be good grounds to appeal a rejection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toffeetree Posted August 22, 2007 Report Share Posted August 22, 2007 dude, 14/14 is insane. congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Matador de la Muerte Posted August 22, 2007 Report Share Posted August 22, 2007 Yes APPPLLLYY!!!!! Your MCAT is insane !!! You can do it !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouchitburns Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 One can appeal an automatic rejection? I received a 40P and that P sure is frustrating. Anyone have anecdotal evidence of an appeal working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blah09 Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 I don't think you can appeal on the grounds of having a high total score, if you didn't meet the cut-offs for each individual subtest. Western is quite strict about GPA/MCAT requirements. It would still be worth applying, since your score is excellent. Cut-offs have gone down from year to year in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallinar Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 One can appeal an automatic rejection? I received a 40P and that P sure is frustrating. Anyone have anecdotal evidence of an appeal working? one can only appeal if there's signifiant new information that would help your application... although i don't know what would qualify (would retaking the MCAT and making the cutoffs say by january qualify?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eng_dude786 Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 yea..i was thinking the same thing...if you write it in january..would they count that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 yea..i was thinking the same thing...if you write it in january..would they count that? I don't think so. OMSAS says on their website scores up to September will be accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDoc Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 One can appeal an automatic rejection? I received a 40P and that P sure is frustrating. Anyone have anecdotal evidence of an appeal working? Damn, I was just joking about that 45P thing above! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svp2k5 Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 I don't know the policy, but I find it highly unlikely that you could appeal if you didn't make the category in one section of the MCAT. Your score is excellent, but Western sets the criteria with the knowledge that there are probably applicants out there with an unbalanced MCAT score. Other schools set cut offs based on total score and probably feel that is best. The reason Western puts an emphasis on VR is that there was a study on MCAT scores in each category and physician outcomes(whatever that means). Better outcomes were most correlated with the VR, the bio science and phys sci were lower and the writing sample had the lowest correlation with outcomes. Reference letters had virtually no impact on physician outcomes and that is why Western does not use them in selecting the class. Clearly there are ton of flaws with this thinking, but Western uses it anyway. Lucky for you there are many other med schools (including american ones) who don't place emphasis on one section or another but concentrate on the MCAT as a whole (or not at all in the case of Mac and Ottawa). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallinar Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 I don't know the policy, but I find it highly unlikely that you could appeal if you didn't make the category in one section of the MCAT. Your score is excellent, but Western sets the criteria with the knowledge that there are probably applicants out there with an unbalanced MCAT score. Other schools set cut offs based on total score and probably feel that is best. The reason Western puts an emphasis on VR is that there was a study on MCAT scores in each category and physician outcomes(whatever that means). Better outcomes were most correlated with the VR, the bio science and phys sci were lower and the writing sample had the lowest correlation with outcomes. Reference letters had virtually no impact on physician outcomes and that is why Western does not use them in selecting the class. Clearly there are ton of flaws with this thinking, but Western uses it anyway. Lucky for you there are many other med schools (including american ones) who don't place emphasis on one section or another but concentrate on the MCAT as a whole (or not at all in the case of Mac and Ottawa). don't they put emphasis on VR and WS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superchargedman Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 ive heard of someone w/ the uwo gold medal in grad school applying w/ 9's: she didnt have to appeal, but they bent their cut off rules...probably cause she got the medal at uwo. ________ MOTOR MANUFACTURING CANADA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 ive heard of someone w/ the uwo gold medal in grad school applying w/ 9's: she didnt have to appeal, but they bent their cut off rules...probably cause she got the medal at uwo. I highly doubt they gave an interview to someone with MCAT scores below the cut-off. The current class of 2008 was had a VR cut-off of 9, I believe, so there would be students with 9's legitimately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superchargedman Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 this was a friend of the family...believe what you want. ________ EDSEL FORD II SPECIFICATIONS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 So when are the cut-offs going to be posted? All this waiting...gahh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titopheus Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 this was a friend of the family...believe what you want. Hey. I'm not sure if you got my PM but I'm really curious as to what your friend did. If you could please let me know. Thanks, friend PS: Was she SWOMEN? That may explain it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choti Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 The whole grad school gold medal thing doesn't make sense...UWO uses one's undergrad marks to grant interviews. They don't look at grad school at all other than to confirm that you have completed your graduate degree should you have began one while applying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gob Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 You should apply if you can afford it, but don't hold your breath waiting for the cutoffs to drop or an appeal to go through... I have never heard of an appeal being successful on the basis of not making the cutoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superking25 Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I never noticed before, so I'm not sure if this was there before, or if this is newer, but it says on the 2008 mcat/gpa cutoffs: We will be notifying current applicants about interviews in mid-February. If you have met these minimums but did not receive an invitation for interview, contact Schulich Medicine as soon as possible. Please include your OMSAS number in any correspondence (2008-8xxxxx). Is that new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I never noticed before, so I'm not sure if this was there before, or if this is newer, but it says on the 2008 mcat/gpa cutoffs: We will be notifying current applicants about interviews in mid-February. If you have met these minimums but did not receive an invitation for interview, contact Schulich Medicine as soon as possible. Please include your OMSAS number in any correspondence (2008-8xxxxx). Is that new? Lol, i think some guy at UWO Med said that a few people called in, and then they were sent interviews after they called in. If that is the case, i just don't see why they have the "meeting the cutoffs does not guarantee an interview" clause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutritional_lee Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I never noticed before, so I'm not sure if this was there before, or if this is newer, but it says on the 2008 mcat/gpa cutoffs: We will be notifying current applicants about interviews in mid-February. If you have met these minimums but did not receive an invitation for interview, contact Schulich Medicine as soon as possible. Please include your OMSAS number in any correspondence (2008-8xxxxx). Is that new? I'm pretty sure I remember reading that back when they were first posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerTime Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I met the minimums last year and didn't get an invitation for interview, because they had made an error with the number of credits for one of my above 3.7 years, so I gave them a call and they sent me the invite a couple days later. Only bad part about it was that I didn't get a choice for my interview day/time since it was all booked except for one slot. I'm pretty much expecting the same thing this year, so hooray for no interview time options! So who knows, maybe meeting the cutoffs doesn't guarantee an interview if western messes up in looking at your file and then you realize after the fact or something, hah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 I e-mailed western about this this year as I was worried about applying next year... I was told this is just a blanket statement for exceptions.... Never say for sure you're going to do something..... you always need a way out in some exceptional circumstance lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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