OMSAS Application

[Guest Jixe]

Hi,

 

I came across the following post, and was wondering if it was still valid:

 

<Quote>

For the people applying this year, here's basically what each of the Ontario schools did (in past years; I guess it could change this year) in deciding who to interview:

 

Toronto: 60% GPA, 40% non-academic (sketch, essay, references). MCAT scores are used only as a flag in determining whether they'll read your essay or not.

 

Western: If you make their MCAT/GPA cutoffs, which vary from year to year depending on the applicant pool, you'll get an interview unless you have something really bad in your sketch/references. Even if you haven't completed 1 or 2 required courses it's alright, since UWO lets you do them in the summer after you get in.

 

Queen's: If you make their MCAT/GPA cutoffs, which vary from year to year depending on the applicant pool, you'll get an interview unless you have something really bad in your PIF/sketch/references.

 

Ottawa: This one I'm not too sure about. I know they have different GPA cutoffs based on your place of residence, and don't care about your MCAT scores. But after you reach the cutoffs, I don't know if everyone is considered equal, or they weigh the GPA for 75% and your Ottawa detailed autobio sketch for 25%, or what.

 

Mac: 50% GPA, 50% non-academic (i.e. the 15 question autobio submission, and maybe your references/sketch as well). The MCAT isn't used.

</Quote>

 

As well, I was curious as to what the OMSAS application is like. What sort of general questions are on it, that all schools look at (i.e. I think the 45 activities list)? As well, what school-specific questions are on it?

 

Thanks!

[Guest aneliz]

The information for UWO is still correct...can't speak for the others.

 

The OMSAS application consists of

 

1. Demographic information (ie name, address, etc)

2. Academic history (schools, programs, courses, grades)

3. Autobiographical info (Awards, Extra-currics, employment, research, volunteer work)

 

4. School specific quesions - different for each school and hugely variable. Some want an essay, some want a CV, some want you to answer 5-15 short-answer questions. Generally this section asks you to reflect on: why you want to go to med school, what you know about that school and its program, your accomplishments so far, your weaknesses, your learning style and how all of this would be an asset to that school.

[Guest blinknoodle]

Jixe,

 

A lot of your questions can be answered on OMSAS. Check out compass.ouac.on.ca/shopou...msas_e.pdf for details on the previous application procedure. This explains how the 48-item autobiograhical sketch is composed (and although submitted to all medical schools, it may not necessarily be scored by each). It also includes the school-specific "questions" - Ottawa's detailed autobiographical sketch, Mac's 5 questions and Toronto's essay prompt (it doesn;t seem to mention Queen's questions though).

 

Generally your list seems accurate as of last year, although Mac had only 5 questions. For Ottawa, I was under the impression that the detailed sketch was looked at from everyone who made the cut-offs, then the top 450 sketches (or whatever #) were invited for an interview. This is nothing official, so someone may want to confirm.

 

-blinknoodle

[Guest Jixe]

Thanks aneliz and blinknoodle.

 

How much time would you say you to allocate to the application process (in applying to all five schools)?

 

As well, with respect to reference letters, is it best to obtain a variety of sources or the most prestigious people? Reason I'm asking is that the most prestigious/senior people I know come from doing research at various labs.

[Guest Lactic Folly]

The application process can take quite a bit of time (OMSAS says something like as much as 50 hours, and of course, you want to do the best job you can). It depends on how much you have already (resume, contact info for verifiers), but you'll still have to enter your demographics, enter line after line of activities, wait for your screen to refresh, make sure everything is formatted correctly, check for mistakes, etc. The essay(s) is another huge task in itself, and you want to have adequate time to brainstorm, write, edit, proofread, and so forth. If you have time now in the summer before school starts, that would be ideal.

 

With reference letters, you really want someone who will write you a strong, positive letter, backed up with specifics, and is in an appropriate position to do so. Prestigious helps too, but this criterion comes after.

[Guest Steve U of T]

I think it would be a bad idea to go with 3 references from research people simply because they are the most prestigious people you know. There was something I read on the OMSAS website (don't recall exactly where) noting that at least one 'character' reference is recommended, so perhaps a volunteer supervisor might be a wise choice, even if they're not particularly important. You wouldn't want the admissions committees to think that research is the only part of your life. I've heard recommendations from some people to get one reference from a prof, one from an MD, and one from a volunteer supervisor. I wouldn't recommend following such a rigid guideline, but I would recommend finding the 3 people who can, together, give a thorough picture of all your strengths. If you are applying to Queen's, you will have to answer why you have chosen each of your referees. I don't think it's a good idea if your reason is the same for all. I think prestige is probably a consideration in the minds of the admissions committees, but getting strongly positive reference letters that describe why you would be a great physician are more important.

[Guest Lactic Folly]

Just to add: I didn't have much choice except to use profs for all my references (either research supervisors or instructors). If your professor knows you well enough, I think that they could comment on your character. It would have been nice to use someone from my extracurricular life, but there was no single person whom I had enough extended contact with to be able to ask for a letter for med school. I tried to compensate by being comprehensive in my list of activities, complete with verifiers, and making them the primary focus of my essays.

[Guest blinknoodle]

I agree with Lactic Folly - start with the mindless work in the summer before OMSAS's servers get overloaded. You'll have to input all your courses and all their grades, your addresses, etc. Mindless work but a real pain if you're only inputting it the week before the deadline (and one of my friends actually did). I started to map out my 48-items in July/August and solidified their wordings and the appropriate verifier contact info for each activity after that (it is agonizing trying to fit everything in the charater limit). That gives you a good starting point for all the school submissions... generally I found that once I had one submission, the rest came much easier. I was also doing graduate scholarship applications at the same time, so I found that quite a bit was rehashed from application to application.

 

Good luck!

 

-blinknoodle