Accepted/Rejected/Deferred/Waitlisted for Current Applicants

[srumihs 8]

1 minute ago, knoxjax99 said:

So apparently the accepted applicants weren't given their scores. That's why no one who was accepted is posting here?

Oh interesting. 

I can kinda see why they would do that...it would make it easier to figure out the waitlist position haha

Can anyone confirm?

[PulsusParadoxus 46]

From what I’ve understood in the past, admissions decisions aren’t based on the raw score (that waitlisted and rejected applicants receive). The ranking and decisions are based on your Z-score (from the distribution of the scores in your particular applicant pool. I’m unclear as to how they calculate this, but it means that there may be cases where an applicant with a lower overall score could be higher on the wait list than somebody with a higher raw score.

[srumihs 8]

2 minutes ago, PulsusParadoxus said:

From what I’ve understood in the past, admissions decisions aren’t based on the raw score (that waitlisted and rejected applicants receive). The ranking and decisions are based on your Z-score (from the distribution of the scores in your particular applicant pool. I’m unclear as to how they calculate this, but it means that there may be cases where an applicant with a lower overall score could be higher on the wait list than somebody with a higher raw score.

Oh my... that's good to know. So we're really extra in the dark haha 

[Dalhousie23 40]

9 minutes ago, PulsusParadoxus said:

From what I’ve understood in the past, admissions decisions aren’t based on the raw score (that waitlisted and rejected applicants receive). The ranking and decisions are based on your Z-score (from the distribution of the scores in your particular applicant pool. I’m unclear as to how they calculate this, but it means that there may be cases where an applicant with a lower overall score could be higher on the wait list than somebody with a higher raw score.

 

Yeah I don't understand the Z-scores bit. Typically Z-scores are calc'd from the mean. So someone really close to the average would have a low Z-score, whereas an applicant way higher than the average would have a high Z Score. Likewise, someone far lower than the average would have a high Z score as well. 

No idea how they use Z scores in their selection..

[mohammad 16]

2 hours ago, PulsusParadoxus said:

From what I’ve understood in the past, admissions decisions aren’t based on the raw score (that waitlisted and rejected applicants receive). The ranking and decisions are based on your Z-score (from the distribution of the scores in your particular applicant pool. I’m unclear as to how they calculate this, but it means that there may be cases where an applicant with a lower overall score could be higher on the wait list than somebody with a higher raw score.

But the raw scores have a strong correlation with Z-scores. Z-scores mean how far you are from the statistical mean. The higher your percentile, the higher you are on the wait-list ranking. So if your score is 75 and another person has a 75, they would have to see how their percentiles compare. This is similar to the MCAT where there are four sections and they add up to a score out of 528. The 528 is 100 percentile. A 500 is 50 percentile whether you have a 132 cars or not. This is why it's not responsible to say that it's based on Z-scores and not raw scores because they have a strong correlation. Where the Z-scores are different from raw scores is because the sections have varying weights: academic score, non-academics, and interview. 

[seatosea 28]

3 hours ago, knoxjax99 said:

 

Yeah I don't understand the Z-scores bit. Typically Z-scores are calc'd from the mean. So someone really close to the average would have a low Z-score, whereas an applicant way higher than the average would have a high Z Score. Likewise, someone far lower than the average would have a high Z score as well. 

No idea how they use Z scores in their selection..

That's right, someone close to the mean would have a low z-score. It is confusing for sure, though. Someone lower than the average would actually have a negative z-score though, it's only positive if you take the absolute value :-)  If memory serves correctly, you also need the standard deviation to calculate z-scores as well as the mean. 

[KarlPilkingtod 17]

In province overall score 69.84, 30/40 interview and an 18.84 essay section. Seems close to the accepted score, hopefully near the top of the wait list who knows though I've only seen one other in province wait listed score (71 I think).

[beavertail 3]

10 minutes ago, KarlPilkingtod said:

In province overall score 69.84, 30/40 interview and an 18.84 essay section. Seems close to the accepted score, hopefully near the top of the wait list who knows though I've only seen one other in province wait listed score (71 I think).

I had 70.46. Did you vote in the NS poll yet?

 

[KarlPilkingtod 17]

8 minutes ago, beavertail said:

I had 70.46. Did you vote in the NS poll yet?

 

Not yet no

[hopefullyafuturedoc 33]

Timestamp: 1:36  March 14

Accepted - IP 

GPA: 4.0

MCAT: 505

Essay and activities: Research, volunteer work in healthcare related settings, leadership positions, advocacy work. Continuation in activities (lots over multiple years)

Interview: I felt ok about it. 2 stations definitely could have gone better but overall I felt good. 

 

[gellycell 14]

Time Stamp: Mar 14, 1:36 pm AST

Accepted

IP/OOP: IP NS

wGPA: 3.9

MCAT: 512

Essay: Took a risk, guess it paid off!

ECs: ~9 years research (7 publications, 2 first authors; conferences; various research awards and scholarships), long-term volunteering, various hobbies, work.

Interview: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Guess it wasn't too bad. Didn't feel good or bad for any except my last station where I flubbed a bit.

Year: Completed master's, working

Whelp, well... damn! Wasn't really expecting this considering last year's scores. To everyone still waiting or looking towards an uncertain future, life can be a roller-coaster, but it can certainly surprise you in great ways, and I wish y'all the best of surprises and the best that life can offer!

Disappeared from these forums to focus on my job, but now that it appears I'm going back down this path, I'll lurk around in case anyone wants perspectives from a non-trad with a more unconventional journey to MD. Pm's work best! Good luck y'all!

[KarlPilkingtod 17]

1 hour ago, gellycell said:

Time Stamp: Mar 14, 1:36 pm AST

Accepted

IP/OOP: IP NS

wGPA: 3.9

MCAT: 512

Essay: Took a risk, guess it paid off!

ECs: ~9 years research (7 publications, 2 first authors; conferences; various research awards and scholarships), long-term volunteering, various hobbies, work.

Interview: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Guess it wasn't too bad. Didn't feel good or bad for any except my last station where I flubbed a bit.

Year: Completed master's, working

Whelp, well... damn! Wasn't really expecting this considering last year's scores. To everyone still waiting or looking towards an uncertain future, life can be a roller-coaster, but it can certainly surprise you in great ways, and I wish y'all the best of surprises and the best that life can offer!

Disappeared from these forums to focus on my job, but now that it appears I'm going back down this path, I'll lurk around in case anyone wants perspectives from a non-trad with a more unconventional journey to MD. Pm's work best! Good luck y'all!

Congrats on the acceptance. In what way would you say you took a risk on your essay out of curiosity?

[gellycell 14]

26 minutes ago, KarlPilkingtod said:

Congrats on the acceptance. In what way would you say you took a risk on your essay out of curiosity?

Thank you! For my essay, I heavily focused on my weaknesses, my mistakes, and particularly my mental health challenges (which can be a bit of a taboo subject for some). I've encountered a lot of premeds (and MD candidates) who thought you had to be some sort of flawless, super strong, multitasking hero to be a doctor. That asking for help meant you couldn't "handle it." I just wanted to prove them wrong lol. And that weaknesses aren't shameful, instead, they help shape who you are and help you to be more well rounded, empathetic and understanding of the people around you because everyone has them.

[seatosea 28]

I feel like I should post mine for future applicants as well :-) 

Time Stamp: March 14, 1:36 pm AST

Accepted, IP NS

GPA: 3.7 (or 3.8...I can't remember)

MCAT: 513

Essay: started it really early, went through a lot of iterations. Tried to really focus on answering the question as directly as possible. I tried to keep a common thread throughout to make it readable, but I still don't think it was my best piece of writing. In the end felt it was best to answer the question posed as thoroughly as possible rather than create a beautiful piece of writing, but I really don't know what the best approach is! Similarly to gellycell, tried to be honest about my weaknesses as well as strengths. 

ECs: about 7 years of research with a couple publications, conferences, some scholarships and awards. Volunteering with several local community organizations (some long term, some just in the past couple years). Some sports/athletic stuff and a couple hobbies. 

Interview: I felt really good after it, better than my previous interviews. A couple stations felt like I could have done stronger, but none felt terrible. Focussed on answering questions succinctly and as clearly as possibly because I can be a rambler when I'm nervous!

Year: done master's, working. 

Anything else...I think that's it. I'm not sure if my background would be considered traditional or not. I was overjoyed to get my acceptance, it made the perseverance and hard parts of applying totally worth it. To those on the waitlist or reapplying, keep up the good work! One of the best things for me was all the great stuff I got to experience when I got waitlisted. Embrace the experiences that come your way and seek out more that bring you joy. You have so many good things ahead of you. 

 

[mohammad 16]

Timestamp: 1:45  March 14

Accepted OOP

GPA: 3.9

MCAT: 515

ECs: diverse

Interview: felt great

Deposit paid but may withdraw in two months... we will see. Curious who else is in my position 

[jellybellytelly 39]

OOP - waitlisted. 

PM me for details or go through my previous posts!  Good luck to everyone on the waitlist. Here's to a long wait. Cheers!

[EngulfedPhoenix 1]

Posting here to help others gauge where they might need to strengthen their application. To anyone out there that didn't make it this year, don't give up if it's what you want - I got 0 interviews last year and now I am going to be going to Dal, there is always a way to make it no matter what your stats are if you keep trying (I only started applying 3 years after my master's but always wanted to go to med school).

Timestamp: 1:36  March 14

Accepted IP

wGPA: 3.95 (w/MSc.)

MCAT: 510

ECs: Extensive research (multiple publications, 1 first author), extensive clinical volunteering (w/vulnerable populations) + some community volunteering w/youth, professional work experience in clinical research and non-profit sector.

Interview: Interviewing is something I have always been very strong at. Felt that interview went very well.

[RootingForDal 2]

Hadn’t posted yet (But answered the poll already)

Waitlisted OOP

Score: 75.25

It was my only interview so hoping for the best! Good luck to everyone waiting for some good news!

 

[Dalhousie23 40]

Can someone who was accepted tell me when the last day to reserve your seat was? is it Today?

[seatosea 28]

April 5th

1 minute ago, knoxjax99 said:

Can someone who was accepted tell me when the last day to reserve your seat was? is it Today?

April 5th :-) Not far away. 

[Dalhousie23 40]

19 minutes ago, seatosea said:

April 5th

April 5th :-) Not far away. 

Ah okay! Thank you very much

[soso12 5]

Accepted IP (off the waitlist)

GPA: 3.9 

MCAT: 509

ECs: diverse, but almost no research experience.

Interview: felt really good about the interview. I had loads of fun and just tried to be myself and answer the questions as well as I could.

I have an undergrad in chemistry and my grades weren’t too great, gpa of 3.5 but didn’t meet the course load requirements because I took 5 years to complete my degree and took summer courses. It wasn’t until my last year in chemistry that I realized I definitely wanted to be a doctor. So, I started a second degree (did not want a masters) and I worked as hard as I could! I took my mcat and thankfully my score was good, I don’t think I could’ve written that test a second time. This is my first time applying to dal but I had an interview at mun last year and then no interview this year. This whole process can be so discouraging and difficult but whoever is questioning or doubting their chances, just work hard and stay determines and this will happen! 

[beavertail 3]

14 hours ago, soso12 said:

Accepted IP (off the waitlist)

GPA: 3.9 

MCAT: 509

ECs: diverse, but almost no research experience.

Interview: felt really good about the interview. I had loads of fun and just tried to be myself and answer the questions as well as I could.

I have an undergrad in chemistry and my grades weren’t too great, gpa of 3.5 but didn’t meet the course load requirements because I took 5 years to complete my degree and took summer courses. It wasn’t until my last year in chemistry that I realized I definitely wanted to be a doctor. So, I started a second degree (did not want a masters) and I worked as hard as I could! I took my mcat and thankfully my score was good, I don’t think I could’ve written that test a second time. This is my first time applying to dal but I had an interview at mun last year and then no interview this year. This whole process can be so discouraging and difficult but whoever is questioning or doubting their chances, just work hard and stay determines and this will happen! 

What was your score?

[OrdinaryCondition 6]

43 minutes ago, beavertail said:

What was your score?

They posted in the NB waitlist poll that their score was 69.53. I think they just confused the term IP with meaning NB as well. I had 69.67 so I'm hoping I'm next...

[soso12 5]

21 hours ago, Waitlistmovement? said:

They posted in the NB waitlist poll that their score was 69.53. I think they just confused the term IP with meaning NB as well. I had 69.67 so I'm hoping I'm next...

Yea sorry, meant to say IP(NB)