What is an "insufficient ABS"?!

[truffle]

you wish...lol

 

hahah yeah... i don't think a mixup is possible, but was asking if anyone else think it could be possible, so then i could allow myself to daydream.

[skye]

are we allowed to call or e-mail and ask them to confirm the email we received?

[nine99_9]

nine99_9

I agree with the lottery machine because my ABS was not the best at least i think.....but got an interview/HTML]

--- Do you speak French? Are you Aboriginal? Worked in the Canadian military? Live in Ottawa?..

 

 

The answer to all of your questions is NO!....i do live in ontario though...

[Jerry-mon]

I think they are generally looking for something that stands out. If you have one or two items that other people don't, you will probably be selected for interview.

 

for example:

1) everyone has hospital/clinical experience, but how many have 3+ years of it?

 

2) everyone has research experience, but how many publish? how many end with first author?

 

3) everyone's been on varsities teams and such, but how many win provincial/nation competitions, how many have black belts? how many go on to the olympics?

 

4) everyone's got experience in student leadership with campus clubs, but how many have been president/VP of their clubs? or their faculty, or sat on university

senate, etc?

 

5) language proficiency is probably important too... if you list you are competent in french, 80-100% of your interview will be in french... yes there is no escape...

 

 

I'll be the first to say I don't have all of those, but remember, there has to be a certain degree of subjectivity in it and every year it changes due to the applicant pool.

 

Personally I spent 5 years volunteering in everything, with every age group, socioeconomic class, and culture, and got 3500+ hours of it while doing a double honours degree and a masters, and I got pretty far in research too (nothing like those first author Natures I've seen flying around...hahaha hot damn... that's like winning the lottery right there, but unfortunately I don't think the reviewers necessarily know what nature or NEJM is???)

 

If Ottawa didn't pick you up, it might have been their loss too. ) so cheer up.

[Monster]

Why not...what are they going to do...reject you AGAIN??????????

 

might as well try

 

 

 

 

are we allowed to call or e-mail and ask them to confirm the email we received?

[steelie]

...I wonder if nurses, orderlies, etc. etc. generally have a higher chance of getting in?

 

I am in my final year of a nursing degree AND have a life science degree, and have met the WGPA requirement with no interview d/t my sketch. Perhaps working nurses get a leg up but certainly not nursing students.

[shouldieventry]

wGPA: 3.9

OOP French stream (but I also speak English)

1 NSERC summer research (no publications)

3 posters (1 international)

6 years hospital lab experience

No volunteering, no clubs, no interview.

 

no clue...

[DrMichelina]

I had the same problem.. They said I passed the academic cut off but that my ABS was not sufficient.. I have clubs, leadership activities, extended car unit experience, research awards, health clinics, homeless shelters, exchange programs, back packing experience, among others... I dont know what else I could do!

[Amnesty]

are most people that are being rejected not have a science undergrad?

[MP10]

I think they are generally looking for something that stands out. If you have one or two items that other people don't, you will probably be selected for interview.

 

for example:

1) everyone has hospital/clinical experience, but how many have 3+ years of it?

 

2) everyone has research experience, but how many publish? how many end with first author?

 

3) everyone's been on varsities teams and such, but how many win provincial/nation competitions, how many have black belts? how many go on to the olympics?

 

4) everyone's got experience in student leadership with campus clubs, but how many have been president/VP of their clubs? or their faculty, or sat on university

senate, etc?

 

5) language proficiency is probably important too... if you list you are competent in french, 80-100% of your interview will be in french... yes there is no escape...

 

 

I'll be the first to say I don't have all of those, but remember, there has to be a certain degree of subjectivity in it and every year it changes due to the applicant pool.

 

Personally I spent 5 years volunteering in everything, with every age group, socioeconomic class, and culture, and got 3500+ hours of it while doing a double honours degree and a masters, and I got pretty far in research too (nothing like those first author Natures I've seen flying around...hahaha hot damn... that's like winning the lottery right there, but unfortunately I don't think the reviewers necessarily know what nature or NEJM is???)

 

If Ottawa didn't pick you up, it might have been their loss too. ) so cheer up.

 

 

 

Lol... I would go with the lottery theory instead. Of the above, I only had #4...am president of a club...and I received a fortunate interview. I do have a diverse range of experiences though...not all of them are typical of pre-meds...maybe that could be it..

 

or more likely they draw from a hat...!

[mystery_chick]

are most people that are being rejected not have a science undergrad?

 

I'm tempted to say a good chunk of those who met the academic requirements with "insufficient ABS" are in third year... all but 1 third year I know did not get an interview. Tell me if I'm wrong?

[spiderpig]

are most people that are being rejected not have a science undergrad?

 

I have a science undergrad (which was taken concurrently with an engineering undergrad, which I'm finishing up now). I got rejected.

 

I have a good GPA, extra-curriculars, lots of research experience, first author publication, a couple of other publications, NSERC awards, and other scholarships. I'm also from Ottawa U, so the regional benefit should apply. I don't however, have volunteer experience, since I've had no time between working part-time jobs, and juggling a science/engineering double major. But that is the most likely reason for why I got rejected.

[ott8]

I think they are generally looking for something that stands out. If you have one or two items that other people don't, you will probably be selected for interview.

 

for example:

1) everyone has hospital/clinical experience, but how many have 3+ years of it?

 

2) everyone has research experience, but how many publish? how many end with first author?

 

3) everyone's been on varsities teams and such, but how many win provincial/nation competitions, how many have black belts? how many go on to the olympics?

 

4) everyone's got experience in student leadership with campus clubs, but how many have been president/VP of their clubs? or their faculty, or sat on university

senate, etc?

 

5) language proficiency is probably important too... if you list you are competent in french, 80-100% of your interview will be in french... yes there is no escape...

 

 

Well...I would like to think that either they are pulling names out of a hat, or that GPA plays a greater role than UofO lets on.

 

I have 3 of the "stand out" items you listed above, along with what I believe was a very strong rest of my ABS, I met the GPA cutoffs, and didn't get an interview.

 

When comparing to friends that did get interviews, I believe that my sketch is much better than theirs (to the point a blind cow could tell), but they have better GPAs, and they got interviews. If it is the case that they put a stronger weight on GPA (after meeting cutoffs) then I would rather have them tell me this than that my ABS was not good enough.

Or it could be that they are just like UofT/Western students (friend's schools) better than their own.

 

Oh, and I am also a 4th year science student, so it's neither a year or degree prejudice.

[ott8]

actually, I think that I'll just get a tiger as a pet.... that would set me apart..... right?

[Egorema@hotmail.com]

omg you guys scare me, I hope its gonna be better for the next application cycle when I apply.............

[japlanet]

From the sound of it, 'insufficient ABS' might actually mean 'you met the cut-off in theory, but with your GPA you needed a better ABS for an interview.'

 

It seems what separates the 'insufficient ABS' applicants and those with interviews is more consistently GPA than the ABS.

 

Just guessing.

[abcwxyz]

What's posted on the website is more credible than our theories.

 

There is a GPA cutoff--if you meet it, they look at your ABS independently.

 

I know people with OMSAS 4.0's and good sketches that got rejected.

 

 

It's the integrated volume of your activities.

 

∫ABS(avgHours, avgLength, numActivities)

[astudentis]

did Ottawa also look at references before the interview??

[sayalittleprayer]

I would think references and ABS are looked at together once the GPA is met

[imagine]

I would think because post-interview ranking is entirely based on interview score (and GPA for tie-breaking), that they do look at LORs pre-interview. Just a guess.

[gd86]

I dunno about checking LOR's but I was invited for an interview & the verifier for one of my standout (in my opinion) ABS items was contacted ahead of time. My guess is that they likely look at the LOR's before interview invites as well.

[deeman101]

I got the met-GPA-but-not-ABS rejection email as well .

 

academics: 3.89 cGPA, 11PS,8VR,QWS,12BS MCAT

 

ECs: summer research project with John Hopkins Medical Institute MR Research team, abstract accepted for publishing(2nd author), 1 year volunteering at hospital, 2 years TAing experience, president of a club at UofT, pit-crew member on a racing team (participates in CSCSracing series), certified computer tech + lots of programming experience, lots of previous work experience, TONS of sports activities (played in leagues in high school, now do it recreationally), weight training for 3 yrs, etc.

 

I average about 3 hours of sleep a night....WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT!!!

[imagine]

I got the met-GPA-but-not-ABS rejection email as well .

 

academics: 3.89 cGPA, 11PS,8VR,QWS,12BS MCAT

 

ECs: summer research project with John Hopkins Medical Institute MR Research team, abstract accepted for publishing(2nd author), 1 year volunteering at hospital, 2 years TAing experience, president of a club at UofT, pit-crew member on a racing team (participates in CSCSracing series), certified computer tech + lots of programming experience, lots of previous work experience, TONS of sports activities (played in leagues in high school, now do it recreationally), weight training for 3 yrs, etc.

 

I average about 3 hours of sleep a night....WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT!!!

 

Yes, but... parlez-vous francais? Btw, those are crazy stats and ABS, I'm sure you'll get in somewhere this year, if not next year. You are what I like to call a "superstar".

[silvermen85]

I got the met-GPA-but-not-ABS rejection email as well .

 

academics: 3.89 cGPA, 11PS,8VR,QWS,12BS MCAT

 

ECs: summer research project with John Hopkins Medical Institute MR Research team, abstract accepted for publishing(2nd author), 1 year volunteering at hospital, 2 years TAing experience, president of a club at UofT, pit-crew member on a racing team (participates in CSCSracing series), certified computer tech + lots of programming experience, lots of previous work experience, TONS of sports activities (played in leagues in high school, now do it recreationally), weight training for 3 yrs, etc.

 

I average about 3 hours of sleep a night....WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT!!!

 

You are already only average 3 hours of sleep a night? What are you going to do when you get in Med School?!!!

[rmorelan]

You are already only average 3 hours of sleep a night? What are you going to do when you get in Med School?!!!

 

Probably get more rest.... I am doing a similar level of activity and was somehow lucky enough to get an interview - and I am lucky, looking over some of the rejections I can see some amazing people. Can't say I am sleeping a lot either

 

Not clamining med school is a walk in the park, but at least you don't HAVE to try and be a superstar in everything.