Acceptance criteria?

[perfect_stranger]

I am sorry for not finding a definitive answer to this question in other threads.

Is it correct that only two best undergraduate years are considered in terms of GPA and the full undergraduate performance with all years taken into account is never used to rank the applicants?

So at Queen’s the application is sort of three-stage:

1. Passing GPA and MCAT cut-offs, which is the basis for interview granting;

2. Interview proper;

3. Final selection based solely on the interview performance.

 

Thanks for your inputs.

[supafield]

There are 2 GPA cutoffs:

 

1) cGPA of all years or 2) Two year GPA of your two MOST RECENT years (not including current year of study).

 

If you have achieved EITHER of those two gpa cutoffs as well as the MCAT cutoff, you get an interview.

 

And then you are correct.... GPA and MCAT are out the window and your acceptance is based on 100% interview which this year was a 20-30 minute standardized interview and a 15 minute written question.

 

Some consideration may also be given to reference letters in the final consideration but it's more likely they're just a screen... however, I don't really know either way.

 

Hope that helps

[perfect_stranger]

Thanks, that helps! So Queen's seems to the school that will forgive a few screwed-up years, unlike e.g. Calgary, Toronto, or Manitoba. The only other "forgiving schools" I know of are Western and Saskatchewan.

[supafield]

Lol Calgary for OOP determines interview by best 2 years and then assesses you post interview on all years

 

Toronto lets you drop you worst full credit for every year you've completed (to a max of 4) and as long as you've had a full course load your entire degree.

 

Manitoba if I'm not mistaken lets a student with a 4 year degree drop their worst year provided it's not the most recent year.

 

And Dal... is best two I believe, possibly most recent two?

[perfect_stranger]

You're a big expert in all this

I think the Calgary cGPA weight post-interview is still enough to kill your application.

[supafield]

You're a big expert in all this

I think the Calgary cGPA weight post-interview is still enough to kill your application.

 

Lol, I'd be a bigger expert if I could use what I know to actually get in....

[perfect_stranger]

Lol, I'd be a bigger expert if I could use what I know to actually get in....

 

Just to pick up a bit of your expertise again... Is Queen's very sensitive to the length of the EC activities list? With necessary entries like Olympic championship or Nobel prize (something likely really required to get in U of T ) Which schools are after stellar EC records? I'd probably name U of T, U of C, Dal. Western is a bit ambivalent on this, but I bet they take them into account somehow.

Which schools are less sensitive? For one, U of S doesn't seem to care about EC's at all. There isn't even a space on the application or at the interview to turn in your Stanley Cup or Nature publications.

My EC list is not impressive. A bit of MoW volunteering, some rowing 10years ago, a few work-related trips abroad. Hobbies, club memberships.... currently at a gun club - not likely something worth of boasting in a med application...

[supafield]

Well this year, since the interview was so standardized, I think there was less room for the Queen's interviewer to interpret your EC's outside of your answers. They did seem to have a brief outline of what you had done.

 

However, and without going into specifics, the Queen's interview is largely behavioural. The attributes they're looking for, they want to see that you've experienced them in some sort of capacity through an EC, life, school etc.... So you'll want broad enough EC's that you can cover there things they're looking for.

 

UWO is the same way, but the interviewers don't have any knowledge of your EC's.... however you still have to talk about them and strong answers will be built from first hand knowledge if it is available. The advantage to Western's interview there is if you lack in an area ie: Minimal Research or clinical volunteering... you can talk about the minimal experience you have in the area a little more strongly without them knowing that's the only exposure you have lol.... but these people tend to be good at what they do and won't usually be fooled if you try to B.S. your way through...

 

So I would try to get a little more volunteering/experience under your belt while you still have time. It's by no means that a heroic EC list is an absolute necessity for acceptance.... but it would seem gaining an acceptance with minimal EC's is more of an exception at some of these schools.

 

In Ontario Mac, UofT, Ottawa (pre-interview) all give big consideration to EC's

Queen's and Western don't explicitly mark them, but again they're still judging them in the interview, even if indirectly.

[rmorelan]

I suspect next year some of this might change as the addition of the writing sample was a bit last minute, and some concerns were raised about the standardized approach. Queens seemed to be very responsive to student concerns so I wouldn't be surprised if there were adjustments

[perfect_stranger]

Well this year, since the interview was so

In Ontario Mac, UofT, Ottawa (pre-interview) all give big consideration to EC's

Queen's and Western don't explicitly mark them, but again they're still judging them in the interview, even if indirectly.

 

Well, thanks a lot for such an expanded answer. How about schools that care less? U of S, U of M? I'd guess that's pretty much it.

[perfect_stranger]

I suspect next year some of this might change as the addition of the writing sample was a bit last minute, and some concerns were raised about the standardized approach. Queens seemed to be very responsive to student concerns so I wouldn't be surprised if there were adjustments

 

Jeez, aren't they happy enough with high cutoffs in MCAT's WS?