pompoko01 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hello, I am a Queen's student and I am a bit confused about how UWO dentistry calculate the academic average of best 2 years I understand that UWO and Queen's are in the same column according to OMSAS conversion table, so the conversion would not be a problem- My questions: In one year I had Marks Credit Value 84 0.5 90 1 92 1 70 1 85 1 86 0.5 (Five credits in total) 1) How does UWO calculate the average? Do they take credit value into consideration? 2) If I calculate the average with the credit value in mind (i.e. (84*0.5+90+92+70+85+86*0.5) /5) I get 84.4% Is that a correct calculation? 3) In another year, I have 83.4% (by using the same method as in #2) So the best two year avg=(84.4+83.4)/2=83.9% Is that correct? 4) 83.9% - good enough to apply to UWO dentistry? Chances of getting an interview (if I ace the DAT-well over the cutoff point)? Chances of being accepted? If anyone can give me a feedback on this, I'd appreciate it very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieSixx Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 1) Yes UWO takes credit weight into consideration 2) Yes that is the correct way to calculate your average for UWO 3) Yes that is how they would calculate your 2 year average for the interview. However, when making their final decision (after the interviews) they may put a little more emphasis on your most recent marks. 4) 83.9% is good enough to get an interview at UWO, provided you score well on reading comprehension. Reading comp is the only DAT section UWO looks at when giving interviews. Last year the minimum average required for an interview was 83% and the minimum RC score was 18. Chances of being accepted will depend on how well you do on RC, Chem and Bio, as well as your average this year and your interview scores. You can change a lot in one year if you do well on the DAT and kick ass this year in school. DO NOT undervalue the importance of the interview either. If you get one your interview score will end up making the biggest difference whether you get in or not. That being said, if you keep an 83.9% average and get the minimum on the DAT you are definitely handicapping your chances pretty badly going into the interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrhumble Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 When they calculate your final AA score after the interview, is RC included along with Bio and Chem for the AA score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seann Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 CharlieSixx, are you certain about the averaging of the 2 years? When I was looking over the UWO website I stumbled upon their FAQ which had some interesting (and quite worrisome for me) information. Mainly this: What is the minimum competitive academic average? Historically, students who achieve an average of 80% or higher in each of two individual academic years have been considered competitive. Western’s Dental program administration does not average years together to achieve 80% over two years. (We use the OMSAS – Ontario Medical School Application Service – to convert grades from outside Canadian universities to Western standards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Pepper Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 CharlieSixx, are you certain about the averaging of the 2 years?When I was looking over the UWO website I stumbled upon their FAQ which had some interesting (and quite worrisome for me) information. Mainly this: well, so it's just saying that you need 80%+ in EACH of the two best years. So I guess if you have 70% in your first year, 78% in second year and 90% in your third year, then you are out of luck even if your best 2 years' average comes out to be 84%... Is that why you are so worried...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Pepper Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Hello,I am a Queen's student and I am a bit confused about how UWO dentistry calculate the academic average of best 2 years I understand that UWO and Queen's are in the same column according to OMSAS conversion table, so the conversion would not be a problem- My questions: In one year I had Marks Credit Value 84 0.5 90 1 92 1 70 1 85 1 86 0.5 (Five credits in total) 1) How does UWO calculate the average? Do they take credit value into consideration? 2) If I calculate the average with the credit value in mind (i.e. (84*0.5+90+92+70+85+86*0.5) /5) I get 84.4% Is that a correct calculation? 3) In another year, I have 83.4% (by using the same method as in #2) So the best two year avg=(84.4+83.4)/2=83.9% Is that correct? 4) 83.9% - good enough to apply to UWO dentistry? Chances of getting an interview (if I ace the DAT-well over the cutoff point)? Chances of being accepted? If anyone can give me a feedback on this, I'd appreciate it very much! 4) I don't know if you have taken a look at the stats of class of 2012 but it seems like the average of the accepted applicants were 88.51%...min required for interview was 83% I guess...So you probably will have no problem getting an interview with min RC score...but I guess you should aim to raise your final year's average if you want to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aclementine Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 did the stats increase from the class of 2012 (2007-2008 app cycle) to the class of 2013 (2008-2009 app cycle)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Generally speaking, from what I have researched... it seems that based on the statistics from previous years, they seem to be pretty consistent in terms of grades needed for interview and entrance into the program. This really should be the trend anyways since stats from applicants year to year are roughly the same and any huge deviations would be unlikely. Im pretty sure in the last few years the stats has always been 83-84% avg in 2 years with a RC of 18-19 for an interview and people selected for admissions had avg's of maybe 5 % higher. To answer Seans question, from corresponding with Trish Ashbury over emails, it seems that you may be ok if two of your years are not over 80%. I will reiterate a corresponding message from her that I received last week: ----The statistics of the Class of 2012 are simply that - statistics. Interview invitations are extended to candidates who have a met a minimum competitive DAT reading sectional score and are competitive in the applicant pool in terms of the average of their two most competitive undergraduate years. Last year, one needed a DAT reading score of 18/30 or higher in combination with an academic average of around 83.5% over their two best years to be invited for interview. (A couple of years ago, we changed from using the total score to using the Academic Average sectional score in our calculation that creates the ranked offer list, because studies have proven that the carving sectional score has relation to how well a student does in dental school and beyond. Hopefully, we can teach you the practical side of things!)----- This is verbatim from her email. The FAQ that you found I am going to assume that they were written from previous years and never changed. As you can see from her email, I was asking about DAT scores and years ago they averaged your entire score (Total 150) and you needed like 85 to get an interview or something of that sort. As you can see, the criteria has obviously changed and Im assuming the average of your two years (given that one is below 80,) should be ok in regards to her aforementioned response. The way I see it is that as long as you can qualify for an interview.... everyone seems to be in the same pool. I believe that the interview seems to be a HUGE factor in deciding the individuals selected for admissions (based on some friends who are now in dentistry at UWO and Toronto). Hope that helps. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 When they calculate your final AA score after the interview, is RC included along with Bio and Chem for the AA score? To answer your question: AA= academic average = Bio + Chem + Reading Comp averaged on the DAT and yes, I believe after they interview you.... the AA component of the DAT is more inclusive in the how they rank you as an applicant. If you are in a nursing program..... who knows, they may offer you bonus points much like they do for graduate students (MSc, PhD)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Hello,I am a Queen's student and I am a bit confused about how UWO dentistry calculate the academic average of best 2 years I understand that UWO and Queen's are in the same column according to OMSAS conversion table, so the conversion would not be a problem- My questions: In one year I had Marks Credit Value 84 0.5 90 1 92 1 70 1 85 1 86 0.5 (Five credits in total) 1) How does UWO calculate the average? Do they take credit value into consideration? 2) If I calculate the average with the credit value in mind (i.e. (84*0.5+90+92+70+85+86*0.5) /5) I get 84.4% Is that a correct calculation? 3) In another year, I have 83.4% (by using the same method as in #2) So the best two year avg=(84.4+83.4)/2=83.9% Is that correct? 4) 83.9% - good enough to apply to UWO dentistry? Chances of getting an interview (if I ace the DAT-well over the cutoff point)? Chances of being accepted? If anyone can give me a feedback on this, I'd appreciate it very much! Id think you would be good for an interview (unless the stats of the applicant pool average go up to like 84 , which is did for class of 2010??) However.... past two years have been like 83 and 83.5 so you should be ok and I dont anticipate it deviating too much from these stats since stats are pretty predictable of future years. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pompoko01 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thank you everyone for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aclementine Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 is it required that at least 1 of the best 2 years must be from a senior year (year 3 or 4) of undergrad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinan Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 is it required that at least 1 of the best 2 years must be from a senior year (year 3 or 4) of undergrad? I dont think that is the case.... best two years>>>> does not matter whether it is senior level although Western does like that the year include higher level courses as a reflection of the difficulty of higher year courses. U of T prefers later years since they drop a year that is not your most recent. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.