class size :(

[Chuck234]

What ever happens, happens. Nothing we can do. Just make sure you rip your marks this semester.

[keith_015]

Too many premeds, too much sense of self entitlement. The real world is cruel sometimes!

[future_doc]

As already pointed out in this thread, it would appear the sense of entitlement, talking down to pre-meds, is amongst some med students, not the premeds!

[keith_015]

The med students are pointing out the reality of what is happening to them. How is that a sense of entitlement? The premeds figure that things should never change, and now that they have, they feel entitled to what has supposedly going to be taken away from them. If the class sizes decreases, well, that's too bad it happened. People in the real world hope that they won't get laid off, but it happens too. Obviously a lot of people on this board haven't been following the news about the economy for the last 2 years to know things are changing. Gov'ts are bleeding red now soooo badly and cuts haven't to be broadly made.

 

Like the med students mentioned, their education is not going to be of the quality they would've hoped for. If you were so desperate to get a watered down education at any cost, go international then.

[Wingblast]

Looks like the class size will be decreased to 130-135.

 

 

Where this rumor comes from?

 

The following link clearly indicates 4.6% increase for the education budget;

 

http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/budget/budget2010/fiscal-plan-spending.pdf

[boodog]

Where this rumor comes from?

 

The following link clearly indicates 4.6% increase for the education budget;

 

http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/budget/budget2010/fiscal-plan-spending.pdf

 

thats for high schools etc, not advanced education. yes i wonder how happy the class of 2013 will be when they realize that they will all be family doctors. or at least a good 60% of them.

 

to the premeds out there, yes getting in means you will be a doctor, and i hope that you get in. just keep in mind though that getting into a class of 188 does not mean you'll be the next cardiologist, or whatever it is you want to be.

 

i think that they should have kept the size at 155 which is the size of the class of 2012. i think it is too bad they let in 188, because it really only means that there are going to be an extra 33 bitter family docs in this province. how much help is that going to be to our health care system.

[TeaHatingBrit]

maybe they'll just offer those 30 seats to next year's class.

 

I think if people make enough of a hoo-ha about this, that might be a reasonable way to solve this.

 

Still though, is this for sure not an April fool's prank? wouldn't this kind of stuff (government cuts, whatever) be leaked to the news outlets somehow? Haven't seen any of that as of late.

The budget came out about a month ago, the budget cuts were in there.

 

What it comes down to; is that per student - the medical school invests an insane amount of money. Our tuition doesn't even come close to what they pay for us.

 

 

Now with the government cutting 6% of the budget, people are going to lose their jobs.

 

Secondary to that, the government is no longer funding 'housekeeping' ie: lights, power, water etc.

 

So U of C needs to cough up money for that.

 

Also, 40% of our tuition goes to U of C - main campus, not the medical school.

 

So the school has to work with the money it is given.

 

If they only have the money to take 130 people next year, then thats the money they have.

 

It sucks, but its something that everyone has to deal with.

 

*****ing and complaining about it isn't going to help you in the least. Just hope you get in and you don't need to worry about it.

[boodog]

I think what Jochi is getting at here is striving for civil interactions with everyone in your life (not just med students), despite your personal feelings and opinions regarding that person. There is a significant distinction between respecting someone and treating someone with respect. God knows I have colleagues I don't have an ounce of respect for and can't stand (with good reason), but I still try to behave respectfully toward them. You may think I'm being insincere, fake, or sucking up. But I don't see it that way. Sucking up is pretending to like or agree with someone...and doing that compromises your integrity as a person. But there is a way to call someone out on their bull**** -- to disagree vehemently and persistently -- without resorting to personal attacks. You can be civil to someone you don't respect while still standing up for yourself and maintaining your integrity.

 

In fact, I'm going to do that right now...I'm going to politely call Jochi out. Jochi, I normally love and agree with your posts, but in this case, I think you were out of line. Perhaps it was not your intention, but I (and many others found your original post and your replies to sv3 to be condescing, elitist, inflammatory, and lacking tact. While I found your perspective objectively reasonable and informative, some of your remarks were unjustified and in poor taste. For example, making unsubstantiated remarks about the poor quality of this years interviewees was unhelpful, largely irrelevant, and wholey unecessary.

 

So you 'heard' from someone involved with the interviews that this years applicants sucked? Even if this were true (and I find it very hard to believe that any differences in interview performance were due to the quality of the applicants rather than a host of other variables such as the interviewers or the questions), why on Earth would you mention it in this thread? Did you not realize that telling a bunch of very anxious premeds who interviewed just a couple weeks ago that they sucked so badly that you actually believe that despite a massive decrease in spots, U of C is going to have to scrounge to admit high-calibre applicants? That's such a disrespectful and baseless accusation, that I can't see what purpose that statement had other than to insult and inflame.

 

I'm also very disappointed that as someone who is (I believe) only in their first year of med school, you don't empathize more with the premeds in this thread. You were in the same position just a year ago -- waiting anxiously as your future was about to play out according to the whims of an admissions commitee. Premeds work so so so hard, but ultimately leave their fate up to a largely random, unpredictable, and inscrutable selection process. It's stressful enough dealing with the knowledge that much of your score is up to subjective evaluations and that minute differences in interview scores could mean the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. And the wait until decisions are mailed out can be excruciating -- replaying your interview over and over again in your head trying to discren what your interviewers really thought of you despite their inscrutable faces, calculating and re-calculating the odds, veering between optimism and pessimism day-to-day, not knowing where you're going to be or what your going to be doing in September. That level of uncertainty -- that lack of control -- is stressful enough on its own. Then add a surprise reduction in class size....just one more thing premeds have no control over....and so late in the game, when there is nothing you can do to improve your application anymore. Is it any surprise that these premeds reacted so negatively and defensively to your comments? What they were looking for was reassurance and support, not a chorus of med students welcoming the reductions. Are the reductions necessary? Probably. Are they 'a great idea'? Undoubtably not. The reduction is nothing more than a quick fix to correct last year's unwise expansion and cope with the unfortunate realities of the budget cuts.

 

Jochi, I understand your complaints about the lack of resources you're dealing with (in fact, I agreed with many of your points in my post above), but if I were in your position, I would be very, very grateful. There is a good chance that if you had applied just one year later or earlier, you might not be a med student with the privelage of an education to find fault with. Please try to keep that in mind, and as per your own suggestion, be kinder and more understanding to the applicants who could end up being your colleagues in the very near future.

 

great post. it is especially uncalled for to say that "this years crop was weaker than previous years"....what a load of horse ****. as somebody who was interviewing, i don't see the 2014 class being any better or worse because i have absolutely nothing to compare their performance to except my own, and they certainly were doing just as well if not better than i felt my interview went. out of 40 people i interviewed i felt that only 1 or 2 had sub-par performances. the other 38 i was like s#$% how i am going to distinguish between them.

 

there is a lot of spat that could be said about the current U of A 2013 class in terms of the calibre of people in their class regarding professionalism. one particular incident at an examination comes to mind that i won't bother mentioning on this forum. just keep in mind we all will eventually be collegues, no use trying to antagonize one another from the beginning.

[sfinch]

Before I start, I should mention I feel sorry for all the applicants this cycle applying to Calgary (and interviewing there).

 

 

 

That being said, Ontario and Alberta, with BC to some degree, have overexpanded medical spots way too much. We always keep hearing about the shortage of doctors - but in the populated areas where the VAST majority of medical students want to live, there are already too many doctors. Several reasons why.

 

1. The difference in income between Canada and the USA is significantly decreased compared to the past. And that is not even taking into account the fact the Canadian dollar is at PAR. With lowe malpractice insurance rates, and little littigation, and lonly a moderate need of business sense to get a practice going - Canada in many ways is more appealing. Specialists usually make between 280K-1 mill in Ontario, BC, and Alberta. GPs can range between 150K-350K working full time (and way more if they do other procedures).

 

2. For several specialties (neurosurgery, cardiac surgery) the US is no longer available to Canadian trained people. For several others, it is harder to get hired without all the US exams and even the US fellowship exams - at least for desirable states. And with increasing medical spots there as well - the opportunities are decreasing there.

 

3. Modern technology, advancements in surgery, and nurse practioners are changing manpower requirements (in some specialties anyways). Cataracts are alot quicker to do. NPs often replace GP hospitalists, NP anethestists will likely be coming soon decreasing need for anesthesists and so forth.

 

4. In Alberta, where a moderate shortage of MDs existed (basically where 10-15% of people did not have GPs) Calgary had 68 spots (yes 68 as recently as 2000ish), and Alberta 120. The population of alberta has NOT doubled in 10 years, and the shortage did not demand a DOUBLING of physicians (many of whom back then went to the STATES anyways). Yet Alberta was to take in nearly 400 students this yr for a province with only 3.2ish million people.

 

As of this moment, there are virtually no jobs in cities >100K for opthalmology, ent, rad onc, urology, neurosurgery, or cardiac surgery in Ontario. Or way too many applicants for the few jobs. ICU jobs are few. Plum ER positions are decreasing. Int Cardiology jobs in large centers - impossible to get. This is real. I've noticed it here at UWO, and among friends in BC and other places in Ontario.

 

Basically governments are idiots. They cut too much in the past (in Ontario) because of some budget issues, and then they expanded too rapidly, for political capital. Did Ontario REALLY need to nearly double the spots over the last 8-10 years? MAC had 100 spots - now has 203. UWO now has >170 from 96. Little kingston has 100 in a city of 100K, when even 75 was probably a bit much. Toronto can handle 250 of course.

[jp1284]

 

I does seem rather frustrating that our chances of getting into the program dropped to say 1/5th but on the other hand, most of us don't know our pre-interview scores so it's also hard to complain about the large number of people interviewed... any of us could have been lower on the list and lucky to get an interview this year.

!

 

Interesting point. So which applicants will these cuts will affect the most? I think those with high pre-interview scores got screwed over the most. If the admin had known that there were only 130ish seats, they probably wouldn't have interviewed so many people (>600 at Calgary). Given the fact that interviews are worth so much at Calgary (60%), i think many of those people who would not have even gotten an interview in the first place will end up being admitted.

[redribbon]

 

2. For several specialties (neurosurgery, cardiac surgery) the US is no longer available to Canadian trained people. For several others, it is harder to get hired without all the US exams and even the US fellowship exams - at least for desirable states. And with increasing medical spots there as well - the opportunities are decreasing there.

 

4. In Alberta, where a moderate shortage of MDs existed (basically where 10-15% of people did not have GPs) Calgary had 68 spots (yes 68 as recently as 2000ish), and Alberta 120. The population of alberta has NOT doubled in 10 years, and the shortage did not demand a DOUBLING of physicians (many of whom back then went to the STATES anyways). Yet Alberta was to take in nearly 400 students this yr for a province with only 3.2ish million people.

 

As of this moment, there are virtually no jobs in cities >100K for opthalmology, ent, rad onc, urology, neurosurgery, or cardiac surgery in Ontario. Or way too many applicants for the few jobs. ICU jobs are few. Plum ER positions are decreasing. Int Cardiology jobs in large centers - impossible to get. This is real. I've noticed it here at UWO, and among friends in BC and other places in Ontario.

 

wow...and here I was thinking of coming back to Canada for residency from the States. Maybe I should just stay in the States if I'm going to write the boards there anyway?

[Subiculum]

2. For several specialties (neurosurgery, cardiac surgery) the US is no longer available to Canadian trained people. For several others, it is harder to get hired without all the US exams and even the US fellowship exams - at least for desirable states. And with increasing medical spots there as well - the opportunities are decreasing there.

 

Interesting statement, however, it is not completely true. I have some friends who finished off their fellowships quite recently and ended up acquiring positions in the US; all neurosurgeons. I guess it depends on what specific skill set the candidates have - but all of them were MD, PhD.

[sv3]

great post. it is especially uncalled for to say that "this years crop was weaker than previous years"....what a load of horse ****. as somebody who was interviewing, i don't see the 2014 class being any better or worse because i have absolutely nothing to compare their performance to except my own, and they certainly were doing just as well if not better than i felt my interview went. out of 40 people i interviewed i felt that only 1 or 2 had sub-par performances. the other 38 i was like s#$% how i am going to distinguish between them.

 

there is a lot of spat that could be said about the current U of A 2013 class in terms of the calibre of people in their class regarding professionalism. one particular incident at an examination comes to mind that i won't bother mentioning on this forum. just keep in mind we all will eventually be collegues, no use trying to antagonize one another from the beginning.

 

It's nice to see med students be supportive and help tear down the premed vs med student barrier. This is kind of what i would have hoped to see in these circumstances (it can't hurt to be supportive right?). I don't disagree at all about the benefits of smaller classes to those in them, but at the same time, if I had applied last year and gotten in, I couldn't for the life of me look around and say "Man, this would be so much better if 50 of these people got rejected".

There pluses and minuses on both sides, and for the current crop of premeds, we just realized how much harder it was going to be to get in - and all of a sudden. The magnitude of these cuts are very large (~30%). I definitely think this years class is paying for recent increases and it is bad timing. Obviously we can't do much but come on here to voice our dissapointment. Somehow, I think this got interpretted as entitlement, and so the insults fly. I'm the first one to call out someone for being entitled but i genuinely beleive there was nothing but dissapointment amongst premeds. Add in some disparaging remarks by people we hope would be supportive, and it just adds to the frustration.

 

Hopefully all that is over now. I don't see much coming out of that discussion. All us premeds can do is hope for some sort of pullback by the govt or last minute infusion that would decrease the severity of the cuts. And has been mentioned above, if the cuts end up happeneing, then good for those who got in and reap the benefits.

 

cheers

sv3

 

PS (for what its worth, I've gotten some invaluable advice from current med students on this forum and have made sure they know how much I've appreciated their insights and time)

[krgregg]

You are an idiot and offensive. First of all, referencing "burning african children" is insensitive and immature - especially coming from someone in medical school. It's a alot easier on that side of the fence isn't it? Looks like whiny and entitled students aren't the only problem in medical school - you should add arrogant and condescending to the list while you're at it.

 

Are your friends also astounded by any other problems? Like perhaps a lack of doctors in Canada? These friends of yours an authority on the matter?

 

And if medschool sucks so much for you, drop out instead of being all whiny about it. That's putting your money where your mouth is.

 

 

the "burning african children" reference was a tieback to a couple years ago when after applying for the Nth time to med school, that was the supposed required EC to gain admission. sorry if you missed the reference.

 

I went through the admission process, a few times. It sucks, I realize that. I know some individuals interviewing still, and get emails and calls from people who are going through the process and starting the process. One of my best friends is trying to get in - believe me, the frustration is not lost on me.

 

I think you missed the point of my post - I was echoing that training a physician is a challenge with the current resources. The preceptors are stressed out and not adequately compensated, and the infrastructure is not currently in place to handle the class sizes that we have.

Is all you want the MD after your name? Or do you want it to actually mean something - that you received a good education and feel adequately trained? I'm personally a fan of quality vs. quantity (this has nothing to do with the caliber of applicants, which I was actually quite impressed with at interviews this year, merely that the adequacy of training may suffer under increased class sizes. this is seen at EVERY level, not just in med school)

 

There has been a dilutional effect in the past few years with RAPID expansion of class sizes, mostly mandated by the AB government. Now, after having all these changes, they pull the plug and funding, and we're back to where we started 2-3 years ago. Not exactly a well thought out plan

 

I realize it sucks when you're trying to get into med school to have spots cut, and the harsh reality is there isn't a damn thing that we can do about it until there are serious changes at the provincial level. I also believe that you should fix the things you can change, and not worry about the things that you can't. Getting seriously upset and panicking about things that are out of your control is not a good method of coping.

 

good luck

[bloh]

Perhaps it was not your intention, but I (and many others found your original post and your replies to sv3 to be condescing, elitist, inflammatory, and lacking tact. While I found your perspective objectively reasonable and informative, some of your remarks were unjustified and in poor taste. For example, making unsubstantiated remarks about the poor quality of this years interviewees was unhelpful, largely irrelevant, and wholey unecessary.

 

You'd be surprised but if there was one thing that I have found in common with many 1st and 2nd year medical students, it is that many turn into elitist jerks, forgetting where and who they were just a short while ago.

 

If there is one thing I do once I start school it, it will be to stay grounded.

[future_doc]

The poster you are quoting was just being kind and polite ....... the point to Jochi was made with the precision of a surgeon!

 

And sv3 is a good guy on this forum who is appreciated!

[instant_noodles]

Just felt like sharing my thoughts on this: firstly I am quite surprised that discussions about the issue of class size reducing only started now - when I interviewed at Calgary the speaker clearly mentioned that class size is likely to decrease. Personally I was definitely disappointed but was this possibility really so surprising given the economic condition we are in?

 

As a self-perceived "borderline" applicant myself, I can say without a doubt that I would be much more affected by the class size being cut than many other much more qualified applicants. Certainly there is not much I can do to change anything at this point now. Like another poster said, it is much better to start making plans (such as studying harder) with the assumption that I am rejected this year.

 

With that said, good luck to everyone that has worked very hard to get to this point. Let's take a step back, perhaps focus on whatever studies we have left (last month of undergrad for me ), and relax until May 14th.

[sv3]

the "burning african children" reference was a tieback to a couple years ago when after applying for the Nth time to med school, that was the supposed required EC to gain admission. sorry if you missed the reference.

 

I went through the admission process, a few times. It sucks, I realize that. I know some individuals interviewing still, and get emails and calls from people who are going through the process and starting the process. One of my best friends is trying to get in - believe me, the frustration is not lost on me.

 

I think you missed the point of my post - I was echoing that training a physician is a challenge with the current resources. The preceptors are stressed out and not adequately compensated, and the infrastructure is not currently in place to handle the class sizes that we have.

Is all you want the MD after your name? Or do you want it to actually mean something - that you received a good education and feel adequately trained? I'm personally a fan of quality vs. quantity (this has nothing to do with the caliber of applicants, which I was actually quite impressed with at interviews this year, merely that the adequacy of training may suffer under increased class sizes. this is seen at EVERY level, not just in med school)

 

There has been a dilutional effect in the past few years with RAPID expansion of class sizes, mostly mandated by the AB government. Now, after having all these changes, they pull the plug and funding, and we're back to where we started 2-3 years ago. Not exactly a well thought out plan

 

I realize it sucks when you're trying to get into med school to have spots cut, and the harsh reality is there isn't a damn thing that we can do about it until there are serious changes at the provincial level. I also believe that you should fix the things you can change, and not worry about the things that you can't. Getting seriously upset and panicking about things that are out of your control is not a good method of coping.

 

good luck

 

Appreciate the post and information, thanks. I think had the premed stuff been posted in one thread, and the positives of cutting seats in another, there wouldn't have been as much friction on the board. The two opinions strongly butt heads on a sensitive and unexpected issue and i think the timing of posts got under some people's skin. Obviously premeds want in, even if the education isn't the best, and current students want to maximize their learning. Honestly, its the first time I'm hearing that medical schools might have too many spots - I don't know many current students so this was news to me (never read about this on this forum). I would have thought that the administration would have these things under control - perhaps I'm wrong here - or maybe they won't fight the government cuts because of this reason.....not sure. It's definitely a good heads up for incoming students.

 

I think had I known there were 130 seats instead of 180, I wouldn't have been as optimistic about my chances, so thats the reason for the dissapointment expressed on the forum by many i beleive. Throw in the fact that in province Alb students are likely to get drilled twice, you can see how the unexpected hit can take a toll.

 

and yeah, i reacted harshly to the african thing (cause I've been and have a parent from there). Was unware of the reference.

 

It's cool though. The information is now out.

 

sv3

[Rock*]

As a 3rd year U of C student who is 2 weeks away from finishing clerkship, I just wanted to chime in.

 

Our class is about 135. This makes us the most similar class size-wise to the incoming class. It was tough to get in, and I know how frustrating it is to be waitlisted--especially when the government pulls a bait-and-switch like this at the last minute.

 

The smaller class will have its benefits. If you do make it in, your education will be more personalized and flexible (believe me, even at 135, there were too many of us at times). You'll get more first-hand learning in clerkship, and most importantly, you will likely have better chances on the CaRMS match--the second wave of anxiety inducing finger twiddling near the end of your med school journey.

 

The reality for all of you anxious pre-meds is that you've done everything you can. The apps are in. The essays and documents are in. You got an interview and did your best. Great job for getting this far. Do yourself a favor and IGNORE THIS CHATTER. DISTRACT YOURSELF. Complaining, speculating or displaying attitude will only serve to fuel your frustration and anxiety.

[jp1284]

As a 3rd year U of C student who is 2 weeks away from finishing clerkship, I just wanted to chime in.

 

Our class is about 135. This makes us the most similar class size-wise to the incoming class. It was tough to get in, and I know how frustrating it is to be waitlisted--especially when the government pulls a bait-and-switch like this at the last minute.

 

The smaller class will have its benefits. If you do make it in, your education will be more personalized and flexible (believe me, even at 135, there were too many of us at times). You'll get more first-hand learning in clerkship, and most importantly, you will likely have better chances on the CaRMS match--the second wave of anxiety inducing finger twiddling near the end of your med school journey.

 

The reality for all of you anxious pre-meds is that you've done everything you can. The apps are in. The essays and documents are in. You got an interview and did your best. Great job for getting this far. Do yourself a favor and IGNORE THIS CHATTER. DISTRACT YOURSELF. Complaining, speculating or displaying attitude will only serve to fuel your frustration and anxiety.

 

I know you're right that there is nothing we can do at this point but I still think the situation this year is different than when you were admitted. When you were admitted there weren't >600 people interviewed because UofC presumably knew it was going to be a 135 person class. Now there will be a much larger group of people going to be disappointed and also now there's a bunch of people who probably wouldn't have been interviewed potentially taking seats of others who would have had interviews anyways (given the 60% interview weighting). But either way stressing about this won't help.

[TheFonz]

Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014.

 

I had to laugh. Anyone with a basic understanding of statistics would know that:

A) The differences in intellect and ability between large groups of candidates (400-500 people in size) in subsequent years would be negligible at best.

Interviews are largely a poor indicator of said intellect and ability, given the subjective nature of these encounters, the variation between interviewers, and the literally hundreds of other things that can influence the evaluation of any given candidate.

 

Not to mention you heard this from sources that you can only ascribe to as "rumours". What do you mean, like the 2 or 3 student interviewers you talked to? I don't know, sounds pretty official to me.

 

Sv3, I'm with you 100% on this one.

[Mentulamegaly]

The worst thing you can do is ponder this change at this time. Even if the class size has been reduced to 135, that does not necessarily eliminate you from the Class of 2013. I interviewed last year and was accepted after being waitlisted for a couple of weeks. Quite honestly, a circus monkey would have had a better interview than me- but hey, according to the judges I was OK. During the two weeks of waiting, I became a very miserable person- I hated everyone around me, hated the U of C and worse of all hated all the people who were in medical school. I started believing that there was some sort of a conspiracy against me. I never knew I was capable of such dark thoughts. Please avoid this by keeping busy-- do whatever will take your mind off of it. I was working full-time during the day, at which time I seldom thought about med school. The worst was in the evening when I was idling on the computer. There is nothing you can do at this point. Read a book, go watch AFi's 100 best movies, train for a marathon. Just don't become miserable. To quote Ricky from Trailer Park Boys, worst case ontario, you will have to reapply again next year and during that time, read more, take some speech and debate lessons, build a better physique, improve your writing skills- this is a great time to improve yourself. My good friend was rejected pre-interview a few years ago- instead of getting down he decided to seek self-improvement and he did all the things that I mentioned above. The guy went from being a dweeb to a very polished gentleman. He was accepted the year after and is now a plastic surgery resident in the city.

[sv3]

I know you're right that there is nothing we can do at this point but I still think the situation this year is different than when you were admitted. When you were admitted there weren't >600 people interviewed because UofC presumably knew it was going to be a 135 person class. Now there will be a much larger group of people going to be disappointed and also now there's a bunch of people who probably wouldn't have been interviewed potentially taking seats of others who would have had interviews anyways (given the 60% interview weighting). But either way stressing about this won't help.

 

I can't see this being Calgary's fault. If your in the top 130 going into the interview, and you don't get in, how's that Calgary's fault right? Not sure how much sympathy someone with a high pre-interview score will get if they didn't do well on the interview and not get in. I'm definitely with you on the seats part - i mean that's the bottom line right? Then again, I'm not a lock to be interviewed anywhere so perhaps I'm biased but I feel the more competition the better for the school and the applicant pool in general. Once you get the interview, show em what you got. If you do well and got a high pre interview score, you're in. Someone who was at the bottom of the pre-interview list would need to kill the interview to even have shot - i don't see what's wrong with that. Anyway, if you had a high pre interview score, trust me, it helps, 40% isn't peanuts. Try not to worry about this part.

 

either way, best of luck. tough breaks all around

 

sv3

[Starling]

Now there will be a much larger group of people going to be disappointed and also now there's a bunch of people who probably wouldn't have been interviewed potentially taking seats of others who would have had interviews anyways (given the 60% interview weighting).

 

I get what you're saying, but I wouldn't say they're "taking seats" away from people with higher pre-interview scores. Maybe they deserve those seats. U of C interviewed 644 people whose applications they would like to seriously consider. From reading other threads, it sounds like there are a lot of really good applicants who didn't even get interviews. It's not like #644 is totally inept and will rock the interview so much that they somehow make it in.

 

Basically, if you have a really high pre-interview score, you already have an edge (and not just at U of C), and if you have a lower pre-interview score, you'll have to give an exceptional interview to get in. No matter how U of C decides who gets interviews and who gets in, it will never be 100% fair or objective; it can't be. There's a ton of great applicants, and a lot of them won't get in, and that sucks no matter how they decide who makes it.

[eyeopener]

Okay, let's get back to normal here.

 

a) Nothing has been confirmed yet. We're going crazy on rumours here. Rumours. Until U of C tells us that there is a seat decrease, there hasn't been a seat decrease.

 

Other provinces have also had budget cuts. Ontario announced a huge deficit (21 billion I think?). Alberta is not the only province in the recession, and our deficit isn't nearly as bad. So, why aren't other schools worrying about class size reductions, and why shouldn't we expect class size reductions in other schools across the country?