Western's MD "registration"

[dw88]

Hi all,

 

So Western states that graduate degrees must be completed prior to registration - when exactly is "registration" I've looked everywhere and couldn't find it. I know that last year on the omsas application it said mid august instead of registration so is that all it means?

 

Thanks.

[naspec]

"Registration" would probably be the white coat ceremony, which was on September 1st this year. It will probably be on an earlier date next year, since all the dates seem to be really late in 2010, with Labour Day being on the 6th.

[rmorelan]

Hi all,

 

So Western states that graduate degrees must be completed prior to registration - when exactly is "registration" I've looked everywhere and couldn't find it. I know that last year on the omsas application it said mid august instead of registration so is that all it means?

 

Thanks.

 

Basically end of August if you keep the office in the loop of what is going on

[TheEggman]

Registration is the white coat ceremony for the intents and purposes of graduate degrees. The requirement is to have all your grad courses complete (if course based), or have your thesis submitted for defence, prior to registration.

 

Thankfully (for me) you don't have to have defended your thesis prior to registration, just submitted for defence. In any case, if you have any questions call up the admissions office, they were a tremendous help for me. What they told me was that they are "inflexible but not unreasonable", meaning that if you get in they are going to work with you to figure it all out.

 

I get the feeling that the main reason for this rule is to not step on the toes of grad programs by preventing meds from poaching students before they finish grad degrees. So long as your supervisor and program are ok with it, they can work towards getting you into meds.

 

Once I got my supervisor, the head of my department and the admissions office in a conversation with one another, they were very accommodating. The only thing I have to worry about now is defending my thesis while in meds (something I don't wish on anyone).

[Violet]

I was wondering, how is it communicated to admissions that a thesis has been submitted for defense and whether course requirements have been met? Would the applicant's supervisor have to make a call/write a letter?

[holden]

I was wondering, how is it communicated to admissions that a thesis has been submitted for defense and whether course requirements have been met? Would the applicant's supervisor have to make a call/write a letter?

 

Hi! So last year I emailed the admissions people and asked them what was acceptable. They said to have my supervisor email/send them a letter indicating that I had submitted my thesis and would (barring any absolutely horrific mistake during my defense) pass my defense. Once you officially defend/graduate, they also ask for a copy of your final transcript indicating that it all went down according to plan. This part got sent in around October or so, whenever the final transcripts actually came out. Don't worry too much about this- they'll remind you do it.

 

However, I would suggest emailing and asking yourself as well. It never hurts to leave a paper trail for this sort of thing, and their policy might change from year to year. As well, I had already finished my required courses by that point, but if you still had courses to complete, perhaps they might want to see a unofficial transcript. Hope that helps!!

[Violet]

Thanks holden, that definitely helps! I suppose I'll hold on and see if I get off the waitlist before I pester the admissions office about it.