should rejected applicants wait or contact now?

[Guest ssup]

Hey guys...

 

I just received my rejection letter from Ottawa...apparently I made it past the first round but was dropped in the review of my autobiographical sketch(which I thought was extremely strong- volunteering in palliative care, psychiatric hospital, overseas volunteer, sports teams, countless clubs, trained singer...etc etc etc)

 

I'm wondering whether contacting the office and asking what I can improve on for next year has proven useful for any of you. Do they brush you off with a standard prepared response or are they actually insightful?

 

Also, would I contact them now or wait till the end of the admissions process, granted how busy they must be right now?

 

Ssup

[Guest V]

Right now the office is EXTREMELY busy with admission interviews. I know all you want is answers now, but in order to get accurate and constructive feedback, it is probably best to wait.

 

A lot of the best feedback actually will come from YOU. Put these applications aside for a week (or a month) and then look at them again. This time pretend you were the admissions committee and see where u went wrong. It sounds like you have a lot of great experience, and sometimes it is nothing but bad luck.

 

Heres a question... do you have any research experience? IE.. did you fill in something in the Research portion of the Ottawa app?

 

V

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi ssup,

 

That's a bugger regarding your rejection.

 

Although it's really tempting, it might be good to wait in contacting the office for at least one more reason. If you hold off until after the acceptances have been sent out, e.g., perhaps until the summer, then chances are that the folks in the office may not only have the time to be more accommodating, but they may also have more of an inclination to be. When lots of activities are on the agendae it can be tough to keep the fuse at a good length and satisfy everyone, but when the demand on one's time is reduced a little, they may have all the more time and pleasantries to share with you.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest MayFlower1]

ssup,

 

Here are my 2.5 cents...

 

I was rejected last year...a VERY disappointing result which left me feeling anxious and upset. While I think every university should, in its review and interview process, integrate some way of providing feedback to candidates without extra work to the inteviewers/reviewers...I have to agree with V...most of the good feedback comes from within.

 

I would also recommend putting your application away for a month or two...let things soak in for a while...focus on bringing your backup plan for this year into fruition. After that, come back and have a hard look at the criteria outlined in the UofO admissions policy document (available on the UofO website)...have a hard look at the criterion outlined on the reference letter questionnaire (hopefully you saved a copy, otherwise post here with an email address and I can send you an electronic copy) and go over your application again...not to necessarily change anything...just to evaluate the degree to which you actually have demonstrated the evaluation criteria to the degree that an admissions committee would select you. I know its a hard process...but it is possible...I regrouped, did the analysis on my own, reflected some of the changes back in this forum to get feedback...and voila...I have an interview this year again. Will my interview be different this year...you bet! The soul searching I have done has shown me what I failed to communicate last year...I think I'm better prepared this year...but, I guess I'll find out in a few weeks (actually months...but weeks seems like a more palatable reference).

 

I wish you the best of luck...and remember...another year isn't that long to wait for the chance at fulfilling a lifelong dream if you really, really, want it.

 

Peter