WGPA

[Guest batman]

whats the good range for WGPA cutoffs for an Ontario resident, but non-Ottawa applicant? I emailed the admissions a few times, but i got nothing.

[Guest MayFlower1]

batman,

 

I'm not sure what the exact cutoff was last year, however, I received an Ottawa interview with a 3.73 WGPA according to the OMSAS scale.

 

Peter

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi batman,

 

Peter lives in the Ottawa area, I believe, and so his 3.73 would be considered a little differently by Ottawa U. than anyone outside of the region.

 

When I spoke with Ottawa U. admissions this past summer I asked them the same question you did. They mentioned that the WGPA cut-off for out-of-Ottawa applicants changes each year, but 3.80-3.90 is not an unreasonable range to be gunning for.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest med2006McGill]

Last year, the WGPA cut-off for Ontario, non-Ottawa residents was 3.80.

[Guest SoHo]

How strict are they with WGPA cuts? If you get 0.01 or 0.02 points below the cut off mark is your application thrown out then and there?

[Guest med2006McGill]

I think the WGPA cut-offs are pretty strict, but don't quote me on that. Keep in mind that the cut-offs vary from year to year, though (depending on the applicant pool).

[Guest Jim2375]

Does anyone know what kinda WGPA you need if you're an out of province student ?

 

I calculated mine and its about 3.87. Should I expect anything ?

[Guest Shahenshah]

yes...jim, based on history, u may have a very good chance..but I believe it depends from one applicant pool to the next..however I must say that people with higher wgpa have been rejected due to lack of sufficient extra curriculars..So other than just Wgpa, I would also be interested in how they quantify the non academic achievements.

[Guest med2006McGill]

I think the WGPA cut for out-of-province students last year was either 3.87 or 3.89. Sorry but I can't remember the exact number.

[Guest Biochem10]

I have to say this because it bothers me that Ottawa is really limiting itself by having such a high cut-off WGPA. It's unfortunate how in some people's minds high grades = good doctor and it's funny how it all comes down to little numbers which vary in the decimal range. (Is there honestly a difference between a 3.87 and 3.89?) Anyway, it's just a good thing that all med schools are not following this method of choosing applicants otherwise the medical community would be missing great doctors that didn't get in because they were off by 0.01 in their GPA.

[Guest peachy]

Biochem10,

 

While it is CERTAINLY true that by having a really high cut-off WGPA, Ottawa is missing some great doctors. But why should they care? Their goal isn't to pick the 100 *best* applicants (or whatever number) it's to pick 100 *great* applicants. And while making the WGPA cutoff high makes it impossible to meet the first goal, it also makes it easier to meet the second.

 

As an applicant, I agree, it's frustrating - but from the point-of-view of a medical admissions process it makes perfect sense to me. Putting the cutoff really high limits your application pool, but the application pool is still big enought that within that there are enough great people to make a great class.

 

peachy

[Guest UOMeds06]

Hi,

There are people in my class from out of town who didn't have a 3.89 or even a 3.85. I'm sure they go a bit lower than that too. Cut offs at Ottawa aren't as strict as cut offs at let's say, Western for example. You'll find (hopefully) that their limits are gray and they work in mysterious ways (usually in your favour). I personally found Ottawa's GPA cut offs MUCH more reasonable than a few other schools I can think of.

 

If you have a 3.8, I wouldn't worry too much. I know of people getting into (non-Mac) med schools with 3.6Xs, so although grades are important, there are limits as to HOW important...depends on the school, and Ottawa DOES NOT dwell on grades like some others schools. I think that's somewhat archaic to do so (but it should be done within reason).

[Guest MDFEVER]

I understand that the fisr year x1 and second year x2 and so on. What if I take a first year course at the second year, should I x1 or x2 for this course. Thanks.

[Guest Sil]

The way I calculated it, was to take the average of the courses in year 1 times 1, in year 2 times 2 and in year 3 times 3. For example you may have taken 3 first year courses and 2 second years courses during your first year of university. All of those would be times one because they were taken during your first year.

[Guest MDFEVER]

Hi Sil,

Thank you for your info.

[Guest PhantomPhoenix]

the last 3 years would include the current year I apply in then...?

 

if that is true....do they ask for some marks from the last year....is it conditional upon the last years marks?

 

I am kind of confused since the WPGA makes ur last year worth half of the calculation, when they don't even know those marks are?

[Guest K2Optimist]

In the WGPA, does Ottawa require 5 classes per semester?

[Guest Tanya24]

No, the current school year Sept. 02-June 03 has nothing to do with the WGPA for this year. Only school years that are COMPLETE will be factored in to the WGPA. The current school year grades only come into play if you are accepted in June and need to provide evidence that you completed the current year.

 

It doesn't matter how many courses you take per semester. As long as you have at least 4 FULL course equivalents in the YEAR; that is all that matters. The OMSAS book states 5 courses are needed, but the Ottawa admissions office has told me that 4 is sufficient for full-time status.

 

Hope this is helpful!

[Guest Sil]

Does anyone know what the cut off for Ottawa area students was last year?

[Guest batman]

that doesn't seem so fair at all...

 

every year of undergrad i took AT LEAST 5 full course equivalents (i.e 10 half courses in 3rd year). My OMSAS GPA for third year is only 3.77 (taking 5 course equivalents). If i had only taken 4 courses, i would have had 3.85+. Because of my third year average, this may bring my WGPA below the Ottawa cuttoff. How does requiring only 4 courses place everyone on a level playing field?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi batman,

 

The potentially positive thing for you is that there are other schools in Ontario and Canada that do look more favourably upon students who have completed 5.0 credits per academic year. As such, those schools would provide you with a more "fair" assessment of your record. However, one of the beauties of the Canadian medical school selection system is that it is not one sweeping mission and set of selection strategies that are adopted by every school; therefore other applicants who have not enjoyed ample time or money or another such factor to complete 5.0 credits per year still have an opportunity to be considered for a spot within a Canadian medical school.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Shahenshah]

I am really curious if there are any students who have got in that have indeed taken less than the 5 credits..I know they say that 4 is sufficient, but when it really comes down to offering admissions, do they (magically) happen to give admissions to only students who have always carried 5 credits...I know UofT is also not too strict with the 5 course thing except that it affects whether you can use the weightage formula, but again at the end of the process does UofT take in students who haven't carried a 5 course load..maybe the moderators could shed some light on this

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi Shahenshah,

 

To corroborate the original statement, when I spoke with Ottawa admissions this past summer, they also mentioned the 4-credit courseload criterion to me too. That is, as long as you have 4.0 credits within each of the years that are to be used in the WGPA, then that's just fine, they'll do the calculation. As to who actually makes it in--the 4.0s or the 5.0s--no clue!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest U of O med]

When I applied I had a year which was one course shy of the 5 full courses rule, but then again I had another year where I had 6 full classes. I believe as long as you have the equivalent of 5 full classes for your 3 years you're OK. The whole concept of asking for 3 full time years is so that your grades are based on a full time schedule. One could take a couple of classes a year and ace them all, then it would be too easy!!

 

Good luck

[Guest UOMeds05]

Hi all!!

 

I am new to this forum... it is interesting to read. When I applied to Med-school the only online source I knew about was an interview tips site. this is pretty neat.

 

I am a second year med student at U of O, and absolutely love it. I guess that I will start by saying that there is a bunch of misinformation in these types of forums... what one person hears and then communicates just snow-balls into skewed views of the truth.

 

I remember the anxiety and frustration of the application process all too well, I feel for you all. It really does seem unfair, but to be perfectly honest, when there are over 4000 applications to 5 medical schools, I wouldn't want their jobs.

 

Ottawa puts a lot less focus on the wgpa than some of you think. This is becoming more and more true now that they have the Autobiographical Sketch. Marks are only a component. The first cut is made with the wgpa. This is only logical because there is no way that they could consider all 3500+ applications individually. If you have done your homework you know that Ottawa has different wgpa cut-offs according to what part of the province or country you are from, and which of Canada's Official 2 Languages you speak. This is done in accordance to their mandate (all schools have one). Once these cut-off averages have been determined, the sketch is evaluated. I promise you, the person with a 4.0 and no other interests/extra-curriculars etc. will NOT be considered for an interview (I personally know of a couple). Similarly, the student with a lower average but well-balanced interests/activities may be a perfect candidate (I'm living proof).

 

As far as the comments RE: only 4 courses... I cannot comment with 100% certainty either, but i believe what was meant is that just because you may only be taking 4 courses in one semester does not mean that are no longer able to apply. This may be balanced out with the other semester having 6 courses (I did this). I think that in the end of a year of school you have to have had taken an equivalent of 5 full courses. This would be one of those examples of misimformation. Before I went dropping any courses I would double check because it would surprise me to hear that an applicant with only 4 full courses overall would be considered (again, i do not know for sure).

 

In parting, I would like to wish you all luck. Hang in there and keep a positive attitude. I know how frustrating it is, but it isn't the fault of the schools for how limited the number of spots are... the government controls this. For what they are left to deal with, the admissions officers do a great job (they are a group of the nicest ladies in the world--be nice to them, they work incredibly hard). I love my classmates, a group of really terrific and diverse people, as well as the years ahead of and behind me. You will see, you will love your soon-to-be classmates as well.

 

keep your heads up!