Feedback FOR Ottawa

[Guest PeterHill0501]

Good morning everyone,

 

Based on some feedback in the "feedback from ottawa" thread, I thought it would be worth it to start a new thread. The objective of this thread would be to provide UofO admissions with feedback from the candidate pool (i.e., those who where rejected, those who were waitlisted, those who were accepted, those who chose U of O, those who chose other schools, etc.). Remember, while there is competition to get into the schools, talent is also of value to the schools...while they are the "customer" during the admissions process, so are we...we will ultimately choose which school we will go to.

 

The goals of providing feedback to them would be:

 

(1) helping them understand how they can provide a better image to potential candidates, assuming they want to draw top talent;

 

(2) helping them understand how their admissions process negatively affects candidates (both those who are and aren't extended offers) and what changes might avoid these negative outcomes;

 

(3) the positive aspects of their admissions process to ensure those characteristics are carried forward;

 

(4) while all feedback would be anonymous (i.e., no names/login names associated with particular feedback) it would be helpful if when providing feedback you could always use the same login name so I can track some stats...numbers can be quite powerful when associated with feedback of this nature.

 

Providing such feedback would ultimately also help us (i.e., candidates) as, I believe, if handled correctly and tactfully, would inevitably cause them to think and would likely affect how they handle/implement some aspects of the process in the future. The key to this will be diplomacy, tact and constructive feedback.

 

I propose that all types of candidates, regardless of status and ultimate choice of school, provide feedback in this thread. I will summarize it and either one of the U of O moderators could bring it forward to the Dean of Admissions or, alternatively, I would agree to bring it forward on behalf of the candidate pool.

 

OK...here are suggested guidelines for the thread:

 

(1) Feedback can and should be about negative and positive things, but it has to be constructive...unconstructive feedback will be refined so that it's non-confrontational and constructive, if possible...totally useless, negative confrontational feedback will not be included;

 

(2) It would be helpful if, with your comments you indicate which schools you applied to, what specialty(ies) you plan on pursuing (if known) your status at each of the schools and your ultimate choice, if known, or desired choice if final status is not determined. Also, gender, ethnic background and age might be nice, as well with respect to stats.

 

(3) Feedback should include concrete, specific examples of something that is positive or negative about the admissions process (process, personnel, interviewers, admins, letters received, lack of feedback, etc.), how it made you FEEL as a candidate and what effect this aspect of the admissions process had/has on your perception of the school's meds program and how it ultimately affected your final decision. Feedback should also include suggestions for making the process better.

 

Once we have sufficient feedback...I will summarize it...post it on this thread...get feedback from you and moderators from U of O on content and positioning of the letter and then we'll, as a group, decide how to move forward from there with respect to getting the feedback to Ottawa admissions.

 

Of course, any suggestions any of you might have for improving this thread or how to proceed with respect to providing feedback to Ottawa would be much appreciated.

 

Peter

[Guest shkelo]

I think it may be difficult to convince Ottawa to change its policy of providing feedback to applicants, Peter. However, some schools do employ a full-time person (typically called the admissions officer) whose job is to bridge the interests of the medical school with those of the students. Perhaps this may be an avenue for Ottawa to provide feedback to students.

 

Alternatively, there may not be money in their budget to employ such a person. In such a case, I would recommend that Ottawa, as a gesture of goodwill to future applicants, publish their weightings (% scale would be fine) of the major components of the application as well as the averages (and ranges) of successful applicants (categorized by francophone, Ottawa area, Ontario, rest of Canada and applicants from their graduate review policy "pools") for each component. There is a lot to be said of statistics and I don't see anything wrong in letting people know about the quality of applicants that have made it successfully through admissions.

 

A paragraph describing how the interview is assessed would be nice, or at least how the interview is converted into a numerical score to rank an applicant's performance. Alternatively, this information could be gathered through non-official channels by a med student who has interviewed themselves and what they were instructed to assess. A non-official website with this kind of information could be very powerful you know (hint, hint).

 

These are just ideas, but I think they may have more impact than describing how applicants feel when rejected. The reality is that there are not enough positions in med school available for the number of "qualified" individuals that apply. Be careful who you piss off, Peter. This is not a faceless system, unfortunately.

[Guest PeterHill0501]

shkelo,

 

Thanks for your response. Having gone through the admissions process I realized that all universities could benefit from seeing how their process affects candidates, how they are perceived by candidates, and how the process could be made better.

 

As a behavioural researcher with an interest in health and medicine this is a topic that I believe could be of interest. I believe summarizing issues (positive and negative) that candidates have with respect to the process...and the feelings they have associated with those issues would be very valuable to the universities...after all, I assume they would want to attract the best candidates to their school. If people's experience is untoward it could cause them to choose another school. Alternately, if people's experience is positive, they will be more likely to choose a particular school (all other factors being equal, and, of course, assuming they have a choice)

 

The point of this research is not to p anybody off...it's about helping universities understand how they could, if they choose to do so, improve their practices with benefits for both them and the candidates they would like to attract. If it does affect their future practices, it could also be of benefit for the candidates...

 

I think some of the suggestions you have made are exactly the types of information I'm looking for. Other individuals will have different experiences and some may feel comfortable talking about more affective components of the process.

 

Thanks again for your input. As usual, all comments, opinions and perspectives are welcome!

 

Peter

[Guest gregg]

Please don't take this the wrong way. But, I think it is almost impossible for the admissions people to individually tell over 2,000 people why they didn't get in. I think as future physcians we should be able to realistically and honestly judge the merit of our applications and improve them. Doctors have to operate in a self-directed matter. Often without sufficient feedback from collegues and even patients. I don't blame the poor admissions secretaries. How stressful must it be for them to deal with 100s of upset rejecties. I myself was rejected this year. I am doing so with poise and dignity. I am not saying that other people in the forum are not, but I am moving on and trying again next year. I am taking suggestions from the controversy subject area to heart and looking at my application really closely and improving it. I don't need feedback from UO except for the min GPA this year for an interview.

[Guest gregg]

This is supposed to go in feedback for Ottawa

 

OOPs