LupeFiasco Posted February 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Well, the interview invites for sure won't come on Feb 21st since that is family day in Alberta. At least we can rule out that day =P. Most schools have released their invites a couple days early. So Alberta might release them early on as well. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Alberta send out invites and refusals over a period of 3 days? Is that a thing of the past or am I mistaken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles3288 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Most schools have released their invites a couple days early. So Alberta might release them early on as well. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Alberta send out invites and refusals over a period of 3 days? Is that a thing of the past or am I mistaken? I have no idea, this is my first time applying to UofA. Maybe someone else knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtli1988 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Nice post but the number of seats for the entering class of 2009 was ~188. I'm not sure if that is just a typo on your part or if your stats are for the wrong year (class of 2008 perhaps?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Last year all invites and rejections were sent out on the same day. The year before they were spread out over 2 days and in years before that people never got rejection emails till May Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Nice post but the number of seats for the entering class of 2009 was ~188. I'm not sure if that is just a typo on your part or if your stats are for the wrong year (class of 2008 perhaps?) Thanks for the info! On another note, I just go this from the UofA website: SELECTION PROCESS ENTERING CLASS 2011 The Admissions Committee currently receives approximately 1300 - 1500 applications and selects 167 students for admission. It looks like they are keeping the 167 number for this cycle as well. I guess the extra funding didn't make it to the Medical School in terms of extra seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnfifn Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks for the info! On another note, I just go this from the UofA website: SELECTION PROCESS ENTERING CLASS 2011 The Admissions Committee currently receives approximately 1300 - 1500 applications and selects 167 students for admission. It looks like they are keeping the 167 number for this cycle as well. I guess the extra funding didn't make it to the Medical School in terms of extra seats. I would take that 167 over 150 or 133 anyday. I was afraid it would decrease. Thank God! I am not sure if this number is final. It just seems to me that they edited 2010 t0 2011. For example, look at the date of final decision; it shoudl be May 13. Also the comitee recieves vs. recieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 I would take that 167 over 150 or 133 anyday. I was afraid it would decrease. Thank God! I am not sure if this number is final. It just seems to me that they edited 2010 t0 2011. For example, look at the date of final decision; it shoudl be May 13. Also the comitee recieves vs. recieved. As soon as I read what I posted, I e-mailed Janice to see if the number was fixed or not. I'll post her response here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 You know what would be nice? Hearing back from UofA this week. I was flipping through the newspaper this morning and there was a picture of a panda. It's a sign! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 So this is the e-mail exchange I had with Janice: Hey Janice, I just had a quick question about the number of seats available for the entering class of 2011. It says 167 on the website but is this a fixed number? I realize that the number of seats offered in 2009 were close to 188 and then dropped to 167 in 2010 due to a decrease in funding. However, there were numerous articles published this year with regards to extra funding to secure more seats for the Medical School. I was just wondering if you know that the 167 number is a fixed one, or is it possible that the number of seats may change? Thanks. - Lupe She replied: Hi Lupe, The number of seats available may change depending on the funding. We are currently not sure how many seats are available for the entering class in 2011. Regards, Janice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp1187 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 They will never give you a straight answer because they simply don't know. Last year everyone including admissions thought the class size would be 188 and it wasn't until a few weeks before may 15th that we knew the class size would be smaller. The U of A didn't even confirm anything until after the acceptances were out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 They will never give you a straight answer because they simply don't know. Last year everyone including admissions thought the class size would be 188 and it wasn't until a few weeks before may 15th that we knew the class size would be smaller. The U of A didn't even confirm anything until after the acceptances were out How did you guys find out that the class would be smaller in advance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrivee Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hey, in beartracks on the Application Status page there is a category called "priority" right above where it says "academic institution: University of Alberta". Mine says "priority: 1" Does anyone know if that means anything, or does everyone's have that there? I guess I am probably just reading in to everything because my nerves are up about receiving interview/regrets from Alberta. But it would be sweet if "priority: 1" applications were the ones they are going to invite, and maybe "priority: 2" would be regrets but, like I said, maybe everyone has priority: 1 on theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellorie Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Mine says that too - who knows what it means. Probably nothing as sinister as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hey, in beartracks on the Application Status page there is a category called "priority" right above where it says "academic institution: University of Alberta".Mine says "priority: 1" Does anyone know if that means anything, or does everyone's have that there? I guess I am probably just reading in to everything because my nerves are up about receiving interview/regrets from Alberta. But it would be sweet if "priority: 1" applications were the ones they are going to invite, and maybe "priority: 2" would be regrets but, like I said, maybe everyone has priority: 1 on theirs. I think "priority" refers to priority of the U of A med application vs. applications made to other programs at the U of A. Sorry to burst your bubble. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrivee Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Haha, no bubbles have been burst. Just curiosity put, somewhat, to rest. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 I think "priority" refers to priority of the U of A med application vs. applications made to other programs at the U of A. Sorry to burst your bubble. LL Yeah, this is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp1187 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 How did you guys find out that the class would be smaller in advance? current med students kept us in the loop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupeFiasco Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Do any current UofA med students on this forum know what's going on with the number of seats available for this cycle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 We know as much as you do. Janice is right, it all comes down to funding. It could be 167, it could be more for example if they find out in July that they have money for a few more spots. I can promise that we will try to let you guys know if we hear anything. Last year our school went through more than one funding problem, not only the cuts to class size but also the averted increase in tuition that would have seen the 2014 class paying $16,000 a year (instead of the ~$12,000) we pay now. We are also facing the problem of insufficient residency spots for the upcoming graduating classes. Between the residency programs and AHS someone has to find a way to expand programs (mostly for family medicine) to accommodate the huge increases in medical school seats between UofC and UofA. I totally understand that you are all hoping that there will be more seats for a better chance of admission but they are trying to expand at a rate that the system can handle (clerkship and residency). Our clerkship schedules got completely revamped this year to try fit our huge ass class in (~190) and it had some interesting repercussions IMO. We will also struggle with having enough elective spots and you'll see in the next couple years that home institutions might turn down visiting elective students to accommodate their own. Anyways, that turned into a huge class size rant lol. Again, we'll keep you updated! As of right now, no gossip about decreasing the size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocT7 Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 We know as much as you do. Janice is right, it all comes down to funding. It could be 167, it could be more for example if they find out in July that they have money for a few more spots. I can promise that we will try to let you guys know if we hear anything. Last year our school went through more than one funding problem, not only the cuts to class size but also the averted increase in tuition that would have seen the 2014 class paying $16,000 a year (instead of the ~$12,000) we pay now. We are also facing the problem of insufficient residency spots for the upcoming graduating classes. Between the residency programs and AHS someone has to find a way to expand programs (mostly for family medicine) to accommodate the huge increases in medical school seats between UofC and UofA. I totally understand that you are all hoping that there will be more seats for a better chance of admission but they are trying to expand at a rate that the system can handle (clerkship and residency). Our clerkship schedules got completely revamped this year to try fit our huge ass class in (~190) and it had some interesting repercussions IMO. We will also struggle with having enough elective spots and you'll see in the next couple years that home institutions might turn down visiting elective students to accommodate their own. Anyways, that turned into a huge class size rant lol. Again, we'll keep you updated! As of right now, no gossip about decreasing the size. Yikes! Yeah, more admitted doesnt always mean good things -- kind of ruins it for the whole bunch... I hope it gets worked out for you & everyone at the U of A, including those of us that may end up there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrivee Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I don't know about the rest of you... but I am finding it hard to be patient while waiting for Alberta to release invites/regrets. Between prepping for interviews, volunteering, research, and being impatient about hearing from Alberta I am finding it near impossible to get anything done for school. I have a midterm tomorrow and I can't seem to sit still and study for more than 15-20min at a time... too many things running through my head right now. Just tell me already Alberta, put me out of my misery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 They will tell you during the end of Reading week. It will be worth the wait!! If you think about it, UofA had the last deadline (Nov) so it makes sense that their interview invites are lagged behind UBC (Sept) and UofC (October). Their interview package is super comprehensive and it will make you happy because they only interview 480 for let's say 167 spots (35%) which gives you a great chance of acceptance once you also factor in waitlist (which pulls of UofC's pool). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnfifn Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 They will tell you during the end of Reading week. It will be worth the wait!! If you think about it, UofA had the last deadline (Nov) so it makes sense that their interview invites are lagged behind UBC (Sept) and UofC (October). Their interview package is super comprehensive and it will make you happy because they only interview 480 for let's say 167 spots (35%) which gives you a great chance of acceptance once you also factor in waitlist (which pulls of UofC's pool). Do you think 3 weeks will be enough to prepare for UofA interview? I am really afraid that if I get an interview, I may not be able to fully prepare due to the lack of time. The 480, does that include out of province? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Do you think 3 weeks will be enough to prepare for UofC interview? I am really afraid that if I get an interview, I may not be able to fully prepare due to the lack of time. The 480, does that include out of province? Yes. Yes. You'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremedGuy1 Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I just logged on Bear Tracks for the first time in a while. My application status says: "This application Requires Action". Is that normal or is my application missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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