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Confidential Assessment Forms vs Reference letters?


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It seems like most people refer to these as if they are one and the same, but they're not. Are actual reference letters required from all 3 referees or is it just the CAFs that are required (but with most people sending in actual reference letters too?). The reason I ask is supposedly reference letters aren't even heavily weighted at some schools so I'm curious as to how important they actually are.

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As you mentioned, references are weighted differently by each school. You'll probably have to go to each school's website or forum to find out how each school uses them (McMaster uses them only for red flags, UofT probably puts substantial weight on them, etc.) Regardless, that probably shouldn't change anything - you should always aim for the best references you can get!

 

As for CAFs, they are actually kind of the same. CAFs consist of a bunch of checkboxes (rate this applicant's character/quality: top 1%, top 5%, top 10%, etc.) AND they a formally written reference letter.

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Despite what conspiracy theories you may have heard, each OMSAS applicant MUST have 3 letters references (grad students can have more, but this is school-specific) AND 3 CAFs from each person who wrote you a reference letter.

 

Make sure you have good references.

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