MCAT verbal and U of T admission

[Tina_HP]

I am graduate student I was just wondering has anyone got in at U of T with a 6 in MCAT verbal having excellent EC, recommendation letters, GPA etc? Would the admission committee overlook the low verbal score ?

[keepontrying]

From what I can recall, the lowest verbal score that UofT accepts is 7 (see their stats on their website). I would assume your other MCAT sections need to have stellar scores as well with a 7 VR?

[globy321]

My friend who has a PhD got in with a 5 in verbal MCAT so you have a chance.

[sticky1]

From what I can recall, the lowest verbal score that UofT accepts is 7 (see their stats on their website). I would assume your other MCAT sections need to have stellar scores as well with a 7 VR?

 

Remember U of T has soft cut offs. As long as your biological score is not below 9 you should be OK with a 6 in VR given that you have a high GPA, ECs etc.

[anxious_101]

This topic has been repeatedly brought up on these forums and has been directly addressed by Deborah Coombs on her blog multiple times as well.

 

SCORES BELOW 7 ON ANY SECTION MEAN YOUR APP IS AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED!

 

No one has ever gotten in with a 5 in any section - PhD or not. Please don't post misleading information to confuse users of this forum. If someone told you they got in with a PhD and a 5 on the VR - they lied to you! Simple as that.

 

U of T essentially has HARD cutoffs of 7/7/M/8 in PS/VR/WS/BS, respectively. A score of less than 8 in BS or score of less than 7 in either PS or VR will invalidate your application. When in doubt, confirm with Deborah Coombs as she runs a fantastic blog on all things related to U of T meds admissions.

[sticky1]

This topic has been repeatedly brought up on these forums and has been directly addressed by Deborah Coombs on her blog multiple times as well.

 

SCORES BELOW 7 ON ANY SECTION MEAN YOUR APP IS AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED!

 

No one has ever gotten in with a 5 in any section - PhD or not. Please don't post misleading information to confuse users of this forum. If someone told you they got in with a PhD and a 5 on the VR - they lied to you! Simple as that.

 

U of T essentially has HARD cutoffs of 7/7/M/8 in PS/VR/WS/BS, respectively. A score of less than 8 in BS or score of less than 7 in either PS or VR will invalidate your application. When in doubt, confirm with Deborah Coombs as she runs a fantastic blog on all things related to U of T meds admissions.

 

I disagree. I have looked everywhere on the U of T blog and I cannot find anything that states that.

[globy321]

This topic has been repeatedly brought up on these forums and has been directly addressed by Deborah Coombs on her blog multiple times as well.

 

SCORES BELOW 7 ON ANY SECTION MEAN YOUR APP IS AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED!

 

No one has ever gotten in with a 5 in any section - PhD or not. Please don't post misleading information to confuse users of this forum. If someone told you they got in with a PhD and a 5 on the VR - they lied to you! Simple as that.

 

U of T essentially has HARD cutoffs of 7/7/M/8 in PS/VR/WS/BS, respectively. A score of less than 8 in BS or score of less than 7 in either PS or VR will invalidate your application. When in doubt, confirm with Deborah Coombs as she runs a fantastic blog on all things related to U of T meds admissions.

 

If you are a graduate student, they may be more lenient on the MCAT score. They may give you an interview with a 6 but not sure whether an offer would be made.

[charmer08]

I disagree. I have looked everywhere on the U of T blog and I cannot find anything that states that.

 

http://www.md.utoronto.ca/admissions/statistics.htm

 

The lowest is usually the same every year.

[sticky1]

http://www.md.utoronto.ca/admissions/statistics.htm

 

The lowest is usually the same every year.

 

I saw that but that doesn't mean they will not give you an interview. They may give you an interview with a 6 and then they might reject you. If you have something special to offer then they may accept you with a 6

[JTJ]

I asked the U of T Admissions office in person about a VR 6 - they said they would not automatically reject your application, but it would be up to the admissions committee as to whether you deserve an exception.

 

But the first thing she actually said was "There's not much that can be done with a 6". The look on her face told me that you'd better have a phenomenal application.

[cryptic.living]

I don't know the stats on it.. but if you're hoping to get into any Canadian medical school with a 6 VR, you better have donated both your kidneys and/or cured AIDS or be a refugee from a war torn country or be from the Maritimes.

 

Sorry to sound so blunt, but from my own experience and knowing about friends who have also gone through this same process, getting a UofT interview even with an 8 is a feat in itself. Just because they post that the lowest they accept is a 7 doesn't mean that they usually do it, probably 1-2 individuals in a class of 259 may have that score... even if you have a PhD and possible post doc under your belt.

[hamham]

It's true that VR has messed up the lives of many premeds (me included). But I disagree with cryptic.living above.

 

How's your undergraduate GPA? If it's excellent, try UOttawa or McGill. They don't need MCAT.

 

Bear in mind that there are always people in this forum who may make you feel discouraged, so try to take some things u see here w/ a pinch of salt.

 

~ Best wishes ~

[Endeavour]

Let me add my 2 cents.

 

But before I do....if you guys check my old posts on here you will see I'm always encouraging applicants no matter what the situation is....although cryptic.living's post may seem a bit hard/blunt about things, and I'm sure he/she has their reason, this time I would have to agree....

 

6 on VR - best thing to do is simply re-write it again. VR was my biggest failure as well, but with time and re-writes it gets alot better, so don't beat urself up too much if u don't hear back from them in this cycle, just re-write and come back with much better...u don't need to score 10 or 11 on VR, but even an increase from 6-8/9 would boost your chances significantly.

 

best of luck

[Soenuedo]

Troll?

10char

 

This topic has been repeatedly brought up on these forums and has been directly addressed by Deborah Coombs on her blog multiple times as well.

 

SCORES BELOW 7 ON ANY SECTION MEAN YOUR APP IS AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED!

 

No one has ever gotten in with a 5 in any section - PhD or not. Please don't post misleading information to confuse users of this forum. If someone told you they got in with a PhD and a 5 on the VR - they lied to you! Simple as that.

 

U of T essentially has HARD cutoffs of 7/7/M/8 in PS/VR/WS/BS, respectively. A score of less than 8 in BS or score of less than 7 in either PS or VR will invalidate your application. When in doubt, confirm with Deborah Coombs as she runs a fantastic blog on all things related to U of T meds admissions.

[Soenuedo]

+1

 

Definitely go for Ottawa if ur from Ontario.

 

But I would still consider rewriting... practice makes (near) perfect!

 

It's true that VR has messed up the lives of many premeds (me included). But I disagree with cryptic.living above.

 

How's your undergraduate GPA? If it's excellent, try UOttawa or McGill. They don't need MCAT.

 

Bear in mind that there are always people in this forum who may make you feel discouraged, so try to take some things u see here w/ a pinch of salt.

 

~ Best wishes ~

[keepontrying]

I don't know the stats on it.. but if you're hoping to get into any Canadian medical school with a 6 VR, you better have donated both your kidneys and/or cured AIDS or be a refugee from a war torn country or be from the Maritimes.

 

Sorry to sound so blunt, but from my own experience and knowing about friends who have also gone through this same process, getting a UofT interview even with an 8 is a feat in itself. Just because they post that the lowest they accept is a 7 doesn't mean that they usually do it, probably 1-2 individuals in a class of 259 may have that score... even if you have a PhD and possible post doc under your belt.

 

+1. I love it when people bank on exceptions rather than trying to improve their application, and raising a VR score from 6 to say 9 is certainly possible.

[anxious_101]

Nice, I got labelled a troll for posting. Go figure.

 

I am not trying to piss anyone off or trying to discourage anyone from applying, but you have to be aware of reality. U of T does not simply look at everyone who applies regardless of their MCAT to see if they can "overcome" a low MCAT score. Scores less than 7 are rejected outright. They even state on their website somewhere that such applications are not recommended. It is also a myth that U of T does full file reviews on every application - THEY DO NOT. In fact, last cycle they rejected almost 40% of the total applications without a file review - straight up rejection before reading the essay/sketch/references (they told us these stats during orientation week back in August - before someone calls me a troll for quoting numbers).

 

Reality is, to echo what a number of ppl have wrote previously, you're not going to get into medical school in Canada with a 6 on any MCAT section (with the exception of Mac or the few schools that don't even look at the MCAT). I am not trying to break you down, but you have to regroup and rewrite if you get a 6. Don't try to fight a losing battle with a 6.

[TheBoss]

Yes, there are schools that don't consider some/all MCAT sections, but quite frankly, I think it's near impossible to get into a school that counts an MCAT section that you got a 6 in. Fortunately, you can retake the MCAT many times if necessary, or bank on schools like Ottawa that don't count the MCAT.

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Hard work? That's preposterous. Better to just rely on the off-chance that your application is exceptional.

[JTJ]

That's a little harsh. Obviously a 6 is low and the chances of advancing are slim. The question is not "Should I work hard to improve this mark in the future or at all", but "What should I do with this now, for this cycle." Even if you are willing and able to work hard, that's not applicable now. I would tell people to apply anyway, knowing that chances are slim while preparing for a better application next year.

 

There is no need to show animosity to low scorers and suggest that they do not work hard. Sometimes they do and random sh!t happens :/ Or whatever. There is nothing wrong with applying anyway and 'banking on exception'. You may think it's delusional but it may also be money spent for peace of mind and potential opportunity. They are not saying they are unwilling to work hard to improve this mark for the future.

[photochem]

I feel Toronto's already being far more accommodating that many other schools when it comes to the MCAT. Not only is there some degree of case-by-case flexibility on the cut-offs, but the fact that they actually post them is in itself a plus. Compared to Queen's or Western the U of T adcom's process starts to look quite transparent....