Pelikan Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi all! For those of you who have been through the process before, what kind of information should we start gathering for OMSAS applications? I believe the official site opens in July, but I'd like to start contacting verifiers and references as early as possible. How many activities/verifiers do we need, and what information should we have from them? Are there any other things we should begin thinking about? Perhaps essay responses to the personal statement, etc. When are supplementary things such as the personal statement due? How varied should referees be? Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amykey11 Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi, I recently applied to all Ontario schools except Northern. I think you should start with making a list of all your EC's, awards, work experiences and list the verifier beside each activity for each. OMSAS allows you to list up to 48 activities, awards, etc. I would call each verifer to notify them. Also, I wouldn't worry so much about how varied your references are but focus rather on how well they know you and if they will give an awesome reference letter. In general though, (in my own opinion), I would include at least 1 academic reference. On the OMSAS application, you also need to list your course load and your grade for each course. Also, you need to write a personal letter for Toronto. I think all of this is due in October. However, the references deadline is in December. Western had an AWESOME interview video this year that went over the application process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Yes, start working on your Personal Statement for U/T. It is like preparing a delicious meal for important guests without a recipe. We are on our own and need to use our gut and best judgment. BTW, it is best if your P.S. has a theme and your stories will continue with the thread until your summary and conclusion. Better to give fewer experiences with more depth showing who you are than more experiences with less depth. You story should capture the attention of the reader so that he/she will want to meet you. I have finished mine after about 30 drafts and numerous hours, plus super advice I obtained from a couple of forum members. Don't use any of the laundry list of self-serving attributes they are looking for. These should just jump off the pages from your desricption. And don't be so tight with words so that it does not read well, better to leave out a sentence and have the essay flow. Structure, organization and flow are very important. So, I started with my theme and brief intro. I told of as a young teen, I regularly visited a wheelchair bound junior diabetic middle aged kindly lady, failed double organ transplant, always saved by EMS, who ultimately dies of diabetic coma all alone at age 58, all she needed was orange juice to save her life. First funeral I ever attended and her courage, dignity and joie de vivre changed my life forever. This lady of blessed and treasured memory is my inspiration that I have put into action. I had two other die on my watch, altho not in my presence, a cancer victim and an Alzheinmer's victim. As part of my studies I attended to chronic elderly patients suffering from MS, stroke, Parkinson's etc and have learned so much from practical experience, especially in communication skills with elderly patients with neurological and phyiscial problems. So, there is a thread in all I did. My activities are all clean cut, require devotion, focus....ooops, I never used this laundry list of words as it comes out in my stories. I bring it all together in a summary and then I conclude as to my future. Every sentence is effectively structured for part of the para. and each para is linked to the other. I also discussed my role model so they understand where I am coming from....as immigrants to Canada, we came with nothing, and despite extreme adversity, climbed up, my family are all professionals, I want to give back to Canada what Canada has given to me. It is really quite a compelling read I have been told. You need to show you are well rounded and connect the dots that bring you to medicine by telling stories and showing your passion, who you are in depth, your character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cass Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Start by compiling a list of all the activities you've completed since the age of 16 (roughly grade 10). You can split these into Research, Volunteer, Extracurriculars. Also, start by writing CONCISE descriptions for each activity (the limit is 150 char on OMSAS I believe). Makes your life a bit easier when it comes to filling out the real deal. If you're really keen, you can start personal statements/essays for the schools that require it. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelikan Posted June 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I'll start on this list, excel seems like a good platform for it. amykey11, I looooved the Western video. All of these schools look amazing! I can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 what exactly is composed of the uoft essay? are they going to give us a prompt like "why do you want to become a doctor", or "why uoft"? or is it like a "tell me about your self" prompt? will there be a prompt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdawso23 Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Start by compiling a list of all the activities you've completed since the age of 16 (roughly grade 10). You can split these into Research, Volunteer, Extracurriculars. Also, start by writing CONCISE descriptions for each activity (the limit is 150 char on OMSAS I believe). Makes your life a bit easier when it comes to filling out the real deal. If you're really keen, you can start personal statements/essays for the schools that require it. Best of luck! We have to include activities since we were in grade 10? I thought we weren't supposed to include anything from high school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenesseewrites Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 We have to include activities since we were in grade 10? I thought we weren't supposed to include anything from high school? It's activities since you were 16 years old. You can definitely include things from high school if you were 16 + when you did them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 what exactly is composed of the uoft essay? are they going to give us a prompt like "why do you want to become a doctor", or "why uoft"? or is it like a "tell me about your self" prompt? will there be a prompt? UofT will give you a prompt. Every year they basically ask for an essay where you tell them about yourself and why you'd make a good doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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