Kennen123 Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Hi guys, Long time lurker- I am considering applying to Ottawa this cycle. I am an Ontario resident and have competitive wGPA - 3.94 (it's 3.938333333, but I assumed they'd round it up?). The problem is- My ECs are not stellar by any measure. I was heavily involved in only 2 student clubs throughout my undergrad. As an undergrad applicant, I don't have any outstanding EC for research other than the honors thesis and a single conference presentation. I have received 4-5 awards/scholarships from schools and external sources, so that I think should suffice. No hospital volunteering or clinical work. I volunteered at a couple of places in town for a very long time (2004-current). How does my situation sound? I am concerned because it seems like a lot of people with awesome wGPA are nevertheless rejected because they don't meet the ABS cutoff. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Hi guys,Long time lurker- I am considering applying to Ottawa this cycle. I am an Ontario resident and have competitive wGPA - 3.94 (it's 3.938333333, but I assumed they'd round it up?). The problem is- My ECs are not stellar by any measure. I was heavily involved in only 2 student clubs throughout my undergrad. As an undergrad applicant, I don't have any outstanding EC for research other than the honors thesis and a single conference presentation. I have received 4-5 awards/scholarships from schools and external sources, so that I think should suffice. No hospital volunteering or clinical work. I volunteered at a couple of places in town for a very long time (2004-current). How does my situation sound? I am concerned because it seems like a lot of people with awesome wGPA are nevertheless rejected because they don't meet the ABS cutoff. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Ottawa will reject people with great GPAs if the ECs are not at the level they want - since it happen over and over again. Trouble is it is hard to be sure exactly what the "EC Cutoff" would be for anyone in particular. Your situation doesn't sound terrible but the devil is in the details - what exactly were these volunter places and what did you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennen123 Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Ottawa will reject people with great GPAs if the ECs are not at the level they want - since it happen over and over again. Trouble is it is hard to be sure exactly what the "EC Cutoff" would be for anyone in particular. Your situation doesn't sound terrible but the devil is in the details - what exactly were these volunter places and what did you do? Volunteer places include church and university student mentoring-program. At church, I've served as an executive member (including numerous VP positions and as the president for one year) of youth group for over 5 years, the leader of the praise team since 2008, and so have been heavily involved in organizing/coordinating/looking after every major indoor/outdoor church and religious events. I can describe activites/events in a great detail, but I doubt the space would allow. Each year, we take trip to numerous first nations' reserves to help patients with drug problems, teach elementary school subjects, and work with volunteer dentists to provide them free dental care. I guess I could separate this one out. The other place was at a university student club where I participated as a mentee for the first 2 years, then as a junior/senior mentor for the next 4 years. As a mentor, I was responsible for forming a support group and have provided one-on-one mentoring support for more than 30 students over the last 4 years. I also carried a number of administrative duties as an executive member along with mentoring. The only thing I can put forth with my volunteeering experiences is the fact that I've committed to each and one of them regularly for a very long time. I hope UofO takes this into consideration... How does this sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atreides Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 That sounds perfectly fine to me. You have significant volunteer and leadership experience. Of course there is always an element of chance in the application but I would say you are a strong candidate, not that I have ever been involved in admissions. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Just apply and see...no one knows how Ottawa views anything EC related (much to my own irritation). As my friend says, "can't catch fish when your rod ain't in the water". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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