A Quick Guide to Admissions at the UofA (2004/2005 cycle)

[Guest summervirus]

A Quick Guide to Admissions to Medicine at the University of Alberta

 

This guide has been updated for the entering class of 2005. I removed some of the outdated information and added some new stuff. Thanks to everyone that contributed to the Alberta message board! I have compiled some of the information you posted here.

 

If you have any questions or if you spot any problems/mistakes with this document, please let me know! Thanks.

 

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Table of Contents

 

1. Where can I find the most accurate information?

2. What are the prerequisites?

3. How many positions are available?

4. How are the applicant pools determined?

5. How does the admissions process work?

6. How do I convert my GPA to the University of Alberta's 9.0-scale?

7. I'm from province "X." What are my chances?

8. What is a competitive GPA/MCAT mark?

9. How many people receive an offer of admission? An interview?

10. How are interview cutoffs determined?

11. How important is the interview?

12. What type of questions are asked during the interview?

13. When are interviews conducted?

14. When will I find out if I get in?

15. How will the essay component be assessed?

16. How will the resume component be assessed?

17. Recent changes to the admissions process

 

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1. Where can I find the most accurate information?

 

The best place to go is directly to the office of Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME). The official website with admissions information is here.

 

You can also direct all phone calls to (780) 492-6350 or visit the office in person at 2-45 Medical Sciences Building. The admissions commisioners are Ms. Healey ( marlene.healey@ualberta.ca) and Ms. Stanton.

 

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2. What are the prerequisites?

 

Current prerequisites include...

6 units of

- General (Inorganic) Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and English

3 units

- of Biochemistry and Statistics

 

A further 3 units in Biochemistry is suggested but not required.

 

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3. How many positions are available?

 

Currently, there are 125 positions available. Three (3) additional positions over quota are made available to qualified aboriginal students.

 

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4. How are the applicant pools determined?

 

Approximately 15% of the positions are for non-Albertan Canadians (i.e. out-of-province applicants).

 

A quota of 25 positions are for 2nd/3rd year applicants. The remaining 100 positions are for 4th year applicants or other applicants with degrees.

 

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry does not accept applications from foreign students into the regular pool. The faculty, however, does have an exchange program with the International Medical College, Kuala Lumpur.

 

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5. How does the admissions process work?

 

The admissions process is going through review and is being modified over the next few years. However, the evaluation will remain divided into two parts: academic and non-academic criteria. Each part is worth 50% of the overall application.

 

The academic portion of the application is broken down into three components: cumulative GPA (10%), prerequisite course GPA (25%), MCAT - VR, PS, BS sections (15%), and MCAT writing sample (5%).

 

The second part of the evaluation is based completely on non-academic criteria: the interview (25%), personal attributes (15%), and reference letters (5%, or 2.5% each). Note that personal attributes is reflective of your "resume" submission and there is no longer an essay component in the application.

 

Additional bonus points are given to applicants that successfully complete a Master's degree or Ph.D. For those applying for admission in 2005,

 

Master's = 1 point

Ph.D. = 3 points

(No points will be awarded for honors)

 

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6. How do I convert my GPA to the University of Alberta's 9.0-scale?

 

As of September 2003, the University of Alberta has switched over to a 4.0 grading system. Read more about it here. So, you shouldn't need to convert your GPA into a 9.0-scale.

 

However, for those of you that are interested in the past admissions statistics, you might want to know the conversion scheme from 4.0 to 9.0. To convert your GPA and compare with previous years' admissions statistics, use the table here. (Unfortunately, the old URL from the Registrar's website for converting grades from other schools no longer works - please advise if you know of another link!)

 

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7. I'm from province "X." What are my chances?

 

The number of applicants offered admission from each province varies from year to year. However, here are the statistics for 1999:

      Province/    Total #      # offered admission        # rejected
Country                    (accepted / turned down
                           offer / admission deferred)
=====================================================================
Newfoundland       11               1/-/-                  10
PEI                3                -/-/-                  3
Nova Scotia        5                -/1/-                  4
New Brunswick      7                1/-/-                  6
Quebec             49               -/-/-                  49
Ontario            174              4/2/1                  167
Manitoba           27               1/2/-                  24
Saskatchewan       15               2/1/-                  12
Alberta            549              85/23/8                433
BC                 244              7/10/1                 226
Yukon/NWT/        
Nunavut            4                -/-/-                  4
United States      3                -/-/-                  3
All other
foreign            5                5*/-/-                 -
=====================================================================
TOTAL              1096             106/39/10              941

*Admissions as supernumerary/above quota special contract

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8. What is a competitive GPA/MCAT mark?

 

This depends on each year's applicant pool. Here are the statistics (mean and range) for the class of 2006 (i.e. entering class of 2002):

 

Cumulative/overall GPA = 8.42 (7.30-9.00)

Prerequisite GPA = 8.48 (7.78-9.00)

MCAT = 10.7 (8.00-13.66)

 

Here are the statistics for the class of 2007 (i.e. entering class of 2003):

 

Cumulative/overall GPA = 8.43

Prerequisite GPA = 8.49

MCAT = 10.78

 

Here are the statistics for the class of 2008 (i.e. entering class of 2004):

 

Cumulative/overall GPA = 3.84 (out of 4.00)

Prerequisite GPA = 3.87

MCAT = 10.82

 

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9. How many people receive an offer of admission? An interview?

 

For the class of 2006 (entering class of 2002), 1058 applicants applied for 125 positions. 345 students were interviewed. For the entering class of 2007 (entering class of 2003), 265 students were offered an interview; of these, approximately 60 were for out-of-province applicants.

 

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10. How are interview cutoffs determined?

 

GPA, MCAT, AND non-academic materials will be used to determine which students will be getting an interview.

 

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11. How important is the interview?

 

The interview is extremely important for a number of reasons: the scoring system is set up in such a way that a candidate's rank placement can be changed by as much as 80 positions by the interview! Also, most of the candidates that receive an offer of admission have similar GPA and MCAT scores. The standard deviation is fairly small. A great interview can easily push your application to the top of the pile and a poor interview may leave you just below the cutoff.

 

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12. What type of questions are asked during the interview?

 

It really depends on your interviewers. The interview usually consists of a mix of various questions (e.g. ethical, current events, personal, and just plain weird). The University of Alberta does not place emphasis on certain areas more than others. Interviewers have access to your personal attributes section beforehand and may ask questions related to your submission.

 

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13. When are interviews conducted?

 

In the 2002/2003 application cycle, interviews were held during reading week (from Tuesday, February 18 to Friday, February 21) for applicants in their fourth year of undergrad or those who hold a degree. 100 applicants were selected from those interviewed for admission. The spring interview date was scheduled for Monday, May 12. A third round of interviews was scheduled on July 7.

 

The first round of interviews will likely be held during mid February again this upcoming year. It has always traditionally been held during reading week.

 

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14. When will I find out if I get in?

 

In the 2002/2003 application cycle, 64 successful applicants were given first-round offers and were notified by the third week of March. The remaining 36 spots for 4th year applicants were notified in early June. For those that had interviews in May, successful applicants were contacted in early June. Rejection letters are sent out towards the end of June.

 

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15. How will the essay component be assessed?

 

Starting with the entering class of 2004, the essay component of the application is based on the MCAT.

 

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16. How will the resume component be assessed?

 

The personal attributes section is a 6-point questionnaire and accounts for approximately 15% of your application. Exact details about how it is scored are not publicly available.

 

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17. Recent changes to the admissions process

 

Getting an interview. Only the GPA and MCAT components of the application were taken into consideration when determining which students merited an interview in the past. This year, GPA, MCAT, AND non-academic materials will be used to determine which students will be getting an interview.

 

The essay and MCAT. There is no more essay submission. In the past, only the Verbal Reasoning, Biological Sciences, and Physical Sciences sections of the MCAT are weighed in the calculation of the MCAT mark. However, the essay component of the MCAT will be scored in lieu of asking applicants to submit an independent essay along with their applications.

 

The resume. In the past, the resume was never scored. It was simply reviewed by interviewers prior to interviewing the candidates. However, the resume will now be marked.

 

Bonus points. For the entering class of 2003, 3 additional points were awarded to applicants with honors degrees. However, bonus points will no longer be given to honors degrees. It turns out that the honors-specific courses at the University of Alberta were flooded by eager premed students. There simply wasn't any way for the Faculty of Science to accomodate the huge demand and this forced the admissions committee to reconsider their policy towards honors degrees.

 

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-Last updated on July 6, 2003 (Summervirus)

-Tweaked on October 8, 2004 by Lactic Folly