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UofT Interview Invites/Regrets (2013)


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Time Stamp: Mar 22 5:01pm EST (From Leslie Taylor)

Result: Regrets

cGPA: 3.69 (not sexy enough for U of T):D --> +2 summer courses after 3rd year dropped my cGPA from 3.78 to 3.69 LOL :(

wGPA: 3.90

MCAT: 12/9/11/S - PS/VR/BS/WS

 

ECs: Volunteer research assistant, volunteered at lots of random places ( i fear I didn't have a strong enough commitment to a specific place--), volunteered at a hospital, did some intramural sports, instructional activities, was a karate martial artist for over 9 years (almost black :D), some tutoring, seriously i think my EC's were too random... I didn't have enough work experience either . . . .

 

Essays: OK, but again, I don't think I've had enough really good-medically related experiences to answer the questions properly or in a way they wanted me to.

Year: 4th year

IP/OOP: IP

 

Long time reader, first time poster.... I am very sad, but I knew in my heart this wouldn't be my year. I didn't put enough effort in making my application. I will not apply until I am in a Master's because being rejected feels even worse when you apply and you know you won't get accepted anywhere.

 

Plans: Retake MCAT, improve EC's and references :o

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Had posted on unofficial thread...looks like I predicted correctly!

 

Result: rejected

wGPA: 3.88

MCAT: 11/13/12/Q

ECs: summer research (contributions to papers, not listed though), hospital work, diverse background (music major), several clubs (co-ordination of two), head of a leadership group associated with my university, medical mission to Panama, shadowed several specialist physicians (nuclear medicine, sports medicine, neurosurgery)

Essays: may have come off a little supercilious in my essays, but found them to be well thought out and fluid. Probably shouldn't have written anything for the first essay (do you grades affect performance)...might've screwed myself by playing up that I take 9 courses/semester and therefore deserve different treatment

Completed undergrad 4th Yr Bachelor of Jazz Performance at McGill

 

Really thought my verbal would have helped, but hey, didn't even get an interview at Mac...

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Finally, here it is...

 

Time Stamp: March 22, 4:59 pm

Result: Regrets

OMSAS GPA: 3.94, wGPA ~4.0

MCAT: 15/11/10 (36)Q

ECs: Hospital and other volunteering, volunteering in Ghana, two observerships, student mentoring, charity work etc. no research (this is what got me, I guess you DO have to follow a specific premed formula for U of T :rolleyes: )

Essays: Made a decent effort, I did leave them a little last minute though.

Year: New BMSc graduate

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Regrets

wGPA 3.65-3.70 (depends if they accepted previous year). Last year is 3.92.

Grad gpa = ~3.78

 

MCAT meets cutoffs (no flags).

 

Essays: some were good, some okay.

 

ECs: conferences, TAship, research assistant jobs, bunch of awards from graduate school, hospital volunteering and other stuff. Not very research heavy for a grad student.

 

Graduate applicant with completed MA.

 

Not unexpected. I think I would need at least a couple of publications to be competitive as a grad student applicant. Also, grad gpa is not that competitive (A+ does not come easy in humanities).

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Ok. I also got a rejection letter at around 5:20 just now.

 

However, I was actually invited for interview and actually did my interview already last month (and got all the proper follow-up, financial aid info, etc. etc.). I'm thinking that this is a mistake and a possible glitch on the part of the admissions office. I already replied to Leslie and left a voicemail with her. No responses yet.

 

I don't want to get anyone's hope up since even I don't really know what's going on, but I just want to let you guys know that this strange thing is happening.

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Regrets!

 

wGPA: 3.8ish

 

MCAT: 12P/10V/12B

Essays: Not as polished as they could've been..

ECs: various student leadership positions, tutoring, hospital volunteering, organizing community events, intramural sports, piano, some summer research

4th year applicant

 

It's all good, I just wanted to know at this point.

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Regrets

Time Stamp: 4:56pm, from Leslie Taylor

Year: 3rd

Status: IP

cGPA: 3.99

MCAT: 37Q (14PS, 10VR, 13BS)

ECs: Clubs (some exec positions), shadowing, volunteering at a retirement home, tutoring, smaller volunteering, other ongoing work, sports, music etc.

Essays: These were probably the weakest section of my application. I should have spent a lot more time on these.

 

Well, I'm glad they put me out of my misery. I was sort of expecting to have both my interviews before hearing back from UofT... I was only off by one day lol

 

I wish the best of luck to everyone that received an interview :)

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Regrets

Time Stamp: 5:09pm from Leslie Taylor

Year: 4th (but not graduating yet)

Status: IP

wGPA: 3.99

MCAT: above cut offs

ECs: hospital volunteering, research (no publications/posters), part time jobs through high school and university summer.

Essays: I spent a long time on them and had someone read them over. I thought they were alright, though not amazing. It was probably my ECs/one of my references that was the problem.

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Rejected

 

cGPA = 4.0

Third year applicant

MCAT cutoffs: exceeded [note: U of T does not give extra "points" for exceeding the cutoffs, everybody who meets the cutoffs gets full points for the MCAT]

Essays: masterfully written to subtley hit on all 4 clusters they were looking for

References: I know they were positive

ECs: apparently not good enough

Received interviews at half of schools I applied to this cycle.

 

My feelings at the moment: disappointed, but not to a great extent. I knew this was coming. Mildy sad. Mildy frustrated. Mildy annoyed at the admissions process.

 

My thoughts at the moment: Seems like the process at U of T is really subjective, like US medical schools. This is a good thing for people who don't have great applications due to the added randomness, but frustrating for people such as myself who work 16 hours a day towards this goal, only to see someone with a 3.6 GPA and similar qualifications as myself get an interview. I hope everybody isn't too upset with the decisions. Good luck to interviewees.

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Time Stamp: March 22 (Leslie Taylor)

Result: Regrets

GPA: 3.98

MCAT: 12/10/12/P

ECs: Lots of volunteering, research, lab activities, sports ect

Essays: Spent a decent amount of time on them

Year: 3

IP/OOP: IP

 

I think there third year had a large factor. It seems students who surpassed the cut offs by a lot but were in third year still got rejected.

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Rejected

 

cGPA = 4.0

Third year applicant

MCAT cutoffs: exceeded [note: U of T does not give extra "points" for exceeding the cutoffs, everybody who meets the cutoffs gets full points for the MCAT]

Essays: masterfully written to subtley hit on all 4 clusters they were looking for

References: I know they were positive

ECs: apparently not good enough

Received interviews at half of schools I applied to this cycle.

 

My feelings at the moment: disappointed, but not to a great extent. I knew this was coming. Mildy sad. Mildy frustrated. Mildy annoyed at the admissions process.

 

My thoughts at the moment: Seems like the process at U of T is really subjective, like US medical schools. This is a good thing for people who don't have great applications due to the added randomness, but frustrating for people such as myself who work 16 hours a day towards this goal, only to see someone with a 3.6 GPA and similar qualifications as myself get an interview. I hope everybody isn't too upset with the decisions. Good luck to interviewees.

 

It seems that a lot of third years with outstanding GPAS, ECs and MCATS got rejected whereas graduates and 4rth years with lower credentials got invited. Kind of frustrating but I also knew applying they preferred mature students.

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Rejected, but it doesn't even matter because I got accepted to my top choice Irish school and am going to work ridiculously hard, get a residency spot, be the best goddam doctor I can be, and show Ontario schools WHAT THEY MISSED OUT ON.

 

I would proceed with caution. Before committing to Ireland, make sure you understand the hurdles you'll have to clear in order to get back home.

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It seems that a lot of third years with outstanding GPAS, ECs and MCATS got rejected whereas graduates and 4rth years with lower credentials got invited. Kind of frustrating but I also knew applying they preferred mature students.

 

Yeah, it seems like as a 3rd year applicant, you need to really stand out in some way... perhaps have extensive life experiences that are on the same level as a more mature applicant. I almost think they should stop accepting applications from 3rd years altogether, if the process is so biased against them.

 

But I also don't feel too badly for them... there's a school for every type of applicant, and no doubt they'll have better luck somewhere like Mac or Ottawa with those amazing credentials.

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Regrets

Time Stamp: 5:09pm, from Leslie Taylor

Year: 3rd

Status: IP

cGPA: 3.93

MCAT: 34R (11PS, 9VR, 14BS)

ECs - above average, including varsity athletics and research publications

Essays - Felt very good about them

 

I sense a trend here......

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Regrets

Time Stamp: 1:56pm PDT, from Leslie Taylor

Year: Final year of PhD

Status: OOP

cGPA: low.. not sure ~3.43?

MCAT: 33S (10PS, 10VR, 13BS)

ECs - lots of publications, presentations, awards, patents.. some volunteer activities

Essays - Felt good about them

 

Disappointed but the long wait made me think this was coming. Hoping that I get an acceptance at either UCalgary or one of the American schools I interviewed at.

 

My application details are on mdapplicants.com #25835

 

BTW, thought it was a bit harsh to reject me, then within hours send me an "invite" to participate in a UT research survey with the title "Invitation from the University of Toronto (U of T), Faculty of Medicine to participate in a survey". Classy.

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BTW, thought it was a bit harsh to reject me, then within hours send me an "invite" to participate in a UT research survey with the title "Invitation from the University of Toronto (U of T), Faculty of Medicine to participate in a survey". Classy.

 

 

I also just got that invitation to participate in the survey an hour after getting rejected.

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Rejected by Serge Ibaka.

 

Status: In-province

wGPA: 3.91

Year: 5th (switched programs after 3rd year, finishing now)

MCAT: 10-10-11-R

EC's: Founder of a tutoring company, researcher in prenatal care study, volunteer at brain injury centre, student TA of cadaver anatomy class, tons of intramurals, private tutoring, 6+ years restaurant experience, etc.

Essays: Definitely screwed them up, although they were written well, they were repetitive.

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BTW, thought it was a bit harsh to reject me, then within hours send me an "invite" to participate in a UT research survey with the title "Invitation from the University of Toronto (U of T), Faculty of Medicine to participate in a survey". Classy.

 

Same thing happened to me. Wasn't really in the mood to help them out with their research... :P

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Haha, I got trolled good. Saw the survey email subject line first and got super excited :D Then I realized it was talking about a survey :o And then I noticed the actual interview email below and realized I was rejected :(

 

Oh well, Guess I was expecting it anyways. At least now I can post my rejection in the official thread :P

 

Status: rejected

UG GPA: 3.56 (I like throwing money away)

MCAT: 11/11/11/O

ECs: 5 papers published (3 lead author), 10 presentations (1 international), 4 published abstracts, 3 years volunteer at CHEO and a distress / crisis line, started up and co-hosted a science radio show for 2 years, shadowed 6 specialist physicians with the stem-cell network, volunteered with Let's Talk Science for about 2.5 years, co-founded a student club and co-chaired my department's student curriculum committee for one year, and a variety of other extra curricular activities (e.g. Ultimate, fencing, aviation, piano).

Essays: Put a decent amount of work into them, but could have had other people edit / provide input.

 

Best of luck to all those with interviews!

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I would proceed with caution. Before committing to Ireland, make sure you understand the hurdles you'll have to clear in order to get back home.

 

Thanks for the advice. I really am upset and angry about the rejection and how everything was handled, but having a backup plan makes things better. I know the hurdles quite well and understand it's going to be a tough battle to get back, but I've been rejected from all of the Ontario schools and know that my not so stellar GPA (3.51) is holding me back. I was unfocused in undergrad but have worked so hard through grad school and at my current research job, and gotten decent publications, have good ECs etc. At some point I just had to realize that the Canadian schools don't want me and likely never will (I've applied 4 times) and I want to be a physician badly enough that I'll do what it takes. I'll do a residency in some rural Canadian/American town if that's what it takes for me to achieve my dream in the end. Flexibility and perseverance.

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Thanks for the advice. I really am upset and angry about the rejection and how everything was handled, but having a backup plan makes things better. I know the hurdles quite well and understand it's going to be a tough battle to get back, but I've been rejected from all of the Ontario schools and know that my not so stellar GPA (3.51) is holding me back. I was unfocused in undergrad but have worked so hard through grad school and at my current research job, and gotten decent publications, have good ECs etc. At some point I just had to realize that the Canadian schools don't want me and likely never will (I've applied 4 times) and I want to be a physician badly enough that I'll do what it takes. I'll do a residency in some rural Canadian/American town if that's what it takes for me to achieve my dream in the end. Flexibility and perseverance.

 

You are amazing. I admire you.

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Haha, I got trolled good. Saw the survey email subject line first and got super excited :D Then I realized it was talking about a survey :o And then I noticed the actual interview email below and realized I was rejected :(

 

Oh well, Guess I was expecting it anyways. At least now I can post my rejection in the official thread :P

 

Status: rejected

UG GPA: 3.56 (I like throwing money away)

MCAT: 11/11/11/O

ECs: 5 papers published (3 lead author), 10 presentations (1 international), 4 published abstracts, 3 years volunteer at CHEO and a distress / crisis line, started up and co-hosted a science radio show for 2 years, shadowed 6 specialist physicians with the stem-cell network, volunteered with Let's Talk Science for about 2.5 years, co-founded a student club and co-chaired my department's student curriculum committee for one year, and a variety of other extra curricular activities (e.g. Ultimate, fencing, aviation, piano).

Essays: Put a decent amount of work into them, but could have had other people edit / provide input.

 

Best of luck to all those with interviews!

 

wow.. sorry to hear that.. clearly you have a pretty impressive CV

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