Guest mmhs12345 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 TIME STAMP: today @ 2:15pmResult: Rejection wGPA: 3.96 MCAT: 11/10/10 ECs: - 1 year of work experiences through co-op (2 companies) - 1 year of full-time research as undergrad, no publication (again through co-op) - community volunteering - sports Essays: had few ppl read over it. Thought they were well-written. Felt good about them. Year: UG completed Geography : IP SO you think you were rejected because of your extra curriculars? That is the only plausible reason I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Time stamp: Not Applicable... Year: 3rd year PhD, my defence is pending acceptance into Medicine somewhere ... Huh. I thought most PhD programs were 4 years. Do you think the problem was that you weren't applying while in your 4th year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Huh. I thought most PhD programs were 4 years. Do you think the problem was that you weren't applying while in your 4th year? Clearly isn't a UofT PhD is fac med. 5.5 year minimum lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgson Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Well, making it to the "waitlist" pile was more than I was hoping for... So I guess I can't complain! Hopefully a few of us make it off the pile and into an interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
une17 Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Huh. I thought most PhD programs were 4 years. Do you think the problem was that you weren't applying while in your 4th year? From my experiences in graduate school, PhD programs take as long as it takes to complete your research and write up/defend your dissertation. 4-5 years is normal. For a few different reasons I was able to move faster than most of my colleagues. One of those reasons was I knew I wanted to finish and move on to medical school. Also I took time off between my MSc and PhD, during which I designed the studies that would form my PhD dissertation. I know some students at U of T Institute of Medical Sciences who have completed their PhD in a little less than 3 years... In any case, it's Queen's or bust for me now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katakari Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Finally Rejected. Seriously though, why is it taking them almost 5 months to assess all of the files. I don't care how "holistic" the process is, there is absolutely no excuse for needing to take this long to send out INVITES for the interview. Let me put it into perspective. McMaster not only needs to mark the CASPER, but they usually have 1500 more applicants to go through and they are able to do this at half the time it takes U of T to get through their applications. Taking almost half the year to figure out who will receive an interview or not is beyond absurd. Get more goddamn volunteers. Do something, other than being super defensive about the institution. I wish they had rejected me earlier so that I could actually plan to visit family, or do something else other than having to check my email almost every day for the last few months. It would be nice to be able to make plans around the interviews instead of clinging onto a thread of hope. Don't even tell me that we should be grateful for the application process. It is a service I paid for ($600+ total for omsas) and expect the service to be efficient. Best of luck to all those who waited patiently. Hopefully some of you are able to transfer this knowledge and fix the system from within. As you said, UofT is one of the only schools to assess students holistically. Unlike schools based on a formula, even students without up to par stats have a chance. I personally enjoy this option as I have seen many of my friends down on their luck been invited to interview at least at UofT. Of course, even holistically assessed, you are coming across as incredibly impolite and misunderstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozgrad Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Finally Rejected. Seriously though, why is it taking them almost 5 months to assess all of the files. I don't care how "holistic" the process is, there is absolutely no excuse for needing to take this long to send out INVITES for the interview. Let me put it into perspective. McMaster not only needs to mark the CASPER, but they usually have 1500 more applicants to go through and they are able to do this at half the time it takes U of T to get through their applications. Taking almost half the year to figure out who will receive an interview or not is beyond absurd. Get more goddamn volunteers. Do something, other than being super defensive about the institution. BIG difference between McMaster and Toronto. McMaster sends interview invites based on GPA, MCAT, and CASPer. Toronto? Our file review includes reading your ENTIRE ABS (yes, 48 items each, 3 expanded upon) plus essays, plus LOR. No comparison can be fairly made between the two systems. I spent 4 straight days reading applications following one of my exams, and those were 4 long, hard days. If reading applications was light, easy, and a joke - I'm sure there would be more volunteers. We're students first and volunteers second. As someone else has already pointed out, students are also occupied with a ton of other activities. Also, keep in mind that students can't volunteer to do file review if they know someone who is applying in that cycle - which is a large part of the student body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchEnemy Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 BIG difference between McMaster and Toronto. McMaster sends interview invites based on GPA, MCAT, and CASPer. Toronto? Our file review includes reading your ENTIRE ABS (yes, 48 items each, 3 expanded upon) plus essays, plus LOR. No comparison can be fairly made between the two systems. I spent 4 straight days reading applications following one of my exams, and those were 4 long, hard days. If reading applications was light, easy, and a joke - I'm sure there would be more volunteers. We're students first and volunteers second. As someone else has already pointed out, students are also occupied with a ton of other activities. Also, keep in mind that students can't volunteer to do file review if they know someone who is applying in that cycle - which is a large part of the student body. When you review the files, do you get to see the names of the applicants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 From my experiences in graduate school, PhD programs take as long as it takes to complete your research and write up/defend your dissertation. 4-5 years is normal. For a few different reasons I was able to move faster than most of my colleagues. One of those reasons was I knew I wanted to finish and move on to medical school. Also I took time off between my MSc and PhD, during which I designed the studies that would form my PhD dissertation. I know some students at U of T Institute of Medical Sciences who have completed their PhD in a little less than 3 years... In any case, it's Queen's or bust for me now. Oh OK. I asked my supervisor if I could graduate after 3 years and he said no haha. I think some profs are unwilling to give up someone that they consider productive until they have to (mine was also trying to get tenure at the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
une17 Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Oh OK. I asked my supervisor if I could graduate after 3 years and he said no haha. I think some profs are unwilling to give up someone that they consider productive until they have to (mine was also trying to get tenure at the time). Ah yes, I could see that happening. My advisor took me on knowing I wanted to be done quickly. Also, his work is in basic human physiology whereas I work with clinical populations. He's probably happy to see me go and replace me with someone interested in following his line of research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathToMed Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Oh OK. I asked my supervisor if I could graduate after 3 years and he said no haha. I think some profs are unwilling to give up someone that they consider productive until they have to (mine was also trying to get tenure at the time). Really? o_O I was under the impression that only tenured profs could take on grad students, because of a conflict of interest (ie. milking the student to get tenure). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dassy Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Really? o_O I was under the impression that only tenured profs could take on grad students, because of a conflict of interest (ie. milking the student to get tenure). Not at all!! A lot of profs (at least at UofT) aren't tenured professors or even have full professorships (many are associate or assistant). By joining the university, you're under the obligation to teach and have research and then you get judged for tenure on how both of those are going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Really? o_O I was under the impression that only tenured profs could take on grad students, because of a conflict of interest (ie. milking the student to get tenure). Definitely not the case! My supervisor is aggressively after tenure at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brule Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Definitely not the case! My supervisor is aggressively after tenure at the moment. It's a really good idea to go with a prof seeking tenure, IMO. They're very eager to publish, and if you're a hard working student you can get a lot of papers. I find that a lot of more established profs are often kind of lazy in that regard, which can be bad for the student. I know a few cases where the students write manuscripts and the profs just never get around to looking at them (or they take a while) because the pressure of getting tenure is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwr2013 Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Even though it's pretty much been decided..I can't believe I STILL haven't heard back officially.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeynut Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 "At present, all interview spaces are filled. It is possible that a few spots may open up on either day, as in past cycles their have been cancellations very close to the final interview weekend. Final notification to the remaining applicants will be on Friday, March 28th." From their facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g.app2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Got my rejection on friday guys. Good luck to everyone still waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Even though it's pretty much been decided..I can't believe I STILL haven't heard back officially.... Yeah me too... Although my email checking frequency has plummeted because yeah, it's pretty much decided... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwr2013 Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Anyone hear anything? I'm seriously starting to think that I forgot to apply to U of T.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Anyone hear anything? I'm seriously starting to think that I forgot to apply to U of T.. Haven't heard anything. Yeah maybe we both had elaborate dreams about applying and it never actually happened! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynet Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Could they have forgotten they still haven't rejected us..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgson Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Could they have forgotten they still haven't rejected us..? I guess they're letting us pass silently into the night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Good luck to tomorrow's candidates. I honestly have no idea what's going on with regards to those of you still waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLD Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I loved the MPI format. Although I'm still uncertain if my interviews went well. One thing I do know is that I was more relaxed and my brain was sparking. Usually as soon as I enter an interview room my brain stops sparking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdot2014 Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Can anyone that interviewed during the afternoon session on March 30 give an estimate of the number of other interviewers there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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