coldpizzahotsriracha Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 "Jalen McBride Do you really think that social media is the best forum to announce invites and regrets like this? The most professional thing would be to personally email the applicants. As you may be aware, this is a very anxious time for applicants and some courtesy for those who see your post here but have not received an email would be appreciated. Please review your policy on social media. Every other medical school in Ontario seems to be able to email their applicants on the same day." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
med-dream Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 We do respect U/T admission process. While, what is the point to prepare for the interview without knowing the result? @jon77 It takes a lot more time for universities to try to be holistic in their admissions process. Combing through whole applications and essays takes a lot more time than saying "sorry you didn't get 11 on verbal you're out of the running" or "sorry you didn't get 3.9 GPA you're out too" with arbitrary cut-offs. I got into toronto a few years ago and I appreciated that they took the time to read my whole application....which takes a lot of time. A lot of the admissions process involves tons and tons of med students and faculties volunteering their time to actually read your whole file and consider you as a whole person. You can prepare this whole time for interviews if you want - you don't have wait until invites come out to start prepping. You could start now or last month if you wanted. An alternative to sending out files as they are reviewed is to do all the interviews in april and make everyone (applicants, med students, faculty) take week days off to get everything done on time, but that is pushing it for time and not really realistic. Once you get into med school and see the other side of admissions you'll see that people are not sitting around napping with piles of applications scattered all around them. Also you are going to have to get used to this stressful waiting process because it happens again for residency applications (and is in some ways more stressful because you basically only have 1 application cycle to get into the specialty of your choice) and then you might have to do it again for fellowships or jobs. The waiting process sucks a lot especially if you have to apply a few years to get into med school. Whining and calling the school you want to attend a joke is a bit silly. If you looked it up online you would see that this is the process every single year so just don't apply if the school is such a joke and you don't want to attend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD2015:) Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 If you think you need more than 2 weeks to prepare and you know that toronto will only notify you 2 weeks ahead, then start preparing earlier. It is not a surprise that you are going to only have 2 weeks to prep. 2 weeks is plenty of time for a lot of people anyways, but if you want more time then start now. Reflecting on your motivations for medicine and your experiences will be helpful for whenever you get a med school interview someday. Some of it will be relevant for applying for grad programs or job interviews in case you don't get into med school anyways. Learning about issues in medicine and medical ethics can be done early and is helpful for learning about the field and is not wasted time even if you don't get an interview this year. This year applicants to internal medicine residency found out on Jan 6th where they would be doing interviews across the country that would start Jan 16. So they would have <2 weeks to prepare for maybe 8-12 interviews. And during that 2 weeks they were working in clinics and hospitals and had to book all of those flights and hotels to get to all the interviews. They knew interview time was looming, so they could prep anytime they wanted before that. People applying to many specialties found out the week before interviews that they had gotten interviews across the country off interview wait lists. Just prep in advance in case you get the opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleming Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 If you think you need more than 2 weeks to prepare and you know that toronto will only notify you 2 weeks ahead, then start preparing earlier. It is not a surprise that you are going to only have 2 weeks to prep. 2 weeks is plenty of time for a lot of people anyways, but if you want more time then start now. Reflecting on your motivations for medicine and your experiences will be helpful for whenever you get a med school interview someday. Some of it will be relevant for applying for grad programs or job interviews in case you don't get into med school anyways. Learning about issues in medicine and medical ethics can be done early and is helpful for learning about the field and is not wasted time even if you don't get an interview this year. This year applicants to internal medicine residency found out on Jan 6th where they would be doing interviews across the country that would start Jan 16. So they would have <2 weeks to prepare for maybe 8-12 interviews. They knew interview time was looming, so they could prep anytime they wanted before that. I totally agree with this. However, another factor to consider is the cost of flights. This is especially important for OOP applicants who are paying for it themselves. The cost only goes up the closer to the date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xkittens Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 "Jalen McBride Do you really think that social media is the best forum to announce invites and regrets like this? The most professional thing would be to personally email the applicants. As you may be aware, this is a very anxious time for applicants and some courtesy for those who see your post here but have not received an email would be appreciated. Please review your policy on social media. Every other medical school in Ontario seems to be able to email their applicants on the same day." Thank you for your comment and for this feedback. We appreciate that this can be a stressful time for applicants and we try to utilize multiple channels to communicate our messaging. For all official information on interview timelines, applicants can consult the interview section on our website. However, if you have a specific question about your application, we are always happy to help. Please email us any time at medicine.admiss@utoronto.ca or private message us through this page for further assistance. I love how this guy made a fake account just to cuss out UofT LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD2015:) Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Yeah totally costs is a huge deal...thats a good point. Just did the CaRMS residency tour. Booking flights across the country with only a few weeks notice did not come cheap for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowStar Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I think the factor that I think is most within their control that could be maybe having a fixed day where they release a majority of the invites for a particular weekend. I don't know if that was yesterday or not, but it could be helpful in alleviating people's stress levels (this could also give everyone more or less the same amount of time to prep - instead of some people having one week and others having 2 weeks). But then again, I'm sure they can't do that just because of rolling admissions and wanting to give all applications a fair read. I'm sure regardless there can be complaints about the process no matter what (because of the spread out interview dates). I personally have resorted to believing that I'll find out the first week of April which makes the wait a bit more bearable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oryx Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I can confirm that March 7th interviews has not been sent out yet, which is VERY STRANGE. I had to reschedule my Feb. 22nd interview for March 7th due to a conflict, and the admissions specifically stated that I will also get another email when the March 7th emails are sent. So far - nothing in the mailbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauder4life Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I can confirm that March 7th interviews has not been sent out yet, which is VERY STRANGE. I had to reschedule my Feb. 22nd interview for March 7th due to a conflict, and the admissions specifically stated that I will also get another email when the March 7th emails are sent. So far - nothing in the mailbox. Thanks for posting! Could you please let us know when you get the email? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldpizzahotsriracha Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Petition to rename U of T to University of The 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 U of T has distinguished itself as the joke of medical school admissions: 1) Why can every other school send out invites/rejections on the same day- this is respectful and professional to applicants. It is an anxious time for everyone involved and U of T is being very inconsiderate. 2) It is also unprofessional to send out invites less than 2 weeks before an interview, this is almost unheard of for professional schools. 3) Let's talk about the correct use of social media in medicine- it is not to announce invites/regrets. Why would they post on their facebook page that invites are going out and that they are mostly for local or OOP applicants? Clearly, someone at U of T has extra time or is not being productive. The most professional and polite thing to do is personally email all applicants before going on facebook. 4) U of T is among the schools with the highest tuition and funding from the government. There are countless admins in hospitals and in the med school. Hire more people or ensure these people are being production so that the admissions process can be better facilitated. Someone should really be accountable for this. If this is the way they run their med school- then people should really choose them last. False on 1) UBC sends interviews/rejections over hte course of 5 days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qszwdxefc Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 U of T has distinguished itself as the joke of medical school admissions: 1) Why can every other school send out invites/rejections on the same day- this is respectful and professional to applicants. It is an anxious time for everyone involved and U of T is being very inconsiderate. 2) It is also unprofessional to send out invites less than 2 weeks before an interview, this is almost unheard of for professional schools. 3) Let's talk about the correct use of social media in medicine- it is not to announce invites/regrets. Why would they post on their facebook page that invites are going out and that they are mostly for local or OOP applicants? Clearly, someone at U of T has extra time or is not being productive. The most professional and polite thing to do is personally email all applicants before going on facebook. 4) U of T is among the schools with the highest tuition and funding from the government. There are countless admins in hospitals and in the med school. Hire more people or ensure these people are being production so that the admissions process can be better facilitated. Someone should really be accountable for this. If this is the way they run their med school- then people should really choose them last. Just relax, being all anxious about the whole process doesn't really help. If it makes you feel better here's what it's like to apply to the US, where rolling admissions can make you crazy if you overthink it. 1) Rejections/interviews start going out in July (yes that's 7 months ago) and run until March-April. Some schools do send out interviews/decisions in batches but for the majority of them they will tell you when they feel like it. 2) 2 weeks notice is pretty standard. If you check sdn, there are stories where schools contact locals the day before to try and fill up a spot (which the local is very happy to accept) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oryx Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Thanks for posting! Could you please let us know when you get the email? Yup, of course! Hope this alleviates stress for some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Good luck today everyone! May the odds be in your favour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Having watched a friend go through AMCAS this cycle, I guarantee that process can be even worse than this. He submitted a primary application in early July, wrote dozens of essays for 15 schools and submitted all of that before August, got interview notifications Dec to Feb, sometimes with only 1 week notice, booked flights (sometimes $400+) for each school, and then the interview to final decision time period ranged anywhere from 1-2 months. Sometimes they put you on hold and don't even tell you that you have been processed but placed on a waitlist until the very end of the cycle. And for one of the schools, after the interview, the interviewer presents his interviewee's file to a committee of 25 people and has to basically advocate why his interviewee should get a spot. Then all 25 people read the file before coming to a decision. I was frustrated with UofT's process when I applied but each school in ON works differently. People complain about Western's cut offs all the time. People complain about CASPer. People complain about SWOMen. I think most applicants to UT get about 2 weeks notice which is fair if everyone gets roughly the same amount of time. If you are serious about medicine, start preparing for an interview ahead of time. This is probably the easiest "waiting" in your medical career- the waiting involved with CaRMS etc is way worse as you are so busy clinically. Yes, flights and last minute accomodation is expensive but there is only so much that can be done. I guarantee, there are SO many people involved in this process and everyone is a volunteer- they take time out of their schedule to review applications. As an applicant, you are entitled to a fair evaluation of your application- it is not reasonable to dictate the terms by which the school does that. I, for one, am grateful for the holistic approach the school takes and am glad it doesn't just employ hard cut offs and 150 char descriptions to assess if you are a fit for the career. I told my friend to anticipate US interviews and work for the $$$. He did, and had several thousand dollars saved up in case of interviews. If you're applying, familiarize yourself with the process and prepare for it the best you can- the school is not out to get you. They really are trying their best to select the best candidates. With over 3000 applications for 259 seats I can't even imagine the logistical nightmare this must be. Even after removing applications that don't meet cut offs, there are still thousands of applications to review- and if we say, eg 2500 people make it to that stage, then that's 17,500 essays. And I think (not sure) that multiple people assess the files to ensure fairness. So let's double to triple that. It takes time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldpizzahotsriracha Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Good luck today everyone! May the odds be in your favour! Is there a chance results will come out on a weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleming Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Is there a chance results will come out on a weekend? I was hoping for that too! I believe Leon is referring to the people interviewing today, though (today's the first day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldpizzahotsriracha Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I was hoping for that too! I believe Leon is referring to the people interviewing today, though (today's the first day). Ahh that'd make sense. Best of luck to all of today's interviewees, in that case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
med-dream Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I guess the reason they hold the rest rejections till the last is to make sure that they have 600 people for the interview. If not enough, then add. If more than needed, then deleted. It is my (shaky) understanding that only regrets are sent out early in the process if you didn't reach a minimum (GPA or MCAT) or failed to complete a portion of the application. The rest of us will have to wait until the last batch of interviews are sent out along with all of the rejections. It is truly a gruelling process, with repeated high hopes every day you know interviews are going out. We're all in the same boat and can only hope we are simply farther into the pile that they haven't gotten to yet.My last application was two years ago and Im fairly certain the rejections were sent out the second Friday of March. Then again, the dates are much later this year and if this "two weeks before interview date" keeps up, we may be waiting until April 4th! Edit: I realized I didn't exactly answer your question. My best guess is that reviewed files that have not been invited are put into a pile of "probably won't interview". Those at the top of that pile may be revisited as interviews are being conducted and they start the decision process. This is just a theory though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinA Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Did anybody receive an interview for March 7th? I wonder if those applicants don't use premed forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oryx Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Just received a March 7th invite (as admissions indicated they would send me one). Best luck to those of you waiting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauder4life Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Just received a March 7th invite (as admissions indicated they would send me one). Best luck to those of you waiting! Awesome, thanks for letting us know! and good luck on your interview I am really surprised that they are working on a saturday night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion20 Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Just received a March 7th invite (as admissions indicated they would send me one). Best luck to those of you waiting! Thanks for the update Oryx! If anyone else has received an interview for March 7th, please let us know (and if possible, indicate if it's due to a re-scheduled interview). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CloudNine Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Hey. Just received an invite at 9:21 pm for march 7th. I was not a reschedule. Good luck everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thsc Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Same here. Just received an invite for March 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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