MrSchwartz3 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Does anyone know if McMaster looks at reference letters as a flag before the interview invites are sent out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stegalls Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I hope so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeDoc Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't think so. McMaster's website shows their evaluation formula pretty clearly, and states that full file review only occurs after a rank list is made after interviews occur. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/selection_process.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmira Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 logistically though doesn't it make sense for schools to read the letters before inviting? if they read them after the interviews and find out an applicant isn't suitable for their school, they've already spent the time/resources on a lost cause that they could've put to better use on another candidate. this is, of course, assuming that the letters are used simply as a flag and not actually graded.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleming Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 I'd guess that they use the reference letters as a flag, since it doesn't explicitly appear anywhere in their evaluation formulae. If so, I'd argue (once again, speculation) that getting an interview means the letters were sufficient. It doesn't make sense to me for them to wait until after interviews to give the letters a look, especially if they're being used as flags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSchwartz3 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 OK, thanks for your help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygella Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've heard that McMaster only uses the reference letters looking for red flags, otherwise they don't really take them into consideration for the admission process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSchwartz3 Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yeah, I realize that they're used as a flag, I was just wondering when exactly this comes into play during the admissions process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w_robin Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 The most recent consensus on this forum is that the reference letters are used as a flag post-interview. Logically, there is simply not enough time to read 5000 x 3 reference letters in the 3 months between application submission and interview invites. You'll also note that there are people who have posted in this forum about receiving an interview along with an e-mail saying one of their reference letters is missing. 15 000 reference letters / 3 months = 5000 letters / month 5000 letters / month = 300 letters / work day 300 letters / work day = 2 employees working 8 hour days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntisG Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 What type of referees should I get (academic vs personal) how many academic and personal should someone have? I have one solid academic but mostly a ton of personal, like work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decentcigars Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 The most recent consensus on this forum is that the reference letters are used as a flag post-interview. Logically, there is simply not enough time to read 5000 x 3 reference letters in the 3 months between application submission and interview invites. You'll also note that there are people who have posted in this forum about receiving an interview along with an e-mail saying one of their reference letters is missing. 15 000 reference letters / 3 months = 5000 letters / month 5000 letters / month = 300 letters / work day 300 letters / work day = 2 employees working 8 hour days 1) they're not reading anything else in your OMSAS application, so im sure they have time to read the letters 2) you're not counting the wasted time they used in interviewing the red flags (+ they could have interviewed other people) I would still think they use it pre interview. It also doesnt make sense; what if someone had an awesome interview, awesome casper, great VR and gpa. Would you really not take them because of a weak reference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 They interview enough people that if someone is otherwise ready to be accepted they could just check it for major red flags. Unlikely but in the rare occurence they would just move down the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo_yike Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I can say with a fair bit of certainty that they check the reference letters for red flags BEFORE interview invites go out. I say this because I was contacted by admissions about a letter that they didn't receive from OMSAS (even though OMSAS had received it on time), and received my interview invite the very next day once they got the letter from OMSAS. I agree that they most likely only use them to check for red flags based on the information on their websites. Bottom line is make sure they are in order and positive, but don't over sweat it. (once more, big thanks to admissions staff at McMaster for contacting me and saving me from this situation rather than just discarding my file which would have been reasonable based on the work load and number of files) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDS In Training Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I can say with a fair bit of certainty that they check the reference letters for red flags BEFORE interview invites go out. I say this because I was contacted by admissions about a letter that they didn't receive from OMSAS (even though OMSAS had received it on time), and received my interview invite the very next day once they got the letter from OMSAS. I agree that they most likely only use them to check for red flags based on the information on their websites. Bottom line is make sure they are in order and positive, but don't over sweat it. (once more, big thanks to admissions staff at McMaster for contacting me and saving me from this situation rather than just discarding my file which would have been reasonable based on the work load and number of files) Congrats on your interview at Mac, their admission folks are quite nice Agree with you on the reference letters, as most of the pre-interview processing is just screening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w_robin Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 They noticed the letter was missing and asked you to send it. That doesn't mean that they scrutinized it pre-interview. Yes to the above post - despite a strong application, if your letter is a red flag - I would move down the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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