Worth It To Apply To Mcgill?

[freewheeler]

Hi all,

 

I am wondering whether it would be worth it to apply to McGill as an OOP student based on the admissions stats and my situation. Insight from past/current applicants or McGill students would be great.

 

I am only missing the physics pre-requisite but they have a requirement that all pre-reqs be completed by January 15th, 2016 for the current application cycle.

 

That would mean that I would have to take physics through Athabasca (which is acceptable according to their website) but I would have to take 2 half-year physics courses through Athabasca and have them completed from between now and mid-January. Doable, but not sure if worth it since it is the only school I would have to take the courses for. I did just write the mcat however so I have a pretty good understanding of the various topics in physics.

 

I noticed that for OOP students their admissions stats are as follows:

 

• Anticipated number of seats available for Fall 2016: 10

• Average number of applicants: 890
• Average number of interviewed candidates: 55
• Average GPA of interviewed candidates: 3.94

 

My stats would be as follows:

GPA: 3.98

MCAT (optional): yet to receive scores

ECs: heavy in leadership and multi-organization collaboration, some sports, personal interests, no research, I can write a solid personal statement if they have one (not sure about the non-academic aspect of their application)

 

Thanks!

 

[medafter30]

You have a strong GPA, so that is always a good place to start !

 

If you decide to apply to McGill, the most important part of your application will rely on you CV and personal statement as this will be 30% of your pre-interview score (70% is your GPA + academic context, which accounts for difficult courses and/or advanced degrees such as Master or PhD that you have).

 

Regarding your physics requirement, I would suggest you to evaluate your schedule at school and additional activities, and your willing to take extra risk in spending time for the online physics course. Risk and rewards go together so I think it is your personal choice.

 

Good luck with your application this year!

[FB07]

You're a pretty solid candidate. As the person above stated, strong GPA is a good place to start but it's all about the CV + personal statement when it comes to McGill. Mainly because everyone applying will have a solid GPA, so the rest is your opportunity to shine. Research is not essential, I applied without any research on my CV and made it just fine. It's only worth it if you want to go to McGill. 

 

Best of luck!

[freewheeler]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Honestly, I don't feel strongly about McGill. It isn't a school that I am dying to attend or anything like that (I don't feel particularly strongly about any of the schools as I haven't yet researched their individual strengths/weaknesses).

 

I would just consider applying to McGill for the sake of applying broadly as I am a first time applicant and have no real idea of how my application will be viewed so I thought it might be helpful to branch out.

 

I guess I'll see how school and extracurriculars go for the first few weeks and then if I feel it would be appropriate I can sign up for the physics courses.