aravar Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 how much weight do they carry in determining whether an applicant.. 1) gets interview 2) gets acceptance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsojc Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 they have almost no relevance at ottawa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aravar Posted September 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 seriously? how so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsojc Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 ottawa is doesn't even have to receive them from OMSAS until Dec 1st...if anything they are just used as a flag. This is really how it should be considering the fact many people definitely write their own reference letters anyways... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc123 Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 they have almost no relevance at ottawa That is not true! I have been in contact with the UofOttawa Admissions team and although they do not explicitly state in the OMSAS manual, they require three letters as part of the application (2 from sciences and from from non-science). The reference letters are considered with the ABS and are certainly relevant in making interview decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsojc Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Yes I realize they require the letters but I guarantee you they do not make a huge impact on the decision...unless they are flagged for something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc123 Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Yes I realize they require the letters but I guarantee you they do not make a huge impact on the decision...unless they are flagged for something. On what basis can you gurantee that? Just because they receive it by Dec. 1. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMislove Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 That is not true! I have been in contact with the UofOttawa Admissions team and although they do not explicitly state in the OMSAS manual, they require three letters as part of the application (2 from sciences and from from non-science). The reference letters are considered with the ABS and are certainly relevant in making interview decisions. I hope you don't mean 2 letters need to be from a science based activity because: a) not even mentioned on their site from what I can tell, and some applicants are basing their application and experience off of relevant personal activities rather than academic. Anyways, lets all agree to disagree that we do not exactly know how they do it because we are not the admissions committee, who are essentially the only ones who know and they are bound to secrecy . Good luck to everyone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc123 Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 I hope you don't mean 2 letters need to be from a science based activity because: a) not even mentioned on their site from what I can tell, and some applicants are basing their application and experience off of relevant personal activities rather than academic. Anyways, lets all agree to disagree that we do not exactly know how they do it because we are not the admissions committee, who are essentially the only ones who know and they are bound to secrecy . Good luck to everyone!! I share the same opinion as you. Med School Admission is a black box especially at Uof Ottawa who share very little in terms of scoring criteria pre/post interview. In this case, it is best to "assume" that all components of the application are important and therefore cannot be neglected. I spoke with Diane from the Admissions office today and she told me that 2 academic letters (not necessarily science letters - that was my mistake) and 1 non-academic are required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aravar Posted September 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 I share the same opinion as you. Med School Admission is a black box especially at Uof Ottawa who share very little in terms of scoring criteria pre/post interview. In this case, it is best to "assume" that all components of the application are important and therefore cannot be neglected. I spoke with Diane from the Admissions office today and she told me that 2 academic letters (not necessarily science letters - that was my mistake) and 1 non-academic are required. Whaaat? Does it say on OMSAS or on the U Ottawa site that they require 2 academic and 1 non-academic reference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc123 Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Whaaat? Does it say on OMSAS or on the U Ottawa site that they require 2 academic and 1 non-academic reference? Call their admissions office to confirm. I may be wrong here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMislove Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 It is not listed on their website, or on the OMSAS booklet. The booklet suggests for AT LEAST one non-academic reference, not specific to ottawa, but definitely not a maximum. Something like that would most definitely be mentioned in the booklet you would think, as something small like that could disqualify quite a bit of people. Might be mixing up the application to MD/PhD where on top of the 3 letters, you need 2 letters to attest to your potential as a graduate student. Definitely contact ad com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle_MD Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 I had one prof and 2 employers and I got in, don't stress too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capillary Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 I had one prof and 2 employers and I got in, don't stress too much! Did your one prof talk about your academic attributes? LIke I didnt know we should aim for a professor or academic reference i have a professor but he is talking about my leadershp not my academic skills though . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 I dont think you guys need to stress too much about references. Last year I had an employer, a volunteer coordinator, and my research supervisor (so none were academic) and I got an interview.... So I dont know if these reference letter rules are new or if they have always had them except they don't strictly enforce them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everest_7 Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Does anyone know if the reference letters are considered after the interview? Or is it just your interview score and wGPA? (and CASPer?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.