Morinphen Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siefer1322 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 same boat. be lucky that you atleast did not get disqualified because of Western's sudden change of rules on 2nd degreer's. I went back to school for 2 years just to find out that I cant even apply after all that effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morinphen Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 same boat. be lucky that you atleast did not get disqualified because of Western's sudden change of rules on 2nd degreer's. I went back to school for 2 years just to find out that I cant even apply after all that effort. I'm sorry. The non-trad journey sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siefer1322 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 It does.. You still have a good shot at Queens and Dalhousie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbluesky Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 The cutoffs seem to be lower than last year (I think it was a 12 in BS, can't remember PS and VR). What's the point of them publishing these cutoffs since people have already applied? Does it mean those with scores lower than those were cut? How do I know whether I can apply next year (2016/2017 cycle) if we don't find out the cutoffs until February? may have already answered this but they don't know what the cutoffs will be until after people have applied - the entire system reacts to the quality of the applicant pool. The only reason it is 130 is that there must be a lot of people surprisingly with that score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0ny Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Did I just read that correctly? the cutoff for Verbal is 130? Isn't that the equivalent of a 13?? Holy crap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Did I just read that correctly? the cutoff for Verbal is 130? Isn't that the equivalent of a 13?? Holy crap... exactly - and it is on a section of the mcat that doesn't have science sections any more. You would think that could slow people down in Canada relative to the US (where is many cases some hard core english courses are required) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewDirection Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 same boat. be lucky that you atleast did not get disqualified because of Western's sudden change of rules on 2nd degreer's. I went back to school for 2 years just to find out that I cant even apply after all that effort. Isn't that rule not in effect yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 130 cut-off for CARS? That looks like its 97th percentile. Must be a lot of strong students applying to western..That essentially means, that all of the top applicants that meet the GPA cut-off in Canada must be interviewing there then. That said then, there must also be a decent movement then on the western waitlist, as many of those same OOP could choose other schools etc ?I wonder how many they are interviewing? I would have thought 129, around the 93rd percentile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0ny Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 That is an absolutely ridiculous cut-off. Someone with that score can apply to Harvard..... I was aiming for a 130 as a hight point this summer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 That is an absolutely ridiculous cut-off. Someone with that score can apply to Harvard..... I was aiming for a 130 as a hight point this summer.. heh, Harvard looks for more than just a strong MCAT score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 heh, Harvard looks for more than just a strong MCAT score yeah but a lot of the applicants with a 130 who are applying to Ontario schools are going to be working on high GPA for Ottawa, TO and Mac, ECs for TO and Ottawa, MCAT for Western and Queens....... I mean you put it all together and it is a system that collectively would be pushing people to be pretty strong candidates for some serious US schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 yeah but a lot of the applicants with a 130 who are applying to Ontario schools are going to be working on high GPA for Ottawa, TO and Mac, ECs for TO and Ottawa, MCAT for Western and Queens....... I mean you put it all together and it is a system that collectively would be pushing people to be pretty strong candidates for some serious US schools. I agree completely, which is why i'm surprised at the 130 cut-off...likely the majority of the interviewees for western, based on the profiles would likely have multiple other interviews also...so you'd think that would depress the cut-off down a little so that they interview enough people to ensure a comfortable class. But im assuming they thought of that, and that it is simply just a really, really bright applicant pool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 I agree completely, which is why i'm surprised at the 130 cut-off...likely the majority of the interviewees for western, based on the profiles would likely have multiple other interviews also...so you'd think that would depress the cut-off down a little so that they interview enough people to ensure a comfortable class. But im assuming they thought of that, and that it is simply just a really, really bright applicant pool! It must be. Still again wow 130 CARS. I mean it is good to have some form of a possible target out there to work towards I guess, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0ny Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 This really makes the whole "2nd undergrad" thing seem like a steeper uphill battle than it already is. I got the 3.9+ GPA in the 2nd degree, now I have to somehow turn my 33 MCAT (8VR) from 2 summers ago into a 520 with a 130 in CARS. Great... looking real positive now lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geriatricsdoc Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 So Western just released their cutoffs for the new MCAT: BBFLS 127 CPFBS 127 CARS 130 I took the MCAT last summer and was extremely happy that I managed to score a 515, with 128 in verbal. But that CARS score just kills me. I'm 25 years old, well into my second 4-year undergrad degree. My first degree GPA is utter shit, and I've rebounded with >3.9 gpa in my 2nd degree. It just feels like I've put my life on hold, going back to school while all my peers have established careers and I barely talk to anyone anymore. I've been lurking on these forums for over 3 years, reading each non-trad success story hoping it'd be my turn to post one day... I'm tired and I don't know if I can keep going. I'm sorry for the pity party, I just really needed to write this somewhere. this is pretty sad man. I feel you but dont give up :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewDirection Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 So Western just released their cutoffs for the new MCAT: BBFLS 127 CPFBS 127 CARS 130 I took the MCAT last summer and was extremely happy that I managed to score a 515, with 128 in verbal. But that CARS score just kills me. I'm 25 years old, well into my second 4-year undergrad degree. My first degree GPA is utter shit, and I've rebounded with >3.9 gpa in my 2nd degree. It just feels like I've put my life on hold, going back to school while all my peers have established careers and I barely talk to anyone anymore. I've been lurking on these forums for over 3 years, reading each non-trad success story hoping it'd be my turn to post one day... I'm tired and I don't know if I can keep going. I'm sorry for the pity party, I just really needed to write this somewhere. Dude, I feel you. The non-trad journey is so long, hard, and at times discouraging. I'm not gonna say to keep trying until you're 65 but I think at 25 you've still got a good chunk of time ahead of you to improve your applications. Would you consider rewriting the MCAT? For the record, I'm 31 and just finishing my second degree after a poor showing the first time around. One thing this process is teaching me is that you gotta dig deep, even when you think you're at the bottom... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morinphen Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Dude, I feel you. The non-trad journey is so long, hard, and at times discouraging. I'm not gonna say to keep trying until you're 65 but I think at 25 you've still got a good chunk of time ahead of you to improve your applications. Would you consider rewriting the MCAT? For the record, I'm 31 and just finishing my second degree after a poor showing the first time around. One thing this process is teaching me is that you gotta dig deep, even when you think you're at the bottom... Thanks man, I'm feeling better after a couple of hours. You're right, we've both come a long way and we just gotta pursue our goal relentlessly. Like another poster said, we've still got Queen's and Ottawa =) and yeah, I'll rewrite the MCAT if that's what it takes. good luck on your journey man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSWschnoodle Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks man, I'm feeling better after a couple of hours. You're right, we've both come a long way and we just gotta pursue our goal relentlessly. Like another poster said, we've still got Queen's and Ottawa =) and yeah, I'll rewrite the MCAT if that's what it takes. good luck on your journey man Is attending outside of Ontario an option for you? From what you are posting it looks like you'd be reasonably competitive for some of the schools out west, depending on what your ECs look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwopremed Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Did I just read that correctly? the cutoff for Verbal is 130? Isn't that the equivalent of a 13?? Holy crap... A 130 is for those between the 93rd and 97th percentile. In other words, 7% of all MCAT writers would have at least that score. The distribution of scores is now about 1 standard deviationg for 3 points, as opposed to 2.5 points in old exam - so the new 130 is actually closer to a 12 in the past (or even an 11 from many many years ago when the highest verbal scores given were 13s or 14s). That being said, meeting 93 percentile ranks is still pretty hard. But virtually everyone I knew that wrote the new MCAT and applied this year seems to have 130s and 131s in CARS. So who knows about the applicant pool. I am very happy I didn't have to write that new essay that's being implemented! Seems like a pain in the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwopremed Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 These high MCAT marks are required though. I've seen class averages for universities like Dalhousie and small ones in Ontario. Class averages for FIRST year classes are consistent B+ to even A- - for large classes with very average students. I used to think Grade inflation at Western was a problem (and it is), until I saw some transcripts from other so called universities in this country!! Grade inflation has completely destroyed any credibility of the GPA for applications- especially when universities like UBC. McGill and Toronto often maintain C averages for even third year classes. There used to be a time when a 3.7 GPA was super hard to get, and reflected a really intelligent academic person. Nowadays, courtesy of programs like MAC health Sci - a 4.0 is now totally suspect. Anyways...kudos for Western for at least realizing that is an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 These high MCAT marks are required though. I've seen class averages for universities like Dalhousie and small ones in Ontario. Class averages for FIRST year classes are consistent B+ to even A- - for large classes with very average students. I used to think Grade inflation at Western was a problem (and it is), until I saw some transcripts from other so called universities in this country!! Grade inflation has completely destroyed any credibility of the GPA for applications- especially when universities like UBC. McGill and Toronto often maintain C averages for even third year classes. There used to be a time when a 3.7 GPA was super hard to get, and reflected a really intelligent academic person. Nowadays, courtesy of programs like MAC health Sci - a 4.0 is now totally suspect. Anyways...kudos for Western for at least realizing that is an issue. But grade inflation doesn't explain a rising mcat standard - that is a normalized test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwopremed Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 But grade inflation doesn't explain a rising mcat standard - that is a normalized test. But it does. Because SO many people now have indistinguishable GPAs that on paper are competitive, more people simply write the test believing they have a chance at medical school. Historically the MCAT measured a sort of IQ- linked propensity to become a good doctor - it was less predicated on hard work over several years and more on raw skill. Historically the GPA measured one's combined ability to work hard over a long period of time combined with some innate talent. Both Hard Work and Innate ability were considered important to do medicine - and both the GPA and MCAT could be used to pick good candidates measuring somewhat different things. The fact that the upper roof of GPA remains a 4.0, and the lower floor for the average student keeps rising rapidly - means that GPA has become more and more meaningless. There are actually some very average students (Even when it comes to work ethic) getting very high GPAs these days - as standards in many degree programs are lowered. If we are to give everyone with a 3.8 at least some chance for medical shool - (there are thousands of students with this minimum GPA) - all we have is MCAT left to differentiate them. But now we have tons of GPA eligible students writing the MCAT, when in the past, the lazier students simply would never have written the MCAT because they GPA would have been too poor. And some of these lazy students are bright - and by that virtue, we have more top MCAT scores applying. Heck - EVEN if the lazy students weren't that smart - by simply having MORE people write the MCAT and apply, the number of people with high scores goes up, even if the test is standardized. It also doesn't help that students now routinely write the MCAT multiple times with no penalty (at least in Canada) for doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indefatigable Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 The Gpa heavy schools - esp Ottawa and Toronto seem to have seen a very steady rise in their avg gpa for admissions. Western, which relies more on the MCAT, seems to have barely changed (Total 31 with 3.7 gpa for the old mcat this year). This is almost identical to 10 years ago. Toronto's average admission's gpa on the other hand is already at 4.0. It's not clear the exact causes of rising grades, but it's pretty clear they're going up - Princeton had an unpopular quota policy on higher grades in the US, but they stopped that a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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