Uottawa Now Requires Mcat!

[Shekarchi]

Why can't ottawa do what Mcgill is doing, with having the mcat being submitted as optional. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe thats what Mcgill applicants can do? So someone with an awesome mcat score but 3.85 wgpa would stand similar chance at an interview vs a 3.95 with no mcat. So having the mcat would only help an applicant rather than hurt them.

 

But overall I really like the american system and its holistic approach towards selecting students. 

[3change]

...

[rmorelan]

Probably because they simply no longer have faith in GPA as an accurate way of measuring performance of an applicant. They may (as in probably do) have a large amount of internal information about how well people are doing in the program vs their GPA - enough to make a decision of its actual value. Med schools track EVERYTHING.

 

Why can't ottawa do what Mcgill is doing, with having the mcat being submitted as optional. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe thats what Mcgill applicants can do? So someone with an awesome mcat score but 3.85 wgpa would stand similar chance at an interview vs a 3.95 with no mcat. So having the mcat would only help an applicant rather than hurt them.

 

But overall I really like the american system and its holistic approach towards selecting students. 

[lcs.tmng]

Doesn't Quebec have 3 of their own Universities that strictly french applicants can apply to!?

 

All the other French applicants at U of Ottawa (from provinces other than Quebec) that I know of speak english perfectly and should not have any problem with the MCAT. I am french and had no problem writing the MCAT! Realistically, if you are going to work outside of Quebec, you are still going to practice 80% of the time in english, so it is important that they are also fluent in english

 

bwahahaha you're so wild 

 

get your facts straight, everyone can apply to Quebec's french med schools

 

if you paid attention in grade 8 french, you'll manage with the interviews

[lcs.tmng]

Why can't ottawa do what Mcgill is doing, with having the mcat being submitted as optional. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe thats what Mcgill applicants can do? So someone with an awesome mcat score but 3.85 wgpa would stand similar chance at an interview vs a 3.95 with no mcat. So having the mcat would only help an applicant rather than hurt them.

 

But overall I really like the american system and its holistic approach towards selecting students. 

only for CEGEP and people who graduated IP

[Ozymandias]

I love how Ottawa went from one of the schools with the 'least' amount of required criteria to apply to now requiring MCAT/CASPer/meeting GPA cutoffs/solid EC's haha.

On a serious note, I wonder when they'll actually take the MCAT scores into account though. I believe they used CASPer scores this year for pre-interview selection (but again, who knows).

[Sincere]

I don't understand at al!! Applications start in a month! How am I supposed to study for, complete and get results for the MCAT by the deadline? This is insane and impossible.

 

Is it applicable to the French stream? Cause I did ALL my studies in French. I think this is such an unfair disadvantage!

 

Also, is it for THIS years cohort? (upcoming 2017 application) cause there was no heads-up at all. One should have some time to prepare for the MCAT. They should have posted this Oct 1st, on the deadline of the application for 2016. This legit makes ZERO sense to me.

 

I'll call them tomorrow to get details cause the website says NOTHING. In fact, it still says that only the WGPA and the non-academic stuff are the only things used to see if you get an interview. 

[bruhh]

I don't understand at al!! Applications start in a month! How am I supposed to study for, complete and get results for the MCAT by the deadline? This is insane and impossible.

 

Is it applicable to the French stream? Cause I did ALL my studies in French. I think this is such an unfair disadvantage!

 

Also, is it for THIS years cohort? (upcoming 2017 application) cause there was no heads-up at all. One should have some time to prepare for the MCAT. They should have posted this Oct 1st, on the deadline of the application for 2016. This legit makes ZERO sense to me.

 

I'll call them tomorrow to get details cause the website says NOTHING. In fact, it still says that only the WGPA and the non-academic stuff are the only things used to see if you get an interview.

Best of luck. I hope it's for the next cycle. Do let us know here how your call goes tomorrow!

[rmorelan]

I don't understand at al!! Applications start in a month! How am I supposed to study for, complete and get results for the MCAT by the deadline? This is insane and impossible.

 

Is it applicable to the French stream? Cause I did ALL my studies in French. I think this is such an unfair disadvantage!

 

Also, is it for THIS years cohort? (upcoming 2017 application) cause there was no heads-up at all. One should have some time to prepare for the MCAT. They should have posted this Oct 1st, on the deadline of the application for 2016. This legit makes ZERO sense to me.

 

I'll call them tomorrow to get details cause the website says NOTHING. In fact, it still says that only the WGPA and the non-academic stuff are the only things used to see if you get an interview. 

 

Totally understand your frustration. We know extremely little of course - just that this has been posted.

 

It does say ALL applicants - which if phrased correctly would mean both streams.

 

This isn't the first time Ottawa has done this sort of thing with very little notice - the removed their graduate stream several years ago without a lot of heads up and a bunch of people in mid masters taken solely to apply to Ottawa were left in the cold.

 

Many people aren't going to find out about this until the July release of the OMSAS booklet. That is not a lot of time - particularly since many people have already set their summer plans.

[Haribo7173]

There is no french version of the MCAT, so those applicants would write it in English.  It seems as if a number of French stream applicants are functionally (or even preferentially) anglophone, but not sure if this is the case for all.

 

 If it's just serving as a checkmark for french stream applicants, then it's an expensive and time consuming checkmark.  For the applicants who have weak base in English, I can fully empathize and identify with the difficulties of preparing and writing advanced exams in a non-native language.  

 

I also agree that this move seems to weaken the notion of the french stream.  It strikes me as a little out of step with the official image Ottawa projects (federalism & official bilingualism), but from a practical point of view I can see the point (extra metric of applicants).

 

Quebec francophone applicants could apply to the Quebec universities, although these tend to accept mostly CEGEP rather than university candidates.  Francophones from other regions of the country who applied to Ottawa would be at more of a disadvantage.  

 

Right. It's really not about French applicants having 3 French universities to apply to in Quebec. They do, but that's not the point.

[Sincere]

I called the school and emailed and got no reply. I also called OMSAS and they said they will contact Ottawa U for me. So, i'll keep you posted!

[lightng79]

I confirmed with Diane Parent (through email), that the MCAT will be a requirement for applicants in both streams.

 

 

The website will be updated before the end of June regarding whether or not this will apply to the upcoming cycle or the next

[Sincere]

I confirmed with Diane Parent (through email), that the MCAT will be a requirement for applicants in both streams.

 

 

The website will be updated before the end of June regarding whether or not this will apply to the upcoming cycle or the next

How will we know though whether to book the MCAT or not? To start studying or not? I get it, for the next cycle. But for the 2017 one? Makes no sense!! I hope they decide to start it for 2018!

 

Also, when did she email you back? Today?

[RicardoKaká]

Despite the sudden onset of this information I think Ottawa is making a move for the better. Although I cant really speak in terms of the Francophone stream, I know of many applicants in the Anglophone stream who applied to Ottawa because they had the minimum pre-reqs and very high grades but had not written the MCAT. At least this forces some tighter regulations among the applicants.

 

 

Just wish they gave us a bit more information about it and how it affects this upcoming cycle!

[j17f]

Well it looks like i'm going to begin preparing in case they do decide to implement it this year. Does anyone know what the "best" books are for this new mcat? I'd like ones that go into too much detail rather than being too simplistic.

[lightng79]

How will we know though whether to book the MCAT or not? To start studying or not? I get it, for the next cycle. But for the 2017 one? Makes no sense!! I hope they decide to start it for 2018!

 

Also, when did she email you back? Today?

 

Those are all great questions. I haven't gone into detail in the email unfortunately as I was already studying for the MCAT 

 

I received the email this morning. 

[lightng79]

Upon re-reading the email (which I clearly misinterpreted)

 

I quote "Our website will be updated before the end of June 2016 regarding the MCAT requirements for the upcoming application cycle".

 

 

I guess they're implementing this right from the get go :/ 

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

[bruhh]

Being vague with admissions requirements isn't really about premeds "gaming" the system. It is about transparency and being informed. Just because hiding information from applicants favours the admissions in terms of selecting applicants however they'd like to, it doesn't make it the "right" way to do things.

 

I do support the decision of adding the MCAT component, as ottawa's GPA cut offs was just skyrocketing into ridiculous levels. But I am very concerned if this change is meant for people applying this cycle. People are not obligated to worry about the MCAT if a school does not require it, so pulling the mcat card out literally 2-3 months before the application deadline is just unfair. So what, people are supposed to prepare for the mcat in a month? whoever was planning to do other things this summer would now have to possibly quit their job or other commitments and do the MCAT on an insanely last minute notice. 

 

I think if enough people call and show their concern, they would listen, or at least I hope so. 

 

EDIT: watch their requirement be a ranked order list from the top, like Western lol. Could possibly be some 130 CARS cut-off

[lightng79]

Being vague with admissions requirements isn't really about premeds "gaming" the system. It is about transparency and being informed. Just because hiding information from applicants favours the admissions in terms of selecting applicants however they'd like to, it doesn't make it the "right" way to do things.

 

I do support the decision of adding the MCAT component, as ottawa's GPA cut offs was just skyrocketing into ridiculous levels. But I am very concerned if this change is meant for people applying this cycle. People are not obligated to worry about the MCAT if a school does not require it, so pulling the mcat card out literally 2-3 months before the application deadline is just unfair. So what, people are supposed to prepare for the mcat in a month? whoever was planning to do other things this summer would now have to possibly quit their job or other commitments and do the MCAT on an insanely last minute notice. 

 

I think if enough people call and show their concern, they would listen, or at least I hope so. 

 

EDIT: watch their requirement be a ranked order list from the top, like Western lol. Could possibly be some 130 CARS cut-off

 

 

Though I completely agree with what you are saying, you are referring to a very small percentage of people who are planning on applying ONLY to Ottawa (in Ontario at least).

 

The MCAT news won't be a scare for the average pre-med whose already been studying with the plan of applying broadly.

 

It's a double back-stab for those who aren't very proficient in English though and who were banking on the francophone stream. They'll probably be getting more furious callers from there than the anglophone cohort

 

 

Again, just playing devil's advocate. I am still in favor of what you're saying and it is still very unfair

[bruhh]

Though I completely agree with what you are saying, you are referring to a very small percentage of people who are planning on applying ONLY to Ottawa (in Ontario at least).

 

The MCAT news won't be a scare for the average pre-med whose already been studying with the plan of applying broadly.

 

It's a double back-stab for those who aren't very proficient in English though and who were banking on the francophone stream. They'll probably be getting more furious callers from there than the anglophone cohort

 

 

Again, just playing devil's advocate. I am still in favor of what you're saying and it is still very unfair

 

Yup! I am aware that most people would already be preparing for the MCAT either way. Most people don't just bank on Ottawa. Actually, this change probably favours me because I was going to do the MCAT anyway and my GPA isn't super high. But any change that can hurt a particular subset of applicants, however small, is not a fair one as you mentioned.

[Morinphen]

Upon re-reading the email (which I clearly misinterpreted)

 

I quote "Our website will be updated before the end of June 2016 regarding the MCAT requirements for the upcoming application cycle".

 

 

I guess they're implementing this right from the get go :/ 

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

 

Curious to see what these requirements are and at what stage of the application process they'll be implemented

[Sincere]

I got  confirmation email.

 

The MCAT will be implemented for this upcoming cycle of July 2016.

 

It will be implemented for both streams - FR and ENG.

 

Time to get studying, I guess.

[rmorelan]

I got  confirmation email.

 

The MCAT will be implemented for this upcoming cycle of July 2016.

 

It will be implemented for both streams - FR and ENG.

 

Time to get studying, I guess.

 

thanks for letting us know. At least there is a few months prior to get something together.

 

As others pointed out it is really the francophone stream that will suffer the most. Up to now in theory you could complete all your training without knowing any english at all. Now suddenly you have to become an expert at the language. All sections of that tests depend on advanced English skills - and like all standardized tests having weaker language skills in the testing language will and has constantly been shown to result in weaker test performance.

[Sincere]

thanks for letting us know. At least there is a few months prior to get something together.

 

As others pointed out it is really the francophone stream that will suffer the most. Up to now in theory you could complete all your training without knowing any english at all. Now suddenly you have to become an expert at the language. All sections of that tests depend on advanced English skills - and like all standardized tests having weaker language skills in the testing language will and has constantly been shown to result in weaker test performance.

Exactly. This is BULLSHIT. Honestly, I'm shocked. I'm unfortunately part of that minority that was going to apply to the french stream at Ottawa U only. Now I'm royally screwed. 

[geriatricsdoc]

Life always throws curve balls. Especially with uOttawa (casper and now MCAT)