Just got an interview off waitlist...

[thestruggle]

Hi all, 

I just got an interview to Queen's off the waitlist, and although it's exciting, I'm in a dilemma now because the only dates available are Feb 24th and Feb 25th... and my University of Calgary interview is booked for the 25th at 12:30. The only time on Feb 24th is the 4pm slot, meaning it would be very tight to make it back on time (and with my sanity in one piece).

It is possible to take a 7am flight out on the 25th set to arrive at Calgary around 9:30am, but my concerns are: 1) flight delays and more importantly 2) I'm not sure what kind of state I would be in during the U of C interviews. I am in-province for Alberta so I know my chances are highest for U of C, and I don't want to mess that up. 

I'd love any and all advice regarding doing back-to-back interviews/taking risky flights or any other thoughts!! Also, if anyone wants to swap their Feb 24th morning spot for a lovely afternoon spot... please let me know... (I'm not even sure if they'd allow it lol..)

[m_jacob_45]

26 minutes ago, thestruggle said:

Hi all, 

I just got an interview to Queen's off the waitlist, and although it's exciting, I'm in a dilemma now because the only dates available are Feb 24th and Feb 25th... and my University of Calgary interview is booked for the 25th at 12:30. The only time on Feb 24th is the 4pm slot, meaning it would be very tight to make it back on time (and with my sanity in one piece).

It is possible to take a 7am flight out on the 25th set to arrive at Calgary around 9:30am, but my concerns are: 1) flight delays and more importantly 2) I'm not sure what kind of state I would be in during the U of C interviews. I am in-province for Alberta so I know my chances are highest for U of C, and I don't want to mess that up. 

I'd love any and all advice regarding doing back-to-back interviews/taking risky flights or any other thoughts!! Also, if anyone wants to swap their Feb 24th morning spot for a lovely afternoon spot... please let me know... (I'm not even sure if they'd allow it lol..)

I would maybe contact Queens by phone and ask what they would recommend doing in your situation. Essentially, I would not come to your Calgary interviews extremely stressed/tired if that's where you're most likely to get in anyways. Obviously, if you can switch with someone else that would be ideal. 

[samc5]

That might be a bit too tight for your Calgary interview see if they have any other times?

[thestruggle]

1 hour ago, m_jacob_45 said:

I would maybe contact Queens by phone and ask what they would recommend doing in your situation. Essentially, I would not come to your Calgary interviews extremely stressed/tired if that's where you're most likely to get in anyways. Obviously, if you can switch with someone else that would be ideal. 

I talked to them on the phone when they offered the interview and I explained my situation, and they didn't really offer and advice/recommendations

 

1 hour ago, samc5 said:

That might be a bit too tight for your Calgary interview see if they have any other times?

No other times unfortunately, except for one that overlaps exactly with the Calgary interview..! I guess I should consider declining Queens so I don't jeopardize my Calgary interview 

[Lactic Folly]

A morning flight would be risky, but I might consider an evening flight since the time difference would work in your favour. Have you checked train options to other airports?

[thestruggle]

10 minutes ago, Lactic Folly said:

A morning flight would be risky, but I might consider an evening flight since the time difference would work in your favour. Have you checked train options to other airports?

Since the interview ends so late (the admissions lady told me to expect around 7:30pm) I can't seem to find a flight that would work even if going to Toronto or Ottawa (which admittedly are the only ones I checked)

[Lactic Folly]

You know yourself best... can you perform well with little sleep on adrenaline when stakes are high? Can you sleep well on a plane? Can you change the Calgary interview date/time (see if they've had anyone decline)? How do you feel your chances are at Queens? I'm assuming a private jet is out of the question 

[samc5]

Querns interviews 500~ for 90ish seats? I would focus more on Calgary if you like both equally their post interview odds are a lot nicer.

[thestruggle]

1 hour ago, Lactic Folly said:

You know yourself best... can you perform well with little sleep on adrenaline when stakes are high? Can you sleep well on a plane? Can you change the Calgary interview date/time (see if they've had anyone decline)? How do you feel your chances are at Queens? I'm assuming a private jet is out of the question 

Hahaha I wish I had a private jet! I like to think I work well under little sleep/high stress but who knows.. sleep like a log on a plane and the thing is the march weekend for Calgary is my Ottawa interview..! (Oh how I wish queens had a March weekend open) I feel like my chances at Queens are decent but numbers wise not even close to my chances at Calgs. But that gives me lots to think about, thank you!

 

9 minutes ago, samc5 said:

Querns interviews 500~ for 90ish seats? I would focus more on Calgary if you like both equally their post interview odds are a lot nicer.

Yes and if my research is correct Queens pretty much throw out the application assessment and mostly use the interview scores for the final decision? Calgary has much better odds but honestly it was my last choice out of the ones I applied to this cycle and Queens was one of my top... making the choice more complicated. I do wish U of Alberta came out with their interview decisions though! 

[bruh]

Calgary interviews on March 4th too, and you can change it to that day manually on UCAN (as long as there is a spot available). 

[Nibbler]

On 2/16/2018 at 0:00 AM, thestruggle said:

Yes and if my research is correct Queens pretty much throw out the application assessment and mostly use the interview scores for the final decision? Calgary has much better odds but honestly it was my last choice out of the ones I applied to this cycle and Queens was one of my top... making the choice more complicated. I do wish U of Alberta came out with their interview decisions though! 







 

2

So I did a bit of research on this. Queen's accepts 100/500 students, this value doesn't really account waitlist movement. After the interview, you are assessed based on three factors: OMSAS Sketch, References, and Interview scores ( not MCAT/GPA ). Naturally, we have no idea how each of these sections are weighted but its reasonable to assume interview is a huge proportion. 

Just thought id throw that in there

[Persephone]

2 hours ago, Nibbles said:

So I did a bit of research on this. Queen's accepts 100/500 students, this value doesn't really account waitlist movement. After the interview, you are assessed based on three factors: OMSAS Sketch, References, and Interview scores ( not MCAT/GPA ). Naturally, we have no idea how each of these sections are weighted but its reasonable to assume interview is a huge proportion. 

Just thought id throw that in there

I was just at the Queen's interviews and was informed that you are evaluated 100% based on your interview post-interviews. The odds however are a bit lower than 100/500, b/c there are 10 Qarms students & 3 MD/PhD's given spots and that lowers the number of offers to 87 

[unarmed walrus]

1 hour ago, Persephone said:

I was just at the Queen's interviews and was informed that you are evaluated 100% based on your interview post-interviews.

Where did you hear this? The website states pretty unambiguously that post-interview ranking is based on the interview, ABS, and letters of reference. 

[Savac]

Was that a current student that was spreading potentially false information? For the record 1st year students aren't involved in the admissions process so take that with a grain of salt.

[rmorelan]

4 hours ago, unarmed walrus said:

Where did you hear this? The website states pretty unambiguously that post-interview ranking is based on the interview, ABS, and letters of reference. 

a) not that they are perfect at all times but official sources like websites are best to determine what is involved

b ) how you are evaluated post interview is kind of academic (although interesting to know). I mean who does that change anything - are you going to do worse on the interview if you know it is worth not as much, or worth 100% or....? You know it is worth enough to significantly move the score or it wouldn't be used so you are going to do what it takes to be a good at it as you can. 

[Persephone]

1 hour ago, Savac said:

Was that a current student that was spreading potentially false information? For the record 1st year students aren't involved in the admissions process so take that with a grain of salt.

It was. But I also feel like I saw it somewhere else before as well. I did just check the website and I see that the final step in selection includes looking at more than just the interview.

[helicase]

3 hours ago, Persephone said:

It was. But I also feel like I saw it somewhere else before as well. I did just check the website and I see that the final step in selection includes looking at more than just the interview.

I think the 100% interview thing used to be thrown around quite a bit especially on here. But with this new website I've noticed they've become unambiguous about quite a few things- this being one of them. Nice to see at least a little bit of movement away from being a 'black box'. 

[Persephone]

12 hours ago, helicase said:

I think the 100% interview thing used to be thrown around quite a bit especially on here. But with this new website I've noticed they've become unambiguous about quite a few things- this being one of them. Nice to see at least a little bit of movement away from being a 'black box'. 

Transparency definitely helps with some of the daunting feelings of applying. It also helps in terms of the ability to critique the process where it might run into structural biases (especially towards students from wealthy-ish families).

[Nibbler]

On 2/27/2018 at 0:50 AM, helicase said:

I think the 100% interview thing used to be thrown around quite a bit especially on here. But with this new website I've noticed they've become unambiguous about quite a few things- this being one of them. Nice to see at least a little bit of movement away from being a 'black box'. 

I agree it is nice to see. The only "black-box" per se is you don't necessarily know how the 3 factors are weighed. However, it's pretty reasonable to assume the interview plays a substantial role.