Thoughts post-interview?

[HoopDreams]

10 minutes ago, SMT said:

I'm highly skeptical of your "demonstration" there. Unless you have access to undisclosed information, there is no way you know that the pre-reqs score follow a simple curve like this. It is entirely possible (and I would even say likely, so that the pre-req scores are worth anything) that they use a exponential curve. Or they could even give the applicants pre-reqs score only by comparing where he or she stands with respect to the other applicants pre-reqs GPA. Who knows? In any case, I'm doubtful of your demonstration there.

You are most probably right. 

[Med79]

What do you guys think bombing a station looks like? Is it just a feeling more than anything else?

[MedP111]

5 minutes ago, Med79 said:

What do you guys think bombing a station looks like? Is it just a feeling more than anything else?

I guess technically you can't really know how they're evaluating you and what impression you're conveying in those 7 minutes, but I personally feel like "bombing" is when you just don't get anywhere in a station. No resolution of any kind, the insight you offered was rather limited, etc. In these stations I just feel like I did the bare minimum and there's no way other people wouldn't have done at least this much. 

[MDmaybe99]

40 minutes ago, HoopDreams said:

You are most probably right. 

in previous years, when Mcgill sends out rejections, they also include your ranking in regards to interview and pre-reqs. So yes, your pre-reqs is a ranking amongst other applicants (ie. 100 on 300)

[SunAndMoon]

3 hours ago, HoopDreams said:

Friends, I think you are over-thinking it.
Forget the rumours and the what-ifs.
Focus on what you can control.

Proof : Let's just assume the post-interview scoring is on 100.

• Pre-reqs : 20%
• Interview : 80%

Scenario #1 : Average interview (75%) + 3.0 GPA pre-reqs,

• Pre-reqs score : 15/20
• Interview score : 60/80
• Total score : 75/100

Scenario #2 : Average interview + 3.7 GPA pre-reqs,

• Pre-reqs score : 18.5/20
• Interview score : 60/80
• Total score : 78.5/100

Scenario #3 : Average interview + 4.0 GPA pre-reqs,

• Pre-reqs score : 20/20
• Interview score : 60/80
• Total score : 80/100

Take-home message :

• From a 3.0 to a 4.0 pre-reqs GPA, this will impact your global score by 5%.
• You should simply focus on your interview and make up for that 5% by acing a station.
• Good luck to all

i appreciate what you are trying to do but i am fairly certain this is wrong - it is not a simple attribution of points, you are still ranked after. you could have "only" 15/20 (if that is how they measure it) in that section and still rank poorly compared to the rest of the applicant pool (as they tend to be clustered around the 3.7 range, or 18.5/20 - i think that is the average? correct me if im wrong, they stated it at some meeting). 

in other words it doesnt matter if you're only 3.5 points behind out of 20 if everyone else is above you: you still rank lower than all of them. 

I think the weight of pre-reqs is disproportionate and based on anecdotal experience i have seen people who failed to get in with excellent interview (top 10% to top 25%) ranks because of prereq GPAs that ranged from 2.7 or so to 3.3 (respectively).

[Eudaimonia]

10 minutes ago, SunAndMoon said:

i appreciate what you are trying to do but i am fairly certain this is wrong - it is not a simple attribution of points, you are still ranked after. you could have "only" 15/20 (if that is how they measure it) in that section and still rank poorly compared to the rest of the applicant pool (as they tend to be clustered around the 3.7 range, or 18.5/20 - i think that is the average? correct me if im wrong, they stated it at some meeting). 

in other words it doesnt matter if you're only 3.5 points behind out of 20 if everyone else is above you: you still rank lower than all of them. 

I think the weight of pre-reqs is disproportionate and based on anecdotal experience i have seen people who failed to get in with excellent interview (top 10% to top 25%) ranks because of prereq GPAs that ranged from 2.7 or so to 3.3 (respectively).

You're right that since it is based on ranks, being only a mere 1 point out of 20 behind everyone else (suppose they all had 4.0) is still going to rank you last. Your anecdote also highlights that the prereqGPA should not be disregarded as a significant factor. 

However the converse is also true, in that 4.0 candidates with average interviews can be rejected. And I think this was what HoopDreams wanted to show; your interview ranking is more important than your prereqGPA ranking. How they make it weigh 80% for the final rank I'm not sure- weigh by points or rank? 

What did you mean by disproportionate- that the prereqGPA may not be worth 20%?

[indefatigable]

23 minutes ago, SunAndMoon said:

i appreciate what you are trying to do but i am fairly certain this is wrong - it is not a simple attribution of points, you are still ranked after. you could have "only" 15/20 (if that is how they measure it) in that section and still rank poorly compared to the rest of the applicant pool (as they tend to be clustered around the 3.7 range, or 18.5/20 - i think that is the average? correct me if im wrong, they stated it at some meeting). 

in other words it doesnt matter if you're only 3.5 points behind out of 20 if everyone else is above you: you still rank lower than all of them. 

I think the weight of pre-reqs is disproportionate and based on anecdotal experience i have seen people who failed to get in with excellent interview (top 10% to top 25%) ranks because of prereq GPAs that ranged from 2.7 or so to 3.3 (respectively).

I think if I understand your analysis - the full range from 0 to 20 would be covered on pre-reqs so this might have a lot of influence on final ranking (i.e. 2.7=0 vs 4.0=20).  Conversely, the interview scores might all be relatively close which would mean that despite the 80% weight, in practice there might be little movement in the final ranking - i.e. difference between top 10% and average interview isn't that high?  

[SunAndMoon]

11 minutes ago, marrakech said:

I think if I understand your analysis - the full range from 0 to 20 would be covered on pre-reqs so this might have a lot of influence on final ranking (i.e. 2.7=0 vs 4.0=20).  Conversely, the interview scores might all be relatively close which would mean that despite the 80% weight, in practice there might be little movement in the final ranking - i.e. difference between top 10% and average interview isn't that high?  

exactly, this would be my hypothesis and it would work if we start from the point that interview scores are more homogenous than pre-req GPAs. Still though, I wouldn't worry about it too much as this is mostly relevant with a very, very low pre-req GPA compared to other applicants. Otherwise you are in control of your chances with an average pre-req GPA.

@Eudaimonia, marrakech here has answered your question

[no-name]

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[fungi.funguy]

56 minutes ago, guest2017 said:

in previous years, when Mcgill sends out rejections, they also include your ranking in regards to interview and pre-reqs. So yes, your pre-reqs is a ranking amongst other applicants (ie. 100 on 300)

Do you think the pre-req ranking is separate for IP and OOP? 
For example, if the rankings were separated then someone with a pre-req of 3.85 oop may actually score a 0/20?

If anyone knows how many rankings there were last year, then we will know the answer to this question. It can be one of two possibilities: 
1. If someone was ranked 100/342 on pre-reqs then it is all clustered together.
2. If someone was ranked 100/290 or 10/52, then they are separated. 

Maybe someone knows?

[la marzocco]

5 minutes ago, fungi.funguy said:

Do you think the pre-req ranking is separate for IP and OOP? 
For example, if the rankings were separated then someone with a pre-req of 3.85 oop may actually score a 0/20?

Definitely separate. Two different pools.

As mentioned before, the OOP interviewees are tightly clustered at ~3.95 region so I don't think pre-req GPA will have as much sway in the final overall acceptance rank list than let's say IP interviewees where the range is wider. Bear in mind that the mode - 80% - of all accepted OOP students have a 4.0 cGPA, a 3.85 may hamper your chances a bit - to what extent hard to say.

[Eudaimonia]

3 minutes ago, fungi.funguy said:

Do you think the pre-req ranking is separate for IP and OOP? 
For example, if the rankings were separated then someone with a pre-req of 3.85 oop may actually score a 0/20?

Yes the rankings are done separately for each pool

[dreamteam22]

1 hour ago, no-name said:

I was just wondering how you guys calculated your pre-req GPA? In my case, I have grades from Cegep, but I also completed 3 courses from university and they can be counted as pre-req (cel bio, mol bio and physio). I know Mcgill say on their website that they'll take the better grade but how does it work exactly? Say I had A- in the 3 university courses, would that replace biology classes I did in cegep (but my chem and physics classes would still count?) Or do they replace all the courses? And how exactly do they weight each course (cegep vs uni?)

 

There are 4 "recommended" university courses (including Organic 1 which has to be completed in uni and not CEGEP) that can replace your CEGEP grades. If you don't have a full set of those 4 recommended courses completed in university, they will look at your full set from CEGEP. 

[canada747]

To further complicate things - how would MCAT scores work?

[Eudaimonia]

4 minutes ago, canada747 said:

To further complicate things - how would MCAT scores work?

They're not taken into consideration for final rankings. For those who submitted it, they are used in the academic component for interviews but are not used for the prereqGPA which contributes to final rankings

[canada747]

1 minute ago, Eudaimonia said:

They're not taken into consideration for final rankings. For those who submitted it, they are used in the academic component for interviews but are not used for the prereqGPA which contributes to final rankings

Wait no, that can't be correct.

"Where valid MCAT results are submitted, results will be considered in conjunction with academic results in the relevant science prerequisite courses (50/50 weighting)."

Which would weight it at the same point in the decision as the prereqs (which would be after the interview).

[Eudaimonia]

11 minutes ago, canada747 said:

Wait no, that can't be correct.

"Where valid MCAT results are submitted, results will be considered in conjunction with academic results in the relevant science prerequisite courses (50/50 weighting)."

Which would weight it at the same point in the decision as the prereqs (which would be after the interview).

Whoops, sorry I went off memory but that's the page I was referring to. Also, MCAT results will only be considered if it favors the application so it is not a point of worry 

[canada747]

Just now, Eudaimonia said:

Whoops, sorry I went off memory but that's the page I was referring to. Also, MCAT results will only be considered if it favors the application so it is not a point of worry 

Gotcha, no problem! So the way I see it, the decision (for the 20% in the final rankings) would be 10% MCAT, 10% pre-reqs. Which makes it quite complicated.

You worried me a bit there though! I need my MCAT to be considered

[MEDusa]

I can't help but say, you guys relax! Ruminating on your pre-req GPA or post-interview is just triggering anxiety . As of right now, you have done your best and there is nothing that can tell you exactly whether you will get accepted or not. just breath... 

[MedP111]

31 minutes ago, MEDusa said:

I can't help but say, you guys relax! Ruminating on your pre-req GPA or post-interview is just triggering anxiety . As of right now, you have done your best and there is nothing that can tell you exactly whether you will get accepted or not. just breath... 

You're absolutely right.

*continues ruminating*

This is going to be a long month help meee

[MEDusa]

8 hours ago, MedP111 said:

You're absolutely right.

*continues ruminating*

This is going to be a long month help meee

I know it hard lol

[CanMedMedMed]

14 hours ago, canada747 said:

Gotcha, no problem! So the way I see it, the decision (for the 20% in the final rankings) would be 10% MCAT, 10% pre-reqs. Which makes it quite complicated.

You worried me a bit there though! I need my MCAT to be considered

So do I! I wonder how the MCAT score is scaled to make up 10% of the decision. From what people are saying above it sounds like it is based on ranking compared to other candidates? Although not all candidates have an MCAT score...

[MedP111]

8 hours ago, CanMedMedMed said:

So do I! I wonder how the MCAT score is scaled to make up 10% of the decision. From what people are saying above it sounds like it is based on ranking compared to other candidates? Although not all candidates have an MCAT score...

Yeah, I wondered that for a while too since it doesn't make much sense in my head, and McGill is quite adamant on not giving out more details on this. For instance, suppose the highest MCAT of the cycle is 528, then would a 527 be considered worse than a 4.0 since 4.0 is obviously the highest possible while 527 is not? It just seems absurd to me, since getting a 527 is, in my opinion at least, a hundred times harder than getting a 4.0 in your prereqs.

[Eudaimonia]

1 hour ago, MedP111 said:

Yeah, I wondered that for a while too since it doesn't make much sense in my head, and McGill is quite adamant on not giving out more details on this. For instance, suppose the highest MCAT of the cycle is 528, then would a 527 be considered worse than a 4.0 since 4.0 is obviously the highest possible while 527 is not? It just seems absurd to me, since getting a 527 is, in my opinion at least, a hundred times harder than getting a 4.0 in your prereqs.

I guess people with 4.0 would already rank highest for prereq and their MCAT is not considered. It gives the chance for someone with a 3.9 and 527 to rank closer or equal to someone with 4.0.

I would think of the MCAT as solely adding points to an applicant's GPA score, and not to be compared with someone else's GPA.

This is how I speculate it works, although I still have no ideas on how those extra MCAT points are weighed to compose half of the final prereq score 

[MedP111]

35 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

I guess people with 4.0 would already rank highest for prereq and their MCAT is not considered. It gives the chance for someone with a 3.9 and 527 to rank closer or equal to someone with 4.0.

I would think of the MCAT as solely adding points to an applicant's GPA score, and not to be compared with someone else's GPA.

This is how I speculate it works, although I still have no ideas on how those extra MCAT points are weighed to compose half of the final prereq score 

This makes sense, except for the case of US university graduates in the IP pool, whose MCAT score must be taken into account even if it harms them. I believe there are quite a few such applicants (myself included), as I've met many on my interview day alone. So an applicant with just a 4.0 could actually be ranked higher than one with a 4.0 and a 527 mandatory MCAT.