Oct.8, 2006: I moved on to plan B and have started a 1-year master's in London, England. After much soul-searching I have decided to go ahead with a slightly lighter application cycle: UofC, UofS, and Dal.
Let us then commence:
4th (yes FOURTH!)APP CYLE (2006-2007)
Jan 12, 2007: Well, after 2 agonizing weeks of Dalhousie OOP invites being delayed, I didn't get one anyhow. 441 applicants this year for 50 interviews and an ultimate 9 spots - brutal. Ah, well, although I liked their program, Dal was my last choice for geographic/family support/financial reasons anyway. No more news now til Feb.
Feb.10, 2007: Big week for me. Monday night I got the fabulous news - UofC was interviewing me... ME! So hard to believe after 4 tries I finally got one at my home school! I am SOOOO happy. Unfortunatly, found out yesterday that UofS's cutoff indeed went up this year - 91%, which is REALLY rough given that I had that 90.5%. I REALLY wanted to interview here - was really keen on Meds in Saskatoon :( Oh well. UofC gives me the best odds I've ever had (close to 50% chance of an eventual offer)- so I am very happy.
Will interview on Feb.25. WISH ME LUCK! :D
Mar.3, 2007: I was happy with the interview. I think I performed much better on the MMI than last year - less nervous and more able to think on my feet. Had a good rapport with the majority of the interviewers. As usual, it will be a LOOOONG 2.5 months.... :P
May 5, 2007: UofC allowed applicants to see their pre-interview scores this year. IP cutoff was 75.57/100 and I scored 81.52... this put me in the top 1/3, so waaay better than I expected. It will make only a fraction of a difference in the overall score, but better than nothing.
I am on the big countdown now - 10 days until May 15....
May 18, 2007: Found out on the 15th... waitlist. I have to remind myself that this is NOT the same waitlist as I was on at Queen's, this is NOT that summer of 2005... I could be #1 on this waitlist! Trying to stay optimistic - once again. :P
May 28, 2007: ACCEPTED off the waitlist!!! YESSSSSSSSS!
This is it - I am finally in! I am going to be part of the UofC Class of 2010! I am so so happy, and have been crying tears of joy for almost the past 12 hrs...LOL!
If I can do this, so can you. Take heart, those of you who have had to apply again and again, and who come from a slightly different backgrounds - it CAN be done! And when you get in... all the waiting and hoping and, yes, the suffering, will be SO COMPLETELY worth it!! This girl is going to be a doctor - and I promise to give it all I've got. :)
3rd APP CYCLE (2005-2006)
Jan 9, 2006: Round Three has commenced. This year I am taking a stab at 5 schools (last year I applied at UWO, Queen's and UofC, this year I have added UofS and NOSM). I already know that I will NOT be interviewing at Queen's... for the first time in history they have a seperate GPA cutoff for applicants using their 2 most recent years rather than their cummulative GPA (3.78 for 2-yr as opposed to 3.68 for cGPA, and I have a 3.75...ouch). So, the school who was 7 or less applicants from accepting me last year will not even be interviewing me this year.... that hurt bad when I found out, but I've made my peace with it now.
1 school down and 4 to go - my goal this year is 3 interviews (and, obviously, 1 acceptance!)
My application is basically the same as last year, tho my 2 yr avg has gone up from 3.68 to 3.75 in OMSAS terms (3.72 to 3.81 for UofC).
1 month until I find out about interviews.
Jan.24: No go at UWO either. I'm pretty disappointed, as they were very deceptive about their cutoffs this year. :(
2 down, 3 to go... COME ON UofC, UofS and NOSM!!!
Feb.13: UofC and UofS also out of the picture. Still waiting for NOSM (should be very soon), but I really don't have alot of hope left for this year. I never thought I'd be one of those people, but it looks like I'll be heading into a 4th application cycle...sigh
Mar.9: So after all my whining and complaining, I DO have ONE interview this year. I will be heading to Thunder Bay to interview for NOSM on the 18th. I am more and more excited about this school, and really psyched for the MMI interview - so maybe, just maybe I will be started med this year. BUT, I am definately getting my back-up firmly in place!
Mar.21: Well, NOSM interview seemed to go well, but there's really no way to know. Really nice school and hospital, innovative program, and I felt comfortable in Thunder Bay. Now to settle in for the agonizing wait until May 15th...
No waitlist = no false hope, which made for a better summer than last! Feedback, when recieved was
GPA - above avg
MMI - avg
Context/ECs - below avg
So, I suspect that without being a northern Ontarian I would have had to blow the interviews out of the water.
2nd APP CYCLE(2004-05):
This is my second go and I have improved my GPA (2 best years is 3.72) and my MCAT (28R to 34O). I'm hoping my VR 15 will help my otherwise avg marks stand out. My ECs are about the same but I think I know how to present them better this year. References are much better (I just found out one last year just filled out the form and didn't even write a letter!!!) One academic reference, one personal, and one from a nurse who I volunteer with; all know me quite well.
February UPDATE - Found out I won't be interviewing at Calgary. I'm pretty bummed about it. Other than being 5 years older and going through some sort of major hardship I don't know how to improve my application for them... I thought it was really good this year... oh well... guess it's their loss. :)
April UPDATE - Queen's interview went really well.. I was really calm and I think they got to know ME. No way to tell tho... now its time to settle in for the LONG 2 month wait deciding my future... :P
May 31 UPDATE - I am waitlisted!! I am actually pretty happy about it, as my chances are still pretty good (about 50:50). The sadness of not getting a first round acceptance is totally outweighed by the happiness of NOT getting a rejection! :D Stay upbeat, fellow waitlisters!
July 11 UPDATE - Phoned today and found out I am now within the top 20 on the waitlist.... will it move enough? Time will tell. As of now, I am more neurotic than ever!
Final UPDATE: Made it to at least #7 on the waitlist... but almost doesn't count in the med school app process. Does suffering really make you a better person??
We help students become doctors. TM
