Dear present and future applicants,
I want to begin by thanking everyone with their ongoing patience with the process we have had to endure together during the last few months. The Admissions Committee met today and has finalized the rank order list for Cohort 2.
We will now enter our last two weeks of this admission cycle; which means turning our efforts to checking verifiers. This will take approx. two weeks and therefore we are on schedule to send out offers the week of May 11th as has been previously posted. I will take this opportunity to answer some of the important questions that have arisen.
If the AdCom has made its final decisions and approved the rank order list, why do we need to wait until the week of May 11th?
There are multiple reasons for this. The first is that we do need to check the verifiers and references of the applicant pool. This takes approximately two weeks. This includes email contact and/or telephone contact, as well as, IT investigation into IP addresses with questionable behaviour on this and other blogs. In addition, we want to be in a position to provide the most accurate information when the offers go out (in particular as it relates to start date, mode of learning etc…). For many, this will be important when making decisions amongst multiple offers. Offers went out May 5th last cycle and May 9th two cycles ago. I do appreciate that some of you, especially OOP would like to know as early as possible to start planning but this date will not change. Out of respect, please stop asking.
I heard there will be “significantly less” spots this year, what does that mean?
As of today, the number of spots available this year is 128. There will not be more than that. I consider that considerable less than 155. This is due to multiple reasons outlined previously ( deferrals, Leaders in Medicine graduates, Pathways to Medicine stream). It could fall as low as 120. This has nothing to do with government cuts to the program. The class size will remain relatively the same.
How will the waiting list be affected within Cohort 1 and Cohort 2?
For both Albertans and OOP applicants the proportion of applicants taken off the waiting list will mirror the proportion of the applicants in each Cohort. For Albertans it will be 2:1 (Cohort 1:Cohort 2); for Non-Albertans it will be 1:1.
Will classes begin July 1st?
The UME office is hard at work to try and deliver on this. This is a decision that is not made by the Admissions Office. We will communicate this out as soon as we know.
I believe it’s unfair that my Winter grades are not being counted towards my GPA?
Please remember it is about equity in admissions. With 40 percent of applicants being from U of A, which has decided to go to credit/no credit as well as other reasons outlined previously this maintains equity and aligns the two medical schools within the province. I know this causes anxiety for many applicants. We looked at many different options for the 2019-20 academic year. However, perhaps putting this into context will help. Final scores of successful applicants are well above 200 after standardization. To put this into context, for every 1 point drop in calculated GPA (ex. 4.0 to 3.9) equates to a standardized drop of 7-8 points, So from 4.0 to a 3.6 may be 32 points but this is then only worth 20% so in total its only 6 point difference out of scores ranging over 200.
Finally, my preference is to keep this blog as a place to provide valuable answers to FAQs, to update the applicant pool, and to dispel myths and correct inaccuracies. As applicants, you are all in this together, and when you enter into the field of medicine you become part of a special community. The sense of community has never been greater than during this pandemic. Please let’s try to keep this blog in that spirit
Opinions are also valued but before posting, please take my advice and re-read your post. Is it thoughtfully written? Have you checked your emotions? Am I simply venting? Am I being respectful? Is this about me or the applicant community? Most importantly, if the shroud of anonymity was pulled away, would I “say” and act in the same manner in front of my peers, my instructors, or my future colleagues? Read your post and pretend it was someone else and ask yourself, what kind of person is that? If you can’t respect this, please go blog elsewhere (U of C premed 101, Canada premed Reddit). There have been many posts in the last several days and weeks that are truly concerning and have saddened me as someone who sits in the position of shepherding the process that selects the future of our field..
Despite this, I need to wholeheartedly believe that there are so many worthy candidates out there and I wish everyone the best of luck the week of May 11th.
I will not be answering any further questions over the next two weeks and blogging only to update on the status of the matriculating class.
Remember: Your character is defined by what you do when no one is watching.
