Thank you everyone once again for voicing your opinions. This blog exists to allow for some open discussion but given that it is anonymous I would ask you to be civil and respectful. This is not meant to create a “we vs them” when it comes to the “cohorts”.
With emotions running high, please remember we are only in this position because of an unforeseen and unprecedented event. This has led to difficult and honestly less than perfect solutions not only at the U of C but other medical school admission teams around the country. To put this into further context for those of you who may want to cry foul or think we are perhaps not being fair; today a whole generation of post-graduate physicians had their lives put on hold when the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada cancelled all their licensing exams. No exams, no licence, probably no job for who knows how long.
I would hope for those of you who are wishing to join the profession, you can see beyond yourself and reflect on the toll this is having on all of us. These are the individuals who I want to call colleagues.
There are two key concepts here. One is about assessment and the other is about “spots” whether it be for admission/waitlist/total interview next year.
As for assessment, Cohort 1 has gone through the cycle as was described in the Applicant manual and was not affected by the COVID-19 crisis. This is what we consider our standard fair assessment. This assessment has been relatively the same for almost a decade. We understand it, we trust it and every year an individual applicant is either successful or not. If the applicant is not successful they are welcome to re-apply. So Cohort 1, you have completed your assessment as outlined when you applied.
Cohort 2, signed up for the same journey. That journey encountered an obstacle that required a detour. We have no idea at an individual level if this detour (mini virtual MMI) would allow them to arrive at the same place. For some it will and for others it may not. That is why we believe that those who are unsuccessful should be allowed to interview again next year under the conditions set out in the applicant manual. This is the exact reason McMaster is allowing for automatic interviews in their entire cohort of unsuccessful applicants. It’s about the unknown of the assessment.
As for spots, your likelihood of success in cohort 1 remains the same. The total number is decreased but that number varies greatly year by year based on numerous factors including government funding, previous referrals, students who are repeating years, students who did not match etc…. Frankly, we don’t know the exact number until just before we put out offers. Given the baseline characteristics of the pools on each day and the expected performance we usually see approx. one third matriculating from each day. Simply put, one third of Cohort 2 would have likely been successful if they undertook the full MMI. We just don’t know if it would be the same one-third.
We have not made a final decision on interviews for next year and again this changes from year to year. Last year we increased the number of interview spots by almost 100 spots so for those who are concerning themselves that there will be fewer interview spots or the pool will be more competitive, this is yet to be determined. Finally, 90 plus percent of those re-applying usually receive a second interview. Yes, there are the occasional ones who do not. So doing the math, it’s likely that only 5-7 Cohort 2 applicants will affect next years the interview pool by being allowed an automatic interview.
We wholeheartedly know we can’t make everyone happy but I hope some of this makes sense.
