Detailed Autobiographical Sketch

[DHP62]

Can someone enlighten me on how the Detailed Autobiographical Sketch is assessed to determine interviews? Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but Ottawa's methods of selecting interviews seems the most vague of all the schools to me. Who reads the detailed sketch? How is it assessed (points system, rankings etc)? Are there criteria?

Thanks for the clarification...and good luck on exams everyone!

Back to the books...sigh

[Kirsteen]

Hi,

To add to the above question, does anyone know at what time Ottawa generally determines their WGPA cut-offs?

Cheers,
Kirsteen

[Tanya24]

Hi you guys,

According to the OMSAS book, a "structured format" is used to evaluate the sketches. Are there criteria? I would think so. Probably your standard team work, independent learning, leadership skills...etc. Also, there is probably some consideration into the quality of your experiences (ie - time spent at them, evidence of genuine interest and commitment).

Since Ottawa relies greatly on the score given to the sketch, I am not surprised that the evaluation system is very hush-hush. McMaster is like that too. They won't give ANY guidance about the questions -- they won't even clarify the meaning of the questions. But I would think the evaluation process is taken very seriously for this reason.

The sketches are read by 6-7 people. Some are faculty members. If the same thing happens this year, I suppose that means each person will read about 100 sketches. (Only about 700 actually make the WGPA cutoff). These same people are on the interview panel (there are a total of 15-20 interviewers, if memory serves me).

Kirsteen, the first rejection letters were sent in early Feb last year. So it must have happened in Jan. at the latest. Sorry I can't be more helpful in that dept. Good luck!