Ottawa Invite?

[cheech10]

I've heard rumours of Ottawa sending out interview invites. Has anyone recieved one yet?

[Torontonian]

I saw something about this on the other board... hopefully that guy who said he got invited will post more details soon.

[JSS02]

I e-mailed Ottawa, and they replied that all the decision letters (interviews and rejections) were sent out today (Feb. 7).

[arcticaguy]

is it just me or is anyone else out there on edge...My ability to stop thinking re. the interview wait is being extinguished by the day.

[JSS02]

I'm somewhat on the edge too, but not a huge amount because I'll be getting at least two interviews. Plus I have a huge number of midterms approaching, so that's also diverting my attention.

[phil]

does anyone know what wGPA cutoff they are using for non-ottawa, non-underserviced area applicants this year?

[TimmyMax]

Hey guys,

I got my Ottawa invite today, Friday, February 8. I live in Brooklin, a small town outside of Oshawa, about a 4 hour drive from Ottawa, in case you were wondering. Hopefully others find the happy brown envelope in their mailboxes today as well!
Best of luck!

Tim

[phil]

I'm back again...

I just got an invite to an interview...I had a GPA of 3.84. so that means that the cutoff didn't go back up to 3.85. I was really worried about that.

Anyways,
hope this detective work helps someone else out there ease their mind.

Good luck eveybody,

hope to see you in Ottawa!

[TripleA]

I received an Ottawa invite today as well. I am from Trenton. GPA 3.68

[aa]

All you people worrying about cutoffs....
That's not the only thing they look at to decide if they want to invite you or not. I just got an invite with a 3.55 so....
good luck

[JSS02]

Received today in the GTA...

[Pare]

First of all, congratulations on the invite. You've jumped a major hurdle.

Now here's the question..with a 3.55, where are you from? I heard they were rather strict with their 3.8 + cutoff..unless you are an Ottawa resident

Go for the gold:)

[Bing]

I thought that if the cut-off was set at 3.83, anyone below would be automatically rejected. But others on this board suggest that's not the case. how can that be when people have been consistentl rejectedon gpa basis?

[JD]

The person might have been applying through the Francophone pool, or as an Ottawa resident. I think the cutoffs for these applicants aren't as high as the 3.8's.

[Bing]

3.68 from Trenton? Is trenton a francohpone community?

[aa]

Ok.... 3.55 is my 3 year cGPA and my wGPA is in the 3.6 - 3.65 range...
still, that is significantly below the 3.8+ cutoff. My question is: Where are you getting this information from? I have never heard of this and if i had i wouldn't have applied to Ottawa! I am not from the Ottawa area, i'm a MAC student from southwestern ontario. I'm bilingual and not applying via the Francophone programme. What's the deal here? maybe my @#%$ responses were better than i thought??
Just thought i'd let you know that I don't believe this 3.8 cutoff business because my highest year ever was a 3.75. go figure. see you early march hopefully...

[JSS02]

In the OMSAS application booklet, they say how they have minimum WGPA cutoffs (otherwise your application won't be considered) that vary depending on which category you fall under. The categories are, in order of priority, Franco-Ontarians and Aboriginals, residents of underserviced areas (as considered by U. of Ottawa), residents of the Ottawa-Outaouais region, other Ontario residents, and finally out of province applicants. In previous years the cutoffs for "other" Ontario residents has been around 3.83-3.85, and last year the out of province cutoff was 3.89!

Maybe if you're billingual they use the Francophone GPA cutoff for you? Or maybe your area is considered underserviced? I dunno. Whatever the reason, the point is that you got an interview... Congrats and go kick some butt!

[TimmyMax]

Hey aa,

Congrats on the interview- I wouldn't worry too much about the low CGPA thing, it looks like the 3.83 deal was completely untrue if anything else- maybe a cutoff for last year?
BTW, when do you interview? Hope to see you there!
Best of luck and kick butt!

Timmy

[aa]

TimmyMax,
interview is March 5th afternoon... plane tickets are booked!

[Sideways]

Hi aa,


Good luck on the interview. Quick question-are you a grad student by any chance?

[James Wong]

Here's a comment. I talked to a friend in 2nd year at Ottawa and he told me that the grad students would be interviewed at the end of the period. I have my interview on the 15th of April but I'm not a grad student. I am getting my degree this year (after 3 yrs). Could it be that they are treating me as a grad student cause I'm getting my degree? Maybe it's because I've gots lots of research experience? Does any body know why I'd be at the end? Anybody in the same boat?

Thanks, help appreciated

[TimmyMax]

Hey aa,

Are you being interviewed on the 5th of April? You put March 5th- just wondering?
Best of luck regardless!

Tim

[Sideways]

Hi James,

why not give them a call? People will offer comments and suggestions on this site, but the best information is always straight from the "horse's" mouth. That way, you'll know better how to prepare (i..e get ready to talk about your research in-depth, if so).

But, I do not see why you would be considered a graduate student. You arent enrolled in a grad program of sort now are you?

[aa]

timmymax and sideways,

I'm not a grad student, I'm finishing my 4year biochemistry degree at Mac. My interview is on Tuesday, March 5th not April.... very soon!! April 15th seems very late to me but what do I know. Maybe they like me ;) ....seriously on March 5th, no lies. Westjet treats me right.
Later

[cheech10]

Does anyone know if interview and rejection notices were sent out together?

I still haven't heard anything, and I wonder if they've lost more of my mail, since they already lost my Queen's interview invitation.

[James Wong]

Hi,
I do know that both were sent out last week, I believe Thursday. I know of ONE person who got her rejection on Friday (she lives in Ottawa and got it REGULAR MAIL!! I know, that's VERY fast for regular mail!) Anyhow, that's all I really know. Nicole Racine, in charge of admissions, told me 2 weeks ago that they'd send both interview AND rejections out last week.

[James Wong]

Sideways,
I'm a little reserved about calling because on their acceptance letter, they were quite clear that they don't want too many people calling for nothing. They say "don't call to see if confirmation has been received" or something to that effect on the letter. Maybe I'll give them some time? I'd rather just find out if anybody else has an interview that late.

To answer someone else's question....no I am not enrolled in any grad courses or anything.

I'll let you all know what I figure out, should I call or hear by word of mouth.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[hmsdread]

James,

Don't worry, man. Seems to me that Ottawa is doing things alphabetically. I know someone with a very early interview, (ie. early March) and her last name starts with "E". My interview, along with my friend's, is on April 10. Our last names start with "S". Your last name and your interview date fit this hypothesis. Incidentally, does it really matter when you interview? You've got one, and that's all that matters. They know you're not a grad student.

Breathe!

hmsdread

[AZ]

Yes, Ottawa tends to interview somewhat alphabetically (from what I noticed the past 2 years).

[phil]

hey James Wong,

apparently Ottawa is scheduling interviews by alphabetical order. I think I read this in the package that they sent us, or maybe on this site. But it makes sense given that my last name starts with C and I am going on March 8, and you are W and going on the last weekend.

[telow]

I posted a similar note up on the general board, but I suppose this is the better place.

I have not received anything from Ottawa and am also wondering if it is lost. The address that it is being sent to is in Ottawa so I can't see it taking this long. If invites are priority curior and rejections regular mail, that may be my answer.

I have tried to e-mail and call the office, but have not been able to get through, nor received a reply. The source of my anxiety is that if I do have an interview it is quite likely I will have to request a date change and my chances of it being successful are much better the earlier I try.

and thanks for this board

tracy

[James Wong]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for writing. I believe that for the most part it IS alphabetical BUT 2 of my friends don't fit into the plan. One has a last name that starts with N and is on the 15th of March and the other with "L" and is on the 21st of March.

One person said that she heard that they'd interview blocks of GPAs, meaning 4.0-3.5 and then alphabetical....3.5-3.0 then alphabetical....and so on. BUT again, that hypothesis didn't end up working either when I asked around. Let's just say, then, it's alphabetical with a few exceptions! :)

Deep breath,

[yingw]

Hi,

I was wondering, are you doing your undergrad in Ontario or are you from Ontario?

[James Wong]

Yingw,
Yes I am

[waiting]

Has anyone outside of Ottawa received one of those rejection letters yet? I expected an interview invite, but since I have not received one I guess I was rejected. However, I still have yet to get any kind of letter from U of Ottawa.

Is it possible that the letter was lost in the mail becuase it seems to be taking a while even for regular mail - in fact, today I received a different letter sent to me from somone in Ottawa that was originally mailed Feb.11th, yet all the interview letters were supposedly sent on Feb. 7th and I haven't gotten anything?

[JSS02]

Just wondering, but does anyone know how many people are being interviewed by Ottawa this year? And how many Anglophone spots are available in their class?

[gc]

Anyone applying to the francophone programme???
or does anyone know how many people they interview for their 40 spots? just curious..... Thanks
GC

[cheech10]

I know of at least one person in the GTA with a rejection, but others are still waiting and haven't heard at all.

[James Wong]

I believe Ottawa has invited about 500 people for interviews. I estimate that they interview about 150 francophones.

The rejection letters were sent out regular mail while the acceptances were sent out by priority. Both were mailed last week. I know people in Ottawa who have yet to hear of anything from Ottawa.

[gc]

you should letters soon because you must reply with a confirmation (if you are invited) by Feb. 22 at the latest. A few people I know HAVE received rejections (in southwestern Ontario). Something seems shifty though... Ottawa mailed my letter to Sarnia (8-9 hours from Ottawa) on Feb. 7th..... just thought I'd let you know what my deal was.
good luck

[JD]

How many spots are reserved for the Francophone students? The office told me that in total, 500 people were being interviewed for 111 positions...

[ds]

Francophone programme is 40 students and not very many apply. They interview around 75 people for the 40 spots.

[JD]

Hmm, so I guess it's pretty tough for the rest of us. 425 interviewees competing for about 70 spots? I guess it isn't as bad once they start dipping into the waitlist.

[cheech10]

Since I haven't heard anything from them yet, I e-mailed them today, and they replied that they had sent me a letter on Friday Feb. 15th, so I guess there were definitely 2 batches.

[paul]

Est-ce que je suis le seul francophone qui participe à ce forum?? Sinon, dites-le moi! J'ai des questions que personne ne peut répondre au sujet du programme...
merci

[northerner]

I have yet to receive any news from Ottawa so I emailed them late today and they sent me a relpy that nothing had been sent, but to call their office tommorrow. Has this happened to anybody else? What could the problem be?

[tutifruiti]

it happened to me too. Apparently our files were considered incomplete... I would strongly recommend you to give them a call ASAP.

Good luck

[tutifruiti]

Finally! never loose hope before you receive any letter!

I'm so happy!

[Ang]

Hey James,

This may seem crazy, but based on the interview dates my friends received and mine (Yippee!) we postulated that it may be due to your last name. Hence your late interview date. We are all M.Sc. students and my friend with last name A. is March ?, L. is April 6 and mine is April 7th (my last name starts with S.) Could it be? Just a thought. Good luck!

[Ian Wong]

Hey, good luck to all of you! :)

Ian
UBC, Med 3

[Peter Hill]

Paul,

Je suis anglophone, mais je parle francais aussi. Si tu veux, on pourra parler par courrier electronique...

peter.hill4@sympatico.ca

Peter

[James Wong]

Hi Ang,
That seems to be the the method chosen for interview dates BUT there are some exceptions to the the rule. My friend with last name N... is on the 15th of March. There are some more exceptions that I know of. Who really knows for sure anyhow?!

[James Wong]

Moi aussi, je parle francais mais je ne suis pas francophone.

[KiT]

Hi Ang,

I was just wondering when the deadline was for you to confirm with Ottawa that you would be coming for the interview.

[Liana]

How fluent need one be to apply for the francophone program?

I'm far from fluent, but it's something I want to seriously work on in the next couple of years. Studying in french would be something that would interest me, especially after I've had more time to work on my french! :) Does anyone know a comparative university level course that would be equivalent to the level of francophonicity they expect? I know that for exchange programs, they suggest you have completed at least 2nd year studies in the language of the country you plan to travel to; I know that doctors should be better able to communicate than exchange students, but I also thought there was a component of promoting bilinguality to this program, not just providing opportunities to native francophones.

So anyone know? How well does one have to know french to enter this program?

[aa]

Hi Liana,
The programme is intended for people who have french as their mother tongue. I'm sure if you were equally fluent in both French and English that you could possibly apply for this stream. The thing is, the only way they know to invite you for an interview for this programme is if you indicate that your mother tongue is French on the OMSAS application.
I just had my interview (en français) and if you are applying to the programme the entire interview is conducted in French. If english is your first language you would have to be 100% equally fluent (and no accent when you speak). Most franco-ontarians are completely bilingual and can speak interchangeably and i don't think it's very fair for it to be this way since many english people can speak French well enough to function at a professional level.
I don't think it should necessarily be this way but it is.

As for university course...that's tough. I'm sure you know many, because I know quite a few, that have majored in French for 4 years and still can't speak even half as well as a native francophone.
Be bilingual will definitely help your odds of getting in but only to the english programme. It's hard to assign a value other than completely fluent.
I really need to learn to shut up...!
hope i answered your question. Most of this information was given to me by the university. later

[From Ottawa]

The university told me something else. They said that I Francophone student was one that had French as a mother tongue or had chosen to live his/her life in French. This could be proven by having completed your entire undergraduate in French, as in the French stream of the University of Ottawa or a purely French university like those of Quebec or the one in the Maritimes. I think is best in any case to contact the school.

[AniyaSG]

I was told, oddly enough, that you could do your interview in English, then request to be admitted to the French program. Personally I took my undergrad in French as long as it was available, but I don't feel comfortable answering emotional questions in French. :/ Ask me anything technical and it's no problem though! Kind of a drag when I have to claim to have English as a first language just so i can get my interview in the language of my choice (a big thing at UofO, choice of language...)

Bah...

[aa]

If you live as a francophone then it is likely you are fluent. I was not given the option to do my interview in english. It HAS to be done completely in French if you are applying to the francophone programme. I just had my interview on Tuesday and this is what they told me. French is my mother tongue but I haven't spoken French on a daily basis since high school because I did my undergrad entirely in English at McMaster.

[PeterHill0501]

I grew up in Montreal...had mostly French friends...over a 21 year time period. Over the last 4 months I have been immersed in French for 3 hours a day brushing up my oral interaction, reading and writing skills. I would say I'm a strong intermediate level bilingual English Canadian...I understand French almost perfectly. There is no way I could complete a medical degree (or any other degree for that matter) totally in French. I could easily audit an interesting tutorial being given in French...interact with my classmates in French...but beyond that...realistically, it's not my first language. The idea that one could learn French well enough to do medicine over the course of a 4 year University program is quite unrealistic in my opinion. Should you do it anyway? Absolutely! French is an amazingly specific language that is not only interesting to learn but also highly useful throughout the world. I've been in many foreign countries where the only viable language link was French...you will never be sorry you have learned another language.

[aa]

People with undergrad degrees in French 99% of the time cannot speak even half as well as a true francophone. Has anyone else here applied to the francophone programme???

[steve]

Did you receive an interview based on your grad work from the Feb 22nd additional submission or based on your undergrad marks. Has anyone received an interview or rejection after submitting the Feb 22nd research productivity information???

[NBer]

HI There
I was asked to submit evidence of research productivity for Feb 22 and I still haven't received a rejection or interview letter. Glad to hear I'm not the only one :eek Hopefully we'll hear soon. Good Luck
Cheers

[KiT]

Hey folks,

I'm in the same boat having submitted proof of research productivity on Feb 22nd and have not received any reply yet.

However, I called Ottawa yesterday (11 March) and they told me that they would (hopefully) be mailing out invitations for interviews and rejections together for this group of people at the end of the week.

Interview dates for this group will be around April 19th.

I hope this relieves some nerves,
take care,

[shkelo]

Thanks for the info. I was getting a little worried. I've recently changed apartments and thought it may have got "lost in the mail". I've sent an e-mail notifying them of my new mailing address. You think they could send a short two-line reply back saying that they received it and would make the necessary changes. NOPE! Oh well, I'm sure their mailboxes must be full this time of year.

[flyboy1913]

tu n'est pas le seul!...moi aussi je suis francophone. Quelle genre de question as-tu?

[aa]

Je voulais seulement parler avec quelqu'un qui faisait aussi une demande au programme francophone. Je suis franco-ontarien et j'ai déjà fait mon entrevue. Est-ce que tu as fait l'entrevue et si oui, comment s'est-il passé? Aussi, sais-tu combien de personnes ont été interviewés??
J'ai plusieurs questions et personne peut les répondre!

[steve]

Have any grad applicants received an interview letter or rejection yet???

[steve]

I just got my rejection on March 28th, hopefully others got better news.

[doc]

Are the interviews at ottawa in any kind of order? Is having an early/late interview indicative of anything at all? I had mine on March 2nd..

[JD]

I don't see why an earlier or later interview would make a difference at all. Final decisions are based completely (i.e. 100%) on your interview score... GPA is just used as a tiebreaker, and your autobio sketch isn't considered once you have reached the interview stage.