About a year and a half ago, I wrote an article on my thoughts about what to keep in mind when applying to university, using my personal experience as an example.

In that article, I focused mostly on figuring out which university fits you best based on program, location, opportunities, etc. However, there is one more important question you need to ask yourself when thinking about your education that I completely failed to mention.

In short, that question is: what do I want out of my education?

At first glance it may seem like an odd question to ask, but it’s really not. It seems odd because many of us have our own ideas about what the purpose of your educational experience is or should be – but the truth is that your educational experience is whatever you want it to be. There is no one right way to view your education, and it’s important to always realize that, despite what people may argue.

Some people just want to learn. Very often they are genuinely and strongly interested in the topics at hand, and want to sponge up as much as possible.

On the other hand, some people go to university purely for the degree. Usually this in terms of job prospects or further education requirements (e.g. professional schools, graduate schools, etc.).

Of course, if you’re applying to professional school (such as medical school), marks matter. So some people go to university primarily to get the grades required to move on to something else.

In my opinion, these are all legitimate. It bothers me when people try to act as if there is some universal agreement as to what we should want out of our education (e.g. “You shouldn’t be picking your school just for the sake of getting good marks!” There are reasons why doing so is often not a good idea, but it has nothing to do with a right or wrong way of looking at education). Quite often, what we want out of our education will be some combination of 2 or 3 of these views, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

When you are thinking of where you want to go to university, you need to reflect on all of these issues, because different undergraduate programs will be more conducive to one of these aspects than the others.

So take the time to figure out what you want out of your university education – it’ll save you a lot of head ache down the road!

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Every medical school has a different philosophy when it comes to evaluating applicants. Some schools, like Queen’s and Western, look at your GPA and MCAT scores first, and pretty much guarantee you an interview if you meet certain cutoffs. Some schools, like the University of Toronto, look at your entire application package first before granting an interview: GPA, MCAT, personal essay, biographical sketch, and reference letters.

As with any medical school, you will get complaints about the process. Personally, I think it’s great that the medical schools have such different philosophies on admissions, so that many great candidates with different backgrounds are likely to get in somewhere. But when it gets more personal, and your application package isn’t as competitive at a certain school, it’s understandable for people to be a bit frustrated.

As an example, some applicants have voiced frustration with the fact that UofT’s medical school admissions places a greater weight on reference letters than some other schools. The most common argument is that there is a lot of variance involved with reference letters since it is out of the applicant’s control, in terms of how well the referees are able to write. So it is very possible that an applicant is fantastic, but his or her referee just lacks the skills, experience, and knowledge to put those ideas well onto paper.

In this article I want to analyze this common frustration, and then give my argument for why I think a medical school (or scholarship organization, summer program, etc.) might value reference letters.

Variance Exists Everywhere – Deal with It

I’m not going to deny that there is variance when it comes to reference letters. Considering the letters are supposed to be confidential, it’s quite possible that no matter how hard your referee tries, he/she could end up writing a letter that is relatively poor compared to the average, simply because he/she isn’t used to writing stuff like this. For sure, there is some skill involved in writing a strong reference letter, and it takes experience and knowledge to do that.

The problem with this complaint is that it’s essentially founded on the ideas of variance, chance, and luck. If you’re going to be upset with variance, then logically, you should be upset with the entire medical school application process.

For instance, it’s true that some applicants are naturally better writers than others. Should we throw out the personal essay too? Or, let’s analyze that fact that most applicants don’t get the same interviewers, which also leads to a lot of variance (as I’ve written extensively on before). Should we scrap the interview process too?

The fact is that most things in life, whether medical school related or not, consist of some things out of our control. Sometimes you just need to be lucky.

That being said, one question we can ask is whether a component of the admissions process has an unacceptably high amount of variance. While we can’t eliminate variance or chance, we should always try to reduce it whenever possible. And this is a question that needs to be asked for every component of the process.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the knowledge or experience to say whether there is too much variance in the use of reference letters. I would like to think that the admissions committees have seen enough reference letters over the years to recognize the type of variance involved, and adjust their selection process accordingly (and likewise with other aspects of their admissions process).

The Second Factor: How Strongly a Potential Referee is Likely to Support You

I’d imagine that most applicants have only been on one side of the reference letter process – that is, have had reference letters written for them but have never been in a position to write reference letters for others. As the founder of SMARTS, I have had to write my fair share of reference letters for some of our student volunteers over the past few years. By now having been on both sides of the fence, I’ve come to understand an extremely important concept that I don’t think many applicants realize about reference letters.

There are essentially two factors that affect the strength of your reference letter. The first factor is something we already know, and that is somewhat uncontrollable: the skills of the referee in writing a good reference letter. However, there is a second factor that most applicants don’t really realize, and I don’t think put enough thought into when choosing potential referees.

You see, many applicants just assume that anyone they could reasonably ask is going to write them the most fantastic reference letter. They assume that just because they asked for a fantastic letter, they are going to get one. The reality is that this is simply not the case. How good of a reference letter you can get also comes down to how strongly your referee feels about supporting you.

For example, when I’m asked to write reference letters for SMARTS student volunteers, I can honestly say that not all students get the same quality of letter from me. If you’re a student who I don’t work with on a personal basis, not only is it hard for me to fill up a letter with content and impossible for me to comment on your personal qualities, but I don’t have a strong enough personal connection with you to feel the urge to write you the best letter possible. The result is a letter that is much more formal and sparser in detail – I’d be lying if I wrote otherwise. In such a case, it would have made much more sense to ask a teacher or other supervisor who has seen your work in action, and can comment on personal qualities in a detailed fashion.

On the other hand, if you are a SMARTS student volunteer who I know personally and have seen in action on a regular basis, not only can I write much more detailed about you, but I end up writing a ridiculously fantastic letter. Why? Because of the personal connection we have developed, I personally want you to succeed and want to do anything possible to help.

So What Do Reference Letters tell Medical School Committees (or other judging committees)?

The importance of the reference letters is that they tell medical schools about how other people think about you, and how good of a physician they think you’d make. It’s easy for you to write a personal essay claiming to be a fantastic person – but of course they expect you to do that. And of course your opinion of yourself is going to be positively biased. You might say that you are a fantastic leader, communicator, and team player – but where is the proof? The closest thing to objective proof that the judges have are your referees.

Extremely strong reference letters show medical schools that there are actually people, other than yourself/your family, who genuinely believe you would make a great physician. If someone else can write a letter advocating for you so strongly, logic says there must be something really good about you. And unless they lack a ton of integrity (and are just making stuff up), referees are generally not going to write you absolutely fantastic letters unless they really believe you deserve one – I mean, do you really think that first year biology professor who only knows you from class really cares to write you an outstanding letter? I mean, why would he care whether you get into medical school or not? Why would he waste his time getting the letter “just right”? Furthermore, strong letters show that you can form meaningful personal relationships with other individuals.

I’d imagine that any referee would approach the letter writing process like I do. If they know you well, are impressed by you, and honestly desire to support you to the best of their ability, they will spend their time writing the best letter possible. But if they barely know you or aren’t particularly impressed by you, it’s a bit naive to expect a really strong letter.

So What Does this Mean for Picking My Referees?

In short, this means that you should pick referees who know you very well and who you know want to support you.

Don’t just pick someone because they have a really prestigious title. The person’s title makes up a few words, but what he/she writes makes up the entire page – which part do you think the judge is going to focus on and remember?

I know when I picked my medical school referees this year I followed those two exact criteria. I picked people who I knew for at least a few years, who I felt were impressed by me, and who I knew genuinely wanted to support me in my endeavours.

If you do that as well, I think you will be getting your best reference letters possible.

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“What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”

This is a famous quote from the character Morpheus of one of my favourite movies of all time, The Matrix. In this part of the movie, Morpheus is helping Neo to realize that the world he once believed to be his reality was no more than a computer simulation. Yet for everyone else stuck in the “matrix”, this simulation was as real as anything.

After watching The Matrix for the first time, I remember randomly asking myself: How do I know this world I’m in is real? I know I can hear my own thoughts, but how can I know for sure that everything around me is real? My family and friends seem real, but without being able to hear their thoughts, how can I know for sure?

But because I can perceive all of the world around me, I believe it to be real. Because I can smell roses, I believe them to be real. Because I can hear my brother speak, I believe he is real. In order to live in my reality, I have to rely on the notion that my perceptions are interpreting a true reality.

Marketing: Delivering a Perception You Want Customers to Adopt

Marketing takes advantage of this very same concept. In marketing, you’re not just promoting a product – you are also promoting a specific image or idea about that product. Essentially, marketers present a certain perception of their product that they want customers to have. And for potential customers, that perception is often interpreted as reality.

For instance, take the famous brand name paper towel product: Bounty – “the Quicker Picker-Upper”. Their television commercials portray Bounty as a superior paper towel that is able to absorb moisture much better than its competitors. Most of us don’t and will probably never know if Bounty is even among the best paper towel products, but due to the perception their company has created for their product, many of us who have seen the commercial probably believe that Bounty is indeed the best paper towel in the market.

The fact of the matter is what we only know what we’re told. That is, unless someone else comes along and tells us that Bounty isn’t the best paper towel, we see no reason to believe otherwise. I mean, seriously, when is the last time you researched studies for the best paper towels? Or the most durable shoe on the market?

By nature, humans are quite lazy in that sense. We don’t like working for information – we would much prefer that the information to come to us. The problem with this mindset is that by allowing other people to control the information that is “marketed” to us, we are essentially allowing other people to dictate our perceptions, and subsequently our realities.

Marketing Yourself: Creating the Image You Want

When I was in Grade 7, I was selected to represent Toronto at the Ontario Mathematics Olympics. Because of the size of our city, Toronto was allowed to send three teams to the competition. Each team was composed of one Gr. 8 girl, one Gr. 8 boy, one Gr. 7 girl and one Gr. 7 boy.

After the initial 12 students were selected, a single preparation day was held before the actual event for the students to go through some practice problems. In addition, the coordinators of Team Toronto would use this day to do a bit more evaluation of the students and try and make the best teams possible. Because of the difficulty of the competition, it would make sense for the coordinators to put all of the best students on the same team, thus maximizing the chances for Team Toronto to be victorious. There was one student was clearly the best mathematics student there by far, and it made sense for the coordinators to try and build the best possible team around him.

On the actual preparation day, I was just myself. But for those of you that know me, that meant just doing what I was told, not answering questions unless someone asked me, etc. On the other hand, I noticed a few students who were more talkative and participated more in the activities – these students ended up being on the “best” team with that exceptional student I mentioned earlier. Led by that student, this team ended up placing an excellent 5th in the province.

Nothing motivates me more than losing, so when I made Team Toronto again the following year, I was determined to be a part of the “best” team. Recalling the previous year, I realized that the coordinators probably assumed that whoever participated the most in the preparation day were probably the strongest students. That was their perception of ability, and in all fairness, the only real evidence they could go by. I mean if you think about it, if only certain students answer your questions, you can’t assume the other students even knew the answers. Maybe this logic isn’t the best, but I believe this is what the coordinators went by.

So when I was in Gr. 8, I went to that preparation day determined to be outspoken, answer questions, and generally participate as much as possible. My suspicions turned out to be correct when I ended up being on the same team as the other students I believed to have been the strongest. I definitely was not the strongest Gr. 8 male math student there (I am sure one of my other friends was), but I ended up on the better team because I projected the exact image the coordinators were looking for.

They believed I was the strongest candidate because they perceived me to be the strongest.

You Are Whoever You Say You Are

This is essentially the same concept I am talking about whenever I say that it isn’t necessarily the best candidate who gets rewarded, but rather, the candidate who the judges perceive to be the best – because perception is reality.

No one can know how great of a person you are unless you project that image. That’s why knowing how to market yourself properly on applications and interviews is extremely important.

Whether you are taking part in a job interview, applying for a grant, or anything else where you need to impress someone else, you’re not going to be successful unless you sell yourself as the best candidate.

If you look at any of my articles or videos about interviews or applications, you’ll realize the central theme to all of them is marketing. I think about the factors that could affect the judge’s perception of you, and try and highlight the specific factors that are good for you.

That being said, in the end, it comes down to you.

No one can market yourself except you!

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A lot of students have asked me why I chose to go to York University to study undergraduate biology. I get this question a lot, and the reason for this is quite obvious – a lot of people have the impression that York University’s reputation in science and engineering is not as strong as other universities, and so they wonder why I would go there, especially since I’m interested in applying to medical schools.

However, making a decision on where to go for university is much more complicated than that. There are numerous factors to consider, and we must be critical of the information we acquire when considering those factors.

I can’t tell where you should go for university, because everyone is different and only you can make the “right” decision for yourself. But what I can do is go through many of the questions I thought about while going through the decision making process myself, and how my answers to those questions eventually led me to York University.

Hopefully, going through my thought process will help provide some perspective and insight into some important things to consider when making your own selection.

Should I Even Go to University?

A lot of students are deciding on university programs before they even consider whether university is right for them in the first place. Whether or not to attend university itself should be the first and biggest question you ask, but it’s amazing that most students don’t even realize it. It seems as if it’s taught as a fact that it is in your best interest to pursue a university degree or other post-secondary education regardless of your actual circumstances.

However, this issue is much more complicated than what we’re usually told. Suffice to say, I don’t believe university makes sense for everyone, and certainly not at the same point in everyone’s lives. Sometimes students end up in the “wrong” programs because they just didn’t have enough time or experience to really think the decision through.

I know students who realized university at the time wasn’t right for them, left school to pursue other opportunities available, and through these experiences, realized what they truly wanted to study in university. It just took a little bit of life experience and maturity to realize what they really wanted to pursue.

Today, students are often taught this mentality that they should all go to university, and that they should know by the time they graduate high school what program they want to go into, and subsequently, what careers they should pursue. Sure it helps if you have this all planned out, but to think that all high school students should know themselves so well that they are able to select a lifelong career right after high school is a bit ridiculous.

You should be going to university for a real reason. Every major decision you make in life should be supported by strong reasons – that is, your crucial decisions should make sense to you.

You shouldn’t be going to university because your parents want you to, or because all your friends are. If you’re going to spend a significant amount of money and time on something like a university education, shouldn’t you be sure this is exactly what you want to do? That it makes sense for you at this moment in your life? That you’ll be able to approach it somewhat seriously?

I have met students who didn’t know what university programs they wanted to pursue, but didn’t want to be the odd one out with their friends or disappoint their family. So they started a university program that “sounded right”, and mid-way or post-graduation, realized they didn’t have any real interest in that field. But that’s time and money wasted, and often there is no choice but to just go with it. There just might not be enough time or money to reflect or start over – I don’t think that students should ever have to be in that situation.

For me, it was pretty simple – I was interested in medicine. And to apply to medical school, I need to be in an undergraduate university program, so the choice to attend university was a no brainer for me. I’m fortunate that I had an interest that required a university education, so I didn’t have to spend as much time thinking or reflecting on whether to even go. But not everyone is at the same points in their lives, and not everyone is ready to make the same decisions at the same time.

I have a friend who is pretty darn smart, but his grades don’t reflect that. He procrastinates his work and studying, and sometimes if he’s procrastinated too much, he just gives up and doesn’t complete his tasks. The problem is that he has no set goals or vision for what he wants to do after his degree or for a career, so he sees no reason to take his education seriously.

Conversely, I know that my GPA matters when I apply to medical school, so I take my courses much more seriously. If I didn’t feel like my marks mattered or I had no plan for why I was doing my degree, I could definitely see myself slacking off completely in school.

You need to ask yourself why you want to go to university, if it makes sense for you to do it, and subsequently, if it makes sense for you to do it right now.

Which Universities Have the Program I Want?

If you know what types of programs you want to pursue, it makes sense to apply to universities that actually have the programs you want. Sure, it’s possible that you might think other factors are more important than program (e.g. your friends/loved ones are going to certain universities, so you want to go with them, etc.), but that’s your choice. Personally, if you’re going to spend three to four years and a decent chunk of change, I think you should be learning things and getting a degree in something you actually want.

I decided to pursue some sort of life sciences program at university so that it would be easy for me to complete all of my medical school prerequisites. I applied to biology programs at most of my university choices, neuroscience at the University of Toronto, and health sciences at McMaster University.

Does It Matter Which University I Attend?

It really amazes me sometimes how much we listen to rumours and random people instead of going to the actual source for our information. Then again, I do it too – I read the newspaper, even though they are by no means the experts on any real world situation. It’s often easier to ask nearby sources – I mean, if your parents tell you something, you believe it, right?

At the same time, you need to realize that the only place you’re going to get completely accurate information from is the original source. If you’re interested in your school’s policy on a certain issue, and need to be 100% sure about it, you’re best off consulting your school’s actual documents instead of asking your principal or teacher.

When it comes to making crucial life decisions, you want to be as close to 100% sure as possible about your information. If you have a question about a certain university’s admissions guidelines, don’t ask you teacher – go to that university’s admissions webpage. Because seriously, who do you think would have the most accurate and up to date information? Sometimes I find it strange when students ask me questions about scholarship application policies, when it’s much safer to email the scholarship organization itself – I don’t work there, so it’s very possible that I could be wrong about some things.

I remember sitting at a medical school seminar hosted by one of my university’s student services clubs last year. The seminar involved six first year medical school students talking a bit about certain medical school topics and then doing some Q & A. I remember someone asking one of the medical school students what the previous year’s MCAT cutoffs were for Queen’s Medical School. I distinctly remember that the answer he gave was way off base (since Queen’s had posted their cutoffs for the previous year on their website), but of course, this student had no reason not to believe him – though like I said, I don’t see why someone would ask him a question that they could get the right answer for 100% of the time from the official website. Though it goes to show you that despite good intentions, you’re always best off getting your information from the original source.

A lot of high school (and even some university) students think that Canadian medical schools care about which university you attended for undergraduate studies, and that students from university’s with “worse reputations” are discriminated against in the admissions process. For whatever reason, York University’s science programs are sometimes labeled as having not as strong a reputation as some of the other university science programs in Canada – yet the funny thing is that if you ask a lot of students what this means and what evidence this is based on, they can’t answer. If you’re concerned about the quality of undergraduate science education, I really doubt there is a significant difference between Canadian universities. Of course, there will always be slight differences in types of programs or varieties of courses offered, and you may factor that into your decision.

I always have students asking me why I chose York University since they have heard from friends, parents, and teachers that medical schools “don’t accept applicants from York” or “discriminate against York applicants” or other similar things. Well, I know firsthand this isn’t true because my older brother, Jerome, had several medical school interviews the past couple of years, and is currently attending medical school at the University of Toronto – and yes, he’s a York University graduate. I have also met or know of several York University undergraduate students who got into Canadian medical schools the past few years. Never mind the fact that Canadian medical schools explicitly state on their websites that they essentially accept applicants from all Canadian universities. It really boggles my mind when students choose not to go to York University based on false ideas from individuals not even associated or knowledgeable on the medical school admissions process, instead of asking the actual source itself.

So for me, I didn’t have to worry about which university I ended up choosing, since all of them are acceptable for medical school applications.

Am I saying university reputation doesn’t matter or doesn’t exist? No, I am definitely not saying that, but I’m also not saying that it does. It might be true that certain employers discriminate against students from a certain university or program while showing better treatment to others – I can’t say, and that’s something you’ll have to research on your own. I don’t know the truth to this and the extent of it outside of the medical school admissions process, so I can’t accurately comment on it.

Long story short, you need to figure out whether where you go to university matters in terms of your overall career plan, and adjust your choices accordingly. And when you do research this information, please go to the original source and make sure you’re getting accurate information!

Does the University have Opportunities I’m Interested In?

A university is more than just about the classroom. It is an opportunity to not only grow and develop academically, but also socially, spiritually, personally, etc. I think all of these different types of growth are important to most people, so it’s important to pick a university that satisfies your needs and interests in areas outside academics.

If you’re interested in athletics, does the university have the teams or intramurals you enjoy and excel in? If you’re interested in music, does the university have musical bands or other types of groups you would want to join?

One of the key things that attracted me York University was research opportunity. In high school, I always wanted the chance at hands on laboratory research, but the opportunity never fully materialized – so I looked forward to the experience in university. When I was offered one of York University’s major scholarships, I inquired and was told that I could possibly start a research experience right after high school graduation. Although that could not happen for certain reasons, York University did connect me with a mentor and distinguished researcher for the fall of my first year.

Throughout the year, we would meet once or twice a month just to talk about how my university experience was going. He also let me do a bit of research shadowing during the year, attend a lab meeting, go to some talks, etc. During my summer after first year, he let me volunteer in his lab doing the exact same things other full-time summer research students were doing. In my year, I recall several other first year science students at York University also being connected with mentors, though I am not sure if this program continues today. That being said, I think this is pretty rare, and most professors at any university probably would not go out of their way to help first year students in this manner. I am very fortunate that my mentor is a big supporter of students.

In contrast, when I went to a scholarship interview at another university, I asked the judges if first year students were allowed to get involved with hands on research, and they told me that I probably wouldn’t be allowed to volunteer or work in a lab until after second year. I’m not sure if this is actually true, but at the time, the perceived differences in opportunity for hands on research available swayed my opinion heavily to York University. I liked the fact that student research opportunities were there, and I could get involved right away if I wanted to.

So if there are certain opportunities or activities that are important to you, search out and see which universities support those things.

Do You Like the University Campus?

If you’re going to spend a lot of time or even live there, you’d better make sure you like the university campus. You want to make sure that you’d enjoy the overall environment there. While there are times to take university seriously, there are also times to have fun or even just enjoy the scenery.

Most of the university campuses I’ve been to were pretty nice for the most part. Some just stood out as being a really awesome place to be, while a few seemed a bit gloomy. While I don’t think York University had my favourite campus, I preferred the more modern look it had compared to other more traditional-looking universities.

Does Location Matter?

For some students, the most important thing about university is that it’s far, far away from home. Other students don’t mind living at home if that means being able to save up some money for other things.

For me, there were a few activities in Toronto that were important to me, such as my church choir. Going to York University would allow me to remain involved with that. I also lived on campus for my first two years, so I still sort of had somewhat of an “away from home” experience. I personally don’t like change that much, so to be able to have a bit of change but not too much was a nice balance for me.

Other Factors?

We’re all different, and some of you will probably have different and additional factors to consider when choosing where you go for university. In addition, you will probably value each of these factors differently from everyone else.

There’s no “correct” or “right” combination of factors to consider when choosing your university. I just want you to encourage you to look at this as a serious decision, and use the amount of thought that it deserves. This is a decision that will affect the next three to four years of your

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At first, I was like: “lol what? No way!”

So she told me that a friend of hers found this article that suggested it, and that this friend was starting to worry a bit because she wanted to apply to McMaster’s Health Sciences program but didn’t have a 98+ average.

You can find the article, published in the Toronto Star, here.

For those of you who haven’t heard of McMaster’s Health Sciences program, it is a highly competitive undergraduate program for students interested in health, wellness, and illnesses. As the article and the program’s website mention, it is pretty unique, in that they focus more on collaborative, self-directed, and problem-based learning, unlike traditional undergraduate health science programs. It sounds pretty cool, and I actually got accepted into this program back in Grade 12, but I decided not to go for a variety of reasons.

Now, for the most part, nothing the article says is technically wrong or untrue. However, the problem I have is that the article presents the facts in such a manner that it implies several ideas that I believe are highly unlikely to be correct.

This is one of the reasons why the general news media irritates me sometimes – they can take a few facts, and either intentionally or misguidedly, present them in a way to stir up reactions and create controversy, often misleading the readers. That isn’t reporting the truth (which is what the news should be doing in my opinion), it’s taking the truth and presenting it in a way that sells.

To be fair, the middle chunk of the article is fine, in my opinion. It’s pretty much the first few paragraphs, and the last line, that imply things that are probably wrong. So I’d like to go through these parts of the article, and debunk some of the implicit ideas I feel are very misleading, and should definitely be cleared up for any students interested in this program.

She had a 96-per-cent average in Grade 12 and was the top student in her entire school board.

But she still didn’t make the cut for McMaster’s Health Sciences program.

What began as a degree with a unique way of teaching undergraduate students eight years ago has turned into the hottest program around, with 3,500 applications for 160 spots each year.

It’s also a program that’s unique to North America, with an approach to learning that’s quite unusual for undergraduate students.

“We have a very difficult time selecting students to begin with,” acknowledges Delsworth Harnish, assistant dean of the honours Bachelor of Health Sciences program.

“By the time is all said and done, we have rejected students with 96 and 95 (averages).”

Several of the top students in Greater Toronto boards were accepted to the program for this fall, with averages of 98 or 99 per cent.

After reading this introduction, I could see why Eden’s friend was concerned that you needed a 98+ average to get into this program. I mean, look at the way things are phrased. The author starts off by saying that the top student in a certain school board with a 96 average couldn’t get in, and ends off this section implying that the only students he/she knows of that got in from the Toronto boards were the top students with a 98+ average. Also, look at the neatly thrown in line about how McMaster’s program admits that they have rejected students with 95-96 averages.

With phrasing like this, how could a lot of younger high school students not believe that you need a 98+ average to get in?

One of the important things everyone needs to learn is to examine what you read carefully, and be cautious about who you get your information from. The article never said that students with lower than 98 averages don’t get in – they had a sample size of one student with a 96 average that didn’t get in. Sorry, but a sample size of one is not and should not be convincing.

If you read even closer, you’ll notice that McMaster’s representative did not say that all students with 95-95 averages got rejected – he or she simply said that there were such students who were rejected. And I’m sure that there were also students with 91 averages or 99 averages that didn’t get in either – of course, the article fails to mention this obvious possibility – I wonder why…?

What I find pretty funny is that after this really sensationalist opening, they mention just a tiny paragraph about the supplementary application that is also required to apply to this program – which is kind of ironic, considering that several Health Science students I’ve met have stated that the supplementary application plays a much more significant role than the marks, once you meet the cutoff of about ~90.

And even if you don’t believe this is true, here are some reasons why it is extremely unlikely that you would need a 98+ average to get into McMaster Health Sciences:

1. The class would not be filled. Think about it. How many graduating high school students across Canada are there who have 98+ averages AND have McMaster Health Sciences as their first choice? The number of students who satisfy both criteria are extremely low, to the point where having the supplementary application would likely not be necessary – yet the comprehensive supplementary application still exists.
2. High school averages vary widely across Canada. I am pretty sure that if I had attended every single high school in Canada, my graduating marks would vary pretty widely. I think that depending on my the school, my high school graduating average would vary anywhere from 90-100. It is a simple fact that some high schools are probably easier than others. This is why major scholarships only require a 90+ average – universities and private organizations understand that high school marks come with a lot of variance, and so using higher academic standards would be pretty unfair. I am sure McMaster realizes the same thing, which is why they state the cutoff for their Health Sciences program every year to be around a 90 average, depending on the applicant pool for that year.

Finally, I have beef with the final line of the article, and in particular, with the bolded part:

Medical schools do like the Mac graduates: about 60 to 65 per cent of them get into a medical school, and of the roughly 35 per cent who don’t, they often go into law, psychology or health policy.

There are lots of parents and students who believe this same idea, that going to McMaster Health Sciences gives you a significant advantage in getting into medical school. They have this idea that medical schools give preference to McMaster Health Science students.

The problem here is a concept that I like to call screening bias (there is probably a scientific term for this, but I’ve never actually looked it up). Whenever a highly selective university or extracurricular program boasts about the success and accomplishments of their students after leaving the program, one important question you must ask is: Did the program really give the students tools for success, or would the students have been just as successful anyways – considering they were already the “cream of the crop”?

I mean, think about it. The students who get into McMaster Health Sciences, have competitive enough marks, and write essay answers well enough to have been able to beat out 3000+ other students to get in. Are they not likely to be significantly better than the average student in the medical school application process? They are more likely to be better students (grades-wise), are more likely to be actively involved outside of academics, and are more likely to be able to present themselves better on essays. Regardless of how good the Health Sciences program is, statistically, their students should do significantly better than average than the typical medical school applicant anyways.

Now, that’s not to say that the Health Sciences program itself does not improve your chances of getting into medical school – I personally think it does a bit, but not for the reason of the school’s reputation (hint: medical schools openly declare they do not care which undergraduate institution or program you attended). I think that the Health Sciences use of problem-based learning, collaborative learning, and self-directed learning helps the students learn certain skills that are attractive to medical schools (which often use these same skills). At the same time, I doubt this icing on the cake plays a significant role in the medical school admissions process, if at all.

So the next time you read some really sensationalist thing in the media, that sounds crazy, you might want to look at it a bit closer, and do your own research and thinking. Or better yet, contact the people who are actually experts in the material being discussed. Go straight to the source.

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