I'm currently trying to get into Life Sciences at McMaster with a 90 average. I called Admissions and was told that I was on a waiting list, and that the cut-off is an 89. This is quite frustrating considering a counsellor at my school told me she would fax the necessary documents(for OUAC 105D) to McMaster a while ago, yet I was told a month later that they had never received it and that I missed a roll of admissions.

She told me that she would have to see if she could make more offers within the next week or two. That really discouraged me, and now I'm kind of freaking out. I asked what my chance of being accepted was, and as expected, she said that she "couldn't really say" (I'm assuming that even if my odds are good, she doesn't want to take a chance of giving me false hope).

Does anyone else know anything about my odds of getting accepted are based on this info? McMaster is my number one choice(and possibly my only, for this year at least), and right now this is really bumming me out.

lol, cant get into life sci with a 90? What is this nonsense?

Don't be concerned about their decision and don't feel bad, just go to another school that has a life sci program. There is nothing special about Mac life sci, seriously.

Well, the problem is that the person who was supposed to send my documents to McMaster was also supposed to send them to the other schools I applied at. Queen's already pulled my application because of that and then UofT apparently hasn't gotten it either (just found this out today, not sure if there's still time to hand it in)

I probably should've applied at more than 3 universities, but I really didn't anticipate having these problems when my mark is above the cut-offs

Can anyone help me out or tell me what my odds are? :O

Originally Posted by rorowawo

Can anyone help me out or tell me what my odds are? :O

Seriously? Can't even be mature and just wait it out? I blame texting and the need to have instant gratification and response.

Do you know how waiting list operate?

Waiting list means the program is currently fulled. It will only open up if a student decide to decline or decide not to go through with the registration.

Who in the world can you give a odd based on that?

On top of that, do you know what position you are in on the waiting list? Caused they would just go by order.

I will give you one odd though, you have 100% chance of knowing if you are in the program or not by September 1st 2014.

^ A little rude, lol, but I'd have to agree with everything written.

Originally Posted by HILLyBilly

Seriously? Can't even be mature and just wait it out? I blame texting and the need to have instant gratification and response.

Do you know how waiting list operate?

Waiting list means the program is currently fulled. It will only open up if a student decide to decline or decide not to go through with the registration.

Who in the world can you give a odd based on that?

On top of that, do you know what position you are in on the waiting list? Caused they would just go by order.

I will give you one odd though, you have 100% chance of knowing if you are in the program or not by September 1st 2014.

Texting? I blame an ambiguous reply from the University and that I'm neurotic about the fact that I may have to wait another full year when my life has been on a hiatus for 3 years already. I also think that any other person who was hypothetically in this situation because of a worker at their school's incompetence would be frustrated and seek advice, or at least the majority.

No, I wasn't aware of "how waiting list operate", at least not within the University system. That's why I was asking the question in the first place.

Anyone can give an estimated odd based on knowledge, personal experience, or other people's experiences. I didn't say I wanted an accurate percentage, I wanted to know if anyone who was more knowledgeable on the subject could tell me what they THINK my odds are(good or bad).

Thanks Sherlock. People should understand that if they aren't smart or witty, they won't fare well when adopting the persona of a smart aleck. Deuces.

Originally Posted by Phoneup

lol, cant get into life sci with a 90? What is this nonsense?

Don't be concerned about their decision and don't feel bad, just go to another school that has a life sci program. There is nothing special about Mac life sci, seriously.

I also received an offer for mac life sci, but am torn deciding between mac life sci and UWO for med sci. Can you please elaborate on what you mean mac life sci isn't that great? Thanks

(Deleted)

Originally Posted by rorowawo

Texting? I blame an ambiguous reply from the University and that I'm neurotic about the fact that I may have to wait another full year when my life has been on a hiatus for 3 years already. I also think that any other person who was hypothetically in this situation because of a worker at their school's incompetence would be frustrated and seek advice, or at least the majority.

No, I wasn't aware of "how waiting list operate", at least not within the University system. That's why I was asking the question in the first place.

Anyone can give an estimated odd based on knowledge, personal experience, or other people's experiences. I didn't say I wanted an accurate percentage, I wanted to know if anyone who was more knowledgeable on the subject could tell me what they THINK my odds are(good or bad).

Thanks Sherlock. People should understand that if they aren't smart or witty, they won't fare well when adopting the persona of a smart aleck. Deuces.

No one can give you odd. They can give you fake numbers if that make you feel better. Ingrain that into your head and don't let anyone fool you. It is what it is, take it as you will. If you want to distract the issue at hand by focusing that energy on me, I'm fine with that. Doesn't really affect the final answer though.

PS: How could you not know how a waiting list work? I mean, if you didn't, why didn't you bring this up when you talk to Admission?

Pro-tip: If you don't understand something during a conversation/lecture/etc, stop them and ask. Don't nod along as if you know what they mean and walk away confuse.

Originally Posted by HILLyBilly

No one can give you odd. They can give you fake numbers if that make you feel better. Ingrain that into your head and don't let anyone fool you. It is what it is, take it as you will. If you want to distract the issue at hand by focusing that energy on me, I'm fine with that. Doesn't really affect the final answer though.

PS: How could you not know how a waiting list work? I mean, if you didn't, why didn't you bring this up when you talk to Admission?

Pro-tip: If you don't understand something during a conversation/lecture/etc, stop them and ask. Don't nod along as if you know what they mean and walk away confuse.

Nobody can give me an actual percentage, but I anticipated that people would at least know about certain factors that could affect my chances of getting in(such as a waiting list capacity, students who were accepted into life science being accepted into health science or attending another university, etc.), or even people who have had similar experiences in the past. And even if I was told that the odds were against me, I'd accept it. I'm not fishing for good news, I'm trying to have an idea of where I stand in the process. I'll admit that I'm being impatient, but I'm sure that I'm not the only University applicant who is anxious about their application.

And I know how a general waiting list works. As I said above, I was inquiring about any specifics that one may know about McMaster's applicant waiting list. I didn't bring it up when I talked to Admission because I hadn't thought about it at the time, it was a blunder on my part, but I don't see what's wrong with inquiring about it on a forum.

Thanks for the "pro-tip", that never would have occurred to me had you not written it.

I also apologize for how I retaliated, but I don't appreciate the condescending tone and arrogance behind your post when I'm simply asking a question.

Originally Posted by rorowawo

Nobody can give me an actual percentage, but I anticipated that people would at least know about certain factors that could affect my chances of getting in(such as a waiting list capacity, students who were accepted into life science being accepted into health science or attending another university, etc.), or even people who have had similar experiences in the past. And even if I was told that the odds were against me, I'd accept it. I'm not fishing for good news, I'm trying to have an idea of where I stand in the process. I'll admit that I'm being impatient, but I'm sure that I'm not the only University applicant who is anxious about their application.

HiLLyBilly's point is that ANY number anybody gives you, or even a qualitative "good/bad", is pulled out of their ass and means absolutely nothing. McMaster doesn't publish waiting list stats (at least not that I'm aware of). If someone was on a waiting list, they only know whether or not they got on. Without knowing more information, that tells you absolutely nothing. You might be frustrated and impatient, but that's not going to get you an answer. Anybody could give you an "answer" to placate you, but it means absolutely nothing. These things change a lot from year to year, so even if you were somehow able to find good information for past years, unless it's extremely consistent, it wouldn't be relevant to your situation today. You also need to keep in mind that this is a community of students - nobody has access to special information.

The one thing I can say with some degree of certainty is that if someone is on a waiting list for life sci, chances are they aren't going to be getting an offer for health sci, so that won't be getting people off the waiting list.

I'm not sure how they rank people on the waiting list - so that's just another variable that is thrown into it. If you really want answers, you should call the admissions people again, and if they can't help you then you're just going to have to suck it up and wait, unfortunately.

rorowawo
You have a 17.3 % chance of getting in.

Wow that sucks... A question are u in high school? Like was this all because of a sucky guidance counselor?

If so, then try and make them do something. If you still really Want to get into mac then get your counselor to help you get into another faculty like social science. Most first year courses are open to everyone and anyone can take it(for the most part). Once first year is done, just apply to the program of your choice which can be in any faculty. You'll probably come across one course you won't be allowed to take cause you're not in life Sci. For me it was bio 1a03. Find these courses NOW and make a list. Honestly... You'll probably only have one at max two. Get your guidance counselor to call the school, explain the situation and get you waived. I'm sure the school will be more open to getting you a seat into a course if not getting you into a faculty. I'm not saying this will for sure work but it can. Hopefully this is a little helpful.

The chance of getting in is extremely high. I would peg it at 90% and above. If you don't get in, you can appeal to the University for mishandling your application. At the very lease, you can take your guidance counselor to court for negligence.