Any University of Toronto Info?

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Michelle-In-Montreal

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Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone had any info about the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto, i.e. teaching style, reputation, student profiles, etc... Any info that you've heard of at all - especially if you're attending school up here in Canada (like UofT)!

I'd like to find out more about the school...

I know that 2000-01 grades are not used in the admissions process, but does anyone know how strict they are about maintaining a minimum GPA?

Any info you have would be great, thanks!

Mich

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Hi Mich,
I'm not clear on what they really use in determining acceptance either...I'm still waiting for a reply although I think I will just fly south anyways. HAve you applied for this year yet? I have and the wait is killing me! also, I really don't know how they can decide without an interview. Don't they at least have to ascertain that you're a living, breathing person?
 
UofT is very research oriented, and their teaching style is reflective of that.
As for marks, marks are everything at U of T!! They rate you with the following breakdown: 80% GPA, and 20% Profile(approxamately). The DAT is not that important, its jsut used as a "flag", if you are above 15's in everything you're ok. And they dont look at your carving score.
The average GPA that they quoted me for last years incoming class was 3.78.(because that is 80% of your ranking, if you're not close to this, you dont have a chance). They do not look at your current year. What they do is look at your immediate year and drop your lowest academic year from the previous ones. For example, if you are currently in your 4th year, and your 1st year was your lowest year, they would calculate your GPA using only your 3rd year and 2nd year. But I think you have to maintain a fairly high GPA in your 4th year.
I hope that helps.
Maybe you could provide me with some info on McGill Dents, if you have any, Thanks.
 
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what i meant to say was that they look at the year immediately before your current year, and drop your lowest year from the years before that.
 
Thanks guys, for your input.

Tabi> Yeah, I really don't know how they can admit dental students without an interview. I'm not thrilled about them, but I definitely think that it's important to determine whether an applicant at least has some interpersonal skills!

j66> GPA... I figured just as much from what I've heard. They put a huge emphasis on academics. About McGill Dent, I know a few people in the program, and another who was accepted for September. The program is pretty integrated into the med school in the initial part of the program, so you spend a lot of time with the med students. Because of that, school goes until June/July and instead of finals, you have unit tests along with med. McGill is a great university overall, and Montreal is a terrific city with a european feel. Did you apply this year?

How large is the entering class size at UofT? Although they don't count your courses this year in the admissions process - do you know what you have to maintain and if they're really strict about it? Hmm, I wish they released more info about all of this. Good luck to you guys... where else did everyone apply?
 
Thanks for the McGill info.

At U of T, I would think that you would have to maintain at least a 3.5 (but I'm not sure). Class size at U of T is 55 students. (Although their are limited number of seats for out of province applicants). If you want to ask what exactly you have to maintain I suggest you email them rather than trying to find it on their website.
I applied to the schools in Ont as well as 5 or 6 in the US. How about u?
Do u have any GPA info on McGill? Iknow that u have to have at least a 3.5 just to apply but what is the avg. GPA for the incoming class.
 
I have some old stats for some of the Canadian dental schools. Hope this helps.

UofT:1999-2000
avg. gpa 3.90 (4.3 scale)
No. of applicants ~600
No. accepted ~65 (max of 10% of the 1st year places may be offered to out of province candidates)

UBC: 2001 incoming class.
accepted apps. gpa 82.2% (about a 3.6 gpa in 4pt scale)
DAT: acad avg. 21.7
DAT: PAT+Carving avg 20.5
Total apps. 205
Accepted BC apps. 36
Out of prov accepted 4

McGill: 1998-1999 stats
avg gpa 3.5/4.0
no. accepted 25
min of 15 on acad avg, PAT, and carving required.

USask: 1997-1998 stats
acad avg 81.81%
no. accepted 21
no. of apps. between 75-90 each year
(For 1999-2000 and beyond, 25 students are expected to be admitted. Up to 15 places are expected to be available for international students.)
Note: tuition is ~$40000Cdn/year now and not worth it IMHO...go to the states instead.

Dalhousie: 1999-2000 stats
No of apps 177
No accepted 36 (14 male, 22 female)
Residence: atlantic prov. 26
other prov. 2
international 8
Mean DAT: reading comp. 21
PAT 16
Carving 16
Science 18
Mean Univ. final 2 years: 86.5%
Mean Univ. higher sci.avg. 84.1%

UofA: 1997-1998 stats
Alta Res. apps. 205
Alta Res. accepted 28
Out of Prov apps. 158
Out of Prov accepted 3
International accepted 1

I'll be attending the incoming UBC class this fall, so if anyone wants any info about UBC or the app. process, feel free to ask.

Good luck!
 
3.78 for u of t seems pretty high. does anyone know if your GPA needs to be much higher than that to get in after 3rd year?
 
FYI, The released stats for this year's incoming DDS class at U of T includes an average GPA of 3.85. It is my understanding that you would have to be even more competitive academically if you wish to apply after only 3 years of undergrad since the majority of applicants have already earned a Bachelor's.
 
where can i get the stats from? I've gotten a brochure from them and it's not in there.
 
Does anyone know how many in-province students apply to McGill?

And for anyone interested, Im pretty sure U of T has added a interview component for next years applicants so that should bring down the GPA.. Hopefully...
 
I am pretty sure that U of T has added an interview component.
However, I do not think that the marks will be brought down significantly. If you look at the med school as a gauge, GPA will continue to be very high. :(
 
The admissions statistics aren't in the brochure... I got them from my friend who was admitted this year (she had a GPA > 3.9). The Applicant Profile was worth 20% and DAT scores 10%, while GPA was weighted 70% in the admissions process. U of T is definitely introducing an interview next year, but since it just replaces the essay (Applicant Profile)... I'm afraid that it probably won't change the importance of the academic record. Kinda sucks, huh? The competition to gain admission to U of T is incredible intense.
 
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Michelle,

Do you have the stats for McGill? The ones posted above don't seem correct, since the minimum GPA can't possibly be equal to the average GPA. Also, do you know if it's difficult to get in as an o.o.p. there?

I just got a 79 in my orgo course here a Queen's. That just killed my first year GPA at U of T from a 3.8 to a 3.72. Anyway, I'm taking. I'm taking a bunch of bird courses next year so that I can get into Western easier, since they only consider your two best years and they don't consider summer courses. First year went pretty well except for orgo. :(. So since i can't get into u of t, i'm looking mainly at western, maybe McGill. Let us know what you've heard. Thanx.
 
Hi there,

I'm not certain what the average entering GPA was for McGill this year, but my guess is that it hovers around 3.7, maybe somewhat lower than Western's. It's normally pretty difficult to get into McGill Med or Dent if you aren't a Quebec resident, but I am aware that they actually accepted quite a few out-of-province students last year. So there's definitely hope! A friend of mine who just finished his first year of dental school at McGill was telling me how surprised he was that there were so many Ontario students on the first day of class.

It sounds like you have been maintaining a good GPA, so if you keep it up and prepare well for your interviews, I'm sure that you'll get in at a dental school of your choice. Good luck!
 
I am pretty sure that U of T, is the hardest school to obtain admission in, in North America. This years average of the incommng class was 3.87/4.0

The breakdown was 70% for GPA
20% for profile,(Essay)
10% for Dat (no carving)
Next year and interview component will replace the profile.

Good Luck!!! To everyone
 
Hey,

I talked to a U of T faculty member today at a professional school fair here at Queen's. He let me look at this laminated fact sheet he had about last year's class:

Stuff I remember for sure:

Applicant pool size: 387
Offers of Admission: 100
Number enrolled: 65

Mean applicant GPA: 3.55
Mean GPA for enrolled: 3.81

Number admitted w/ 3 years undergrad: 33.4% (sure)
Number admitted w/ four years undergrad: 58% (not sure)

Mean DAT: Academic 20-21. Perceptual ~18 (not that sure).

I also remember that the 2000 GPA was like 3.78 for those enrolled and 3.44 for the entire applicant pool. The applicant pool was a lot larger (~500).

GPA at U of T (at least for those at Queen's):
85-100 = 4.0
80-84 = 3.7
75-79 = 3.3
70-74 = 3.0
65-69 = 2.7
60-64 = 2.3
55-59 = 2.0
50-54 = 1.7

He said that like between 20-25 graduates went on to a specialty program.

He also said he didn't think it made a difference how many years of undergrad you had under your belt, it's just that if you do four years they toss out your worst year. Hope this helps someone out there.
 
Great info, bad_hombre - I'm sure that those stats will answer a few questions that some Canadian applicants have.

Just wanted to add that U of T drops the year with the lowest GPA (out of the four years) provided that the year in consideration isn't your last year of undergraduate work. i.e. If your worst year was your fourth, they keep all years when calculating your academic average.

:)
 
For those who were interested, UWO stats for the 2005 entering class have just been put up on the web:

Number of Applicants: 393
Number Accepted: 56 (17F/39M)
Number of Accepted with Degrees: 1 PhD/6 MSc/26 with Honours 4yr degrees/5 with 4yr degrees/4 with 3yr degrees
Academic Average: 85.8% (> 3.8)
DAT: 99/150
Structured Interview Average: 81/100

The stats are a little different than last year's class. I hope that these answer some questions that some people had on other posts/topics concerning the number of years completed by the students accepted.

For more details, check out:

UWO School of Dentistry - Class of 2005 Entering Stats
 
The stats I posted above are for those students that have actually enrolled/matriculated in the program, not those accepted in first-round admissions. This probably explains the deviations in the GPAs posted previously for U of T also, for those interested. First-round admissions GPAs are always higher than the GPAs of the students who actually accepted the offer and registered.
 
Does anyone know if UT accepts percentage grades?
I'm from UBC and my second year's average is 84.5%, 3rd year 84.7% and fourth year is 78%.
Does that mean my average is 82% which is about 3.7 on the 4 pt scale?
I find that I get a lower GPA if I enter individual marks on every subject just because of the jump from 3.3 for 79% and 3.7 for 80%.
Any advice is appreciated.
 
Sorry dude, but you have to calculate your GPA using the individual marks for each course, not your average for each year. The UBC scale is similar to the Queen's scale I listed above (if you look in the applications package):

A+/A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
etc.

Your marks are pretty good though, you should get into UBC no problem.
 
Thanks for the info. As for your earlier question about soap carving, if you register for the Canadian DAT, they will send you a practise kit for an additional $50 or so. The TopScore (Canadian version) has a section on soap carving. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the help, grad01. something else you may want to take into consideration when you apply to U of T is that they strongly prefer Ontario residents over out-of-province applicants, the same as UBC. So one has to be pretty competitive to gain admission to their programs as OOP applicants. The U of T faculty member I spoke to said they only accpeted 3 OOP students lasst year (not counting international students): 2 from AB and one from Sask I think
 
I don't know what they use to choose there class. I applied 4 years ago and had a gpa on their scale of 3.81 and DAT of 19 and did not even get on the wait list. I have a friend who graduated last year and he had a miserable experience there. I am graduating this year from a US dental school feel like I am going to be a safe begginner. If you can't get into U of T or Western try the US.
 
U of T is hard!!! no doubt.. I am in first year and the class is very intelligent!! But the students are very friendly and helpful. It was tough getting in, but the workload is not to bad, and the tests are spread out fairly good, well so far. But dentistry is fun, not all studying. The labs get your mind off the books, and dont have to hand lab reports in, just work at your own pace getting used to materials and insturments. There are coordinators that help you out, anytime you require assistance.

U of T, great faculty and great student body.!!!
 
WESTERN IS A AN EXCELLENT BACK UP TO U OF T... GOOD LUCK!!!!!! FOR:: bad_hombre

:cool:
 
hey dentistguy, could you post some stats?
 
My stats were:

GPA: 3.83

DAT:

Academic: 23
PAT: 17

Lots of extracircular work...
 
Hey, thanks for the well wishes dentist guy, I hope to see you around campus in a couple of years (i'm only in second year right now). This may not be an important question, but where did most of your classmates do undergrad? You? Are there a lot of kids from U of T? thanks in advance.

btw... my constant activity in this thread may lead a lot of people to believe that I'm really obssesed w/ the idea of attending U of T. I guess i do worry a lot sometimes. :oops: . is this normal? or should i chill out a bit?
 
Hey DentistGuy,
What's the lowest GPA you've heard of in your class right now at U of T?

Thanks.
 
Lowest GPA I think was a 3.7... class average was a 3.81

but this depends year to year.. Just work hard and do well on the interview component which will be replacing the essay...Also do well on the PAT as this is worth 5% and Academic average is also worth 5%

good luck
 
Hey, i got into U of T dentistry.. graduating 2005. GPA for my entering year coudn't be that high cuz alot of ppl were taken from the waiting list.
Either way, so far it hasnt' been that bad. Its not as crazy hard as i thought it woudl be.. however, its not as easy as i'd like it to be :rolleyes:
Anyway, i applied to mcgill, western and u of t.. i picked u of t. cuz i'm from western, didn't choose mcgill cuz the school year is too long, and the winters suck too much.
Oh and i'm also glad they are instating the interview this year..
Later.
 
hey JWS...could you post some stats as well...(and could you clarify if the gpa people are quoting are after dropping the worst year?)...See this is what i don't get, they say they toss your worst year out...but does that mean we should have completed four years of undergrad before applying (i.e the student should technically be doing a fifth 'special' year)...or do they wait till the end of the fourth year and then make their descision..thanx
 
i know alot of ppl in my class, 2005 who have gpas around 3.5-3.6; .. As for dropping marks.. i'm not really sure about that. I only did three years undergrad. However, i do know that when i applied.. they only went by my first and second year marks; sent my acceptance on condition i maintained an average above 2.7 or something like that in my third year.
:confused:
 
Low GPA's had to mean wicked DAT scores and an amazing essay because I know some people with averages around 3.7 that didn't get in. Anywayz JWS... chill this semester, it is meant to be easy. Next semester you'll have way more tests, and not as many half days. Enjoy this while you can.
 
DDSdonkey...

yo, just out of curiosity, during what time of the year did you receive your conditional acceptance? Thanx

btw, salman, they only drop your worst year if you've taken atleast 4 years of undergrad. If you're applying after only 3 years, they don't drop your worst year.

when i talked to a faculty member, he told me the people w/ 3.7 GPA's had something like "extenuating circumstances" affecting their appplication.
 
I don't think the dat scores were necessairly really high. I know a couple of students in my class that said they pretty much voided their carvings and had averages.. around 18-22 on the other sections.
I received my admission letter at the begining of June, and for mcgill i received it in february ( which i paid a 1000 deposit and ultimately lost) As for extenuating circumstances... maybe. Nonetheless, i know ppl with gpas lower than 3.7, who are in my class. :confused:
 
people may have lower gpas, but this is not including what they got in with. A person in our class may have a gpa of 3.6 overall, but when they got in after all the dropping and so on....they could have had a 3.9 or higher, I know lots of people in the class with this situation...also people wont tell there real averages, so they wont look like nerds. Trust me I had a decent average 3.81 and was low on the waiting list first time round..
 
I had the same 3.81 entering gpa and i got in off the bat.. I think the admissions committee have something new planned for the future... OR the applicant pool for my year must've been lacking.
:rolleyes:
 
U of T was getting a poor reputation from the dental community, in terms of admissions, because it was felt that they admitted students almost entirely on grades and not on whether the applicants were necessarily well-rounded. Granted, a background of high academic standing is necessary for a student to succeed in U of T's highly didactic program, but people were shaking their head at the fact that it seemed to be the only health professional school in N. America that didn't even have an interview. I would assume that they're trying to change that for next year. I had a friend at U of T Dent who was on one of the faculty committees.
 
I got the offical stats on graduating class of u of t.. 1 phd, 1 masters, 22 3 yr bsc, 38 4 yrs hrs, mean gpa 3.81
DAT avegres.. -Sci was like 20.8; PAT 18
i think lowest gpa in class was around 3.74 or so.
more girls than guys.
30 students from u of t.
3 international. 9uwo,
377 applied.
WEll, those are the stats.
thats all i remember.
And my friends who proctored the DAT said there was an significant increase in the amount of ppl writing... supposedly alot of centres were so full that they diverted alot to toronto. ( about 300+ came here)
Good luck everyone. :eek:
 
If I have a 3.87 GPA, 20/21 DATs, and I interview goes well (hopefully), can I be accepted right off the bat after 3rd year? I'm an ontario resident btw. thanx for your imput
 
let's just say if you even do as good on the mcat, you would have a chance to get into BOTH dental and med school after 3rd year..
 
Actually, my OMSAS GPA would be slightly lower, 3.85. What I meant to say before was, would i be put on the waiting list for dentistry? I'm planning a trip overseas, and I won't be here after june (when the first acceptance letters are mailed out). It sounds pretty stupid, but would they give my place away to someone else if I don't accept it right away?
 
If I were you, I would probably change the mailing address to that of someone who you think is responsible enough to send the acceptance letter to the overseas country you are going to. You can then just immediately send it to the adcom (or call them to tell them that the mail might take a while) and confirm your seat..
 
DDSDonkey,

Why did you choose U of T over McGill? You were accepted there after only 3 years undergrad right? what was the application process like there?
 
I meant to ask what the application process at McGill was like above, since there is already a lot of info on U of T... :p
 
Bad hombre,
Well, first of all, i chose ut over mcgill because it was closer to home (londoN), but not in london, so i am far enough away from home that i am independent and close enough that i can go home whenever i want. Secondly, i chose ut over mcgill cuz of the curriculum... At mcgill they mix the dental and the medical class together.. meaning extra stuff to learn that you won't be using. In addition, the academic year (aug to june) is much longer than that of uts or uwos.... they go till june in their first summer, and even later in the next summer... leaving students with a very short summer. ..oh yea, and after u graduate u would have to do teh quebec lisencing ..well i guess it depends on where u want to practice.
I for one, would rather stay in ontario than quebec. Also, the winters in montreal are long and suck..
Howevver, good points about mcgill are:
Great city, cheap cost of living, probably more laid back students ( as in they are more fun), it would have been great if i became bilingual (french) or at least get to learn some french.

The application process of mcgill.. i believe u mail for an application, fill it out, send it back.. with the addition of references, send in your marks blah balh.. same old... and wait..
their interviews start in feb. and their faculty and students are really nice. Interview questions were more of a " get to know you type".. not like the set questions and answers of uwo and u of t.
.. They only select 15 out of province students in the first round.. but i hear that mcgill usually goes deep into their waiting list.
And if my memory serves me correctly, the dead line was nov 15.. or dec1.. either or.

hope that helps
:eek:
 
I think I would rather go to Mcgill over U of T anyday. The fact that the first two years are combined with the med students is a good thing. Dentistry is moving toward a more medical profession rather than the idea of being tooth technicians. Also, tuition is a lot cheaper. I know a graduate and he is very smart and very good with oral pathology, perio surgery and oral surgery. I wish I would have even thought of applying to Mcgill.

RG MUSOD 2002
 
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