(Mostly) Non-Academic Questions

We are excited to see that a number of people have started (and even submitted) their applications! With people working on their applications, some questions have come up, especially around the non-academic sections of the application. We hope these answers will help.

1. For the Research Publications and Presentations section, the Help Guide says I should only include publications on which I was a first or second author. What should I do about publications on which I was third, fourth, fifth, etc. author?

We suggest integrating a note about your involvement in these publications into the description of your research work or research volunteer experiences. That way we will be aware of your work and you will not have to put something in the Research Publications and Presentations section that doesn’t meet the guidelines.

2. I’ve never presented my research work at a conference, but I have done a presentation or two about it more informally (like in a lab group or as a guest presenter in a class). Should I include this kind of presentation in the Research Publications and Presentations section?

The Research Publications and Presentations section is intended for more formal presentations at conferences. If you have room in the description of the related research activity, you could mention the presentations there.

3. Should I include abstracts in the Research Publications and Presentations section?

Abstracts should not be included in the Research Publications and Presentations section. If there was an oral presentation or poster presentation associated with the abstract you can put the presentation in the Research Publications and Presentations section, but we do not have a separate category for abstracts anymore. If you think the abstract is important to mention, we recommend including it in the description of the relevant research activity.

4. I received an award that allowed me to receive a salary while doing research. Should I list it both in Awards and Employment History?

This one is a bit tricky – we consider this type of award to be more of a stipend than a traditional award, so we would say it’s not really necessary to put it in the Awards section (although you won’t be penalized if you do).  The research experience should be included in the Employment History section for sure and you can mention the award in the title or description.

5. I can’t find a website for my award.

Please put the website of the awarding organization, department or office instead.

6. I’ve completed the MCAT page of the application but don’t see my MCAT scores.

All applicants must release their scores to UBC using the THx system. After you release your scores, we manually upload them into the application system. We are currently uploading scores twice per week.

7. Is the AGPA based on the credits with grades I have now or will have at the end of April?

It’s based on the credits with grades you have now (excluding summer 2015 courses). There are definitely exceptions, but in general people are eligible for the AGPA after they have completed 120 credits. For most people this means you would be eligible when you apply after finishing your fourth year of university.

8. If I have attended, am attending or will be starting medical school at a different institution can I still apply?

You can apply as long as you did not withdraw from the medical school due to academic reasons. Please write a short paragraph about the details of your attendance in the appropriate box on the application. Note that applying to our program means you will start over in Year 1 if accepted.