For those of you who unfortunately did not make it to the interview stage, we do realize how disappointed you must feel and recognize that many of you may have questions. The Admissions Office is unable to provide any further information about our evaluation process, but here are answers to some of the most frequent questions we are asked at this stage.
I received a Regrets, No Interview letter with my academic and non-academic scores. Can I get more information on the definition of these scores?
We cannot provide any further details or specifics regarding the results of your file evaluation. There is detailed information on our evaluation criteria, including non-academic scoring, listed on our website: http://www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_ugrad/MD_Undergraduate_Admissions/Evaluation_Criteria.htm
You may also find it helpful to review the Interim Statistics on our website to assist you in determining the competiveness of your file: http://www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_ugrad/MD_Undergraduate_Admissions/MD_Undergraduate_Admissions_Statistics.htm
I was not invited for an interview; can I talk/meet with someone to discuss my application?
Due to limited resources, we regret that we are not able to offer any feedback advising to applicants who were not granted an interview, nor can we provide any further information about the evaluation of your file. It’s obviously not as satisfactory, but you may wish to attend any of the small group information sessions offered at all of our distributed sites (dates, times & locations are listed on our website). Although these sessions are generally geared to prospective applicants, those considering reapplying may also find them helpful.
I think that there has been a mistake in the academic evaluation of my file.
This year, with the new on-line application, the academic evaluation was based on the credits and grades entered by applicants. If you believe that there has been a specific error, please send an email via the on-line application detailing what you believe the mistake to be. Please note that some applicants entered wrong information – eg. did not include all courses, excluded failed courses or used letter grades instead of percentages. In these instances the Admissions Office had to correct these mistakes by verifying courses and grades on official transcripts. Therefore, there may be a discrepancy between averages calculated by an applicant & the grades as they appear on the Application Status page of his/her application.
The calculation of the AQ Score is automatically performed by the online application system, so as long as your OGPA or AGPA (if applicable) is correct, your AQ Score is also correct. Your AQ Score might seem low, but if your OGPA or AGPA is right then your AQ Score is right, too. As an additional note try not to compare your AQ score to the one you received last cycle – remember that this year there is no Last 60 credits component, and the score is out of 50 this year rather than 25, so it’s not a very useful comparison.
I thought I should have been eligible for the Adjusted Academic Average to determine my academic score, but it does not seem to have been used.
The AGPA was calculated based on the courses & grades entered by applicants. The on-line system automatically determined (a) the lowest academic year which could be eliminated and (b) if this year could be dropped (i.e. that there were still 90 remaining credits). The Admissions Office verified that grades had been entered accurately by comparison with the official transcripts.
My overall is slightly below the cut-offs posted but I still feel my non-academic experiences are very strong and should have been reviewed.
Although we look for excellent non-academic qualities, these must also be accompanied by very good academic qualities to demonstrate an applicant’s ability to successfully handle the rigorous MD Undergraduate curriculum. It was determined that a lower AQ score (below 75% for BC and below 80% for OOP) cannot be offset by a strong NAQ score; hence these files were not reviewed.
I attended a university that did not use percentages for its grading scheme. How did UBC calculate averages from universities with different grading schemes?
Please see information on our grade conversions: http://www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_ugrad/MD_Undergraduate_Admissions/Evaluation_Criteria.htm]
I am not happy with the non-academic score I received, can I request another review?
We appreciate that you may be dissatisfied with the scoring of the non-academic portion of your file, but would like to assure you that the non-academic portion of your application was reviewed and evaluated fairly and consistently. We will not re-evaluate the non-academic section of your file. At the beginning of each cycle, with guidelines provided by the Admissions Policy Committee, we establish a profile of an average applicant as a benchmark and points are allotted accordingly. Reviewers are trained and files are cross-checked. Although there cannot help but be a degree of subjectivity involved, we feel the standardized process keeps this to a minimum.
I was not invited for an interview and would like to appeal the decision.
We realize the importance of your application and appreciate that the results may be disappointing. Please be aware that we do our best to ensure that our evaluation practices are fair and consistent. Files are often double and sometimes triple checked to ensure accuracy. While we are unable to discuss your application over the phone, you may email Admissions through your on-line application if you have any specific concerns regarding your file evaluation. Please note that we will not re-evaluate the non-academic section of your file. We will not make appointments with the Dean, Associate Dean, Director or an Advisor/Coordinator to discuss your application.
I’m not sure if I am seeing the right thing under the Scores line on my Application Status page.
The scores you see depend on your application status (refer to the interview decision email you received if you aren’t sure about your specific application status). Applicants whose files are ineligible and applicants invited for an interview don’t see any scores, so their Scores line says “no scores found.” Applicants whose application status is Partial File Review can see their OGPA, and if they are eligible for it, their AGPA. Applicants with an application status of Regrets, No Interview see several scores: OGPA, AGPA (if eligible), AQ Score, NAQ Score, and TFR Score.
You may also wish to review the FAQ section on our website: http://www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_ugrad/MD_Undergraduate_Admissions/Frequently_Asked_Questions.htm