2017/2018 General Questions Post

This post is a chance to ask general questions about the application and to learn from the questions others have posted. If you have a specific question about your particular situation, please message us through the application system instead. Remember to check the Help Guide before posting or messaging!

We will disable comments to posts from the previous application cycle in late summer, so please post your 2017/2018 questions here.

63 responses to “2017/2018 General Questions Post”

  1. Jen G

    I registered as a “new applicant” using the same email and password as my application from last year (I logged into my application from last year to make sure I had the correct password remembered), received the verification email and verified my “new” account, and now can’t log on.. I used the “forgot password” option and the email and password that the system emailed me are what I’ve been trying.. Am I doing something wrong?

    1. Admissions

      Could you please email us? We can help you troubleshoot individually.

  2. Mike

    is there going to be a round 6 this year?

  3. Lawrence

    Hello! I volunteered for a long time in the past at a small organization. Because of the nature of the volunteer position, I eventually became friends with my supervisor (who would be my most appropriate reference and able to speak about my abilities/responsibilities/role) and with everyone else there since it was such a small group of us. I’ve volunteered in this position for many years in various positions and as it’s my main volunteer position, I am hoping to get a reference letter from them. Can I still use said supervisor for a reference letter (as I reported directly to her and she would, consequently, would be the most appropriate person to speak to my abilities) even if she is now my friend as long as she retains the ability to remain objective and impartial? Thanks.

    1. Admissions

      It would be best to find a different supervisor at the organization, or, if you really are friends with everyone there, perhaps consider a supervisor from a different experience altogether. We understand that working closely together often leads to personal friendships – there’s nothing wrong with that, and ‘supervisor-friends’ can be used as activity verifiers. However, the reference form is more in-depth and personal. This can make it challenging for supervisors to remain impartial, in spite of their best efforts to do so.

      1. Lawrence

        Thank you for your reply! If I had no other option in terms of referees from volunteer positions and were to use individuals who were previous supervisors who are now friends, how will this impact my application? Will my application be disqualified or rejected? Or will my application be viewed negatively? Will it prevent me from receiving a spot in the 2022 class? Thanks!

        1. Admissions

          It is up to the applicant to choose referees using the guidelines provided each year to applicants invited to interview. Using a friend for a referee would not be considered an appropriate referee choice, but we cannot say exactly what impact this might have on your application.

  4. Alex

    Can you comment on whether CASPER is going to be implemented this cycle or in the near future at UBC? Some people are saying that “from a fairly reliable source, UBC is almost at the final stages of implementing CASPer for this cycle”. It seems unprofessional for some applicants to get inside information regarding the application process before it is announced to everyone.

    1. Admissions

      We cannot speak to other UBC programs, but at this time, MD Admissions has no plans to implement CASPer. Please remember that information shared on applicant forums can be inaccurate.

      1. Alex

        Thanks so much! I’ve appreciated how up front UBC is about their policies and the application process. I figured it was just a rumour, otherwise there would have been an official announcement or something 🙂

  5. ConcernedPremed

    There’s a rumour going around that CASPer may be implemented for the 2017/18 application cycle. Can anyone on the admissions committee comment?

    1. Admissions

      That is just a rumour – MD Admissions is not implementing CASPer for the 2017/2018 application cycle.

  6. June

    I have completed several unpaid, full time “internships” with non-profit organisations. Would this fall under volunteer/non-academic experience or employment? I have been having trouble discerning which section to list them under on the application. Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      Please enter unpaid work in the Non-Academic Activities section. Paid work should go in Employment History.

  7. Taylor Ricci

    As I am working through the application I am trying to figure out how to edit information I have entered from the “Awards” section down? (I have not submitted yet)

    1. Admissions

      After you add an entry, there will be an edit button or a link that says “Edit” somewhere near the entry you added. Click the button or link to re-open the entry for editing. Please note that when you are initially adding the entry, you must click the Add button, not just the Save and Continue button. If you click Save and Continue before clicking Add your entries will not be added.

      Message us if you need more help!

      1. Taylor Ricci

        Thank you very much!

  8. Sam

    Hello;
    I have completed 4 years of a bachelor’s degree (120 credits) and I am in process of completing a professional degree (going into year 3).
    [1] Does my GPA for years 1 and 2 of my professional degree get incorporated into the GPA calculations in addition to my Bachelor degree’s GPA?
    [2] do I need proof of completion of my professional degree first before applying to MD (just like graduate students?) or can I leave my professional degree unfinished and start MD (if I get admission)?
    thanks.

    1. Admissions

      Could you please email us? We will need more information about the professional degree before we could answer your question.

      1. Sam

        for sure. Thank you!

  9. Sam

    I know the Help guide says to not use the same verifier for multiple activities. My volunteer supervisor is aware of one of my solo hobbies/extracurricular activities and is able to verify my involvement as she has known me for a number of years. However, I’m also using her as my verifier for the volunteer activity that she supervises. Does this seem like an instance where it’s appropriate to use the same verifier?

    Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      If you feel the person is the most appropriate person to verify your activity then it would be fine as long as you are not using the same verifier for numerous entries.

  10. Taylor

    For courses taken after June 1st 2017 what category is preferred to be selected for the “Grade” section: “Incomplete (Not in Progress)” or leave it blank with nothing selected?

    1. Admissions

      You should enter the courses taken after June 1, 2017 but mark them as not completed (even if you have completed them). You are not required to enter any grades once you have checked off not completed.

  11. Ray Shiro

    I am involved in a few activities that do not fall under official employment by an employer; however, I do get paid for my services and my work done. I do report these as income under self-employment during tax season; however, am wondering if these fit better under Non-Academic Activities or Employment History should I choose to include them in my application?

    Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      Since the work is paid, please enter these activities under Employment History.

  12. Christina

    If you’ve worked as a contractor for multiple companies doing the same job, who should be chosen as a verifier? In order to verify all of the hours, I would need to include 4 different people but there is only a space to leave one verifier.

    1. Admissions

      Please make a separate entry for each company.

  13. Kristina

    I was offered and accepted the UBC Faculty of Medicine SSRP award on May 19, 2017 for a project starting on June 1, 2017. However, the actual award cheque was not made available until July. Can I still include this award (where funding began from June 1, 2017) even though the actual monetary award was not given until after June 1, 2017?

    1. Admissions

      This sounds like a stipend to fund research work, which would go in Employment History. Since the project started on June 1, 2017, you may include the experience in Employment History as long as you limit the description to the the work you actually completed on June 1.

  14. Kayla

    I worked on a research project for three months (full-time unpaid) for a practicum project for my program and am unclear as to where I should put this in my application. I see where it says “Please note that a practicum does not count as a co-op experience. A practicum is considered an academic program requirement and is not a non-academic experience, even if it relates to health care” but does that mean I should put it under employment, even if it was unpaid, or under non-academic but note that course credit was received for the project? I understand it is related to academic experiences, but as it still required applications, interviews, and was a free-standing separate project separate from my classroom academic activities, it seems that it should fit somewhere

    1. Admissions

      Since practicums are completed in order to meet academic program requirements, we consider them to be academic activities. We therefore ask that they not be included in the non-academic or employment history sections of applications. The credit you received for your practicum work will show on your transcript.

      1. Kayla

        That seems strange considering people spend 40+ hours per week working for 4 months in a practicum on projects that often result in reports and deliverables that cannot be shown elsewhere in the application, and therefore their time during this 4 months will instead appear to be “blank” on the application (i.e. 4 months with no relevant work or volunteer experience). Either way, in the transcript section, how do you indicate that a “course” was a practicum? Should you list it as co-op, or as a “pass”? There doesn’t seem to be a “practicum” option, so I’m unsure how the committee will understand that a practicum was even completed as opposed to a course taken for pass/fail.

        1. Admissions

          In terms of indicating that a course was a practicum, there is no “Practicum” grade option to select. However, the title of practicum courses are often “Practicum” or something similar, so we will be able to see by looking at your transcript that a practicum experience was part of your educational program. To input the course in the Transcript section, you would enter the practicum course the way it appears on your transcript. If you received a grade, you would enter the grade; if the course was graded as pass/fail, you would choose Pass or Fail (Pass/Fail) as applicable. If there was no mark given at all you could select Completed. Co-op is not the same, so please do not select Co-op. If you need further help entering your particular practicum course, please message us.

  15. Sam

    Hi!

    I was wondering which box we click to have our transcripts forwarded from our previous year’s application? I can’t seem to locate it.

    Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      It is a bit hidden! On the Additional Information tab, there is a question that asks if you’ve applied before. If you select “Yes,” then select 2016/2017, a new checkbox that says “Please transfer my transcripts…” will pop up. This is the box you need to check to have your transcripts transferred to your new file.

  16. Angel

    I helped out my parents and did unpaid work on my family’s pigeon farm ever since I was a child. It was a small family business and the only employees were my mother, father, and brother. I would like to list this experience as a Service Ethic entry. In this case, is it appropriate to use my brother as a verifier? Thank you.

    1. Admissions

      If all of the workers at the business were family members, please use the family member who was most like your supervisor as a verifier.

  17. Joseph

    Hello! Could you please clarify the credit requirement section? In my fifth year I do not plan on being a full time student (instead, being a part-time student to complete my degree and sustaining a paid position). I’ve heard some sort of rumor that this means that credits/courses I take in my fifth year cannot be included in the application/ineligible for consideration in GPA, or will possibly have a negative impact on the GPA assessment even if it does raise my GPA/AGPA. Is this true?

    1. Admissions

      The rumour mill strikes again! Your part-time courses would be included in the GPA calculations (assuming they were completed before June 1 of the year you apply) and would not be treated any differently than courses taken full time for your OGPA and AGPA. Full-time study is not required to apply; however, if you have had part-time terms, we do ask you to explain them on the application just as you did above so we can understand your situation better.

  18. Linda

    I worked at a retail store, however after contacting them as a verifier, I was told that they cannot disclose the length of period I worked for, they can only verify that I have been employed by them. How do I go about this?

    1. Admissions

      This is unusual – could you please email or message us?

  19. Jeffrey

    Hello,

    I just had a general question about the NAQ evaluation process. I’m a bit confused because compared to last year, I dropped 3 points in my NAQ score even though my application was identical, but a bit better (more hours/length of time). Is this because of the differences in evaluators or is it more based on the applicant pool each year? Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      NAQ scores can fluctuate, but this is primarily due to differences in the applicant pool from one year to the next and revisions to how we score, such as differences in the average applicant profile reviewers use to help score the non-academic sections. In terms of evaluators, file reviewers are carefully trained, files are cross-checked to ensure accuracy, and the NAQ score is standardized to make up for any scoring variations between evaluators.

  20. Jisung Kim

    Can a PhD Thesis that has been accepted for publication prior to Jun 1, 2017 be included as part of the Publications in the application?

    1. Jisung Kim

      If yes, what should be put under “Periodical or Conference Name” section?

      1. Admissions

        A PhD thesis that was published prior to the June 1 cut-off can be included as a publication on your application. In instances where the thesis is published to a university repository (such as UBC cIRcle) as a part of the requirements for completing a PhD program, please make sure that you check the “Part of Program Requirements” box in the entry.

        1. Jisung Kim

          What about a US patent that I published? Can this also be included under “Research Publications and Presentations” section? or do you recommend talking about it in “Non-Academic Activities”?

          1. Admissions

            Please use the guidelines provided in the Help Guide and the dropdown menu items available in the Research Publications and Presentations section to determine which category would be most appropriate.

  21. Kate

    Minor question: The Research Publications/Presentations section asks us start with our most recent publications/presentations. Oddly, the entry added first ends up at the bottom of the list… Should we be entering the most recent publications/presentations first (so they appear at the bottom) or last (so they appear at the top)…? Thank you in advance!

    1. Admissions

      Please enter the most recent publications/presentations first. It’s ok if the application system sorts them in a particular way.

  22. Kim

    For the diversity of experiences section, if I participate in a solo hobby and my only option is to ask a friend who knows me well to verify, what would be appropriate to write in the ‘contact’s job title’ section?

    1. Admissions

      You may write friend. We understand that in some rare cases, a friend is an appropriate verifier.

  23. Blake

    Does the admissions committee look down upon taking electives (not at all related to major or medicine) as a Cr/D/F ?

    1. Admissions

      We discourage applicants from taking English as Cr/D/F, but it’s your choice as to other courses. Just keep in mind that Cr/D/F courses do not provide the committee with the same amount of information as a graded courses do. They are also not included in GPA calculations, and do not count toward the 90-credit minimum requirement.

  24. Alex B

    I want to include/describe some of my responsibilities as a graduate student in my application. I am getting paid through scholarships for my work. I am wondering if this best fits into the “Employment” section or if I can use this experience to describe my leadership abilities in the “Non-Academic Activities” section. Thank you for your help!

    1. Admissions

      Paid work should go in the Employment History section. You may mention your funding source(s) in the description if you would like. Please keep in mind that we look through your Employment History for evidence of the same characteristics we are looking for when we review your Non-Academic Activities, such as leadership, capacity to work with others, etc.

  25. Emmanuel

    In the personal information section there is a place to describe address, would this refer to the place of permanent residency or current residency?

    1. Admissions

      Please put your current address. You can update this address if it changes by going to your Profile tab.

  26. Erik

    Hi, I’m just wondering when the admission statistics will be posted for med 2021? Thanks

    1. Admissions

      They are posted! Thanks for your patience.

  27. Hailey

    Hi! I’m considering asking a course instructor for an academic reference, who also happens to be me Co-op supervisor currently. I’m wondering if the latter would make him an inappropriate reference. He did teach me in a classroom setting and he does not supervise me directly as part of co-op. Thanks!

    1. Admissions

      It’s ok that he is also your co-op supervisor; that does not make your course instructor an inappropriate reference. For clarity, he can mention both roles in the reference, but it is important that he complete the reference as your course instructor, focusing on his assessment of you as a student rather than as an employee.

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