The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
UBC Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program Expansion
By Admissions on February 17, 2023 Last year, the Government of BC announced the expansion of UBC’s MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) by 40 seats, and postgraduate medical residency training programs (PGME) by up to 88 seats, which will be phased in across the province beginning in 2023.This expansion will create greater access and opportunities for students and resident doctors to learn, train and stay on to practice in communities around B.C. This will in turn help meet the health care needs of families and communities across the province today and well into the future. The MD Undergraduate Program Expansion consists of two phases: Phase 1 (2022-2023 Admissions Cycle): 18 new seats will be added to the MDUP for a total of 306 seats. The seats will be regionally distributed across the province as follows:
- Island Medical Program by 4 (from 32 seats to 36);
- Northern Medical Program by 4 (from 32 seats to 36);
- Southern Medical Program by 4 (from 32 seats to 36);
- Vancouver Fraser Medical Program by 6 (from 192 seats to 198); and
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- 38 seats will be designated for the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program- Fraser Medical Cohort Year 3 Clinical Clerkship.
- Island Medical Program by 4 (from 36 seats to 40);
- Northern Medical Program by 4 (from 36 seats to 40);
- Southern Medical Program by 4 (from 36 seats to 40);
- Vancouver Fraser Medical Program by 10 (from 198 to 208); and
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- 48 seats will be designated for the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program- Fraser Medical Cohort Year 3 Clinical Clerkship.
1. How will expansion affect the number of positions designated for Northern and Rural applicants? We are pleased to share that the following seats in the MDUP will be designated for applicants applying through the Northern and Rural Pathway:
Phase 1 (2022-2023 application cycle):
- Northern Medical Program all 36 seats;
- Southern Medical Program up to 12 seats;
- Island Medical Program up to 3 seats;
- Vancouver Fraser Medical Program- Fraser Medical Cohort up to 2 seats
- Northern Medical Program all 40 seats;
- Southern Medical Program up to 14 seats;
- Island Medical Program up to 4 seats; and
- Vancouver Fraser Medical Program – Fraser Medical Cohort up to 4 seats
2. How will expansion affect the number of positions designated for out-of-province applicants?
Up to 10 per cent of seats in the MDUP are designated for out-of-province applicants. This means that in the 2022-2023 application cycle up to a total of 31 positions will be available to out-of-province applicants. In the 2023-2024 application cycle up to a total of 33 positions will be available to out-of-province applicants.
3. Will postgraduate medical residency training programs (PGME) also be expanding? Yes, UBC’s PGME programs will be expanded by up to 88 new positions. Initially, the UBC Family Medicine Residency program will be expanded over the next two years, bringing the program total from 174 seats to up to 214 seats. These positions will be regionally distributed across UBC’s family medicine residency training locations throughout the province. A further increase in residency seats, which mirrors the MDUP expansion, will be phased in to add another 48 postgraduate medical education positions for family medicine and other specialties, with a particular focus on the unique health care needs of communities across the province. Permalink | No Comments
Pre-Interview Evaluation Information & FAQs 2022/2023
By Admissions on December 13, 2022
For those of you who received letters of regret this year, or those of you wondering what information you may receive if you do not receive an invitation to interview, we hope the following information helps to clarify some of the information we release to applicants about how their application was evaluated in the pre-interview assessment. Please note that on occasion we do make changes to how we share information and what information is shared, but we hope it provides some useful insight into the types of information provided this year (2022-2023).
OGPA = Overall GPA in UBC percentage
AGPA = Adjusted GPA in UBC percentage
NAQ Score Range = In order to make sure applicants receive a fair score for this section, all file reviewers are carefully trained, there are various checks throughout the process to ensure consistency in marking, and results are standardized to make up for any scoring variations between reviewers. Due to these safeguards we do not accept requests for re-evaluation of the non-academic section.
My Result = The combination of your academic and non-academic evaluations, in comparison to the BC resident and out of province cutoffs. It may look like your result is very close to the cutoff. We have double-checked these files for accuracy, so unfortunately, your result may be close, but not quite at the level to be invited to interview this year.
FAQs
Feedback
I was not invited for an interview; can I talk/meet with someone to discuss my application? I would like some more feedback.
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. More information about how we assess academics and non-academics can be found on our Evaluation Criteria page. The Interim Statistics on our Statistics page contain the average GPAs of the applicant pool and the group invited to interview.
I can tell why I didn’t get an interview, but how can I improve that area of my application?
Unfortunately, we cannot give you individual feedback about improving specific sections of your application – each person’s situation and application is unique and we do not have the resources to offer this type of advising to all applicants who would like it.
In general terms, improving one’s GPA seems fairly straightforward, in that the only way to improve a GPA is by taking more classes and achieving higher grades in those classes. It’s the related if/how/when/why/is it worth it type of questions that are much more complicated. You know your situation, capacities, future plans, and personal resources the best, and you are the best person to make this kind of decision. We cannot tell you what impact improving your GPA would have on your ultimate chances of acceptance.
If you do decide to take more classes, please keep a few things in mind: 1) all classes you take must be university transferable and have grades associated with them in order to count towards your GPA; 2) only classes completed before the summer term of the year you apply (for next application cycle this is prior to Summer 2023) will be counted towards your GPA.
For the non-academic portion, we look for several things: longstanding, meaningful commitments; leadership; work experience; service ethic and altruism; ability to work with others, especially people outside of your peer group; and diverse interests and experiences. We also recognize exceptional achievements in some areas. When looking at your non-academic range it is important to remember that the applicant pool isn’t made up of the same people you might normally compare yourself against, like your classmates or coworkers – it is made up of highly accomplished individuals just like you. Unfortunately, we cannot offer specific ways to improve your non-academic score. You may find it helpful to reflect on areas of the non-academic section you felt confident completing, along with the areas of your application you felt were more difficult to fill out. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to re-read the non-academic information posted on the Evaluation Criteria page and use this self-reflection to guide potential future action.
GPA
I think that there has been a mistake in the academic evaluation of my file.
The academic evaluation was based on the credits and grades entered by applicants. If you believe that there has been a specific error in the calculation of your GPA, please send an email via the application system detailing what you believe the mistake to be. Please note that some applicants entered wrong information – e.g. 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 and the grades as they appear on the Application Status page of their application. Additionally, please remember that any courses taken in the Winter Term 2 of the 2019-2020 academic year (or equivalent semester) were not counted as part of your GPA assessment. This policy is listed in the Academic Criteria section of the Evaluation Criteria page on our website. We also wrote a blog entry about it in the summer of 2020. If you are wondering how it was implemented in your specific case, please review this website for more information.
I thought I should have been eligible for the AGPA to determine my academic score, but it does not seem to have been used.
The AGPA was calculated based on the courses and grades entered by applicants. The application system automatically determined whether the applicant was eligible for the AGPA, as outlined on the Evaluation Criteria page. Please note that the AGPA is based on completed courses with grades only, and does not include courses completed after June 1, 2022. The Admissions Office verified that grades had been entered accurately by comparison with the official transcripts.
My overall GPA (or adjusted GPA if applicable) is slightly below the 75%/85% cut-off 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 GPAs below 75% for BC residents and below 85% for out of province applicants cannot be offset by a strong NAQ score. Hence, the non-academic portion of 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?
Information on grade conversions, including our grade conversion tables, can be found on the Evaluation Criteria page of our website.
Non-Academics
I am not happy with the non-academic range I received. Can I request another review?
We understand that you may be dissatisfied with the range you received, but we 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.
General
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 message Admissions through the application system 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, Assistant Dean, or Admissions staff to discuss your application.
I’m not sure if I am seeing the right thing under the scores line on my Application Status page.
This is what you should see, depending on your application status:
Ineligible: no results
Regrets, Partial File Review: OGPA, AGPA (if applicable)
Regrets, No Interview: OGPA, AGPA (if applicable), NAQ Score Range, and My Result indicator
Invited to Interview: no results
Permalink | No CommentsOffers 2022 – Waitlist Shortened
By Admissions on August 9, 2022
The waitlist was shortened today. Although it’s never easy to receive disappointing news, we hope that being informed of the final decision on their application will help applicants who are no longer on the waitlist move on to their future plans. Waitlisted applicants who did not receive an application status update today are still on the waitlist. While there is a chance that a position will open up in the class, it is best for these applicants to think about their future plans as well.
Permalink | No CommentsOffers 2022 – Round 5 Sent
By Admissions on June 20, 2022
We sent the fifth round of offers today; congratulations to everyone who received an offer! The deadline for this round is Friday, June 24th at 12:00 p.m. (noon) PDT, and we will send the next round sometime after this deadline.
Permalink | No Comments2022/2023 Application Cycle Open
By Admissions on June 17, 2022
The UBC MD Undergraduate Program Application is now OPEN! The application will close September 15, 2022 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Time. The early application deadline is August 2, 2022 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Time.
Early Application Deadline Explanation
Applicants who submit all required documents and fees by August 2, 2022 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Time and who are invited to interview, will receive their interview invitations a day early. We inform applicants whether or not they have met the early deadline, so it can be a good way to receive confirmation that your application is complete in terms of the items that are required by the September 15 application deadline. If you find out that something is missing from your application (like a transcript that never arrived, or your proof of BC residency), you would hopefully have enough time to submit the missing item in time for the regular application deadline. Meeting the early deadline does not give you extra points or any other advantages in how your application is evaluated.
Black Student MD Admissions Pathway
We are excited to announce the launch of the Black Student MD Admissions Pathway. We encourage individuals who self-identify as Black, or multiracial and identify with their Black ancestry, to apply to the MD Undergraduate Program through this pathway. This new pathway will help to address the underrepresentation of Black physicians in British Columbia and any barriers that Black applicants may face during the admissions process.
Please visit our website to learn more about the Black Student Pathway, or contact our Team at BlackPathway.MD@ubc.ca.
Permalink | No Comments