The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
Verifiers
By Admissions on Aug 17, 2016 Some verifiers are easy to choose: your current supervisor, your former coach, your guitar teacher. Others are more problematic. Because the Admissions Office has a responsibility to verify the accuracy of applications in order to ensure fairness for all applicants, we require a verifier for all non-academic, employment, and rural training experiences. However, we recognize that it can be hard to find a verifier for some entries. We hope these questions can help if you are struggling with a difficult verifier situation.
- I worked somewhere/did something a long time ago and have lost touch with my supervisor. This is a common problem. Sometimes the organization will keep records, so you might be able to put down the current HR person. Remember, the verifier only needs to be able to confirm the details you list on the application – they don’t have to know you personally or comment on your performance. Alternatively, you might be able to reach out through social media to get in touch with your former supervisor. The ‘last resort’ is to use a coworker. You may do this at your discretion, but please note that in some cases we may contact you to ask for a different verifier. We do not accept things like certificates, newspaper articles, or other non-human forms of verification.
- I have a hobby I usually do on my own. You say not to put yourself down as a verifier, so who should I put? For solo hobbies, you may choose a friend or family member who knows about your hobby.
- I own my own business and work by myself. Since I cannot put myself down as a verifier, who should I pick? A business is more formal than a hobby, so we prefer that you not use a friend or family member. You might consider using someone like an accountant or lawyer who can confirm the basic details of your business. Clients are a bit trickier because they may not know the total number of hours you work or the start and end dates of your business.
- I work for a family business. You say not to use friends or family members as verifiers, so who should I choose? Ideally, you could pick a non-family member who supervised you, but we understand that many family businesses are small and are staffed only by family members. In this case, if there is no one else, you may use the family member who supervised you.
- The only people who can verify my activity are also applying to the MD program. Sorry, applicants should not verify activities for other applicants. Please try to find someone else.
- What happens if the Admissions Office thinks I put down an inappropriate verifier? Will the activity be automatically disregarded? We will not automatically disregard an activity unless you put yourself down as a verifier or enter something like “no verifier”. As long as you have made an honest attempt to list a suitable verifier, we will contact you if we need to verify the activity and we have concerns about the verifier. We are not looking for ways to disregard activities or withhold points – we really want to reward your accomplishments and experiences. We just need to make sure the entries listed are accurate.
Employment History Vs. Non-Academic Activities
By Admissions on Aug 03, 2016
The other day we were perusing PreMed101 and found this conversation. The poster essentially asked forum members if it would make sense to split up his/her work experience into the projects or activities that were required for his/her job and put them in either/both the Non-Academic Activities or Employment History section. As evaluators of non-academic experiences, we humbly request that you do not do this. As stated in the Help Guide, we look through both the Non-Academic Activities section and the Employment History section of the application for the same traits and qualities considered important in generating a non-academic score. When evaluating different experiences it is important for us to understand the context in which you were doing them and the time frame in which you completed them. This also gives the Admissions Selection Committee a better understanding of your background when they are selecting the class post interview.
Remember, we do not know you personally. When you divide one of your experiences into several parts, labeling each a different title, with different hours, and then list them in both the Employment History and Non-Academic Activities sections, you make it seem like you were hired to do independent jobs over a series of months or years, and that you volunteered for the same company for as many hours as you were working, doing similar (but different) tasks, during the same time frame. This is extremely challenging (and confusing) to adjudicate, and often candidates who do this are sent a number of emails from our office clarifying what they actually meant- that they worked for one company, in the same job, for a specific period of time. It’s okay to have only one entry, even if it was a significant life experience. We understand that jobs are multifaceted. In the 350 character box we expect you to provide a specific description of your main duties in your role (use the Non-Academic Activities preamble in the Help Guide to direct you). Unfortunately, you will not be able to fit a description of every project you worked on or person you interacted with. This is fine. We do not need this information to accurately assess your application. The only time you should divide your activity is if you had different roles with the same employer over different time frames (eg. started as a sales associate then became store manager). Or, you did actually volunteer with the organization you also worked for (eg. volunteered as a youth leader for an organization on weekends and worked as their office administrator during the week).
It is not necessary to fill up your Non-Academic Activities/Employment History sections to receive a good non-academic evaluation. It is better to write your application in a clear and concise way. Think of each line like a line on a CV. Each line should be unique, and it should be placed in the category where it seems like the best fit. As stated in the Help Guide, we do not deduct points for things being “out of place.” But it does make our job easier when you follow the instructions as outlined in the Help Guide. If you have any pointers about how we might improve the Help Guide in the future, please let us know. We’re always happy to hear from you. You can comment here or send an email. Thanks!
Permalink | 12 CommentsApplication System Maintenance This Weekend
By Admissions on Jul 18, 2016
The online application system will be undergoing maintenance this weekend and will be intermittently unavailable from Friday, July 22 at 10:00 p.m. to Sunday, July 24 at 11:00 p.m. Applicants attempting to use the system at this time may experience disruptions in service. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Permalink | No CommentsRural and/or Northern Training Section
By Admissions on Jul 07, 2016
The Rural and/or Northern Training section of the application is used to assess applicants’ suitability for training at the Northern Medical Program and the rural seats of the Southern Medical Program. If you are open to training at one of these sites and believe you would be a good candidate, we encourage you to complete this section of the application.
What makes a good candidate? Rural experience, broadly defined. Many applicants have lived, worked, volunteered, or participated in recreational activities in different areas of the province. We are particularly interested in northern, Interior, and/or rural experiences, so we encourage you to include these on your application, even if you are not sure the location is ‘rural enough.’ This goes for all applicants interested in this section, in fact – we evaluate rurality internally, so if you believe something is relevant to this section of the application, please include it even if you are unsure about the location.
Similarly, although many applicants who complete this section are BC residents, we also value rural experience outside of BC. Out-of-province applicants who are interested in northern and/or rural training are equally encouraged to complete this section of the application.
Completing the Rural and/or Northern Training section gives you more options in terms of site selection. Applicants who do not complete this section are not considered for the NMP or the rural SMP seats. However, completing this section does not mean you have to rank NMP and SMP as your top sites, or even rank them at all. It just leaves the door open for you to rank them if you are interested. Applicants are not allowed to go back and complete this section later on, so the only chance you have to complete this section is when you are filling out the application.
For more information about the NMP and SMP, please see the Northern Medical Program and Southern Medical Program websites. As a reminder, all UBC MD Undergraduate Program sites deliver the same curriculum, and students at all sites graduate with an MD from UBC. There is one application for the program. Applicants invited to interview rank their preferred sites during the interview stage of the application process, and applicants are allocated to sites in late spring.
Permalink | 10 CommentsPotential Canada Post Strike
By Admissions on Jul 06, 2016
Due to the potential Canada Post strike, we recommend that applicants who are currently submitting transcripts avoid sending their transcripts via regular mail and choose a different method, such as courier delivery. Applicants in the Vancouver area can also drop off their transcripts in person at our mailing address during the hours listed on our website.
As of now we are not extending the September 15 deadline. We will continue to monitor the situation, but for now all transcripts must arrive by September 15 as usual.
Permalink | No Comments