Admissions Blog

Offers 2016 – Round 2 Sent

By Admissions on May 26, 2016 We sent the second round of offers today. Congratulations to everyone who received one! The deadline for this round is Thursday, June 2 at noon Pacific Time; the next round of offers will go out after this deadline. It is hard to be on the waitlist and we know waitlisted applicants are eager for any information we can provide, but unfortunately we cannot say how many people declined, how many offers were sent out, etc. Permalink | No Comments

Waitlist Questions 2015/2016

By Admissions on May 12, 2016

Every school treats their waitlist differently and we hope these FAQs will help to answer some common questions about our waitlist. These questions are mostly reprinted from an earlier post – we have not made changes to how we handle the waitlist this year.

Waitlist questions: applicants who have an application status of Waitlisted

1. Can you tell me where I am on the waitlist? How long is the waitlist?

No, sorry. Our waitlist is more complicated than most due to the four sites, and we don’t reveal where applicants are on it, how long it is, how quickly it’s moving, etc.

2. When will you send the next round of offers?

It will be after the deadline for this round (Wednesday, May 25). We will try to send them on Thursday the 26^th or Friday the 27^th and will update the blog when the next round has gone out.

3. I am on the waitlist but received an offer from another Canadian medical school. Can I accept the offer at the other institution but still remain on the waitlist for UBC?

Yes, that’s fine. If you get an offer from UBC and want to accept it you will need to withdraw your acceptance from the other school.

4. How long will I be on the waitlist?

That really depends on how many people decline their offers. We don’t give estimates or chances or anything like that to applicants because we don’t know how many people will decline, either. We usually try to shorten the waitlist at some point during the summer, but unfortunately it’s possible to stay on the waitlist until late August.

Waitlist questions: applicants who have received an offer

1. I received an offer, but it wasn’t to my first choice site. What are my options?

a. You can accept the offer and most likely stay on the waitlist for your first choice site (and second choice and third choice sites, if applicable). There are a couple of rare exceptions, which is why we say you will “most likely” stay on the waitlist – applicants who selected the NMP but did not complete the Rural Training section of the application will not be waitlisted for the NMP, for example. However, the majority of applicants will be on the waitlist for their preferred site(s). This happens automatically so you don’t need to contact us about it. Please note that if you accept the offer, you are agreeing to go to the site listed on your Response to Offer form. You will not be able to change sites unless you get another offer.

b. You can decline the offer to that site and most likely stay on the waitlist for your more preferred site(s). Same as above – the vast majority of applicants will be waitlisted for their preferred site(s), and this will happen automatically. The difference is that you are declining the offer and the site. This is taking a risk since you may not get an offer to a more preferred site, but sometimes you know a particular site just won’t work for you, and in this case it’s better to free up the spot for someone else.

c. You could decline UBC completely. This would remove you from the waitlist and you would not get any further offers from us.

d. You could not submit the Response to Offer form at all (although we would prefer you did!). Not submitting the form removes you from the waitlist for your preferred site(s) and prevents you from receiving any other offers from UBC.

1.  Is my position on the waitlist of my preferred site(s) affected by accepting or declining an offer to a less-preferred site?

No, your position is the same whether you accept or decline the offer.

3. What if I have accepted an offer to my second (or third or fourth) choice and have decided I want to stay there? Do I have accept an offer to my first choice site if I get one?

No, you can stay at a less-preferred site if you want. We will take you off the waitlist for your preferred site(s). Please email us to let us know, but be aware that this decision is final and you will not be able to be put back on the waitlist for your first (or second, etc) choice site.

4. What if I have received an offer to my first choice site but I want to go to my second (or third or fourth) choice? 

If you receive an offer to your first choice site you will have to stick with that site. You won’t be given any other offers. This assumes you have not already accepted an offer to the second (or third or forth) choice site – if you have please see #3 above.

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Offer Notifications Sent 2015/2016

By Admissions on May 11, 2016

All of the offer notifications have been sent and all applicants should know the admission decision on their file. Regardless of what type of news you received today, we would like to thank you for applying to UBC and participating in our process throughout this cycle. Our applicants are very impressive and while we are happy we can invite many of them to join the class, we always wish there were room for more. For applicants who wish to reapply for 2016/2017, the application will open in mid-June.

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Easy Courses

By Admissions on Mar 01, 2016

Academic rigor is a complex matter. Online and offline, we have heard a lot from applicants about their concern that new applicants to our program will achieve higher GPAs by taking easy courses instead of organic chemistry and biochemistry. Other people have pointed out that “easy” vs “hard” is subjective and differs from person to person. We agree – different people are strong in different areas, and there is usually a correlation between what one finds easy and what one is good at. In addition, there is the issue of different institutions, different faculties, different departments, different sections, and different course instructors and markers. An “easy” course at one school might be a “hard” course elsewhere.

At the same time, some applicants try to seek out classes that have a reputation for being easy. This isn’t going to change, and we were hoping the last post would give applicants who had a specific concern about this in light of the prerequisite changes a chance to say which courses they were worried about. It’s interesting for us to hear which courses are considered easy and which are considered hard, even if we cannot say a course is objectively easy or objectively hard.

In the last post we mentioned that the committee will be looking more carefully at your courses. Although we may not be able to say that one particular class is easy or hard, we can see if a transcript seems to indicate an unusual pattern of course-taking. For example, are there a lot of repeated courses, or a large number of lower-level courses that seem kind of random? This wouldn’t be something like taking electives in different areas to fulfill requirements in your major or taking a few post-degree courses out of personal interest. Additionally, courses taken toward a specific major or minor wouldn’t raise concerns. We also understand that the only way to raise a GPA is by taking additional courses and we don’t expect everyone to pursue an additional degree to do this (although if you need to take a substantial number of courses to boost your average, it is in your best interest to do so, as it shows dedication to a particular subject and you are less likely to have your course selection questioned). It’s really more about a pattern of course selection that suggests the applicant is reluctant to face challenging course material.

If you are worried that your course selection may raise concerns, there is an opportunity at the end of the application to explain exceptional circumstances affecting your degree. You may use this section to provide a brief explanation for your course selection, unless you have something more pressing to write about.

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Prerequisite Changes – GPA Concerns

By Admissions on Jan 29, 2016

We have received a lot of feedback around the idea that because the science prerequisites are no longer required, applicants will not take them and will take easy classes to boost their GPA instead.

It seems that many individuals are worried about others finding ways to “game” the system. We think this is no real change. In fact, some applicants have been trying to find easy ways to meet admissions requirements for many years (if not forever). But the truth is that applying to medical school is hard. It takes a lot of energy and there aren’t easy ways out. We assume that all applicants have taken a mix of easy and difficult classes as a part of their degree.  It would very uncommon for an entire degree program to offer nothing but easy courses, so it is likely that you’ll have to take at least a few hard courses if you want to work towards an undergraduate degree.

We think the concern is mostly centered around organic chemistry and biochemistry, since first-year biology and chemistry don’t seem to be considered difficult courses. Applicants who completely avoid organic chemistry and biochemistry will now have about 12 credits they can fill/have already filled with different courses. 12 credits can certainly make a difference in one’s GPA, but it’s important to consider the fact that many applicants have done well in their organic chemistry and biochemistry courses – often just as well as they would have done taking different courses. In addition, we are still expecting applicants to show competency in organic chemistry and biochemistry, either through the MCAT, coursework, or both.

Finally, because the science prerequisites are no longer required, the selection committee will be taking a closer look at your transcript. They will be looking at your science courses but will also notice if 50% of your coursework is comprised of juggling and basket-weaving courses (or the university-transferable equivalents thereof).

If you’re still not convinced and are particularly concerned about a specific course or courses, we would like to hear from you. Which courses should we look for? Let us know the courses you think are easy/give high grades (at any institution). This is subjective and we are not saying that these courses will be of particular note to the selection committee, so don’t worry if a course you have taken ends up in the comments. You are of course free to disagree in the comments as well. This issue definitely concerns a number of applicants, so please consider this an opportunity to tell us what types of courses you are concerned might replace organic chemistry and biochemistry on the transcripts of new applicants. If there are any classes that you feel are particularly difficult, feel free to leave a comment about that as well.

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