Admissions Blog

Holiday Closure

By wong79 on Dec 16, 2014 The Admissions Office will be closed from December 24 at noon until January 1 (we will reopen January 2). During the closure, we will not be here to answer emails or phone calls. Please contact us before the holidays if you have questions or need help. Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season! Permalink | No Comments

NAQ Myths Debunked – Part 1

By wong79 on Dec 15, 2014

Hi everyone! We have a confession; from time to time we take a peek at the Premed 101 Forums to get a sense of how many of you are doing and to see if there is anything we can help to clarify. From the chatter over the last couple weeks, we’ve realized that there are many misconceptions floating around the internet, and thought that we would take this opportunity to try and give you some more information about how to write your NAQ application so that you can maximize your score. Also, we hope this provides those of you who were not offered an interview an idea of how to assess yourself and improve for next year, if you are considering reapplying.

We’ re sorry if we’re putting a few of you on the spot, but since Premed 101 is anonymous we’ve decided to pull a few especially problematic speculations about our scoring system and ensure the information you receive is correct. We have a lot of information to share, so this blog post will be split into two parts. Today we’ll focus on concerns around NAQ Wording, and later this week, we’ll share some information about NAQ Scoring.

 

NAQ Wording

“…it’s not important to focus on each EC activity; it’s more about the theme. The reviewers don’t spend hours, let alone several minutes (I have a friend who was a reviewer) on the apps. They’re looking for keywords, themes, and commitment to your work.”- PM101

We are not looking for themes or keywords in your application. What we are looking for is evidence of long term commitments within your community. As you can imagine, there is an obvious difference in commitment, between someone who has volunteered with a homeless shelter for 600 hours over 5 years, and someone who has volunteered with the same organization for 40 hours over 8 months. Even if both of these applicants use the same keywords, the two entries demonstrate significantly different levels of involvement. NAQ evaluators will pick this out no matter how you try to dress up your wording. We also value variety, so you do not need to commit to any one theme. As long as you are committed, on an ongoing basis, to employment or volunteer work (or both) that you find meaningful, this will help contribute to a better score.

That being said, shorter term commitments and extra-curricular interests, such as hobbies, are considered as part of the evaluation, so it is important to be as clear as possible when describing each activity. There are no points awarded for having a theme or narrative. Involvement, commitment, growth, and the ability to go outside your comfort zone are much more important.

 

“I think the wording did contribute as well because I spoke with a bunch of friends who have gotten accepted to UBC. They all mentioned that the wording is very important. Basically from what I gather they look for certain words that describe a physician in the descriptions of each activity.” –PM 101

This is not correct. We do not want you to describe how you are like a physician in your descriptions. What we would like is that you provide a clear, accurate description of what you did in that activity/position. Clarity and accuracy are most important here. We understand that you would like to emphasize that you worked with others, were in caring role, etc., but this will be clear to us from your description.

 

“It seems like everyone swears by CANMED roles, maybe I should have used it when crafting my 150 character responses.” –PM 101

You do not need to reference any CanMEDS competencies in your descriptions. This will just waste space and make your entry more abstract and less clear. CanMEDS are skills expected of fully qualified physicians. While other schools may ask you to comment on them, UBC does not expect these of pre-medical students. There is, of course, some cross over between the qualities we look for and the CanMED competencies, but the connection is not any greater than that.

 

One last note:

Please do not exaggerate your role or commitment to a particular activity. Provide as much detail as you can in the limited space available, but write about what you actually did and what you accomplished. If you are trying to think about how to improve your application, look at the types of experiences you have had and ask what they say about you? If someone was reading your application for the first time, how might they interpret your leadership ability, service ethic, capacity to work with others, the diversity of your experiences, and your high performance achievements? These can be demonstrated in paid or unpaid positions. Also, think about other people you admire. How do they demonstrate these same qualities? How might you emulate them and take your experiences to the next level? We hope this helps you to think outside of the box and improve your application for next year, should you choose to reapply.

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Interview Notifications Sent

By Admissions on Dec 04, 2014

We have sent all of the interview notifications. Congratulations to everyone who received an invite! For applicants who received regrets, we know that it is very disappointing news, but we hope you continue to take pride in your academic and non-academic accomplishments. Unfortunately, the limitations we have on the number of people we can interview and the competitiveness of the applicant pool mean that even applicants with very good grades or impressive non-academics may not make the cutoff. We wish all the best to these applicants as they continue their educational, professional and community activities.

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Pre-Interview Scores & FAQs, 2014/2015

By Admissions on Dec 01, 2014

Applicants who are not invited to interview may want additional feedback on their application. While we are unable to give one-on-one feedback, this explanation of scores might help to answer some questions. Please also see the FAQs below.

OGPA = Overall GPA in UBC percentage
AGPA = Adjusted GPA in UBC percentage
AQ Score = OGPA (if not eligible for AGPA) or AGPA, converted to a number out of 50 (50 is the maximum score). The AQ score is just your OGPA or AGPA, automatically converted to a number out of 50 by our computer system. The exact conversion mechanism is confidential. It is important to emphasize that the calculation is automatically determined so if your OGPA/AGPA is correct, your AQ score is also correct.

If you are a reapplicant, you may be concerned that your AQ score is different from previous applications. However, to reiterate, if your averages are correct, your score is correct. Academic scores, like non-academic scores, are standardized against the current applicant pool, which changes from year to year.

NAQ Score = The score given for the non-academic portions of the application, converted to a number out of 50. 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 the NAQ score is 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.

Every year there are changes in the applicant pool which affect the scoring of the non-academic section. These include the competiveness of the pool, the addition or deletion of activities from an application (this only affects reapplicants), and adjustments made to the average candidate profile that reviewers use to help evaluate the non-academic sections. Therefore, NAQ scores may fluctuate from year to year.

TFR Score = AQ Score + NAQ Score. Your TFR score might be really close to the cutoff. We have double-checked these files for accuracy, so unfortunately you might just be one of the unlucky ones whose score is really close but not quite high enough to get an interview this year.

FAQs

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, but please review descriptions above and read our Evaluation Criteria page, which explains the scoring in more detail. You may also find it helpful to review the Interim Statistics on our Statistics page to assist you in determining the competiveness of your file.

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.

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, 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.

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 am a re-applicant. I have not taken any further coursework so my OGPA/AGPA is the same (or I have taken further coursework and my OGPA/AGPA is higher than last year), but my scores have gone down. Why?

For the academic section of the application the actual evaluation criteria remained the same and there were no changes to the grade conversion tables used. Academic scores, like non-academic scores, are standardized against the current applicant pool. You can check your AQ score by seeing that if your average (either OGPA or AGPA, if applicable) is correct, your score is correct. This was done automatically and uniformly for all applicants.

I am a re-applicant. I feel I have more activities and volunteer experiences than last year, but my NAQ score has not increased. Why?

Each year, the applicant pool is different, as is the average applicant profile used by non-academic evaluators. In addition, while we look for the same aptitudes and qualities each year, we periodically revise how we evaluate and score these qualities. All of these may contribute to a lower-than-expected NAQ score.

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 and grades entered by applicants. The online system automatically determined (a) the lowest academic year which could be eliminated and (b) if this year could be dropped (i.e. if there were still 90 remaining credits). 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%/80% 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 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?
Information on grade conversions, including our grade conversion tables, can be found on the Evaluation Criteria page of our website.

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.
This is what you should see, depending on your application status:

Ineligible: no scores
Regrets, Partial File Review: OGPA, AGPA (if applicable)
Regrets, No Interview: OGPA, AGPA (if applicable), AQ, NAQ and TFR
Invited to Interview: no scores

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Interview Notifications

By Admissions on Nov 21, 2014

It is almost time for applicants to find out whether or not they have been invited to interview! We will send interview notifications starting the week of December 1. That is much too vague for some of you, we know, but unfortunately we cannot specify the exact day(s) we will send the notifications.

The process works like this: you will receive an email explaining your interview status. After you read the email, you can log into the online application system for more information. Applicants invited to interview will be able to click on a new Interview tab where they can book their interview, read about the interview and supplemental application requirements, and access the Site Preference form, a References tab, and the Graduate Student Report form (if applicable). If you need to interview on a particular day due to work, school or other commitments, please monitor your email so you can book your interview as quickly as possible.

Applicants who are not invited to interview can also log in to learn additional information about their application. Applicants who receive a “Regrets, No Interview” email or a “Regrets, Partial File Review” email will be able to view some of their grade averages and application scores. Applicants with ineligible applications will not be able to see any grade averages or scores but can check OAS to review the status of their transcripts, MCAT scores, WES/ICES evaluations and communication history with the Admissions Office in order to determine why their application is ineligible. We will put up another blog post later to explain our scoring and to cover some frequently asked questions, so please check back here during the first week of December.

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