The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
Why Wait Until May 15?
By Admissions on Mar 09, 2015 Interviews are over and the timeline says offer notifications are still weeks and weeks away… but why? Many applicants may wonder why we wait until May 15 to send the offers when the interviews are finished in February. There are a couple of reasons: one is that there are still several things to do before we can send the offers (or even know who to send them to), while another one is that we harmonize our offer date with that of other Canadian medical schools. The first thing that happens after the interview is the post-interview file review. After the interviews, a second file review is performed. This review includes all aspects of your file, including references, MCAT scores, etc. At the Final Selection meetings, the Admission Selection Committee discusses applicants and reaches a consensus to decide who is admissible to the program and who is not. The Selection Committee is not aware of site preference rankings – they just decide who should be offered a position in the program if one is available and who, unfortunately, should not be admitted this year. Since your entire file is up for review, there is a lot for the committee to discuss and these meetings take some time to complete. When the meetings are finished, we know the list of admissible applicants. These applicants are then allocated to sites based on their ranking order and site preferences. Basically, we assign applicants to their first choice site unless that site is already full. We assign those applicants to their second choice, third choice, etc. as necessary (but not to any site marked “No Interest”). Applicants who are not assigned to their preferred sites are most likely put on the waitlist for those sites. If all of an applicant’s listed sites are full by the time we get to their name, they are placed on the waitlist. Finally, we have our list of who is going where, who is on the waitlist, etc. Although we have this information before May 15, we wait until then because many other Canadian medical schools send their offers on or around this date as well. This allows applicants who receive offers from multiple schools time to consider the offers simultaneously. In addition, the process of filling the positions in the class goes more quickly and smoothly if applicants who decide not to go to UBC can decline their initial offer rather than withdrawing their acceptance later (but we of course understand that this is sometimes unavoidable). We also like to have a set day so applicants know to check their email and/or Application Status page on that day. It is very hard to wait, especially the last few days, so we really do appreciate your patience! Permalink | 2 Comments
Interviews – Timing and Talking
By Admissions on Jan 26, 2015
Interviews start next week! We hope your preparations are going well and we look forward to seeing you soon. This week we would like to answer a couple of interview-related questions we have received about timing and talking.
- Is there a clock or timer in the room? Can I wear a watch to time myself, or will the interviewer tell me when the time is almost up?There may be a clock, but there won’t be a timer, and the interviewer will not let you know how much time is left. You are allowed to wear a watch but we would discourage you from trying to time yourself – it’s a distraction and is not necessary. Try to keep your focus on responding to the scenario rather than the time. It is common to be in the in the middle of a thought or sentence when the bell rings, and this is ok. If you are worried about being thrown off by this during the interviews, you might want to practice wrapping up your thoughts in a few words so you can quickly leave the room and focus on the next scenario.
- Am I supposed to talk for the entire 7 minutes?The interviews are more of a dialogue than a monologue. After your initial response to the scenario, the interviewer may ask some follow-up questions. This is normal and doesn’t indicate anything about the quality of your response. If you provide a particularly expansive response to a scenario and the interviewer doesn’t ask any follow-up questions, that is fine, too. Again, try to focus on responding to the scenario to the best of your ability rather than worrying about the ‘right’ number of minutes to talk.
- Should I share my personal experiences or is that frowned on?It’s up to you. There is nothing wrong with sharing a personal experience if it is relevant to the scenario and if it supports the point you are making. However, if you prefer not to share a particular experience there is nothing wrong with that, either. It all depends on what you think is the best way to respond to the scenario at hand.
NAQ Myths Debunked – Part 2
By wong79 on Dec 17, 2014
We hope that you found NAQ Myths Debunked – Part 1 helpful. In Part 2, we will be focusing on issues and questions related to NAQ Scoring. Again we will highlight a few especially problematic speculations about our scoring system from the Premed 101 Forums, in order to provide more accurate information.
NAQ Scoring
“My application consisted mainly of research activities…Would this be something UBC does not value very much?”- PM101
Research-based work or volunteer experiences are considered on par with many other work and/or service-based activities, and can be a major component in a good score. Research is challenging because it is a vague category that encompasses a wide variety of activities, which is why an accurate description of what you did is important to us. We want to know what kind of work you performed so that we can appropriately value it. That being said, if all you have done is undergraduate lab research, you are less likely to have demonstrated strong diversity of experience, capacity to work with others, or leadership (if you do not have a dedicated leadership role). Very strong applicants score well in all categories. This is clearly outlined on our website, so it should not be a surprise.
Concern around research publications seems to be of particular significance to many applicants. It is important to note that no one activity is prioritized above others in our scoring, and this includes research publications. If you have 5 first author papers, we do find it very impressive and are glad you are interested in your field. However, we are also looking for a number of other traits, so having just research does not necessarily provide you with an above average NAQ score. If you have done this level of research, dedicated years of service to a number of disadvantaged or marginalized groups within your community, and have held significant leadership roles, your score will likely be better because of your combined experiences. To reiterate, we look for well-rounded, mature, compassionate, dedicated applicants.
“Actually, I think I might have a theory on how the NAQ is scored based on my observations of the limited data of the posts here: it seems possible that the NAQ score has at least a slight correlation on the applicant’s age and his/her standing in education–that is, an applicant in 3rd year is probably going to get higher score in NAQ in comparison to an applicant who has graduated and/or is in a graduate program with identical/similar activities.
This makes logical sense in a few ways: that UBC now has a “standard” profile of what to look for for applicants based on their years that isn’t going to be based on the type of activities or the hours spent. By this I mean that for an undergraduate, their experiences are going to be more of volunteering and part time jobs than a large amount of scientific journals/publications/research, etc. Obviously I don’t mean that undergraduates *don’t* have these experiences, it means that UBC takes into account what sort of activities a typical student will have rather than looking at unique experiences individually…
Again, just my own theory.”- PM101
We are very appreciative that this poster emphasized that this was just their theory, as it is not correct, and is a good example of why you should take all theories on this board with a grain of salt. We are not going to share our scoring breakdown, but would like to assure everyone that it is not overly complicated. Generally if you have done more, and have demonstrated meaningful, long-term commitments (including work) within your community, you will receive a higher score.
On why you may not have received an above-average NAQ score: We receive a lot of calls and emails from applicants, wanting to know why they received a score that was not reflective of their achievements. It is very important to note that you are not competing against the general population; you are competing against our (extremely accomplished) medical school applicant pool. We received over 2300 applications this year, many of which listed an amazing list of commitments and accomplishments. We have many of the most talented, well-rounded, and driven applicants in the country (I could say in the world, but that would also just be my theory). Unfortunately this means, that what may normally be considered excellent, may in fact be below average in comparison to our pool. We understand that this is very difficult to accept when you feel like you have put everything you are into your application, but please understand that a lower score does not mean that your accomplishments are not impressive or valuable; it does mean that you may not have done as much as others who have applied. Luckily this is an area that you can continue to strengthen and improve! We want you to know that we are often in awe of all of you. We can see how hard you have worked to get to where you are. Many of you have overcome incredible odds and were very close to receiving an interview invitation. We wish we could invite more of you.
“it’s also worrying because they use random arts and lay people to score our NAQ. that doesn’t bode well since I doubt that the average person is going to understand little nuances in NAQ like writing an abstract or proposal or literature review constitutes like 50% of the work in a research project, sometimes even more.”- PM101
We don’t mean to sound defensive here, but we can assure you that all NAQ evaluators, regardless of their academic background, are trained on how to assess common NAQ activities, such as research abstracts and literature reviews. However, the reality is that even if we hired a team of cell biologists or physicists, they would probably not also come with expert knowledge on running a rape crisis centre, or a nuanced understanding of the different levels of competitive swimming in North America. Not one NAQ evaluator is going to know everything about everything. We do work together to combine our knowledge and do our best to research any activities that we feel we need more information about. We will often request additional information from our applicants to help guide our decisions, as well as discuss activities with verifiers or field experts as needed. However, if there is very important information that you would like to ensure we have, it is ultimately up to you to add it in your activity description.
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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 CommentsNAQ 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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