Admissions Blog

Questions about the waitlist and more

By Admissions on May 20, 2014 Since sending out the offers we have gotten many questions about many things! Here are some answers you might find useful. One section pertains to applicants who have already received an offer, while the other section is intended for applicants who are on the waitlist. For applicants who have received an offer: Student Numbers: Student numbers will be available through the online application system in mid-June, ideally on June 16. We will email offer accepted applicants when the numbers are ready. Current and former UBC students will continue to use their existing UBC student numbers. Housing: For housing-related inquiries, please contact Katya at osa.coordinator@ubc.ca. Personal Information Form: If the “email” button on the Personal Information Form does not work or if you are having other problems with the form, please save the form as an attachment and email it to mdup.lsc@ubc.ca. Waitlist questions: 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 vast 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. 2. 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 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. For applicants on the waitlist: Waitlist questions: 1. Can you tell me where I am on the waitlist? No, sorry. Our waitlist is more complicated than most due to the four sites, and we don’t reveal where applicants are, how long it is, how quickly it’s moving, etc. Our statistics page includes the number of declines from past years, but this isn’t particularly helpful since every year is different and this year is no less unpredictable. 2. When will you send the next round of offers? It will be after the deadline for this round (Thursday, May 22 at 12:00 PST). We will try to send them on Thursday or Friday, 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. Permalink | 3 Comments

Offer Notifications Sent

By Admissions on May 15, 2014

This is just a quick update to let you know that we sent offer, waitlist and regrets notifications to all applicants today. While our sympathies are with applicants who did not receive the news they wanted, we also want to congratulate applicants who received an offer. No matter which kind of notification you received today, thank you for being a part of our admissions process this year and best of luck with your future plans.

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Countdown to May 15

By Admissions on May 02, 2014

May 15 is almost NEXT WEEK!(!!!). Whether you are looking forward to that date with joyous anticipation, anxious dread, or a mix of both, it’s definitely a big day on the calendar. Our plan on May 15 is to send regrets first, then move on to the waitlist, and end with the offers. Traditionally, keeping the offers last has allowed us to focus on monitoring offer responses and answering questions without also needing to send another big batch or two of notifications just as offer responses start to come in. Please be aware that it does take us some time to send each group – we have to make sure the right notifications are going to the right people.

This is how the offers work: when we send the notifications, you will receive an email from the online application system. People who get an offer should log into OAS. There, they will see a new tab called Offer, which is where they can access the Response to Offer form, pay a non-refundable $1,000 deposit, and read important information about deadlines, other requirements, etc. People who receive regrets can log into OAS and see some of their academic and non-academic scores. Waitlisted people can’t really do much, sorry – there is no new tab and their scores will still be hidden. Offered applicants will not be able to see their scores either.

There isn’t a lot you need to do to get ready for the offers, but here are a few things to take care of:

1. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in OAS. You can do this by clicking on your Profile tab. More instructions are in the Help Guide if you need them.
2. Decide if you can pay the deposit online or if you will need to get a certified cheque. Credit cards are not accepted for this payment.  If you have access to an account with online banking privileges at BMO, Scotiabank, RBC, or TD Canada Trust you should be able to pay online with Interac Online. However, due to Canadian banking regulations, Visa Debit card holders at these institutions will not be able to use Interac Online and must pay by certified cheque. Interac Online should work as usual for accounts without Visa Debit.
3. Traveling shouldn’t pose a big problem as long as you have internet access since you can accept the offer and pay the deposit online. The deadline for the first round is May 22 at 12:00 p.m. PDT. Deadlines for future rounds will probably be shorter. There are other forms to print out and complete by late June.
4. Keep the final transcript requirement in mind if you’ve taken any courses since June of last year. We require a final transcript from applicants who receive an offer or are on the waitlist and who have completed coursework between June 2013 and April 2014. The final transcript deadline is June 30 (grad students have until July 30 to submit their final transcripts).

If you have any general questions about the offers process feel free to comment below. Specific questions that pertain to only you are probably better addressed through an email or phone call to us. We’ll be in touch soon!

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Lipdub Video!

By Admissions on Apr 11, 2014

Our impressively multi-talented med students have perfectly encapsulated the journey to medicine in lipdub video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WThlN42CX9k#t=12. This was shown at the interviews this year, but if you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out! Most readers of this blog will probably find a lot to appreciate in the video.

Speaking (or singing) of the other side, we are slowly getting to the other side of this application cycle. Right now we are busy checking references, following up with verifiers, and getting things ready for the Admissions Selection Committee. The selection committee is made up of doctors, faculty members, medical students, and other representatives from all corners of BC who will meet soon to select the candidates for MED 2018. To give a quick refresher on post-interview selection criteria, at this point in the cycle all aspects of the file can come into play. After a holistic file review the decision to admit or not is made by consensus of the selection committee. Since the selection committee is not aware of site preference rankings, they do not determine who goes to which site – we in the Admissions Office do that later (see the previous post for more information).

After the candidates are selected, the next big thing will be the offers! Stay tuned for more posts as the offers approach. 

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Last Minute Notes on Site Selection

By Admissions on Feb 19, 2014

It is only two days before site preference forms are due and we understand that some applicants are still somewhat uncertain about site selection and if the sites they rank will affect their chances of admission.  This has come up before in previous years and to confirm, site selection does not affect your admissibility to the program. Although we have always said that, it appears that there are doubters. However, to reiterate, admission and site placement are two quite separate processes.

The site preference form you submit is not made available to the Admissions Selection Committee, who are also blinded to applicants’ names and gender. The decision to admit someone is based on committee consensus after discussion of all the various components of the file (in no particular order: academic ability, performance on the MMI, reference letters and so forth).

Following final selection meetings, the Admissions Office goes through the list of accepted applicants and places them to sites within the program.  This second step is where your site preference comes in to play. Our commitment is to try to offer admissible applicants a position in our program at a site where they will be happy studying and living. How site placement works is like this: When we (the Admissions Office) moves through the list of applicants and comes to your name, we look at your first site of preference, if it is full, we put you at your second site of preference, if that is full, third, etc. If you are placed at any site other than your first preference, you will be wait-listed for your preferred site(s). If we cannot place you, and you have been deemed admissible, you will be wait-listed.

Even when the committee is deliberating about who is admissible to the Northern Medical Program, they are blinded to site preference. What could be an issue is if you highly rank the Northern Medical Program (NMP) but you did not complete the Rural Training section of the application. As stated in the application help guide, “The NMP is seeking applicants with a genuine interest in learning medicine in the context of rural, remote, and northern communities.” If you didn’t fill out the Rural Training section of the application, you will not be considered for the NMP, even if you rank it as your first choice.

We would also like to mention here that students admitted to all the distributed sites are comparable in terms of their academic and nonacademic abilities. There is absolutely no basis for the perception that perhaps it is “easier” to get in to one of the sites if you have a lower academic average.

If you are still trying to decide how to rank your preferences and wondering if there is some “strategy” you should use, please, do not do so. It is a mistake to try and second guess the process or rank the sites in any order other than the one you truly prefer. If you absolutely do not want to, or cannot go to one of the distributed sites, it is very important for you to indicate “no interest.” Understand that after the deadline applicants will not be permitted to re-rank sites, irrespective of any change in life circumstances.

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