The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
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.
Permalink | No CommentsLast 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.
Permalink | 4 CommentsHappy Holidays
By Admissions on Dec 20, 2013
As the holidays are approaching, we wanted to let you know that 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!
Sincerely,
Your Admissions Team
MD Undergraduate Admissions
UBC Faculty of Medicine
2013/2014 Explanation of Scores & FAQs
By wong79 on Dec 09, 2013
We will soon be notifying applicants of their interview status. At this time you’ll be informed as to whether you’ve been selected to move forward onto the next stage of the selection process.
This year we made adjustments to the allocation of points to determine both the academic (AQ) and non-academic (NAQ) scores. For the non-academic section of the application the actual evaluation criteria remained the same and for the academic section, there were no changes to the grade conversion tables used. For both, the modification was in how the points (eg. AQ and NAQ scores) were distributed on the 50 point scale. (Remember AQ and NAQ scores are calculated out of 50 points each for a total file review score out of 100). This was done automatically and uniformly for all applicants. As NAQ scores can vary from year to year due to changes in submissions and the competitiveness of the applicant pool, the most unexpected changes will likely be in AQ scores. However, as long as your overall or adjusted percentage averages are correct, then your AQ score and resultant Total File Review (TFR) score are correct.
This change will affect the average score of the applicant pool and also the scores of each individual applicant. For those of you who receive the “Regrets, No Interview” letter, you will be able to view your scores by logging into your on-line application.
We will not be able to provide any further information about the revised point allocation, but feel it is a positive step as part of our on-going commitment to fairness and equality.
One note about the scores: It can be really disappointing not to get an interview. However, please try to see the AQ, NAQ & TFR scores as numbers, not personal judgments. If you get a low AQ or NAQ score we are not saying your GPA is bad or your non-academic experiences are worthless, or that you would be a bad doctor. The scores are an assessment of how your application compares against our evaluation criteria and the applicant pool, and that is all we intend them to be. Remember that this is a competitive application process and we have many more qualified and exceptional candidates applying than can be interviewed or admitted. Please refer to the Evaluation Criteria Section of the website and the FAQs below for help.
Below is an explanation of scoring, terminology and frequently asked questions:
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). That’s it – the AQ score is just your OGPA or AGPA, automatically converted to a number out of 50 by our computer system. Please note this year there was an adjustment to the allocation of points to determine the AQ score. The conversion mechanism is confidential. If you are a reapplicant, you may be concerned that your AQ score is significantly different from previous applications. However, to reiterate, if your averages are correct, your score is correct.
Your AQ score might be low, even if you have a good GPA, but as long as your OGPA or AGPA is correct, your AQ score is also right.
NAQ Score = the score given for the non-academic portions of the application converted to a number out of 50. All file reviewers are carefully trained, there are various checks throughout the process to make sure reviews are being done consistently, and the NAQ score is standardized to make up for any scoring variations between reviewers. 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.
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 our Evaluation Criteria page 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 am a re-applicant. I have taken further coursework and/or I feel I have more activities and volunteer experiences than last year, but my scores have gone down. Why?
This year we made adjustments to the allocation of points to determine both the AQ and the NAQ scores. For the non-academic section of the application the actual evaluation criteria remained the same, and for the academic section, there were no changes to the grade conversion tables used. For both, the modification was in how the points were distributed. Remember, you can cross check your AQ score by seeing that if your average is correct, your score is correct. This was done automatically and uniformly for all applicants.
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 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 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 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
Update on the Evaluation Process
By Admissions on Nov 15, 2013
Hello! We apologize for how quiet the blog has been over the last few months. If you are wondering why, it is because we reached another record number of applications this year. Over 2100 were submitted! Unfortunately some of these applications are not complete due to missing transcripts, MCAT scores, payments, etc. However, the vast majority are complete and as such we have a lot more work to do. Do not worry though, we are still treating every application with care, cross checking files as necessary and ensuring that every application receives a fair and consistent evaluation. We know you put a lot of time and energy into this process and we respect this by thoroughly and thoughtfully considering what you have included.
We plan to send all updated status notifications sometime in the first two weeks of December. We do not have specific dates yet, but will be honoring the August 15 early deadline and will notify the applicants who met this deadline first (provided they are invited for interview) before sending interview invitations to everyone else. If you are wondering what information you will receive in December, please review our blog entry from December 3, 2012. Most of the information will remain the same and we will post any changes closer to the notification dates.
Thank you and we’ll be in touch soon.
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