Admissions Blog

Early Submission Incentive

By Admissions on Apr 23, 2012 This year we are offering a special incentive to encourage applicants to submit their application and transcripts early.  Applicants who have everything in by August 15 (including a completed application, transcripts, BC residency documents, name change, etc) will get a chance to book their interviews a day before the other interview-granted applicants.  These applicants will also be able to find out that they have received an interview invitation a day early.  Applicants who apply early but aren’t invited for an interview won’t find out their interview decision any earlier, though.  As always, once the application is submitted it can’t be re-opened for changes. Things like the MCAT and any necessary WES or ICES evaluations don’t have to be in by August 15.  They are still due at their regular deadline, October 1. Since we aren’t counting summer 2012 courses in the OGPA or AGPA this year (edited for clarification: we are excluding summer 2012 courses only – courses from summer 2011, summer 2010, etc will be included) and since the cutoff for all non-academic activities (including work experience, research, and rural experiences) is June 1, there isn’t much reason to hang on to your application all summer.  Moreover, the early submission deadline offers a few good benefits to applicants who get an interview.  The biggest one is selectivity – you may have a better chance of getting the interview time you really want.  Since you can book earlier, you can also start making concrete plans for the interview weekend earlier, and of course just knowing about the interview decision as soon as possible is a positive for most people, too. If you can’t or don’t want to submit early for some reason, that’s totally fine.  We promise it won’t have any impact on how we view you as an applicant and all files, whether they meet the early deadline or the regular deadline, will be evaluated in exactly the same way.  We’re just hoping to space out our workload a little more and reduce the flood of transcripts, calls and emails we get every year right before the deadline.  This will (hopefully) mean that we can be more responsive around that time in terms of updating transcript statuses and answering inquiries. What do you think?  Will being able to book an interview spot motivate you to submit your application early?  Are there any other incentives that would encourage you to get everything in a month before the regular deadline?  Please leave your ideas in the comments – we might consider them for use in a future cycle! Permalink | 18 Comments

Update and reminders for 2012-13

By Admissions on Mar 21, 2012

It has been a while since we have posted anything here, mainly because since the interview weekends the Admissions office has been very busy preparing for the final selection meetings where the MED 2016 class will be chosen. Interview scores and information provided by referees has been amalgamated with academic grades, MCAT scores etc and we have been double-checking all the information in the files to ensure that applicants can be assured of a fair discussion and decision.  Offers will, as we say on the 2011-12 timeline, be made beginning May 15^th, no earlier –  sorry, know the wait is agonizing.

If you have not already done so, you may wish to have a look at our updated Faculty of Medicine website.  The content of the Admissions website is the same, there is just a new look and layout.  This means you will still be able to access the same information.  Please note, if you have bookmarked any specific pages on the website, you should now be redirected to the new site. There will also be some changes to the content and navigation of the website later this year.

A heads-up for those of you thinking forward to the 2012-13 application. The on-line application will open on June 1^st and this will also be the cut-off date for inclusion of non-academic activities, employment, awards & research. The application deadline is later, September 17, 2012.  A reminder that we will be requiring a WES or ICES evaluation for all non-North American transcripts and that it can be a lengthy process to (a) obtain foreign transcripts from some countries and (b) can take several weeks, or even a couple of months, for these evaluations to be completed, so it is definitely something you should think about in plenty of time.

Another change for this next cycle is that we will not be requiring re-applicants to provide us with all new transcripts. We will bring forward transcripts from this year for those institutions where no further coursework has been taken. Applicants will not have to request this – there will be a question on the application instead – but it will absolutely be their responsibility to ensure that any transcripts brought forward did not show courses in progress. If in doubt at all, please send another one by the September 17th deadline to ensure your application is not made ineligible. UBC students will still be able to request that we access their transcripts electronically. We will of course update the Notes section of the website with any updates for the next cycle.

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Davis Cup During Interviews This Weekend

By Admissions on Feb 07, 2012

The Davis Cup tennis tournament will be held at Thunderbird Arena on UBC campus this Thursday, Friday and Saturday (February 10 – 12).  There will be a high volume of traffic around the arena, and surrounding roads and parking lots may be closed or otherwise affected.  If you are interviewing this weekend, please give yourself extra time to arrive.  Our Davis Cup Information Sheet has parking recommendations and additional information.

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Clarification of Site Selection

By Admissions on Dec 23, 2011

We would like to correct circulating misinformation regarding site selection and how it impacts applicants chances of being admitted. Let us say loudly and clearly that the sites you rank DO NOT affect your admissibility to the program. In fact admission and site placement is a two step process. First, the Admissions Selection Committee decides whether or not an applicant is admissible to our medical program and second, the Admissions Office attempts to place admissible applicants 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. In order to do this, applicants this year are allowed to rank sites in preference from 1 to 4. Applicants may also select “no interest” in a specific site. 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.

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.

The one exception to the site placement rule is the Northern Medical Program (NMP); where one of the assessment criteria is 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.

Lastly, there is a “no interest” option for those who actually have NO INTEREST is going to one or more sites. Applicants should only use this option if they do not want to move to a specific location or cannot move to a specific location. If you absolutely will not, or do not want to, 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.

We understand that medical school is a big commitment for you. It’s a big commitment for the Faculty of Medicine as well. Please help us put you in a program where you will be happy by fully considering the choices you are making. Offers to the UBC medical program are site specific and are binding to the location indicated. We cannot switch people between sites once they are committed to a specific location. Each of the distributed sites in the program will be fully subscribed when the offers are all accepted. Additional seats or “openings to move” are not an option. Help us give you the best possible outcome and rank sites where you wish to live and study for the duration of the undergraduate program.

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Happy Holidays!

By Admissions on Dec 19, 2011

The Admissions Team is slowly dwindling (there are only 3 of us left!) as the school prepares to shut down for the holidays. If you have any pressing issues or concerns, please let us know ASAP as our office will be closed Monday, December 26 – Monday, January 2. Phone hours will only be Monday – Thursday this week (Dec. 19-22).

During the break, current applicants invited for interview are encouraged to review their Interview Information package and take a look at the remaining documents/deadlines that are outstanding. Are there any referees you haven’t contacted or need to follow up with? If you are grad student, have you submitted your grad student report? What about the site preference form? If you aren’t sure about what sites you would like to rank, check out our website and take some time to research the cities they are in. The Island Medical Program (IMP) is located in Victoria, the Northern Medical Program (NMP) is in Prince George, the Southern Medical Program (SMP) is in Kelowna and Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP) is in Vancouver. You will have an opportunity to meet current med students and hear first-hand about their sites during the Site Information Session, so bring your questions! Also, check out and sign up for the Medical Undergraduate Society (MUS) events. The students can’t wait to meet so many of their prospective colleagues. We can’t wait either! Preparations are well underway, including the creation of a huge pile of multi-colored name tags, one of which has your name on it!

We hope that you have an incredible holiday season, full of relaxation, fun and joy. Season’s greetings and Happy New Year!

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