The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
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. Permalink | No Comments
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.
Permalink | No CommentsHappy 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!
Permalink | No CommentsChange to UBC Biochemistry prerequisite
By Admissions on Dec 09, 2011
We have made a change to our biochemistry requirement for UBC students. BIOC 300 will no longer be offered as of September 2012. In its place, students will take a new course, BIOC 202 and BIOC 302. We will continue to accept BIOL 201/BIOC 302, although students should note that by taking BIOC 202/302 they will be better prepared for the biochemistry component of first year medicine. This stream is recommended, as it has a human focus and is designed for students planning to enter the health sciences fields, including medicine. Students in the biochemistry program will take BIOC 203 and 303, though we will only include the grade for BIOC 303 in the prerequisite average. BIOC 300 is of course still acceptable for the biochemistry prerequisite if taken before September 2012.
Permalink | 4 CommentsSuitable referees
By Admissions on Nov 18, 2011
We are getting a number of inquiries from applicants invited for interview asking about the suitability of referees. Please refer to the Supplemental Application section of the Interview Information page where there is a link to suggestions of who we consider to be appropriate referees. These are our guidelines and we are unable to provide any further information as to whether a particular referee would be suitable, or if one is better than another. The choice is yours, but please make sure your referees feel comfortable that they know you sufficiently well to be able to answer all the questions.
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