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A friend of mine recently brought up a topic that UBC covers a bit on its website but doesn't go into much detail. It seems that UBC has a preference for applicants who have at least one year of five courses per semester (15 credits). While this is true it also mentions on the website that it does take circumstance into consideration - for example, having to work concurrently or raising a family, etc. as reasonable explanations for a lighter course load.

 

What are your thoughts on this? Have you or do you know anyone who got into UBC without the full five and five at any point in their undergrad because they worked/had a family/etc.?

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UBCs statement on full course loads/course selection is basically that you must demonstrate an ability to handle the rigorous workload of medicine. Therefore, if you were taking 12 credits + working 30 hours a week or raising young children, that would likely be fine (but also consider comparison of yourself to the rest of the applicant pool - there may be people with the same work/family responsibilities who are still managing a full course load).

 

Also, consider this: if you had to work/had to raise a family during undergrad (preventing you from taking a full course load), what activities could you cut back on to handle the more rigorous med school curriculum? Why is it suddenly an option to stop work/cut down on family responsibilities when that wasn't an option during undergrad? These are things you will need to explain in the space UBC has at the end of the application.

 

If work prevented you from taking a full undergrad course load and you are hoping to continue that same work during med school, you're going to have a bad time. 

 

I realize that this may not be the simple answer you were hoping for. Basically, from my perspective it is always better to just do a full course load because then you don't have to explain anything, but there are ways to explain/compensate for a lighter load. You are the only one who can make the decision on whether a lighter course load can work for you. Unfortunately everyone I know who got into UBC med (a relatively small group of people admittedly) have taken full course loads for most of their undergrad. 

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Thanks for replying. If one were to find themselves in this scenario (12 credits + working) but is not in school anymore, what is the best way forward with regards to the following: unclassified 5+5, second Bachelors with 5+5 or a Masters program (course or thesis)?

 

I wonder at which point in the admissions process they consider this? Pre - interview invite or post...

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"If work prevented you from taking a full undergrad course load and you are hoping to continue that same work during med school, you're going to have a bad time. "

 

In undergrad you dont necessarily have access to funds to support your school.

 

Once you're in medicine you have a large line of credit so you can focus and school and not have to work. Very few people work once in medicine because of opportunity cost.

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If you took 12 credits and did well, and were working a job to support yourself dont sweat it.

 

It will be obvious when you apply. As long as you're not taking a lighter load and doing poorly or taking a lighter load and not working(or other obligations) and just watching Netflix, you will be OK

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Thanks for that - and yes, the LoC for med school is large enough that working shouldn't even be a consideration.

 

I'm still of the mind that it might come across as a red flag - what is the best way to mitigate this, pre-emptively, for the next cycle were one to be rejected during this cycle? Unclassified studies full-time for a year, second Bachelors degree for a year/two or a Masters degree?

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I'm in the same boat as you - took 4 courses/sem (even 3 one sem ) as I was working 8-16 hours and had a really long commute to get to school. I also didn't really know Med school requirements, as I didn't decide to pursue Med until late in my UG... so that's an oversight on my part. I'm pretty concerned this will work against me, I guess I'll find out in May!

 

I did a course based masters degree, hoping that shows that I can handle a full course load. It was only 3-4 courses per semester but very heavy workload, definitely more than what I experienced in my UG. Again, if I could turn back time I'd ensure I took 5 courses during UG ... so maybe 1 year of unclassified studies is the way to go?

 

Thanks for that - and yes, the LoC for med school is large enough that working shouldn't even be a consideration.

 

I'm still of the mind that it might come across as a red flag - what is the best way to mitigate this, pre-emptively, for the next cycle were one to be rejected during this cycle? Unclassified studies full-time for a year, second Bachelors degree for a year/two or a Masters degree?

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Thanks for that - and yes, the LoC for med school is large enough that working shouldn't even be a consideration.

 

I'm still of the mind that it might come across as a red flag - what is the best way to mitigate this, pre-emptively, for the next cycle were one to be rejected during this cycle? Unclassified studies full-time for a year, second Bachelors degree for a year/two or a Masters degree?

Is your gpa on the low side? Are you lacking basic science courses? Are there any courses you'd like to take before med in general? Did you not do so well on the mcat?If you answer yes to some or these then maybe it may be worth taking a term or two of unclassifed full load.

 

Thats a big "may".

 

Since you interviewed you obviously have the qualifications to be admitted(aside from mcat as that isnt factored into getting the interview), so I wouldnt stress to much.

 

But if you had to be proactive to improve your app, then it could only hurt to take more courses if you don't have the financial means or if you ended up not doing well in the courses and brought your gpa down.

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Is your gpa on the low side? Are you lacking basic science courses? Are there any courses you'd like to take before med in general? Did you not do so well on the mcat?If you answer yes to some or these then maybe it may be worth taking a term or two of unclassifed full load.

 

Thats a big "may".

 

Since you interviewed you obviously have the qualifications to be admitted(aside from mcat as that isnt factored into getting the interview), so I wouldnt stress to much.

 

But if you had to be proactive to improve your app, then it could only hurt to take more courses if you don't have the financial means or if you ended up not doing well in the courses and brought your gpa down.

I'm pretty certain considerations of full course load are not taken into account pre interview, both mcat and course load are looked at post interview. For instance, if someone took two courses per semester without a valid excuse, I assume they could squeeze by and get an interview and then likely be rejected post interview. I'm guessing OP probably took more than two courses, just a hypothetical

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I'm in the same boat as you - took 4 courses/sem (even 3 one sem ) as I was working 8-16 hours and had a really long commute to get to school. I also didn't really know Med school requirements, as I didn't decide to pursue Med until late in my UG... so that's an oversight on my part. I'm pretty concerned this will work against me, I guess I'll find out in May!

I did a course based masters degree, hoping that shows that I can handle a full course load. It was only 3-4 courses per semester but very heavy workload, definitely more than what I experienced in my UG. Again, if I could turn back time I'd ensure I took 5 courses during UG ... so maybe 1 year of unclassified studies is the way to go?

 

Yep, we are definitely in the same boat on that creek and have no paddles!

 

But seriously, I fell victim to my own oversight as well and am very much a non-traditional student...

I am interested in a masters program possibly to work in a related field while continuing to apply, or even a second bachelors. But the timeline is so extended (second Bach/Masters - 2 yrs, re-apply - 2 years to be conservative, med - 4, res - 3-5...) and I'm not the youngest applicant! That's like 15 years before I'm fully licensed. And as I read course/program descriptions and timelines I am very aware of how the only career I see myself thriving in is medicine. There are actually quite a few courses I would love to take out of interest (all medically related) but the cost of tuition and opportunity cost of being unemployed longer than necessary (don't live at home anymore and have a mortgage, financial obligations, etc.) is maybe too much.

I did go back to do some classes to satisfy biochem (and took another few that were medically related) when there were still specific requirements... wish I'd have thought to do a full course load at that time but hindsight is so painfully 20/20. I also thought it would look well considering I am non traditional so some recent coursework that I excelled in shows commitment and aptitude for this field? But I guess I thought a full course load would be a waste of money if not toward a degree or some tangible result. Didn't think about this then, but it definitely would have made me throw a few more courses on there to hit full time.

 

I appreciate all the replies so far. It is a bit of a relief to hear thoughts other than the ones in my head about this as my friends and family don't really understand and can't give much advice.

 

Whatever is necessary to 'fix' this, I am willing to put in the time (and money) to get there, it is just inconvenient and so frustrating at this stage of the game.

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Is your gpa on the low side? Are you lacking basic science courses? Are there any courses you'd like to take before med in general? Did you not do so well on the mcat?If you answer yes to some or these then maybe it may be worth taking a term or two of unclassifed full load.

Thats a big "may".

Since you interviewed you obviously have the qualifications to be admitted(aside from mcat as that isnt factored into getting the interview), so I wouldnt stress to much.

But if you had to be proactive to improve your app, then it could only hurt to take more courses if you don't have the financial means or if you ended up not doing well in the courses and brought your gpa down.

GPA is maybe decent (? strong upward trend at least) thanks to the AGPA calculation. Have all the science basics but do have some interest for medically-related courses. I did well on the new MCAT.

 

I would make sure the courses I did take were ones that I was so interested in it would almost guarantee good grades. That's the benefit of uncl studies... more or less getting to take what you want, granted you have prerequisites and dept or instructor permission... another bachelors would mean possibly taking course requirements I am not as interested in.

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I'm pretty certain considerations of full course load are not taken into account pre interview, both mcat and course load are looked at post interview. For instance, if someone took two courses per semester without a valid excuse, I assume they could squeeze by and get an interview and then likely be rejected post interview. I'm guessing OP probably took more than two courses, just a hypothetical

Makes sense.

I definitely didn't do 2 course course-loads but do have a mix of 4/4, 4/3, 3/3 depending. Most of these I worked concurrently and volunteered and maintained other EC activities/non-credit courses. We'll see what happens I guess! The wait is even more painful now because I'm expecting 'not-accepted-because-of-my-own-fault'.

 

I see now why med hopefuls become so neurotic! The process is quite intense.

 

But, to be productive and non self-flagellating (what's the point at this stage!), I'm going to tentatively plan out a full course load year and expect to have to take it. If I get accepted, then I'll buy the whole entering class a beer (cuz that's less than what a year f/t studies will cost!) ;) Hahaha!

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I'm pretty certain considerations of full course load are not taken into account pre interview, both mcat and course load are looked at post interview. For instance, if someone took two courses per semester without a valid excuse, I assume they could squeeze by and get an interview and then likely be rejected post interview. I'm guessing OP probably took more than two courses, just a hypothetical

Yes of course, but 2 courses is very different than 4 courses instead of 5.

 

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Yep, we are definitely in the same boat on that creek and have no paddles!

 

But seriously, I fell victim to my own oversight as well and am very much a non-traditional student...

I am interested in a masters program possibly to work in a related field while continuing to apply, or even a second bachelors. But the timeline is so extended (second Bach/Masters - 2 yrs, re-apply - 2 years to be conservative, med - 4, res - 3-5...) and I'm not the youngest applicant! That's like 15 years before I'm fully licensed. And as I read course/program descriptions and timelines I am very aware of how the only career I see myself thriving in is medicine. There are actually quite a few courses I would love to take out of interest (all medically related) but the cost of tuition and opportunity cost of being unemployed longer than necessary (don't live at home anymore and have a mortgage, financial obligations, etc.) is maybe too much.

I did go back to do some classes to satisfy biochem (and took another few that were medically related) when there were still specific requirements... wish I'd have thought to do a full course load at that time but hindsight is so painfully 20/20. I also thought it would look well considering I am non traditional so some recent coursework that I excelled in shows commitment and aptitude for this field? But I guess I thought a full course load would be a waste of money if not toward a degree or some tangible result. Didn't think about this then, but it definitely would have made me throw a few more courses on there to hit full time.

 

I appreciate all the replies so far. It is a bit of a relief to hear thoughts other than the ones in my head about this as my friends and family don't really understand and can't give much advice.

 

Whatever is necessary to 'fix' this, I am willing to put in the time (and money) to get there, it is just inconvenient and so frustrating at this stage of the game.

Based on what you have presented, you don't have a real need or defecit. You have strong grades, and obviously good non-academics to make it to the interview. 

 

Just be patient and positive for the results in May :) 

 

As a non-trad, you have plenty of other considerations that the average applicant doesn't have - like other obligations etc. 

 

Given that you have worked and had other things on your plate while taking 4 courses instead of 5, is PERFECTLY FINE.

 

No admin is going to fault you for that - and anyone that does needs to shake there head and think if it really matters if you took 4 courses or 5 for being prepped for academic rigour of medicine. Hint: It shouldn't make any difference, so long as you did well in those classes and that you weren't twiddling your thumbs with the rest of your non-curricular time. 

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