UBC OOP worth it?

[garceyues]

Hey all, I did a quick conversion of my GPA to the UBC percentage scale and it comes out to slightly over an ~86. Given my MCAT score of 512, is it even worth it to apply to UBC with this average? It looks as though UBC only invites about 1/10 of OOP applicants to interview, and I would need to have decisively above average ECs to get an interview. I scored below average for ECs in my own province (Alberta), so this seems like a long shot (I am going to put a ton of effort into my wording this time around). Obviously I want to apply broadly, but if my chances are practically zero here, I think it would be better to allocate my own time and that of my references elsewhere. I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts  

[offmychestplease]

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[garceyues]

8 minutes ago, offmychestplease said:

I think the absolute lowest OOP that got an interview was around 88% (most have 90%+), and for that person to get an OOP interview they would have to have one of the highest NAQs possible. Make that as you will. 

Where are you seeing this? I am looking at the 2019-2020 admission stats now and I can't seem to find that info (maybe I am just sleep deprived). Regardless if that’s true I think I will be saving my application money lol 

[PremedToronto]

7 hours ago, garceyues said:

Hey all, I did a quick conversion of my GPA to the UBC percentage scale and it comes out to slightly over an ~86. Given my MCAT score of 512, is it even worth it to apply to UBC with this average? It looks as though UBC only invites about 1/10 of OOP applicants to interview, and I would need to have decisively above average ECs to get an interview. I scored below average for ECs in my own province (Alberta), so this seems like a long shot (I am going to put a ton of effort into my wording this time around). Obviously I want to apply broadly, but if my chances are practically zero here, I think it would be better to allocate my own time and that of my references elsewhere. I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts  

my line of thinking is that even if you have 1% chance and you really want this, go for it! I wasn't expecting much when I applied to UBC and so you never know. Not sure how reference letters work now, but they used to only be required after interview I think so you don't need to worry about that right now

good luck!

[garceyues]

5 hours ago, PremedToronto said:

my line of thinking is that even if you have 1% chance and you really want this, go for it! I wasn't expecting much when I applied to UBC and so you never know. Not sure how reference letters work now, but they used to only be required after interview I think so you don't need to worry about that right now

good luck!

Fair enough! My primary concern is putting a ton of effort into this application when it might be better to allocate my efforts elsewhere. UBC also seems quite complicated in how their assessment works (I hear terms like NAQ and AQ thrown around). Are you aware of the EC character limit for UBC and the amount of entries that can be made? 

[centralperkmd]

Hey! I'm an OOP applicant from this cycle - I applied to UBC with a roughly ~89% GPA and a 507 MCAT and am currently on the waitlist. I would say submitting an application is definitely worth it if you're interested in UBC, as there have been people with similar stats on the forums that have been accepted as OOP. My EC's were definitely an asset for me personally, but they aren't anything too out of the ordinary - if you make sure to write your descriptions well and have good references I'd say go for it!! Good luck - if you have any questions feel free to PM

[Fast_Layne]

8 hours ago, garceyues said:

Fair enough! My primary concern is putting a ton of effort into this application when it might be better to allocate my efforts elsewhere. UBC also seems quite complicated in how their assessment works (I hear terms like NAQ and AQ thrown around). Are you aware of the EC character limit for UBC and the amount of entries that can be made? 

It's not extremely complicated. Basically, prior to the interview, you get assessed on both your academic grades (academic quotient or AQ) and extracurriculars (non-academic quotient or NAQ). Before this year, they assigned you a score out of 50 for both quotients. But now, all they're doing is telling you your NAQ percentile (0-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%, or 75-100%). They also make sure you meet the minimum MCAT requirements.

After interview, it's totally unclear how they weigh everything. They probably look at your grades, NAQ, MCAT, interview score, and reference letters, but we don't know how much is assigned to each component.

As for character limits and whatnot, UBC admissions publishes a "Help Guide" once their application opens up. If you go to their website now, you'll see the help guide for the previous year, in which character limits and criteria for the descriptions are listed.

[LMITC]

Hey I am in a really similar situation here! I am ~ 87% aGPA at UBC and 513 for MCAT. I was about to send a thread to ask but then see yours  I am also worried if my GPA will make it difficult to get an invite. TBH didn't see any OOP stats like this in the Invite/Regret post for last round... I will still apply this round. I think the good thing for UBC is that the process is not that different from OMSAS (need verifiers, descriptions, etc.) and we don't need to contact referees if we didn't get an interview invite.