UBC MD Interview Invites/Regrets Thread - 2020/21

[C737 5]

A day late but wanted to add my stats and send out my encouragement to everyone who got regrets this year to keep trying! Last year I did not receive a single interview in the 2019/2020 cycle. This cycle I have already received three! So keep your heads up cause your year will come <3. 

Time Stamp (i.e. include date and time): 2:14 PM PST
Result (i.e. invite or regrets): Invite
GPA/AGPA (i.e. whichever is applicable): 89 last year but likely higher with the AGPA this year
MCAT (i.e. total score and breakdown in the order of CP/CARS/BB/PS): 519 (130/130/129/130)
Geography (i.e. IP or OOP): IP
ECs (i.e. brief rundown of Research Pubs/Presentations, Awards, Employment, and Non-Academic Activities - also Rural stuff if you want/if it applies): No research, mostly academic and volunteering awards, lots of employment ranging from food service, supervising summer camps, working as a tutor and teaching assistant, as well as volunteer work teaching dance, mentoring children and working with international students. Overall quite a variety of activities ranging from shorter to long term commitments. 
NAQ Range (i.e. what quartile you fell in):  Last year I fell into the 0th-25th percentile!!! So don't be discouraged, a lot can change in a year.
 

[Raisin Bran 36]

Posting stats a day late:
 

Time Stamp (i.e. include date and time): December 18 - 2:14 PM PST
Result (i.e. invite or regrets): Invite
GPA/AGPA (i.e. whichever is applicable): ~86
MCAT (i.e. total score and breakdown in the order of CP/CARS/BB/PS): 507
Geography (i.e. IP or OOP): IP
ECs (i.e. brief rundown of Research Pubs/Presentations, Awards, Employment, and Non-Academic Activities - also Rural stuff if you want/if it applies): Diverse and varied, but honestly, nothing spectacular. I wrote my application very personally, trying to demonstrate my true values through the activities that I talked about. I’ve had various leadership, service, and managerial positions,  but I also wrote about things like cultural experiences, art, and family etc. that are just as important to me. This seemed to shine through as my gpa is a bit below average. 
 

I’m a first time applicant with a B.Sc, taking a gap year working - doing something I genuinely enjoy. I wasn’t expecting an interview at all, and I feel beyond grateful to receive one. There is clearly a lot of luck within the system, and I feel extremely fortunate that it seems to have been on my side this year. Best of luck to everyone interviewing this year and everyone working towards the next cycle. This is a brutal process that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, and I think we all owe ourselves a pat on the back for even making it here. 

[liviris 0]

On 12/18/2020 at 6:02 PM, PeanutButter1 said:

There’s stuff that requires online work only! Try to look for that stuff. I was successful in finding opportunities like that this year. Good luck

Thanks for the suggestion! I am honestly a bit unsure as to what to do, because my current extracurriculars keep me pretty occupied at the moment... If I take on more commitments, I may have to drop some commitments that I have been doing for a long time and that I enjoy, which I am not sure will hurt my application more? 

[mdpwns1763 60]

15 hours ago, liviris said:

Thanks for the suggestion! I am honestly a bit unsure as to what to do, because my current extracurriculars keep me pretty occupied at the moment... If I take on more commitments, I may have to drop some commitments that I have been doing for a long time and that I enjoy, which I am not sure will hurt my application more? 

One thing that worked for me personally was that I really focused on how I wrote my activities. It’s landed me 3 interviews (and here’s hoping the third works out). No guarantees it will have any impact but something to consider going forward. 
 

I know how frustrating it is when you have a lot on your plate and you feel like taking on more won’t make a difference. Ultimately it is up to you on what you think is best, good luck! 

[liviris 0]

5 hours ago, mdpwns1763 said:

One thing that worked for me personally was that I really focused on how I wrote my activities. It’s landed me 3 interviews (and here’s hoping the third works out). No guarantees it will have any impact but something to consider going forward. 
 

I know how frustrating it is when you have a lot on your plate and you feel like taking on more won’t make a difference. Ultimately it is up to you on what you think is best, good luck! 

Thank you for the suggestions!! I would admit my application was put together pretty last minute and I only got maybe 2 people to look it over, so that might be one reason why. I also don't have much clinical/research experience, which I should probably get more of before the next application cycle... 

[mdpwns1763 60]

4 hours ago, liviris said:

Thank you for the suggestions!! I would admit my application was put together pretty last minute and I only got maybe 2 people to look it over, so that might be one reason why. I also don't have much clinical/research experience, which I should probably get more of before the next application cycle... 

Honestly it’s such a black box in terms of what gets you an interview, let alone in. I left the research part blank.

yeah definitely if you can afford the extra time to review your app it might help! 

[Hello2019. 1]

Where can I find the NAQ score? Thanks.

[dancefloorparty 0]

Not sure if this has been answered or is a dumb question; but this is about the  winter grades that don't count because of covid. Let's say I graduate with 4 years (120 credits), I will have my 15 credits removed from winter 2020, do the other 15 removed credits all come from the worst term of my worst year, or are they the worst 15 credits of my worst year? 
 

[scubadancingg 5]

50 minutes ago, dancefloorparty said:

Not sure if this has been answered or is a dumb question; but this is about the  winter grades that don't count because of covid. Let's say I graduate with 4 years (120 credits), I will have my 15 credits removed from winter 2020, do the other 15 removed credits all come from the worst term of my worst year, or are they the worst 15 credits of my worst year? 
 

worst credits of your worst year

[MadSchool 4]

Anyone else can't see the "status" tab in application portal?

[taelea 8]

3 hours ago, MadSchool said:

Anyone else can't see the "status" tab in application portal?

I can't either :/

[corgi321 103]

For anyone asking about the application status tab it’s because UBC messed up people’s sliders and gave everyone an NAQ of 75-100 so they took it down to fix everything

With that being said, I’m guessing it should be up today? Since they said everything will be done by the 24th and I’m guessing the office is closed tomorrow

[Alysse212 10]

1 hour ago, corgi321 said:

For anyone asking about the application status tab it’s because UBC messed up people’s sliders and gave everyone an NAQ of 75-100 so they took it down to fix everything

With that being said, I’m guessing it should be up today? Since they said everything will be done by the 24th and I’m guessing the office is closed tomorrow

I believe it should be fixed by tonight. The website is undergoing maintenance right now (between 14:10pm and 6pm PST)

[theevilsloth 107]

.

[corgi321 103]

Looks like the Application Status is back if anyone wants to check

Damn lmfao 0-25th percentile I thought my ECs were solid I guess the reviewer hated them

[Yoyo2017 0]

50-74.99 percentile w/ a 90+ GPA. Below the OOP cutoff by 3 points. Sigh at least it makes me feel hopeful ish about other schools. 

[fluffybunnyyyyy 31]

13 minutes ago, Yoyo2017 said:

50-74.99 percentile w/ a 90+ GPA. Below the OOP cutoff by 3 points. Sigh at least it makes me feel hopeful ish about other schools. 

how do you see the "points"?

[Jjjhsil 1]

14 minutes ago, Yoyo2017 said:

50-74.99 percentile w/ a 90+ GPA. Below the OOP cutoff by 3 points. Sigh at least it makes me feel hopeful ish about other schools. 

how do u see the exact points

[Ubcmedapplicant101 1]

15 minutes ago, Yoyo2017 said:

50-74.99 percentile w/ a 90+ GPA. Below the OOP cutoff by 3 points. Sigh at least it makes me feel hopeful ish about other schools. 

How do u know by 3 points ? Where can I check on the application status page 

[Ubcmedapplicant101 1]

90 GPA and 25-50th percentile NAQ , got a reject, any tips on how to better describe EC on the application and ideas for EC that may increase my NAQ 

Thanks 

[Excel-erate Your Breath 142]

4 minutes ago, fluffybunnyyyyy said:

how do you see the "points"?

 

4 minutes ago, Jjjhsil said:

how do u see the exact points

 

3 minutes ago, Ubcmedapplicant101 said:

How do u know by 3 points ? Where can I check on the application status page 

https://forums.premed101.com/topic/111884-guide-to-using-inspect-elements-for-ubc-application/

[just_a_dude0627 0]

Time Stamp (i.e. include date and time): n/a
Result (i.e. invite or regrets): Regrets
GPA/AGPA (i.e. whichever is applicable): 85.5 AGPA
MCAT (i.e. total score and breakdown in the order of CP/CARS/BB/PS): 515 (128/131/128/128)
Geography (i.e. IP or OOP): IP
ECs (i.e. brief rundown of Research Pubs/Presentations, Awards, Employment, and Non-Academic Activities - also Rural stuff if you want/if it applies): No research, quite a few leadership things (Residence Advisor, intramural captain, worked with a mentorship program for first years), lots of volunteering (fundraisers for various causes through different organizations, volunteering in a medical diagnostic lab, children's hospital volunteer etc.), decent work experience (getting promoted to working in the same diagnostic lab, working as a science camp teacher for a few years, tutoring, etc.). Threw in quite a few hobbies as well like travelling, skiing, piano competitions etc.
NAQ Range (i.e. what quartile you fell in):  75-100 percentile

 

[Ubcmedapplicant101 1]

8 minutes ago, Excel-erate Your Breath said:

 

 

https://forums.premed101.com/topic/111884-guide-to-using-inspect-elements-for-ubc-application/

Ok so I did this and I see 53% for the blue bar the BC cutoff is this the points u r referring too ?

[HappyHippo 0]

Time Stamp (i.e. include date and time): n/a
Result (i.e. invite or regrets): Regrets
GPA/AGPA (i.e. whichever is applicable): 87.15 AGPA
MCAT (i.e. total score and breakdown in the order of CP/CARS/BB/PS): 513 (127/130/128/128)
Geography (i.e. IP or OOP): IP
ECs (i.e. brief rundown of Research Pubs/Presentations, Awards, Employment, and Non-Academic Activities - also Rural stuff if you want/if it applies): No research, very unorthodox, I have 2 kids, family care, tons of work experience in various fields, 5 academic awards throughout my degree, national level Olympic weightlifter, experience training high performance athletes, semi professional dance company.
NAQ Range (i.e. what quartile you fell in):  50-74.99

Cut off was 53 and my result was 53.. and that STINGS

[Excel-erate Your Breath 142]

Excited to finally post my result in this thread, albeit it's not a pleasant post. Just doing this to document it.

Timestamp: 2020/18/12 4:38PM (this was the time the rejection email got sent; was not able to see application status until today)
Result: Regrets, No Interview
GPA (ineligible for adjusted GPA): 84.16%
MCAT: 512 (127/128/126/131...can you guess my undergrad major? lol)
Geography: IP, filled rural application
ECs: moderately strong (more details quantifying the strength below); go look at my first post on the forums for some more details if interested
NAQ Range: 50th to 75th percentile
My Result: got 50, IP cutoff was 53

Based on previous years of applicants (and the AQ scale being harsher every year), I assumed my GPA translated to about 20 AQ, meaning my NAQ = My Result minus AQ = 50 - 20 = around 60th percentile. Not bad, not great, a bit below the average of accepted applicants for the past few years.

Looking forward to having my abysmal second year deleted should I choose to apply to med next year - that'll put me at around 90% adjusted GPA. That, coupled with my current NAQ strength + the improvements to NAQ that I've already been working on since before submitting this application should hopefully see me get an interview invite next year should I choose to apply!

With that, I'll be signing off from these forums for a while - it's been great talking to y'all and being a helpful voice, but I just need to do my own thing for a bit. You might see me back around and active for next app cycle, but you also might not - going to take time and think about what is actually going to be best for me and my life.

Going to conclude with something that is against the norm of what is usually said online: it is okay to give up. Medicine probably isn't the only thing that you would be happy doing as a career in life because there's just too much variety in jobs in the world for you to literally not jive with ANYTHING else. I still have medicine as quite high on my career choice list, but there are a lot of factors that may end up pushing me to pursue something else instead.

DM me if your issue is super pressing and you really need me to speak on it - it sends me an email notification that I got a message.