HELP in understanding rejection letter

[Guest Sad guy]

On my rejection letter this year it stated that my interview ranked in the 82nd percentile. How come I still got rejected from UBC?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey there Sad guy,

 

That isn't too cool re: your news; I'm sorry. :\ On the bright side of things, at least as far as UBC is concerned, you are now the one in the driver's seat of your future and you can begin to make some decisions and plans and move on. Some of us don't yet have that "luxury".

 

With respect to understanding what was behind your rejection, did the other score(s) that you received seem askew? That is, I'm not sure if it was one other score or a number of others, but did they seem low or were they as high as your interview score?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Sad guy]

My grades were: overall ~81%, pre-req. ~81%, and last 60 ~81%. But on the UBC admissions website it states that "in the final decision the interview is the most important, followed by the overall academic standing, then extra-curric. and then lastly the MCAT." Ian also put 2001 stats on another thread which showed that UBC accepted ~37 people with <80% average and 58 people with 80-85%. With an interview score of 82nd percentile and approx. 300 people interviewed, only ~54 people scored better than me on their respective interviews. I want to know what the ~37 people whose academic average is definitely lower than mine had to score on their interviews to be admitted since the interview is the most important criteria, as per the UBC med website!

[Guest BC guy]

Would it have anything to do with being in 3rd year of a 4 or 5 year program? You should definitely go for the advising session. With that interview score you will probably get offers from other schools. I thought that your stats were the ideal ones for UBC admission, beats me.

[Guest Sad guy]

To make things even worse, I have already completed my degree at UBC and am currently working. I too thought that my academic standing was the most appealing to UBC med and I got my interviews the first week of Jan. (although, I don't know if that means anything). If in fact the interview is weighted 50% come final decision making time, there is no way I should have not at least been offered a 'waiting list' status? At least that is what I think! Any thoughts are welcome...

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey again Sad guy,

 

Thanks for sharing your details. Extracurriculars/essay etc., are supposed to factor into the final ranking, aren't they? Was nothing mentioned on the rejection form as to the scores for those components? Perhaps, even if they are not mentioned in the rejection letter, they are factored in the final ranking, just as the MCAT is (albeit minimally)?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Beaver]

Sorry to hear you didnt get accepted.

 

Find comfort in the fact that your numbers are great (and you dont have to worry about them) and it was probably a really close call between yourself and another applicant....so close that I bet if you applied next year, you would probably get in

 

If you want to hear about agony, I knew a girl who applied last year and in one week got an acceptance letter and the following week got a rejection letter FROM THE SAME SCHOOL. It was a big admin blunder and they ended up telling her the rejection letter was the one for her

 

Good luck to you next year. Dont sweat it!!

[Guest oak]

Sad guy

That really sucks, especially since it seems like you deserved to get in. Does anybody out there know when an appropriate time to call UBC is, regarding possible reasons why you were rejected. Maybe some people on the waitlist could post their rankings, and grades just for comparison purposes. It might bring you a little clarity and peace of mind. Do you have any other back up options, or was UBC it? Also was this your first time applying?

[Guest Sad guy]

This wasn't my first time applying and U of A is the only other school I applied to. I've worked and improved in every area that Patricia Jeffs told me to. My application was quite competitive this year but that's ONLY my opinion. What I don't understand is people who have 4.0 GPA or ~95 percentile ranking in their academic scores still get rejected from UBC (and they usually score ~30-40 percentile for interview). And, according to UBC admissions website, the overall academic standing is the 2nd most important factor in determining final acceptance, behind only the interview performance. That must mean that the interview portion counted significantly enough in the final acceptance as to negate these applicants' extremely high academic scores. The stats that Ian posted showing that last year UBC accepted 3 people whose grades were >90% and rejected 7 of these same people illustrate the importance of the interview. How can these people not get in IF the interview was not weighted so much more than their academic ranking? Otherwise, their exceptionally high academic score should have been able to pull up a mediocre interview score, right? Is my logic here a little screwed? My point is this: UBC website and historical facts show that the interview performance of an applicant can MAKE OR BREAK his/her acceptance. So, what happened to me? Did they make an exception and conclude that although I was highly recommeded by my interviewers (I think this is reflected in my interview score) that I was not intellectually smart enough to be admitted?

[Guest BC Guy]

According to my rejection letter the successful applicants have overall academic averages of 83.3% and interview averages of 85.4%........so looking at your stats, you should be right in the middle of the accepted applicants. This is perplexing. Statistically speaking you should be in. Are you of the average age of 23-26?

Have you heard from UA yet as they had already admitted the 4 year plus applicants that they think are exceptional in their interview. I don't know what to say, just try and try again? write a letter to Dr. Bates? apply elsewhere? Go and ask them "now what"?

[Guest BCgirl]

Sorry to hear that sad guy. That sucks.

 

I'm not sure how much they're used, but is it possible that one of your references wasn't very good?

[Guest beaver]

Do they have access to our actual age? I thought that was confidential to avoid descrimination.

[Guest BCgirl]

Hey beaver,

 

I can't remember for sure (and I'm not at home to check), but didn't we have to fill in our birth date on the application form?

 

Best of luck all!!

[Guest oak]

I am wondering if your reference letters are included in the interview percentile. Perhaps your grades and interview went great, but one of your referees had hesitations and that was your downfall. There must be some aspect of your application that prevented you from being a shue in. You probably know best what that could be. If you can't think of anything I would give them a call. It does seem baffling, that you aren't even on the waitlist. Good Luck!

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there guys,

 

Partially in an attempt to avert fanning the "UBC conspiracy" fire and partly to help folks such as Sad guy think this through, as far as I'm aware the final ranking score for selecting the 128 successful candidates is based on more than simply the overall academic average and the interview score. (This partly stems from info provided by my interviewer during the interview itself where they asked me: "For what reason do you think you would not be selected as one of the successful applicants this year".)

 

I've heard here and there that the interview counts for a whopping 50% of the final score, but that all of the following factors count for the remainder: academic performance (including the three breakdowns: pre-reqs, last 60 credits, overall average); non-academic criteria; MCAT. For whatever reason, however, if this is true, UBC choose not to include the statistics on the last two components in the rejection letters. Perhaps UBC choose to omit the latter two factors since they comprise the smallest proportion out of all of the factors in the final ranking score.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Sad guy]

in the rejection letter WE received, the stats say that the average interview score was 85.4/100. I am in the 82nd percentile meaning my interview score was probably around 90/100! I also fall into the "ideal" age (I'm 24). Looks like everything fits...except the letter. I am not trying to say that there is a conspiracy at UBC but I am hoping for some sort of adminstration error...I'm hoping that they accidentally sent me the wrong letter! Don't know how likely that is, though...

 

Regarding Kirsten's response, if the admissions office chose to leave out non-academic percentile ranking (3rd on importance list) and MCAT scores (last on importance list) but include overall academic and interview scores, it should be logical that these are the two most important deciding factors. If they are and many people with 90+% averages do not get in, the only logical explanation remaining is that the interview is more important in getting admitted than GPA, right? Which once again leaves me in utter disbelief and awe...maybe it is God who doesn't want me to get in or wants to test me...?

[Guest BrainDrain]

Kirsteen,

The mysterious X-factor (aka Fudge factor) is there so UBC has an excuse to reject people they don't like.

 

This sounds like an invitation for theWonderer to add to the conspiracy theory...

[Guest BC guy]

Hey, the more I think about it, the more I think you should go and ask them "now what". Do go and hear their take on it; and if the answer is not reasonable then go and write to Dr. Bates or is there an appeal process in place? Rooting for you.

[Guest Useful info]

The decision to admit is ultimately determined by each and every member of the admissions committee. This is why they meet. Regardless of your scores on the various components of the application (interview performance, etc.), if one member of the committee has reservations about you, then you get rejected.

[Guest Sad guy]

BC Guy: I have written an appeals letter already and sent it to the admissions office, Patricia Jeffs, and Dr. Bates. I'll see what happens...

 

Useful info: If indeed your theory is correct then the conspiracy theory stated in another thread will be true. How can anybody but my interviewers "know" me? Isn't that the purpose of the interviews? If so, how can the entire comittee meet and then one person say they don't want me in if they don't even know me? I think it is safe to assume that my interviewers "liked" me, otherwise my interview score would have likely been less than the 82nd percentile. If anybody but my interviewers say they don't like me or don't want me in, what are they basing it on? The stuff I have down on paper only? Then that nullifies the interview, in a sense. I don't think it is fair if some person does not get in b/c one person on the comittee has "reservations" about him/her when he/she has done everything he/she could to be accepted.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Hi Sad guy,

 

I hope that you are able to communicate with the committee regarding this. Best of luck in undergoing this process.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest feeling your pain]

Hi Sad Guy,

 

I feel your pain. There's still hope as UBC. in mine and my friends' experiences, makes lots of these mistakes.

 

Aside from that story of getting both a rejection and acceptance letter, I've first-hand heard of people wrongly being rejected from interviews (rectified in the end) and a fellow friend (who got accepted) getting the rejection letter with your interview stats and percentiles along with the acceptance letter in the same package. (If you get in, they aren't supposed to send you the info on how you did).

 

Good for you for sending in a quick appeal. I believe it is worthwhile. If there has been some weird mistake, the least they can do is stick you at the very top of the wait list, which virtually 100% guarantees your entrance.

[Guest Sad guy]

Thanks for everybody's help. I hope that UBC admin did make a blunder with me. I'll let you guys/gals know the outcome.

[Guest beaver]

We did have to fill in our birth date on the application to identify us, but I dont think that the interviewers/decision makers have access to that info, at most they have our sketch and thats all.

 

Does anybody know about this age disclosure thing?

[Guest BC guy]

for the interview, the interviewers do not have your age in front of them, but afterwards they can go and look at your whole application file which would contain the DOB info