Do admission committee members contact references?

[Guest Pucca81]

Does anyone know if they actually phone the people written as references on the non-academic extracurricular list? If so, what kind of questions do they ask? (e.g. general question like "Has Ms/Mr. so and so actually volunteered there?" or more personal questions like "Do you think she/he will make a good doctor?"

[Guest not rex morgan]

yup

[Guest notamedic]

Do they tend to contact before or after interviews? Are references contacted by the interviewers or other committee members?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi Pucca81,

 

Perhaps UBC calls referees randomly or in some other fashion, but they may not do it (and besides, it does not seem feasible for so many applicants interviewed) for all applicants. None of my referees (to the best of my knowledge!) were contacted last year. This is a wee fire, however, that applicants don't want to be playing with as the repercussions surrounding referee foul play are large and ugly.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey notrexmorgan,

 

How did your play/musical extravaganza go? Lots of standing ovations?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Pucca81]

The reason why I wondered if the committee members actually contact referees is because some of the phone numbers of my referees have changed since I submitted the application and I wasn't sure if I need to pro-actively call the admissions office and let them know. Hmm... I guess they will contact me if they can't find the people they are looking for!

[Guest Afghansite]

From what i know, they contact referees after the interview. Pucca81, I think, you should be proactive in this matter. U said "if they need it they would call me"..but that could delay your application. They call your referee and the number is changed. Then the file is send to another person to call you. Bu there are 20 other files and blah blah...

 

So go to UBC Med office and give the new numbers. Its always good to be proactive.

 

Cheers!

[Guest Pucca81]

I just got a reply from Joy Bennett. She said that it's best not to contact them if there are any changes in contact information of referees. They are really backed up right now. If they can't reach any of the referees, someone will contact the applicant directly.

 

Ciao~

[Guest k2yf]

Seems odd they contact them after the interview. How do you know they do that?

[Guest not rex morgan]

A friend of mine with a mutual contact (ie. the person who they would call to see if you're legit) heard from that person that they had been contacted by the office, so there's one situation in which we definitely know someone was contacted. I'm not sure if it was before or after the interview. Sorry, I can't help with that. If Joy Bennet said not to bother, don't.

 

Kirsteen. The musical went well. Thanks for asking. We got a standing ovation on closing night. The audiences all along seemed pretty receptive...ie, they laughed alot. (good considering it was supposed to be funny). Also heard from other people that they had heard from people who went that they really enjoyed it. I haven't heard any bad reviews, so I can assume that most either sincerely enjoyed it, or appreciated the effort enough to curb their negative sentiment. Judging by the audience response, it's fair to assume the latter. I've never acted before, so it was really exciting when the audience played off of us. We even had kids responding to what was said on stage, which really added to the atmosphere.