no interviews

[Guest grannysmithapple]

I am wondering how often this happens:

 

a. waitlisted one year and then not even an interview the next?

 

b. no interview one year and then waitlisted the next and then rejected the next year?

 

c. interviewed three times and then rejected without interview the fourth?

 

Should we be interpreting any of this as a hopeful sign or an omen? How should we be interpreting this i.e. if you're ever waitlisted, can we hope that we'll ever get in?

 

thank you.

[Guest GundamDX]

I haven't gotten in yet so I don't know too much about stats for these situations. I think it's really up to the person to choose whether to continue trying UBC or not. All of these situations seem totally possible since the quality of applicants vary each year and the person's interview performance also varies each year.

[Guest benjibert]

Not a pretty option. It does not even qualify as an "option" since I did not intentionally choose it for myself.

 

Needless to say, the past week has been very difficult. I am simply thankful I have not gone insane. However, after the feedback session next week I may.

[Guest ssc427]

There seem to be alot of people in your boat.

 

For these people, can I ask - have you only applied to UBC? If so - why? And beyond this - have you only applied in Canada? If so - why? There are tons of good US schools that do provide financial aid to Canadians and all but 3 provinces allow you to return to Canada for residency as if you had done your MD at a Canadian school. In addition US schools will happily look beyond poor GPA if you have compensated in other ways. There is no formula determining your acceptance (ie 25% prereq GPA, 15% MCAT, 25% interview etc...) such as there is at UBC.

 

I do not mean to be rude but if you are only applying to UBC and not willing to move to do your MD I would question your drive for being a MD (the fact that you have applied 4 times to UBC suggests you are driven to attend UBC, but not necessarily to be an MD). I have a wife and 2 kids and as such UBC is my first choice (for family support reasons) but as a back-up I have applied throughout Canada and in the US. I would much rather move to New York (where I have already been accepted) or Winnipeg (where the 50% MCAT thing means I have a good chance) than not be a doctor at all.

 

If you did carpet bomb North America and still can't get in ignore the above paragraph. In which case talk to each and every adcom about why your application is weak. Every single school I know of will provide some kind of feedback.

[Guest ewon2003]

that's some harsh words, maybe cuz it's interview time and stress level tends to be a bit high

 

anyways to provide some info for perspective:

 

for example:

 

I have classmate here at UBC who applied to only to UBC and got in, and is doing very well here in every aspect

 

Another good friend who got into just about every school he interviewed (something like 6 or 7) as a 3rd year applicant, but can only choose one school to attend, so he chose UBC cuz it's close to home

 

Another friend who applied to only UBC but got rejected b/c of a poor interview, and then applied again to a few more schools, and ended up here.

 

So there is quite a variety of personality here. It's a matter of your own comfort level and willingness to take risk, as well as MCAT score / gpa meeting cut off. So maybe not so much of motivation to become an MD.

 

Right now I think MD doesn't mean that much if you cannot find a specialty that'll make you happy and then actually match into that specialty of choice. And then you'll prob again ask yourself whether or not you (and of course your family) will be willing to relocate and sacrifice personal life.

 

btw I think the moderators for this board are getting 'old', like mostly in 2nd years or beyond, to far removed and rusty from the application process. First year meds are welcome to take over.

[Guest ssc427]

I'm not trying to be harsh at all. I'm trying to be helpful and realistic.

 

My opinion - the Canadian MD application system blows and DOES NOT let the best people in. I could have a nobel prize, have cured aids, ended world hunger... and what does that get me at UBC? 5 points for 'high performance' out of 100. 50 of which are still allocated to GPA. Sure, you need to have some smarts to be an MD, but there should also be the means of overiding bad GPA if someone has proven themselves in other ways.

I have classmate here at UBC who applied to only to UBC and got in, and is doing very well here in every aspect

Another good friend who got into just about every school he interviewed (something like 6 or 7) as a 3rd year applicant, but can only choose one school to attend, so he chose UBC cuz it's close to home

Another friend who applied to only UBC but got rejected b/c of a poor interview, and then applied again to a few more schools, and ended up here.

So there is quite a variety of personality here. It's a matter of your own comfort level and willingness to take risk, as well as MCAT score / gpa meeting cut off. So maybe not so much of motivation to become an MD.

The situations you describe all sound reasonable. I'm thinking of folks who have applied and failed 3+ times. Applying to one school is a huge gamble. So sure, try it first time round but in your next attempt try applying to other places where there are no formulas/cutoffs. Or find a school whose formula suits you - they are all different.

 

Also, IMO if you are not willing to move to do your MD then that suggests to me that your personal comforts are more important than your commitment to medicine - and therefore you already show a lack of altruism which is crucial for a good MD. I'd guess that the 'chronic UBC appliers' out there with decent ECs and MCAT could walk into a decent US school if they only tried.

[Guest kanayo101]

so, IMO if you are not willing to move to do your MD then that suggests to me that your personal comforts are more important than your commitment to medicine - and therefore you already show a lack of altruism which is crucial for a good MD. I'd guess that the 'chronic UBC appliers' out there with decent ECs and MCAT could walk into a decent US school if they only tried.

 

With all due respect, I think that is a naive thing to say. True, that if you really want to be a doctor then you should stop at nothing to attain that goal. However, many people have other issues in their lives that prevent or deter them from moving abroad to attend school for 4 or more years.

 

For most people I bet it has nothing to do with "personal comfort" but more to do with family -- a very valid reason in my opinion. Some people have spouses or children of their own who can not simply be uprooted for one person's career. On the other hand, other local-only applicants may have parents, siblings, etc who are dependant on them (or vice versa) and in their lives that may take priority. (In fact, one of the things medical schools do actually look for is a support system in the applicant's personal life...)

 

Finally, moving out of province and especially out of country requires a significant financial backing. For the majority of US schools, international students pay a higher cost (it can be four to five times what in-province students pay). George Washington University, for example, costs >>$60,000 US dollars per year. As US-government scholarships, loans and other financial aid is usually restricted for international students, racking up several hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt may not be a wise choice for some.

 

Lack of altruism...I would say yes "dedication" is absolutely essential to make a good MD. "Devotion" yes. Altruism, to some extent, for sure. But deciding not to move away for 4+ years doesn't reflect on your potential to be a good doctor. As I mentioned before, moving is not a simple choice. In decisions like that, I think you have to put your self first.

 

A last point, GPA is not that big of a factor for UBC. I find they do use a somewhat more well-rounded approach than other schools (although I can't say I am fond of it right now). But you are definately right, the do not let the best applicants in.

 

Anyway just a few thoughts.

 

Anyway, just a few thoughts. I don't mean to attack you, I hope it doesn't read like that! (who knows maybe we'll be classmates one day!!)

[Guest ssc427]

Yup - you're right. Given the choice between George Washington and not being a doctor at all I'd choose not being a doctor at all. You could therefore argue that this demonstrates a lack of selflessness on my part. However I do think that there are several shades of grey in between UBC and GW and I think people should investigate these before applying to UBC and UBC alone year after year after year after year.........

[Guest kanayo101]

For sure, I'm not saying don't pursue other options I'm just saying circumstances may not permit those options may not be available to everyone. In fact, you could argue that a person who puts their family before their own career and desire to become a doctor displays as much selflessness as a person who leaves their comforts behind to become a doctor abroad and help others during their career.

[Guest zipzappy]

Hi ssc427,

 

I was reading through your post and you mention "tons of good US schools that do provide financial aid to Canadians and all but 3 provinces allow you to return to Canada for residency as if you had done your MD at a Canadian school."

 

- Which US schools are these that provide aid to Canadians?

- Which provinces accept residents from the US?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks,

 

Zp

[Guest ssc427]

For US schools accepting Canadians see:

p090.ezboard.com/fpremed1...D=93.topic

 

If you are Canadian and attend a US school every province will allow you to apply in the first round of the residency match (so just as if you had done your MD in Canada) except Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Nova Scotia. See:

www.carms.ca/jsp/main.jsp...ligibility

 

For these 3 provinces you can apply in the second round.