what is up with ubc med?!?!

[Guest djfir0]

sorry im from the USA, and i guess we do stuff ab it differently here. also i'll be moving to ubc in august to finish my last 2 years of undergrad and *hopefully* go to med school at ubc. but i had some questions.. how are all these people with SUPER high mcat like 35+, and good gpas NOT get into ubc med, while other people with like 27ish mcats and decent gpas get in on their first try? also, does ubc have 3 diff med schools? and which ones are the easiest to get in.

 

i've also heard that bc is the hardest place to get into med school in north america? is this true? or just speculation, because based on the accepted/rejected sticky, it seems like it is not THAT difficult.. also, based on my current gpa of 3.896, thats equivalent to about an 89ish avg. here, i manage a restaurant for like 20 hours a week, go to school, deans list, some organizations, leadership team @ my school, im also a ubc transfer scholor or some @#%$(forgot the name)... @#%$ like that, HOPING to do research in next 2 years and project like a 30+ on mcat, what do you think my chances are of getting into one of the ubc med schools?

[Guest kupo]

i dont think ubc isnt too hard to get into: its competitive but not impossible. It may seem next to impossible if you are not a BC resident. nonetheless....

 

1) dont take those MCAT scores too seriously. we dont know if they are even correct. while it may factor at the end in a very tight race, it counts for little these days in the grand scheme of things (thats what ive heard).

 

2) a good GPA, diverse EC's, and a well written application will get you an interview. Then its the interview - not only should you score well, but leave a good enough impression so that your interviewers will vouch for you when it comes down to crunch time.

 

3) you dont need god like GPA's nor god-like EC activities, just show you are a well rounded person.

 

4) it isnt easier to get into one school over the other. 200 people are offered admission, then are assigned according to their preference. however, there is a rural suitability score associated with your applicaiton and will benefit you when admissions must decide between a close race. then again, i have no idea what admissions is really thinking. sometimes i think that the competition is so good, that a handful of people will get in, while a handful who deserve to get in dont - the reality sometimes.

 

having said that, being a BC resident puts you at a distinct advantage. UBC is very tough on out of province/out of country applicants - reason being, its the only med school in BC and they're trying to protect their own students.

 

mr Dj, it seems like you have a well rounded CV and your plans will help make yourself look like a complete person. until you've lived in BC long enough to declare yourself a BC resident, you'll be treated as an outsider and consequently you will have a harder time getting an interview compared to someone who is from BC (BC application score cut-offs were 34.5 or something while OOP was 42 this year, for example).

 

I didnt get in - was waitlisted for 2/3 of the sites. I have decent grades (85% overall - or 3.76 or something like that), an average MCAT, and a decent combination of volunteering, club activities and sports (nothing special - but seemingly well-rounded). For me, its the interview that could have gone a lot smoother. A handful of questions i was asked did not go as i anticipated - or i said the wrong thing - or didnt answer the question. whatever. I know what i need to work on and for me, it doesnt seem impossible to get in. i just have to keep trying.

 

BOTTOM LINE your chances of getting into UBC are much better if you qualify as a BC resident than if you dont.

 

 

 

kupo

[Guest Ollie]

Hi,

 

I will attempt to answer as many of your questions as possible.

 

First, UBC med doesn't accepted international students. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. If neither of these applies to you, then you are SOL (but I'm guessing you are a dual citizen??)

 

UBC's 3 programs. Info here. There is one application for all 3 programs, and after you are interviewed, you will be asked to rank your program location preference. The purpose of the expansion is to hopefully train more doctors who will eventually practice in rural BC.

 

Not sure where this rumor of hardest med school to get into came from. If you look only at seats/applicants, it's easier than a lot of other school in Canada. As Kupo said, it's probably the hardest to get into if you are an out-of-province student.

 

It's true that there are people with super high GPAs and MCATs that don't get into UBC. Here's the breakdown of weighting: 25% academic, 25% non-academic, 50% interview (although how closely this is adhered to by the ad com is a mystery). So you could have awesome academics, but be sunk by your interview, whereas someone with lower academics, but really great non-academics and a great interview can get accepted. But, it's like that at a lot of schools. Also the MCAT isn't usually a huge factor, although the averages this year were super high (see thread about that).

 

I think that key for UBC is diversity in your EC's, a good GPA, and definitely a good interview. But, just like everywhere else, there are no guarantees. Good luck!

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there djfir0,

 

As mentioned by the folks above, it's unknown as to whether the UBC applicant pool MCAT averages posted for this year are accurate. It is probably from there, with the help of some chatter on SDN, that the new rumour stemmed that entering UBC is ridiculously difficult, i.e., with MCAT requirements higher than that of some high-MCAT US schools, for example. As one of the uber-fortunate out-of-province folks who was recently invited to take a seat in this year's new medical class, I can tell you that my aggregate MCAT score is nowhere near what is currently posted on the UBC website. Unless the standard deviation is huge, I'm not really sure how those numbers came about.

 

Lastly, UBC changed their admissions process this year. As such, it is largely unknown as to how the selection of candidates took place relative to how it took place in the past. It does appear, however, that non-academics continue to play an important role in the selection of interviewees, so make sure that you properly highlight those in your application. As also mentioned by the folks above, it will behoove you if you are deemed a BC resident at the time of your application.

 

Good luck,

Kirsteen

[Guest djfir0]

heh, sorry i guess i should have mentioned that i was a canadian citizen. but how exactly can i establish bc residency? i'll be living there for 2 more years while i finish my b.s. what exactly do i need for residency? ho wlong does it take to establish?

[Guest physiology]

www.admissions.med.ubc.ca...&area_id=1

 

Look under "BC Residency"