Guest glo Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Hi I just found out that I have an interview at UBC (yeah!) I'm OOP though, and also have an interview at UoA. I can't afford to fly out West twice, so I was wondering if UBC moderators would be able to post some pros and cons of UBC. I understand that there is alot of uncertainty surrounding the new curriculum, and was wondering if there was anything else I should be aware of? I think I remember reading somewhere on the UBC site that only 5 OOP students are accepted each year. Can anyone verify that? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Here's a couple of old threads on UBC's pros and cons: pub125.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm41.showMessage?topicID=4.topic pub125.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm41.showMessage?topicID=341.topic This is also my unsolicited opinion, but I think you'd be absolutely crazy to turn down an interview based on the cost of doing a second flight. Beg, borrow, or steal the cash to make the extra trip. That amount of money is a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands of dollars you will be spending throughout medical school for tuition and housing. Anything you can do to get accepted on your initial application attempt will more than pay itself back as you essentially gain a full year of a physician's salary versus someone who needs to re-apply the following year. UBC only accepts a small number of OOP students, and I suspect only interviews a small number as well, so you've likely got some fantastic numbers and other non-academic qualities to your application. For that reason, OOP students who get accepted to UBC also tend to pick up other acceptances elsewhere, giving you the wonderful opportunity to send the medical schools a rejection letter for a change! The hybrid PBL-didactic curriculum was in its third year when I started at UBC, and would therefore be in its seventh year this year, and eighth year by the time you start. As far as how the expansion goes, if you aren't at either of the new sites, I suspect your Vancouver education will probably not be much different than that of the current med students there. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Hi there, Congratulations on your invitation, glo. I think I remember reading somewhere on the UBC site that only 5 OOP students are accepted each year. Can anyone verify that? On the UBC Admissions FAQ page, it does say that a maximum of 5 OOP students will be accepted this year. There used to be some statistics on the previous iterations of the UBC Admissions website that listed the total number of OOP applicants, the number who were offered spots, and the number who matriculated. No longer, unfortunately, although I don't recall that the number of OOP matriculants ever rose too far beyond the range of 2-5. Also, I think I'd asked Admissions a question regarding the selection of OOP candidates eons ago when I last interviewed at UBC. If I recall correctly, the OOP pre-interview cut-off score (which is pretty high relative to that for in-province applicants) is efficient at whittling the OOP applicant pool down to numbers that are manageable and realistic in terms of filling the maximum of five seats. I don't believe any other OOP-specific cut-offs are used beyond this point in the selection process, that is, from here on in, all interviewees would be treated equally. I'm not sure if this unofficial policy has since changed. :rolleyes Cheers, and good luck, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest glo Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 thanks for your replies Ian and Kirsteen. And I do appreciate your 'unsolicited opinion' Ian. Turning down any interview is not my first choice by any means, but then robbing a bank is not highly regarded by med schools either . Not sure what I'll do at this point, but your list of pros was appreciated b/c I had gotten a feeling from the thread "Problems for 2004/2005..." that there was a huge problem. I guess every school has its up and downs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Do go to the UBC interview as well. UA only has 2 OOP seats for 2/3 year undergradutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Megs Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hi glo, Do all you can to go to all your interviews...really. Even if you owe a bank or someone you know a couple extra hundred dollars, these are those experiences you'll kick yourself for if you don't go. And, on a side note, I'm not sure it that there are only 2 OOP 2/3 year seats, kellyl20. I think I've counted more in our class - plus I'm not sure the number is ever written in stone, though I could be wrong on this. Megs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hi there glo, I'm not sure when the UofA interviews are normally held, but attending the UBC interview will also give you some extra, real interview practice. UofT and Ottawa use panel-style interviews, so the UBC interview (also panel-style) will be good training. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest glo Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Thanks guys. You're absolutely correct. I'm going to be 10's of thousands of dollars in debt, what's a few hundred more?? And I will absolutely kick myself if I don't get in anywhere and I skipped an interview. I'm in the process of booking my Alberta flight right now...but sheesh, its not cheap!! I really appreciate your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MDSMelissa Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Hello, Kirsteen mentioned that the numbers of OOP applicants interviewed is a manageable number. Any idea how many OOP applicants are interviewed? Melissa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Hi there Melissa, I've never heard or seen of any statistics regarding the number of out-of-province folks who interview at UBC. I don't think UBC has made that piece of information public in the past while. :rolleyes Perhaps someone else has heard something unofficial? Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 I should qualify that the 2 OOP seats for 2/3 yrs is true with class of 2006.......Admin told me this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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