How is the autobiographical essay marked?

[Guest physiology]

Hello everyone,

 

If academic considerations give you 25 points, and non-academic give you 25 (for a grand total of 50% of the application), where does the autobiographical essay fit in?

 

I assume it would be part of the 25% for non-academic, but it doesn't seem so from some of the posts that I've read.

 

Perhaps it is used by the interviewers to gain some insight on you b4 the interview? Any clarification would be useful!

 

Thanks in advance.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I believe that the essay is read along with your employment and extracurricular activities lists to complete the package of information from which the reviewers can determine your mark out of 25. So they review all three when looking for points to help you accumulate marks according to their marking criteria.

 

As to the use of the essay in interviews, they definitely used them in the past. I arrived ~10 minutes early for one of my UBC MD program interviews and knocked on the interviewer's door. She asked me to wait outside for a few minutes, and it turned out that she was reviewing my essay. Her first question came directly from the first paragraph of my essay, as I certainly hadn't mentioned horse chestnuts anywhere in my extracurricular activities or employment lists.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest physiology]

That's very useful! Thanks! is UBC your first choice?