what is "High level of performance in area of human endeavour"

[Masaki]

I think it's time to start trying to break a guiness record.

 

.... or just make up a guiness record.

 

I'm sure that'll count for a few points =)

any ideas?

[leviathan]

I think it's time to start trying to break a guiness record.

 

.... or just make up a guiness record.

 

I'm sure that'll count for a few points =)

any ideas?

 

Or how about I just drink Guinness, and forget about high performance?

 

I don't think I deserved full marks, but come on, a ZERO?!

[fezzik]

The decision to reduce the high performance score from 5 to 3.5 IS the wrong one but, contrary to what I'm hearing here, it should never have been reduced.

 

A previous post is right in saying that doing exceptionally well in a sport, etc takes A LOT of time. Time that might be spent with your head crammed in a book to raise your GPA. I'm not saying that a high GPA isn't a good thing but it seems like some people are missing the fact that things outside of school (especially those thing that you do at a VERY high level) teach skills that can't be taught in school but are VERY valuable to a good physician.

 

Ok, these things may be presented in the other parts of the EC section but the high performance section is the only place where excellence is rewarded. Because of the time commitment you may not be able to participate in many activities but you should not be punished for focusing on one (or a few) activities if you do them at a world class level.

 

In my mind dropping this to 3.5 is hurting those who want to be excellent in something rather then mediocre at a bunch of things.

[Paule]

Last year during my feedback session they gave the example of someone who may have been fleeing a war torn country and had had to overcome increadible obstacles to get to where they are now. Because of these obstacles they may not have been able to get as many points in other categories as people who had not had to escape Kosovo or spend all their time training for the Olympics. It made sense to me. I don't think people who get in do so because they get some, or even any, high performance marks.

[Paule]

In my mind dropping this to 3.5 is hurting those who want to be excellent in something rather then mediocre at a bunch of things.

 

I disagree with this. The high performance category only rewards excellent in a very narrow sense--international recognition. Also, excellent IS also acknowledged in the other categories (leadership, service ethics etc...). So great, you've played hockey at an international level, and you should get points for this, but why should that put you way above someone who has been as dedicated and working as hard but in their own community?

[Kuantum]

I disagree with this. The high performance category only rewards excellent in a very narrow sense--international recognition. Also, excellent IS also acknowledged in the other categories (leadership, service ethics etc...). So great, you've played hockey at an international level, and you should get points for this, but why should that put you way above someone who has been as dedicated and working as hard but in their own community?

 

i don't think it does...remember...it just just one category. Chances are those who score very high in this category have committed a massive amount of time to what they got points for. I'm guessing something else in their application will lack and this sort of makes up for it. I think that is part of the reason 18/25 for NAQ is usually considered a pretty high mark...it is very difficult to be extremely good at EVERYTHING.

[Paule]

Kuantum, I think you and I agree. My point above was in respond to the remark that this category is the only that rewards excellence, which I disagree with. As I said before, I think that it's purpose is to give recognition to those who have, indeed, committed a massive amount of time to something worthwhile and may not have had the time to also do a weekly shift at the soupkitchen.

[kanayo101]

I applied 4 times before I got in and I always wondered what this category was for. Basically, it is just as it sounds...points for "high level of performance" in anything you do. Yes it includes sports achievements, national/international competitions and things that could have been recognized in other categories of the application. The points given in this category reflect the achievement (more specifically, age appropriate achievement), not the activity itself.

 

For instance, I got points in this category for considerable involvement in extra curriculars during highschool (over a thousand hours). Yes, I got points in other sections for the actual activity, my service role, leadership etc. but this category recognized the fact that I excelled in what I did to a level beyond the contribution of other people in the same program. I believe that people with lots of awards/scholarships due to an activity or specific contribution would gets points here too to recognize that.

 

As for those of you who suggest UBC is not fond of research, I always got asked about that in my interviews. Every school, even UBC, likes to have people with some exposure to research because as a doctor being involved in research is an avenue for professional growth. Involvement in research, laboratory and clinical, also provides a unique perspective on how medical advances take place, it helps develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving etc. Not to mention, research amounts to bragging rights for a university. Can one have too much research in their application? Well...yes...they don't want 24/7 lab rats with no exposure to anything else......

 

Does that make any sense to anyone?? SFUGUY....hey!

 

ps - you have to reward excellence. If you have let's say 500 people of which half played sports and half played piano...how would you compare apples to oranges and put a price tag on them?

[Dr.Daisy]

Is an ironman competition condidered for this category? Just curious...

[Kuantum]

Ironman is pretty hardcore...if you spent a lot of time training for it (which i assume you did since you're still alive to post about it) then i wouldn't see why not.

[dsp]

Could any of these go under the high achievement portion of EC's for UBC?

 

- publications in peer reviewed journals

- being ranked first in your faculty

- 5000+ hours of basketball, incl. senior team during grades 10-12 in high school

 

Also, would you be allowed to put down group projects (for which you were the group leader) that you have done that are part of your degree program for the leadership portion? These would include thing such as senior year projects and undergrad thesis projects, some of which awards were won for. Group sizes for the projects vary, including groups of 2, 3, 4 and 20. Also, the time commitments for these projects were huge, ranging between 100-350 hours per project.

[Kuantum]

- publications in a prestigious international journal would probably get high level points

- college level basketball would probably get high level points

- being ranked first in your faculty may get high level points, but that's more academic and i'd imagine that's what the AQ is for

- also, being a national ranked athlete or olympic athlete would probably get high level points as well

[D-Rock]

Could any of these go under the high achievement portion of EC's for UBC?

 

- publications in peer reviewed journals

- being ranked first in your faculty

- 5000+ hours of basketball, incl. senior team during grades 10-12 in high school

 

Also, would you be allowed to put down group projects (for which you were the group leader) that you have done that are part of your degree program for the leadership portion? These would include thing such as senior year projects and undergrad thesis projects, some of which awards were won for. Group sizes for the projects vary, including groups of 2, 3, 4 and 20. Also, the time commitments for these projects were huge, ranging between 100-350 hours per project.

 

This may seem offensive, but it's not meant that way or directed at you, I just wanted to type it quickly and include some humour:

-Peer-reviewed journals are only high level of achievement/endeavour if they're in genuinely high level journals (impact factor > 15: Nature, Science, etc., not the Reader's Digest Journal of Nutrition or PLoS anything)

-1st in faculty fits in other categories

-you can play basketball for 20 hours a day, 50 years of your life, but if you're not a national medalist/team member, it's not high level.

-group projects are considered a part of your degree work, therefore = academic (especially the thesis project)

 

High level of endeavour means you had to have been REALLY good at something that you (most likely) really worked hard for. Looking at people in medical school, there are numerous national champion/Commonwealth/Olympic athletes, accomplished musicians, ground-breaking volunteers (i.e. didn't just buy a trip to Africa), professional dancers, PhDs with top-level publications that further their fields, patent holders, etc. Because these people exist and want to be doctors, everyone else has to step it up.

[dsp]

Thanks for clearing some of that up... I've just been hearing/reading many conflicting things about the high level category.

[shaka84]

The only person that I know that scored 5/5 on the high level of performance section is Chuck Norris!

 

shaka

[D-Rock]

And rightfully so. Because "if you have $5, and Chuck Norris has $5, Chuck Norris has more money than you."

[leviathan]

The only person that I know that scored 5/5 on the high level of performance section is Chuck Norris!

 

shaka

 

Hahahha.... Nice!

[equus]

Sorry for bringing back this old thread, but I was wondering about this subject as well.

 

In this section, would I be able to mention that, as a director of an international health education organization at my university, I established a new teaching location, in a foreign country, in partnership with that country's government?

[herewego]

Sorry for bringing back this old thread, but I was wondering about this subject as well.

 

In this section, would I be able to mention that, as a director of an international health education organization at my university, I established a new teaching location, in a foreign country, in partnership with that country's government?

 

Sounds like a big deal so I would go for it. If you're making it sound more amazing than it is then I would err on the side of caution. I like to think of that section as "would any two other people in the applicant pool have this experience"? If there were 20 other directors helping you implement this program then I would say no. But if it was legitimately you and only you I would say yes.

 

Others may disagree in my analysis but in the end there is no harm in putting it in. Worst they will do is put it in another category.

[BBrownguy]

Sorry for bringing back this old thread, but I was wondering about this subject as well.

 

In this section, would I be able to mention that, as a director of an international health education organization at my university, I established a new teaching location, in a foreign country, in partnership with that country's government?

 

just be careful where you use that activity. Really think if that is something you want to use in your service ethic section, or high performance. It seems like a pretty significant thing so I'd say err on the side of caution and make sure it fits into whatever section you end up putting it in

[lokiki]

... "would any two other people in the applicant pool have this experience"?

...

 

That's a cool way to look at it. I like it.

 

I put one thing in this section for myself. Feel free to PM me if you would like to know what it was. I struggled with including it in the high performance section but after consulting with a number of people, all of them said I should so I did.

 

I think most applicants do not put anything in this category.

[medisforme]

That's a cool way to look at it. I like it.

 

I put one thing in this section for myself. Feel free to PM me if you would like to know what it was. I struggled with including it in the high performance section but after consulting with a number of people, all of them said I should so I did.

 

I think most applicants do not put anything in this category.

 

The last sentence is the key part, most current med students I have talked to (myself included) did not put anything in that section. So do not feel like you need to complete that section to be competitive.

[equus]

The last sentence is the key part, most current med students I have talked to (myself included) did not put anything in that section. So do not feel like you need to complete that section to be competitive.

 

I've already mostly completed my Non-Academic Activities list for UBC. I've completely filled up every section except for "High Performance in a Human Endeavour" (this one is blank for now). I have a couple other activities that didn't fit into the other categories, and I'm wondering if I should put them in the High Performance section. They aren't Olympic-gold-medal material, but are still notable achievements.

 

Would it be better to go ahead and include these achievements under "High Performance in a Human Endeavour" and hope to squeeze a point or two in that category, or simply not list these achievements at all, and leave the High Performance category blank? I don't really understand how the NAQ is calculated.

[BioPerl]

I would have assumed that research publication would be added to the research part of the application.

I was going to leave the High Performance in an Area of Human Endeavour blank since I can't think of something that really falls into the level of Olympic athlete. I have some really cool EC's where I think I have done some amazing things, but didnt feel they were cancer curing level.

would you guys recommend that I put something there and not just leave it blank even though I know they aren't super exceptional?

[lokiki]

The best advice, to the last 2 people in this thread, is to leave it blank if you don't feel there is anything you could put in there. That's what most of the posts above have said.