Need advice for application to enter in 2009

[spoudaios]

Hi guys,

 

I need advice from those of you who have been accepted or at UBC or had applied before or going to apply:

 

1>. I will take my MCAT this coming Jan 25th. I am taking 3 weeks off work to study. It's pretty good except verbal i guess. English is not my first language and reading is not my thing. Practice scores between 7 to 8 and sometimes 9 on verbal.

How important is it the MCAT for UBC applicants? After the MCAT, i don't think i will never want to take it again. I hope i can do well. It just took so much out of my life last year.

 

2>. My background: I am a pharmacist that has been working for 5 years. Has not had a lot of volunteer activity other than 5 years in music ministry as song leader and back up singer. Just recently starting trying hospital volunteer and being a big brother. Will be going home to Singapore to volunteer in hospital for 5 weeks.

I think i did pretty well in school. Definitely not a nerd. I did get a lot of A's in almost every year. Maybe GPA of around 3.5 or 3.6 max

 

3>. When do you think i should start getting all my transcripts ready (i need to contact 2 colleges and UBC pharmacy for this).

I plan to write my autobio essay as soon as i finish my MCAT. However, i don't finish my volunteer thing which i plan around the summer where i will be going back to Singapore to do it.

 

4>. Are you allowed to send anything early eventhough the registration is not yet open? What happen if they lose your file?

In what month, does registration open usually?

 

5>. What advice would you guys give me after i finish my MCAT? I know i will celebrate and watch all BluRay movies i bought since last year but hasn't got a chance to watch them.

I am thinking of going back to work of course, but what other things?

[kgmed23]

i haven't been accepted but did apply this year.

1) UBC I don't think is big on MCATs. Anything below a 7 gets flagged and if you receive a score of 7 in VR, they will look to see how you did in english courses at UBC. If you did well in them, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

2) Volunteering is very important. Pre-interview you are given a score out of 25 for non-academic qualities and 25 for academic. Academic score is comprised of your overall percent and last 60 credits. Non-academic is very subjective and I think the qualities they score you on are leadership, community service, diversity of experience and high level performance.

3) Getting your transcripts from UBC will take you a day but I am not too sure about the colleges (if they are international colleges, I would def. check with them early and see whether the transcripts are available in english or not because you will need to have them translated by the college and sent directly)

4) If i remember correctly, the application form will be available in late june or early july. I am sure they will not except anything for next year's application until augusts of 2008.

5) After MCAT, get started on your application. Take your time with the essay because it introduces you to the adcom and highlights why you want to be a doctor, your passion for the field, and qualities you have to be a successful doctor. Don't rush this. Also, this year's application took me a long time to do so I would suggest giving yourself plenty of time to go through it.

[spoudaios]

Thanks for the response...

 

1>. English and reading were never my strong point. I would rather do other hobbies than reading. Besides my eyes are quite bad and dry and the CBT just makes it even worse. You have to constantly stare at the computer. I don't have high hopes for verbal but who knows i might be lucky.

 

2>. If i take too many volunteer activities, they will probably ask me why so sudden before applying to med school. I don't want to take too many and end up not being able to answer the questions. It is also hard for me to do more volunteer because my work schedule changes during the week. During undergrad, i was never aware of the importance of doing volunteer work. I think partly because i was in a culture shock and was trying to adapt until my involvement in music for 5 years in church. What's your advice on this?

 

3>. Do you think i should ask for the transcripts after i open a file, ie. registered at the website when it opens in late June or do you think i should do it now? All my transcripts are from 2 BC colleges and UBC.

 

4>. Now, the essay is not that long considering that you probably want to include as many things in it. How do you write it? Don't you think being a

creative is good. (i.e. making sure that the readers are not bored considering they have to read many applicants' essays)

 

 

 

 

i haven't been accepted but did apply this year.

1) UBC I don't think is big on MCATs. Anything below a 7 gets flagged and if you receive a score of 7 in VR, they will look to see how you did in english courses at UBC. If you did well in them, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

2) Volunteering is very important. Pre-interview you are given a score out of 25 for non-academic qualities and 25 for academic. Academic score is comprised of your overall percent and last 60 credits. Non-academic is very subjective and I think the qualities they score you on are leadership, community service, diversity of experience and high level performance.

3) Getting your transcripts from UBC will take you a day but I am not too sure about the colleges (if they are international colleges, I would def. check with them early and see whether the transcripts are available in english or not because you will need to have them translated by the college and sent directly)

4) If i remember correctly, the application form will be available in late june or early july. I am sure they will not except anything for next year's application until augusts of 2008.

5) After MCAT, get started on your application. Take your time with the essay because it introduces you to the adcom and highlights why you want to be a doctor, your passion for the field, and qualities you have to be a successful doctor. Don't rush this. Also, this year's application took me a long time to do so I would suggest giving yourself plenty of time to go through it.

[Charlatan]

Hi there,

 

The essay is not an opportunity to show off your laundry list of activities in your resume or CV, and including "as many things as possible" is not advisable because doing that will most likely bore the admission officer to death. The admission officer already has a list of your activities from elsewhere of your application. Rather, you should select specific activities that are meaningful to you and elaborate on them in order to show some insights (ie. what you get out of the activities and how they may have motivated you to enter medicine) that make your essay an interesting read and hopefully stand out among the pile of applicant essays.

 

Hope this helps,

 

- C

[talmeth]

Dedication to a particular area of volunteering or service for an extended period of time is more important than splitting yourself between many activities. Pick something you are passionate about and concentrate on it.

 

Remember, you should be volunteering because you are intrinsically a caring, ethical person, not simply a student trying to find a recipe to gain admission.

 

On another note, if English is not your strongest point and you don't expect a good VR mark, I would certainly review how you rate your communication skills. Getting a 7 or a 15 on the VR section isn't as important as effectively communicating with someone. There are plenty of anti-social geniuses out there!

[spoudaios]

I totally agree with Talmeth. I mean i just feel so intimidated by most applicants of what they've done and accomplished when they send their application. They did many things, probably all of you here as well.

 

When i first came here, i had to struggle with culture change for almost 2 to 3years etc but it was not my intention to think about becoming a doctor or do too many activities. I was in my church choir, then singer then song leader but that's all. No related activities with health.

In fact, i thought i wanted to go to pharmacy advised by a family's friend and then i can decide if i want to go back to school.

 

Then, after few years working in health care field, i realize that it is very rewarding by becoming a doctor (i see them working every day for 4 to 5 years). I mean i love pharmacy too but i am not totally into the business aspect to it. When it comes to hospital, i do not like the fact that you have no patient interaction. By being a doctor, i thought that i can apply my clinical knowledge plus i get to interact for my patient.

 

Communication is okay i think. But i am just not a strong reader i have to admit. I don't have the desire to retake MCAT. I have taken 1 month off from work this month to cram studying like there;s no tomorrow. My sciences are fine i think but verbal... yuck... The most i got (i think i was lucky) was 9. But majority fluctuates between 5 to 8 (6 and 7 being the most common).

[spoudaios]

Just wondering for anyone that applies to UBC... how long are the courses that you take valid for?

I did my undergrad in 1996. Do you think they are still good?

 

What about other universities?

[talmeth]

Courses are still good, but since they are over 10 years old you have the option of asking UBC to disregard them if they are average or low.

 

Note, if asked to disregard, UBC will not include ANY courses from that particular year. If that includes a prereq, you'll need to retake it.