Referees and Reference Forms

[bubbles]

Congratulations to all those who got invites! I'm so excited.

 

This is a question to all those who went through the admissions process last year. What is asked in the reference forms that are emailed to the referees?

 

I've been out of school for awhile and don't know who to approach for my academic reference. I was hoping if I get an idea of what the referee is asked, that would help me in deciding who to approach in terms of their ability to judge the characteristics they are looking for.

 

Thanks for your help!

[eastwest]

Hi Bubbles,

Congrats to you too!

 

I don't think this will answer your question, but maybe it will help. I haven't been through the admissions process before, so I'm not exactly the person you are looking for, but I have recently found out some new information.

 

I also just got invited for an interview (so excited too!) and I'm not sure who to ask to be my referees (although I have to decide soon!). So I called the admissions office to ask some questions and it sounds like each reference form is different (Academic, Community, Personal) and there are some questions where I think the referee scores your skills and certain characteristics- I imagine this would be like a survey (eg. 1-very good 2-good 3- satisfactory 4-not good), but that is just a guess. And then as well there is the option to write a letter if the referee chooses too.

 

I imagine that the Academic referee would be asked mostly about your academic abilities. They said the Community referee form is said to assess your professional skills and whatnot when you have been working in the community either in a volunteer or paid role. And the personal referee is to give a character reference.

 

Anyways, you can always call the admissions office yourself to clarify - they were very helpful when I called. Of course they can't answer specifics, but they did help me decide who to choose.

 

Hope that helps you in your decision!

[Poolboy]

That is pretty much what the forms are about - you want to make sure that you choose someone who knows you enough to be able to answer those specific questions - a prof that knows you and your motivations to be a doctor and has seen you with different projects both written and verbal - someone who has overseen your volunteering and has seen you work with people - things like that.

 

Just make sure you ask your referees if they will be able to give you a positive reference - if they can answer most of the questions on the form and they have all good things to say about you then no problem - references only become a problem when they don't know you that well and their letter is very plain and uninspiring or they say something negative (but who would choose someone who would say that?! - it happens! - both by mistake or they had no choice).

 

Also, make sure you get them in on time - I had troubles with that a couple of years both with canada post (buy your referees prepaid expresspost - or write them a cheque to buy expresspost!) and with UBC admissions losing my letters (they were gracious both times).

 

And even if you don't get in (or if you do!) get your referees a present (i.e. Starbucks card) - it makes things a lot smoother the next year if you have to apply again - these forms and the letter they have to write probably take at least a couple of hours for them to write.

 

I also sent my transcripts, and I printed off my application and essay and sent them to each of my referees so they knew my most recent activities and to give them some ideas to put in their letters. I had a friend who also printed off the qualities of med students that UBC is looking for (those character qualities like leadership and empathy) that are on the admissions site - and gave them to her referees as key words they could use in their letters.

 

Good luck!

[bubbles]

Thanks eastwest and poolboy for your replies.

 

Is it ok to ask a research supervisor who is a professor but who you did not take a course with to be an academic referee?

 

Also, for a community reference, is it more advisable to use a volunteer or work reference?

 

Thanks for your help!