NAQ Question

[juc25]

I am having a brain meltdown and was wondering whether the NAQ score takes into account everything - llike extracurricular, employment history and publications, or whether it is only based on what is written in EC section.

 

I heard from someone that their NAQ score was only broken down based on the cateogires of EC section... So I was wondering if I should write some of my employment history in the EC section. Can anyone give more insight?

[FlunkingWithStyle]

NAQ scores take into account everything. I would place employment under the Employment History section. Cheers!

[medisforme]

the instructions specifically say employment activities shouldn't be in the extracirric part

 

yeah, i emailed them about this and they said that employment related things should only be placed in the employment section.

[dan0105]

What are you guys doing about hours for things you don't really have verifiers for? or for things you don't really keep track of hours for?

[kgmed23]

You should put verifiers and hours for every activity. Estimate the # of hours and put down a friend or anyone else who can verify for unorganized activities like travel, etc.

[dan0105]

And how many hours am I supposed to put down for a two month trip to Brazil or something? 2 * 31 * 24? seems dumb to have to do it in hours.

[avenir001]

ya something like that..except i wouldn't use 24...estimate how many days and how many hrs/day u were actually doing smth...like sightseeing, etc. i think that's what i read in the application instructions somewhere.

[medisforme]

ya something like that..except i wouldn't use 24...estimate how many days and how many hrs/day u were actually doing smth...like sightseeing, etc. i think that's what i read in the application instructions somewhere.

 

yeah, it says not to include time you were sleeping or eating when calculating hours for EC's like long trips

[chelseym]

For two months in Brazil, I would use (total # of days - 2 days for travel)*(14 hours/day). They don't want us to include time taken for sleep, meals, or travel, so it's probably better to underestimate the hours.

[smakie]

Don't worry about sounding ridiculous....I had some 5000 hours in an activity and it turned out okay for me.

[medisforme]

all you have to do is something like (X days x 12 hours day spent doing traveling ****) and that will suffice. just don't include every single hour you were in brazil on your application.

[djmackj]

are we seriously suppose to write down travel hours? seems weird to me. If I went sightseeing in China for a month, how does that demonstrate my ability as a successful medical practitioner?

[medisforme]

are we seriously suppose to write down travel hours? seems weird to me. If I went sightseeing in China for a month, how does that demonstrate my ability as a successful medical practitioner?

 

I am guessing you have never been backpacking before? besides the fact that backpacking shows a high level of independance, it also shows that you have been exposed to other cultures and are willing to attempt new and challenging things and that you have a life outside of a typical pre-med. Plus, it will give you some interesting things to talk about and draw examples from, if you are interviewed.

 

i have backpacked throughout south america and europe and i consider that one of the stronger aspects of my application.

 

above all, backpacking/traveling is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life; all the things you saw and friends you've made.

 

as the above shows, i think traveling is a very strong aspect of an application and i really don't think you should be knocking it.

[djmackj]

I am guessing you have never been backpacking before? besides the fact that backpacking shows a high level of independance, it also shows that you have been exposed to other cultures and are willing to attempt new and challenging things and that you have a life outside of a typical pre-med. Plus, it will give you some interesting things to talk about and draw examples from, if you are interviewed.

 

i have backpacked throughout south america and europe and i consider that one of the stronger aspects of my application.

 

above all, backpacking/traveling is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life; all the things you saw and friends you've made.

 

as the above shows, i think traveling is a very strong aspect of an application and i really don't think you should be knocking it.

 

the way you put it makes alot of sense to me. but backpacking is only one of the ways you can travel. while I agree backpacking exposes you to alot more culture and is much more rewarding through its independence factor, I don't know if I should put down stuff like going sightseeing with my mom in China and visiting ancient architecture. I mean I learned some history from that trip, but not much else. Sorry if I sound amatuerish, this is my first time applying.

[medisforme]

the way you put it makes alot of sense to me. but backpacking is only one of the ways you can travel. while I agree backpacking exposes you to alot more culture and is much more rewarding through its independence factor, I don't know if I should put down stuff like going sightseeing with my mom in China and visiting ancient architecture. I mean I learned some history from that trip, but not much else. Sorry if I sound amatuerish, this is my first time applying.

 

of course you should, it's an EC isn't it? besides appreciating ancient architecture is something that will put you apart from other applicants.

 

i am putting down a short two week trip my family took to brazil. the secret is in how you describe it, you need to make it sound dynamic etc...

[djmackj]

i see.. thanks! I have one more question for the UBC application. There's a place for Travel and there's another one for outdoor experiences. What's the difference? I would think backpacking qualifies more as an outdoor experience while vacations would go under travels. any thoughts on this?

[medisforme]

it depends what kind of traveling it is. I placed backpacking through europe and visiting museums, bullfights, wimbledon etc.. in the traveling section while i put my trips to south america which included a lot of hiking through the andes and the amazon and snorkeling around the galapagos in the outdoor section.

[djmackj]

it depends what kind of traveling it is. I placed backpacking through europe and visiting museums, bullfights, wimbledon etc.. in the traveling section while i put my trips to south america which included a lot of hiking through the andes and the amazon and snorkeling around the galapagos in the outdoor section.

 

wow that's quite a lot of stuff. I really want to do those things, how much does it cost would you say?

[medisforme]

wow that's quite a lot of stuff. I really want to do those things, how much does it cost would you say?

 

depends how much you mind roughing it.

 

i bought a standby ticket to europe for 200$ but then you have to show up for like every flight for 2 days and hope you get on one of them

 

i went with a partner on all my trips which makes traveling cheaper mainly because you can split the cost of accomodations.

 

if you are willing to camp everywhere you go and eat bread and cheese everyday then your trip will be quite cheap.

 

i spent approx 3300$ for everything going to europe for 3.3 months and about 1000$ spending 2 months in south america.

[Jixe]

Is the application down for anyone?

[agray33]

Yes, its also down for me.

[cas1234]

Does anyone know whether I have to write down the exact start date for my EC activities or if the month and year are sufficient?

 

I think it was in the awards section that it said it was alright to write the month only if the exact date was not known but I am not sure if that applies to the non-academic experiences section as well.

 

Thanks

[always_panicked]

What do you if your verifier doesn't have an e-mail address? I can't submit a post it seems unless I have an e-mail address

[avenir001]

not-applicable@hotmail.com

[sha_ullah03]

Actually that is not a bad idea....on the e-mail section just write something like "does_not_have_email@noemail.com", and then include a phone number on the number section.