ubc_earnestw Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 They essentially made three big changes: 1. Added the drop lowest marks policy (up to 30 credits from Sept-Aug) 2. Removed the Last 60 credits factor in their application 3. Removed the 10 year rule (because it only affected a relatively small portion of applicants) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stressed Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Umm...yeah...the removal of the last 60 credits really bugs me :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 hey where did you get that stuff? can't find it from the links you provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybeadoc Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 hey where did you get that stuff? can't find it from the links you provided. http://www.senate.ubc.ca/vancouver/schedule.cfm go to tonight's (march 23)meeting agenda and materials -> download files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 http://www.senate.ubc.ca/vancouver/schedule.cfm go to tonight's (march 23)meeting agenda and materials -> download files thanks, didn't realized they updated the materials section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Doc Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 What about the changes regarding the mcat? It sounds like they are somehow changing how they factor it in??? Anyone have thoughts about this? EDIT: I'm referring to the part that says Selection process: added” MCAT scores” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubc_earnestw Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 What about the changes regarding the mcat? It sounds like they are somehow changing how they factor it in??? Anyone have thoughts about this? EDIT: I'm referring to the part that says Selection process: added” MCAT scores” "MCAT scores were included as part of Academic criteria in 2008-09 Calendar, but taken out in 2009-10 when we required minimum MCAT scores. However, the scores received are still a factor in the selection process, so put back in." From the way its worded, it seems like it was simply put in since it is still a factor and not because of a change to the evaluation criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankMasterFlex Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 "MCAT scores were included as part of Academic criteria in 2008-09 Calendar, but taken out in 2009-10 when we required minimum MCAT scores. However, the scores received are still a factor in the selection process, so put back in." From the way its worded, it seems like it was simply put in since it is still a factor and not because of a change to the evaluation criteria. That's how I understood it. Nothing actually changed in their evaluations, they are simply now stating that MCAT scores are evaluated. The removal of the last 60 credits will make it difficult / impossible to bring up low averages. It's hard to argue against this move because they have stated they are trying to bring their admissions criteria in line with the evidence and cgpa seems to be one of the best predictors of success. It looks like going back to do a 2nd degree will not be nearly as beneficial as it will be incredibly hard to bring up overall averages (even after dropping one year). I wonder if the average age of accepted applicants will go down because of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medprospect981 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 It says that there the academic average is calculated two ways: Overall and Prerequisite. So I'm guessing that even prerequisite courses that were within the lowest dropped year would be counted within the prerequisite average. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 yeah that would make sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryacha Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 http://www.senate.ubc.ca/vancouver/schedule.cfm go to tonight's (march 23)meeting agenda and materials -> download files When I go to that link the only place I could find March 23 was under "Past Agendas and Materials" and then there is no link to download for March 23 on the page: http://www.senate.ubc.ca/vancouver/schedule.cfm?go=archive I can DL the Feb 23rd no problem. Did it get removed or am I just computer illiterate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankMasterFlex Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 yeah it got removed. The March 23 meeting is now listed under past meetings, but the agenda and materials aren't there anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pininkid Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Can someone who's already downloaded the materials mirror it please? Not that I don't believe you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaname Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Since they've taken out the "last 60", does that mean they won't look at recent trends in grades? Will they just compare cGPAs between different applicants and not consider recent changes at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplin Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Since they've taken out the "last 60", does that mean they won't look at recent trends in grades? Will they just compare cGPAs between different applicants and not consider recent changes at all? Add this question too:- With the exclusion of last 60 credit gpa from the AQ calculation, will the pre req avg factor in instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jojef Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Yep, that's what it's looking like. It seems like UBC is now moving in line with many of the other med schools across Canada (i.e., CGPA as the primary academic selection criteria). Personally, this does me no favors, as I have a strong upward trend that will now effectively go unnoticed. What it comes down to is this: if you have consistently good, if not great grades, you will benefit minimally from the new changes. In fact, they could work against you as you may benefit less from the rule changes than the average applicant: your CGPA relative to the other applicants (which is all that really matters, after all) will decrease. However, if you had one god-awful year, this new rule could conceivably take you from a 3.6 to a 4.0, full stop. However, keep in mind that the new rule only applies to those with 120 credits (how'd you like to have done AP in high school and have graduated with 116 credits?!). Again, as a previous poster said, it'd be nice if someone else could post to verify all this. Calgary it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryacha Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Looks like I might be moving to Alberta/NS for an IP spot unless by some miracle next year an 82% (with lowest year dropped) gets you an interview C'est la vie. Sucks for me, but this might be an overall more accurate measure since it prevents student from escalating their last 2 years with less challenging classes (which is exactly what I have done!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrivee Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Looks like I might be moving to Alberta/NS for an IP spot unless by some miracle next year an 82% (with lowest year dropped) gets you an interview C'est la vie. Sucks for me, but this might be an overall more accurate measure since it prevents student from escalating their last 2 years with less challenging classes (which is exactly what I have done!) I don't think this change will affect me tons if I don't get in this year, however, I am really sorry for all the people that this change has negative effects on. Especially when people plan their life around a set of rules only to have those rules change just before people can take advantage of them. It's a shame. On the other hand I trust that the adcom knows what they are doing. All the best everyone, and once again, I'm really sorry to hear that this change has bad implications for some of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rburgundy Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 This is f##$% retarded. The removal of the last 60 credits score basically negates any positive you get from taking away your first 30 credits. Guess this ends the days where anyone with a < 80-83% average can get an interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 What I can't really understand about rules changes such as this and others is why they don't introduce it gradually. Why not say in 2-3 years from now, this will happen. Yes the admissions committees are free to do what they want. There are more than enough qualified applicants no matter what method they chose, but because that rule change affects even a handful of people so greatly, do something to ease the force of the rule. Even if they allowed a super quick appeal process for the next couple years to attain the 10 year rule so they only had to accommodate a few people who really need it, rather than having to calculate it for everyone that applied. Just my thoughts of course, but when a rule change can nullify several years of planning and effort in an instant, it's rough not to be slightly more considerate of those people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helix Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 This is a pretty rough change for those who plan to apply next year. A little heads up would have been nice (e.g. " in two years we're pulling the existing rule") ah well, it looks like UBC is moving to the cookie cutter med student......22-24 (no academic mishaps/smooth sailing), middle to upper class background (enough time/resources to bump up NAQ). Way to go on the diversity initiative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCPreMed Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Wow...I'm so suprised about all this. For me it's not the 30 credits vs last 60 that will destroy me but the pre-req average. I'm one of those people that had a horrible first year (I'm talking borderline failure) and took all my pre-reqs during that year. Taking out the lowest 30 creds but putting in an entire pre-req average is pretty drastic in my opinion... I'm praying for this year's admission twice as hard now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rburgundy Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Wow...I'm so suprised about all this. For me it's not the 30 credits vs last 60 that will destroy me but the pre-req average. I'm one of those people that had a horrible first year (I'm talking borderline failure) and took all my pre-reqs during that year. Taking out the lowest 30 creds but putting in an entire pre-req average is pretty drastic in my opinion... I'm praying for this year's admission twice as hard now Not sure that's how I read it. Like the MCAT, it's still a part of the evaluation, but not part of the 'score'. But it is possible. Which means I have 0% chance of getting another interview at UBC again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofdovely Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Wow...I'm so suprised about all this. For me it's not the 30 credits vs last 60 that will destroy me but the pre-req average. I'm one of those people that had a horrible first year (I'm talking borderline failure) and took all my pre-reqs during that year. Taking out the lowest 30 creds but putting in an entire pre-req average is pretty drastic in my opinion... I'm praying for this year's admission twice as hard now I don't think they are using the pre-req average as part of the AQ score...I think the roles of the pre-reqs will stay the same. This is what the CURRENT AQ score says: 1.Three academic evaluations are calculated: 1.overall academic average, based on all university-level courses attempted (including summer courses and graduate courses with grades, if applicable) 2.most recent 60 credits average (note: the number of credits used may vary for some applicants) 3.prerequisite average Even though pre-req average is listed under the current system, we know it is not used when determining the actual AQ score itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEDLIL Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Hey everyone, I don't understand how the "drop the 30 credits" works. What if those credits are among the pre-requisites...also 30 credits would mean almost two years of classes right? Should the two years be consecutive? PS: I phoned ubc today, the said they couldn't' tell me anything today. Everything will be posted tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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