ubcMDhopeful Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Hello, I am going to be a 3rd year applicant this year and I want to know about the relative importance of Research vs. Non Academic Activities in the NAQ score. From my understanding, the NAQ score is composed of : Non Academic Activities (NAA), work experience, awards and research. While filling in the application I have realized that i have VERY few NAA, I only have around 7 things some of which were temporarily (less than 20hours). For some of the categories (human achievement) I do not have anything to put... At the same time, I have spent most of my time during the school year and summer doing research and have publications in high impact factor journals. My work experience is also not bad. In my situation it is imperative to know how each component of the NAQ contributes to the final score. If it is mostly on the activities then I do not think that I have a chance of even getting an interview as I most likely will get less than 4 on the NAQ judging from the scores previous applicants have posted given their activities. I started university focusing on the academic aspects while aiming for a decent NAQ but not it seems that even with a 25/25 on the AQ I will have major problems. I have gotten suggestions to quit some of my research jobs to open up time for more volunteer work. However, I feel that the experience I am gaining from these clinical research jobs will be beneficial to me in the future if I become a physician compared to jobs that involve telling people where the bathroom is in the hospital. Therefore, I was wondering if there is anyone on these forums that has gotten away with focusing on the more academic side of things (marks and research). Thanks in advance for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepontrying Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Hello, I am going to be a 3rd year applicant this year and I want to know about the relative importance of Research vs. Non Academic Activities in the NAQ score. From my understanding, the NAQ score is composed of : Non Academic Activities (NAA), work experience, awards and research. While filling in the application I have realized that i have VERY few NAA, I only have around 7 things some of which were temporarily (less than 20hours). For some of the categories (human achievement) I do not have anything to put... At the same time, I have spent most of my time during the school year and summer doing research and have publications in high impact factor journals. My work experience is also not bad. In my situation it is imperative to know how each component of the NAQ contributes to the final score. If it is mostly on the activities then I do not think that I have a chance of even getting an interview as I most likely will get less than 4 on the NAQ judging from the scores previous applicants have posted given their activities. I started university focusing on the academic aspects while aiming for a decent NAQ but not it seems that even with a 25/25 on the AQ I will have major problems. I have gotten suggestions to quit some of my research jobs to open up time for more volunteer work. However, I feel that the experience I am gaining from these clinical research jobs will be beneficial to me in the future if I become a physician compared to jobs that involve telling people where the bathroom is in the hospital. Therefore, I was wondering if there is anyone on these forums that has gotten away with focusing on the more academic side of things (marks and research). Thanks in advance for any help. Here's my 2 cent. With a 25/25 AQ, you probably only need 3 NAQ to get an interview, so that shouldn't be a problem. It's hard to get above 13-14 NAQ but anyone with a decent resume should get around 9-10 at least. Perhaps you can elaborate what type of jobs you have done and if they would fit in multiple categories (leadership, work with others, service ethics, etc). Now, as for clinical research being more useful than mundane tasks as a hospital volunteer, that I think is the wrong concept overall. Medicine involves alot of communications and subjectivity, and thus requires applicants to be well-rounded. You seem to be very academically driven, but if that's all you have, people will question why you are pursuing medicine since you would seem more suitable for medical research, which doesn't necessarily require a MD degree. Of course, hospital volunteering can be quite meaningless and I can concur to that based on my past experience, but there are many other activities that you can do, and they do not have to be hospital-based. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofdovely Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Unfortunately research hasn't been a large emphasis in the past years. In the PAST (before the shut off all the details for NAQ breakdown), the /25 comprised ENTIRELY of NAA. Publications would be added as additional points after your entire score was put together. However, this was a good 4-5 years ago and this year people are speculating that research MAY play a larger role as it was apparently given its own section. However, you have to remember that UBC is one of very few schools that place an equal importance of NAQ to AQ. They state explicitly on their website that they want well-rounded students with all of the 5 qualities. Also, I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions about research preparing you to be a better physician in the future. I have published multiple papers, one in a high impact journal as first author, and I can say that the qualities gained from these experiences pail in comparison to, lets say, the patience and life perspective gained from volunteering with disabled children. If you really do have a strong AQ (read ~90%+) then I would say apply. Your few volunteer activities alongside an impressive publication list may be able to get you that 10-12 points needed on NAQ to get an interview. And even if you barely manage to squeek by the TFR, you still have a good chance of getting accepted so long as you rock your interview (I know this because I must have barely made TFR cut off). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofdovely Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 ^ *Edit: Sorry for some reason I thought you were OOP (was replying to an OOP PM before this). As an IP with a strong AQ, as the person above me mentioned you only need 3-5 on NAQ score. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinaM Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Research can definitely get you high points on your NAQ. Anyways, I seriously doubt how much emphasis they place on NAQ in the grand scheme of things. If you have good grades you can surely get an above average total file review (TFR) off having a decent ( I would call normal) amount of NAQ activities. If you have good grades, having just research, some employment (especially in a health care field) and a couple of other things just to throw down there you will be FINE. There is no way to know how much everything is worth and it is a waste of time trying to figure it out. I really had only a couple things for NAQ, no where near how much some people would think you need to get in, but I had good grades and got my first choice campus. I did quite a bit of hospital volunteering because I got really into it and I enjoyed it a lot, but I had hardly any leadership or participation in any other clubs/activities. I know people who have gotten in with hardly any volunteering and quite extensive research/work experience. Everyone is different but I think its pretty difficult to get below 10 for NAQ even if you only have a couple things down there. I know this because I was rejected the first time I applied after interview with a 12 NAQ and I really had only about 5 things total. I still do think it is good to get some involvement with people outside of your peer group and this mostly comes from volunteering at an organization. It doesn't take a lot of time, and since you already have so much research, I'm sure you could scale down a few of your responsibilities ( even over a summer). I am assuming since you are interested in medicine, you at least enjoy working with people, and not just those that you encounter in an academic or social environment. You should demonstrate this on your application to some extent since this is a pretty important quality in a physician ( although, like I said I'm sure you could do without it as well and still have a good shot). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 I did quite a bit of hospital volunteering because I got really into it and I enjoyed it a lot, but I had hardly any leadership or participation in any other clubs/activities. ...I really had only about 5 things total. You sound like me. Except I had four things, with one of them from high school and an international volunteering activity from after June 1st because I wasn't paying attention to the instructions. However, I had 5 years of hospital volunteering experience. Yay us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zunik Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Does UBC differentiate much between lets say 79.5%, 80% & 83% in terms of AQ? If so, does anyone know how much for the last cycle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 You sound like me. Except I had four things, with one of them from high school and an international volunteering activity from after June 1st because I wasn't paying attention to the instructions. However, I had 5 years of hospital volunteering experience. Yay us. How did you word those EC's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 By highlighting what skills I learned in conjunction with what I did. Does UBC differentiate much between lets say 79.5%, 80% & 83% in terms of AQ? If so, does anyone know how much for the last cycle? Yes, an 83% will be very different from an 80% and a 79.5% in terms of the AQ score. Use the search feature to find the interview thread from the last application cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zunik Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 By highlighting what skills I learned in conjunction with what I did. Yes, an 83% will be very different from an 80% and a 79.5% in terms of the AQ score. Use the search feature to find the interview thread from the last application cycle. Check your pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hking03 Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 By highlighting what skills I learned in conjunction with what I did. Yes, an 83% will be very different from an 80% and a 79.5% in terms of the AQ score. Use the search feature to find the interview thread from the last application cycle. Check your pm Mith, did you check your pm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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