Is it worth it for those residing in Vancouver to also apply to the Island, Northern, and Southern (Okanagan) Campuses?

[91529001]

Hello all!

I reside in the Vancouver area and while I know that most people around here default to applying to the Vancouver campus, would it be worth it to also apply to the other campuses in BC? Are there penalties/restrictions/preferences given to those that specifically reside in those areas or are all BC applicants treated the same? (I.e Would a Vancouver citizen have a good shot at getting into the other UBC campuses?) Would they be moreso looking for those who reside near those campuses?

In addition, would there be any repercussions/difficulties in seeking a residency in the Vancouver area if one were to complete their medical program at the Island, Northern, or Southern campuses? 

Thank you for your time!

[Comprehensible]

My understanding is that ranking more campuses does not change your chance of being ranked for admission. 

With that being said, if you are ranked towards the bottom of the admitted list, and there are no more spots at the Vancouver campus by the time they get to you, if you haven't ranked the other locations you won't be admitted. 

[frenchpress]

No, there’s no preference given to where you’re from. Everyone gets ranked together. When they get to you on the list, they try to put you in your first choice —- if its full, you get your second choice, and get waitlisted for your first choice (or if your 2nd choice is full, you get your third choice, and so on). To give yourself the best shot at getting in, I think it’s best to rank all the sites you think you’d be happy at.

The only exception is NMP and the ~12 rural seats set aside at SMP and IMP — you need to have completed the rural and/or northern training section of the application to qualify for these seats. I am not sure exactly what the criteria are to qualify, but I think you need to be able to make a case for why you want to go there and why you’d be suitable. So it’s possible you’d have a harder time qualifying for those seats if you’ve never lived outside the city. Someone from the sites could probably provide more insight into that process.

There are lots of other threads discussing the pros / cons of the sites vs. VFMP. But it really does seem that students at the sites have just as high a chance of matching to competitive specialities and to locations of their choice as those from VFMP. The major factors for happiness with a site seem to be more personal ones and lifestyle preferences. 

 

[victoriaQ]

I believe that what "qualifies" you for a rural seat is just a high score on the rural part of the application, which includes things like where you've lived in the past, what kinds of activities you like to spend your time doing, and whether or not a rural doctor has mentored you as you complete the application process. Bottom line, if you seem like someone who's lived in a rural area or would be a good fit, then you're more likely to get accepted to these seats, because that makes you seem like the kind of person that will get an MD and then go work in communities that struggle to retain doctors! If you've lived in Van your whole life, you are probably at bit of a disadvantage where this is concerned as compared to someone who grew up in 100 Mile, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to fill out the application anyways - worst case scenario, they just don't accept you to those seats and only consider you for the non-rural seats.