You’ve put a lot of work into considering your academic path ahead and you bring a unique set of experiences and academic history to the application process. At the Faculty of Medicine, our priority is to encourage and support diversity throughout our evaluation of applications to the MD Undergraduate Program to create a more inclusive, caring community of students who will go on to become an empathetic, diverse group of doctors in the future.
In our evaluation of applicants, we consider the whole person and that includes a blend of academic criteria and non-academic experience. Becoming a doctor requires unique traits and qualities of compassion, empathy, determination, curiosity and a desire for excellence—there is no ‘ideal’ preparation or institution that is preferred for the UBC Medical undergraduate program.
We encourage you to explore the evaluation process and connect with us at any point if you have questions. The Admissions team is here to support you throughout the preparation of your application to the MD Undergraduate Program.
Kamloops pediatric teaching
Being evaluated can feel challenging but know that we have put in place a fair and equitable process in order to evaluate your academic history. There are many details to understand, so we’ve tried to present them as simply as possible.
Your GPA will be determined through these calculations:
1 AP, IB and A Level credits are not included in GPA calculations.
2 Courses taken during the summer of the application year are treated as courses in progress. They are excluded from academic average calculations and do not count toward the credits needed for the AGPA, but will ultimately count for credit towards the 90 minimum credits and/or completion of the English requirement. Summer courses from past years are included in the academic evaluation.
GPAs are calculated the same way for all applicants, with the exception of disability-related accommodations granted in coordination with the Centre for Accessibility. Exceptional circumstances that are not adjudicated by the Centre for Accessibility are not considered for academic accommodations.
The application system will calculate your GPA for each academic year (September to August) and will identify the year with the lowest GPA. If you are eligible for the AGPA, up to 30 credits from that year will be excluded and the GPA will be recalculated.
To determine your eligibility, here are various GPA examples:
Example 1:
GPA credit total = 90
AGPA is not applicable to this applicant
Example 2:
GPA credit total = 105
Lowest year credit total = 33
105 – 90 = 15, so we will remove up to 15 credits from the worst year
Example 3:
GPA credit total = 120
Lowest year credit total = 33
120 – 90 = 30, so we will remove up to 30 credits of your lowest year of academic performance
Example 4:
GPA credit total = 108
Lowest credit total for the year = 18
108 – 90 = 18, so we will remove up to 18 credits of the worst year (in this case, the entire lowest year of academic performance)
Example 5:
GPA credit total = 152
Lowest year credit total = 30
152 - 90 = 62, we will remove up to 30 credits of the worst year (in this case, the entire lowest year of academic performance)
Please note that not all applicants who are eligible for the AGPA will have 30 credits dropped from their lowest year. The number of credits dropped depends on:
Courses are dropped from the lowest year in order of grades, starting with the lowest grade.
Example 6 – Lowest year contains a small number of credits
This applicant has completed 150 credits with grades. The academic year with the lowest average is shown below.
Course Grade Credits
ENGL 145 82% 3
ENGL 196 87% 3
This applicant will have ENGL 145 and ENGL 196 dropped. No courses from any other academic year will be dropped, because courses are dropped from the lowest year only.
Example 7 – Lowest year contains a course or courses with a large number of credits
This applicant has completed 120 credits with grades, and the academic year with the lowest average is shown below.
Course Grade Credits
PHRM 215 81% 15
PHRM 262 82% 2
PHRM 254 83% 15
PHRM 225 85% 2
CHEM 239 88% 1
BIOC 240 88% 3
PHRM 280 Pass 1
This applicant will have PHRM 211 (15 credits) and PHRM 231 (2 credits) dropped. No further courses will be dropped due to the credit value of the course with the next lowest grade, PHRM 212. As PHRM 212 is a 15-credit course, dropping this course would mean that over 30 credits would be dropped (15 + 2 + 15 = 32).
Example 8 - Lowest year contains a course or courses with a large number of credits
This applicant has completed 114 credits with grades, and the academic year with the lowest average is shown below.
Course Grade Credits
BIOL 128 78% 3
BIOL 187 87% 2
ARTS 001 95% 25
This applicant will have BIOL 128 (3 credits) and BIOL 187 (2 credits) dropped. Dropping ARTS 001 would mean the applicant has fewer than 90 credits with grades remaining (114 – (3+2+25)=84), so ARTS 001 will not be dropped.
Generally, Pass/Fail, Credit/No Credit courses do not count towards the GPA, nor the minimum 90 credit requirement. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we will be accepting courses that are Passed or received Credit from the Winter 2019-2020 Term 2 (or equivalent term) and including them in the calculation of your 90-credit minimum requirement in the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 application cycles. Grades from Winter Term 2 of the 2019-2020 academic year (or equivalent term) will not be included in the calculation of GPA.
Students who took full year courses in the 2019-2020 academic year, and are not able to have grades listed on their transcript for Term 1 (or equivalent term), will have their final course mark included in the calculation of their GPA for the appropriate number of Term 1 (or equivalent term) credits.
These Grade Conversion Tables will be used to convert your letter grades to a percentage. Depending on the grading scheme of the institution attended, each letter grade on your transcript will convert to the equivalent percentage grade as per the appropriate table. These conversion scales were approved solely for use in academic evaluations of applications to the UBC MD Undergraduate Program. The resulting averages may differ from those calculated by your institution. Grades from schools using a percentage system will not be converted.
These tables can be used to convert grades from your transcripts to the percentages shown. This will assist in determining your eligibility for the UBC MD Undergraduate Program. However, you should be aware that in the event of a discrepancy between your calculations and those of the MD Admissions Office, our decision is final.
Note: Table 1 is used for institutions that award an A+; Table 2 is used for institutions that do not.
| Table 1 | |
| Letter Grade | Converted Value |
| A+ | 95 |
| A | 87 |
| A- | 82 |
| B+ | 78 |
| B | 74 |
| B- | 70 |
| C+ | 66 |
| C | 62 |
| C- | 58 |
| D+ | 54 |
| D | 50 |
| D- | 46 |
| F | 25 |
| Table 2 | |
| Letter Grade | Converted Value |
| A+ | n/a |
| A | 92 |
| A- | 84 |
| B+ | 78 |
| B | 74 |
| B- | 70 |
| C+ | 66 |
| C | 62 |
| C- | 58 |
| D+ | 54 |
| D | 50 |
| D- | 46 |
| F | 25 |
For your reference, you may find it helpful to use this GPA calculator. When calculating your GPA, please refer to the Academic Criteria above.
The minimum MCAT requirement for applying to our program is a score of 124 in each section (CARS, BBFL, CPBS and PSBB) on one exam. Applications with scores lower than 124 in any section will be made ineligible. You should review our statistics for an indication of competitive scores. Please ensure your MCAT exam dates are valid.
If you have written the MCAT more than once, we will evaluate your best eligible exam. Please note that our evaluation is based on only one exam; we do not take sub-scores from individual sections of different exams.
The cut-off for invitation to interview is based on a score derived from applicants’ Overall Academic Average or Adjusted Academic Average (if applicable) and a Non-Academic Qualities score. At the pre-interview stage, academic and non-academic scores are weighed equally. MCAT scores are not a factor in deciding who is invited to interview so long as minimum score requirements have been met.
At this stage, all aspects of your files are reviewed together. The Admissions Selection Committee will consider whether you have demonstrated that you are likely to perform well in the rigorous curriculum and case-based format of the MD Undergraduate Program.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine is comprised of a diverse community of people from around the world, and we want our future students and doctors to be as diverse as the communities they will end up serving. In an effort to select well-rounded, mature, empathetic and caring individuals who will be best suited for success in medicine, the Non-Academic Qualities (NAQ) section of the application is given significant weight in our evaluation.
To determine your NAQ score, we look at a number of criteria, including:
Non-academic activities and achievements are reported and evaluated using the following categories: leadership, service ethic, capacity to work with others, diversity of experience, and high performance in an area of human endeavor. Your NAQ score is determined by evaluating the degree of involvement, level of responsibility, significance of accomplishment, and duration of your non-academic experiences in each of these categories.
We value long-standing volunteer or employment commitments that showcase intentional, genuine concern for others. Generally, higher scores are assigned to activities that demonstrate significant levels of responsibility, initiative, and commitment over activities of minimal duration or responsibility. No preference is given to applicants with experience working or volunteering abroad, versus those with only local experiences. We value activities that feature significant involvement with people from various backgrounds beyond your normal peer group. We also consider additional skills, competencies, and understandings that are gained through diverse life experiences.
We value non-academic activities and interests which demonstrate the following aptitudes: Motivation, social concern & responsibility, creativity, scientific & intellectual curiosity, an attitude toward continuous learning, maturity, integrity, and realistic self-appraisal, among other qualities.
If applicants are intending to strengthen the non-academic portion of their application, they should pursue activities that are of interest to them and which will prepare them for a career in medicine. Intentional community involvement is valued and can encompass a variety of experiences within and outside of the healthcare setting, in paid or volunteer positions. The intensity of the activity as well as the time commitment are just two aspects considered by evaluators. Please note that just as applicants are required to demonstrate above-average academic abilities, a good NAQ score requires demonstration of above-average non-academic qualities.
In accordance with the guidelines put forward by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, the MD Undergraduate Program discourages individuals not enrolled as students of health professions regulated by the Health Professions Act or Emergency Health Services Act from participating in physician shadowing. Such activities pose significant concerns to patient privacy and confidentiality and will not result in an increased NAQ score or improved chances of admission.
Verifiers for non-academic experiences (including activities and employment history) can be contacted at any time from the date of application submission until mid-April of the following year. Verifiers are contacted to confirm specifics of an activity and can also be contacted at random. Discrepancies between the details in your application and those confirmed by the verifier are noted and may affect your file. Applicants are required to ensure that all the information they provide on their application is accurate.
Applicants interested in pursuing medicine in northern, rural or remote communities are encouraged to complete the Rural and/or Northern Training section of the application, used to help determine the suitability of applicants for the Northern Medical Program and a select number of positions in the Southern Medical Program and the Island Medical Program. Experiences in rural/remote/northern/Indigenous settings, along with community ties and relevant activities, factor into the assessment. Learn more about the Northern and Rural pathway
Our invitations to interview are based on the results of both the academic and non-academic elements of your application. Our interview process follows the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) model, which connects you to approximately ten different interviewers and requires you to respond to carefully pre-selected questions/scenarios within a determined time frame. The interviewers are from diverse geographic areas of BC, and typically consist of clinicians, academics, community representatives, and 3 rd or 4 th year UBC medical students. Learn more about the interview process.
The selection of candidates for admission to the UBC Faculty of Medicine MD Undergraduate Program is governed by guidelines established by the UBC Senate and is the responsibility of the Faculty of Medicine Admissions Selection Committee and the Associate Dean, Admissions. The selection process reflects the values of the UBC Faculty of Medicine and all university partners in the UBC distributed MD undergraduate program. The process is designed to choose well-rounded students from a variety of backgrounds who meet the goals of the expanded, distributed program; who can be expected to perform well in the rigorous curriculum and case-based learning format; and who can balance and enrich their academic experience with strong non-academic skills and interests.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Vice Dean, Education oversees the selection process to ensure that all applicants are given careful consideration without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ancestry, place of origin, family status, physical or mental disability, political belief, religion, marital or economic status. The selection of candidates is made by consensus of the Admissions Selection Committee. Preference is given to residents of British Columbia. Up to 10% of seats (maximum of 33 in 2024/2025) may be available to out-of-province applicants in the medical program each year.
Each year, our admissions process is highly competitive. Due to the intense competition, and limits on the incoming class size, not all qualified applicants will be offered admission. Please know that your application is important to us and we encourage you to consider applying again even if your past attempts have not been successful.
You will have the opportunity to indicate your site preferences after your interview. Members of the Selection Committee are not aware of an applicant’s site preference during the selection process. Following an admissions decision, you will be allocated to sites based on your preferences. Your site choice is given priority, unless the available positions at that site have been filled, in which case you will be added to a waitlist for your preferred site(s). Acceptance of admission to the MD Undergraduate Program is always site specific.
