Doctor of Medicine (MD) — University of British Columbia

Program status: Active

SpaceCat Fit Notes

CASPer: Not required at UBC, so SpaceCat’s very high CASPer score provides no advantage here. UBC uses its own NAQ (Non-Academic Qualities) assessment instead. SpaceCat cannot leverage her CASPer strength at this school.
GPA window & upgrading strategy: UBC’s AGPA allows dropping up to 30 credits from the lowest year, which provides some relief — but the minimum for out-of-province applicants is 85%, and the competitive average is 89.65%. SpaceCat would need to be well above 85% even after the AGPA adjustment. The percentage-based scale (not OMSAS 4.0) may convert differently from her Dalhousie grades. The AGPA drop helps but does not overcome a fundamentally weak academic record.
Experiential / written advantage: SpaceCat’s shelter work aligns well with UBC’s NAQ scoring, which values “long-standing volunteer or employment commitments” and service ethic. The NAQ is weighted equally with academics at the pre-interview stage — this is more favorable than programs that weight GPA heavily. The 10-station MMI would test SpaceCat across diverse scenarios. However, reaching the interview stage requires clearing the 85% OOP academic bar.
Out-of-province: Ontario resident. - “Preference for admission is given to residents of British Columbia.” Up to 10% of seats (maximum 33 in 2025/2026) available to out-of-province applicants. BC residents must hold valid BC Services Card by application deadline. (, )
Overall assessment: Not viable — The critical barrier is residency: UBC reserves up to 90% of seats for BC residents, leaving a maximum of 33 out-of-province seats from ~1,400 OOP applicants (~2.4% OOP acceptance rate). As an Ontario resident, SpaceCat would be competing for one of these 33 seats against the strongest applicants from every other province. Combined with the higher 85% GPA minimum for OOP applicants and the lack of CASPer, this is not a viable option. SpaceCat’s Ontario residency should be leveraged at Ontario schools where the 95% Ontario seat reservation works in her favor.
Overall assessment: Not viable — (out-of-province barrier)

Quick Facts

Institution: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine
Program name: Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Degree granted: MD
City, Province: Vancouver, BC (main campus); distributed sites at University of Victoria (Island Medical Program), University of Northern British Columbia (Northern Medical Program), UBC Okanagan (Southern Medical Program)
Program type: Standard (4-year MD) — distributed model across BC
Duration: 4 years
Delivery format: In-person
Full-time / Part-time: Full-time only
Language of instruction: English
Start date(s): August/September (Fall entry only)
Intake frequency: Annual
Application deadline(s): September 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Time. MCAT scores and non-North American transcripts due by October 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific. (Source)
Application system: UBC’s own online application (NOT OMSAS — UBC is not an Ontario school) (Source)
Program URL: https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/
Accredited: Yes — CACMS accredited

Admission Requirements

GPA

Minimum GPA (BC residents): 75% overall academic average (below this, no full file review). (Source)
Minimum GPA (out-of-province): 85% overall academic average (below this, no full file review). Significantly higher bar for OOP applicants. (Source)
Competitive GPA: Average entering class GPA: 89.65% (2024 entry). (Source)
GPA calculated on: Two metrics:
OGPA (Overall GPA): All university credits with grades from accredited post-secondary institutions.
AGPA (Adjusted GPA): For applicants with >90 credits, removes up to 30 credits from the lowest-performing academic year (lowest grades removed first, provided 90 graded credits remain).
Fails, duplicates, and repeat courses are included in both calculations. Pass/fail and CR/NCR courses do not count toward either GPA or the 90-credit minimum. (Source)
GPA window: All credits (OGPA) or all credits minus lowest year (AGPA). The AGPA drop of up to 30 credits from the worst year provides some relief.
GPA scale: Percentage-based (not 4.0 OMSAS scale — UBC uses its own conversion)

Prerequisites

English: 6 credits (two semesters) required by April 30 of entry year — either 6 credits literature OR 3 credits literature + 3 credits composition. (Source)
Minimum credits: 90 university-transferable credits by April 30 of entry year. (Source)
Strongly recommended (not required): General Biology (6 cr), General Chemistry (6 cr), Organic Chemistry (6 cr), Biochemistry (6 cr). (Source)

Prior Degree Requirement

90 university-transferable credits minimum. No completed degree explicitly required, but 90 credits typically represents 3+ years of full-time study. (Source)

Supplementary Requirements

MCAT: Required. Minimum total score: 496 on a single exam. If multiple attempts, the exam with the highest total score of 496+ is used. MCAT does not factor into interview invitation decisions (provided minimum met). Valid test dates: April 17, 2015 – September 13, 2025. (Source, Source)
CASPer: Not required. UBC does not use CASPer. (Source)
Interview: Yes — Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format. 10 stations, each 8 minutes with 2-minute scoring period. Conducted virtually via Kira Talent platform. Interviewers include academics, clinicians, community representatives, and 3rd/4th-year medical students from across BC. 2025/2026 interviews: January 31 and February 1, 2026. (Source)
Non-Academic Qualities (NAQ): UBC evaluates a detailed NAQ score based on leadership, service ethic, collaboration capacity, experience diversity, and high achievement. “Long-standing volunteer or employment commitments” valued over brief involvements. (Source)
Citizenship: Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person with refugee status. International students cannot be admitted. (Source)

How Applications Are Evaluated

Pre-interview: Academic (GPA) and non-academic (NAQ) scores weighted equally. MCAT is threshold only (496 minimum) and does not factor into interview decisions. (Source)
Post-interview: All aspects of file reviewed together holistically by selection committee. (Source)
BC residents receive strong preference — up to 90% of seats reserved for BC residents.

Out-of-Province Considerations

Residency restrictions: “Preference for admission is given to residents of British Columbia.” Up to 10% of seats (maximum 33 in 2025/2026) available to out-of-province applicants. BC residents must hold valid BC Services Card by application deadline. (Source, Source)
OOP academic minimum: 85% (vs. 75% for BC residents) — a 10-percentage-point penalty. (Source)
OOP acceptance rate: ~30 OOP students admitted from ~1,100+ OOP applicants (~2.7% in recent cycles). (Source — search results)
Waivers from BC residency preference: Available for PhD holders, Indigenous applicants, Black applicants, and MD/PhD applicants. (Source)
Out-of-province policy URL: https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/before-you-apply/admission-requirements/

Cost

Annual tuition (domestic, 2025-2026): ~$22,870 (Year 1). Varies by year: ~$20,348 (Year 2) to ~$27,130 (Year 4). Same for BC and out-of-province domestic students. (Source — search results)
Total program (approximate): ~$90,000–$95,000 over 4 years (domestic) — lower than Ontario MD programs

Competitiveness

Cohort size: 328 total (2025/2026) — distributed across 4 sites: Vancouver-Fraser (208), Island/Victoria (40), Northern/UNBC (40), Southern/Okanagan (40). (Source)
Number of applicants (2024 entry): 2,915. (Source)
Acceptance rate: ~11.3% overall (328 from 2,915) — but OOP rate is ~2.7%. (Source)
Average admitted GPA: 89.65% (OGPA/AGPA, 2024 entry). (Source)
Average admitted MCAT: 513.15 (2024 entry). (Source)
Average age: 25.33 (2024 entry). (Source)

Information Not Found

No specific gaps identified for this program.

Sources

Official program pages: - MD Program Admissions - Admission Requirements - Evaluation Criteria - Admissions Statistics - Application Timelines - Interviews - Frequently Asked Questions - Applicant Guide 2025/2026 (PDF)

Third-party sources: - MedApplications — UBC Application Guide