Unofficial UBC Nursing Admission Tips & Advice

The University of British Columbia Nursing - Vancouver Admission Tips!

Table of Contents

Hiya! I'm here to share tips that I learned during my application cycle that I wished someone would have told me. Hopefully by the end of this guide, you'll feel more informed about the process and how to best succeed!

Disclaimer: The following information comes from my own opinion and observations of other applicants, friends in the nursing program, and material from allnurses.com. Please do not hold me responsible for any result because I am not part of the admissions team. This is not an official source and some information may be wrong, speculation, or outdated (but I did my best!).

After reading this guide, and you still have specific questions about your application, feel free to message me on Reddit (u/ubcthrow23). Please do not send me questions about deadlines, transcripts, PLAR review as those are best answered by the official UBC nursing admissions team! I have nothing to gain from writing this, I am just a student who feels very grateful for where they are now that I want to share the knowledge because I know how stressful the application process is!

• Depending on my schedule, I would be willing to read over your supplemental application if you highlight specific portions where you have questions about!

Introduction

There is a common misconception that only applicants who earned a previous bachelor's degree can be admitted, but that is not true. Although most people who are admitted do have previous degrees, that is only because people who are older tend to have more meaningful experiences or the expertise to convey their passion for joining the nursing profession. The Nursing Admissions team even said they do not favor people with or without previous degrees.

In this advice post/guide, I will be talking more about how to craft a good application that will maximize your score in each category. I will not be talking about the timeline, dates, or logistical tasks because that may change year by year. I will also be talking about some strategies that worked for my situation (but take these with a grain of salt if it doesn't apply to you!).

There are approximately 500-600 applicants* every year for 120 spots in each cohort. Crude math will tell you the acceptance rate is around 20% to 24%. When you submit your application, the admissions team will look at 3 categories - your GPA, your supplemental application, and your CASPer test score. I've been told by a friend in an upper cohort that each category is worth 1/3rd (not confirmed!) and your cumulative score will be ranked and compared to other applicants. Therefore, it is important that you are careful to maintain high standards in each category. I have seen many applicants who score very well in two of the 3 categories, but are held back by their weakest category.

Based on previous years, if you are rejected or offered a spot on the waitlist, the nursing admissions team will tell you your score in each category. A "1" signifies that you scored in the top 25% in that category, a "2" signifies that you scored in the top 50%, a "3" is the top 75%, and a "4" is the bottom 25%.

Based on that logic and the fact that the acceptance rate is around 20-25%, you are likely to be accepted in the first round if you have all 1s, or mostly 1s in each category.

Historically, decisions have come out the first week of May.

*The application cycle in 2021W had a record number of applicants apparently. About 850 applicants? We think there was an increase because nurses really got a lot of the spotlight throughout the pandemic. Unsure if this trend of increased applicants will continue.

Waitlist

Every year, the number of applicants who get off the waitlist changes. Typically, around 30 - 35 people get off the waitlist. The largest number I've seen on the waitlist was #98 but I do not believe they were offered a spot in that year’s cohort.

In 2019, someone who was #38 on the waitlist confirmed that they received an offer on June 24th.

In 2020, someone #35 on the list received their offer on September 2nd.

In 2021, someone #34 on the list received their offer on July 20th.

Remember that not all accepted applicants will end up choosing UBC Nursing so if you end up on the waitlist, there is a chance you may get in!

GPA

GPA is one of the hardest categories to maintain. Thankfully, the admissions team will only look at courses from a single year so if your academics for 1 year were not competitive, then you will have a fresh start next cycle. For example, if the supplemental application during your cycle was due Jan 31st, 2020, then your most recent 30 credits in courses from Jan 1st, 2019 to Dec 31st, 2019 will count into your GPA calculation. If you are a current UBC student, then that would be Term 2 [January-April], both summer terms, and Term 1 [September-December]. If you end up taking more than 30 credits, then count your courses backwards from most recent to least recent. If your oldest course was taken with other courses, then the average of that whole term will make up the remaining credits (confusing, I know!). This is the official wording from the UBC Nursing FAQ page:

There is no "safe" GPA so try and go as high as possible, but not to the detriment of your mental health. Applicants from 70% to 90% have all been accepted! However, I would say if you have an average below 80%, it will be especially important for you to score high in other categories. If I were to guess based on previous years, a 78-80% average would put you in the top 50% and an 83-85%+ would put you in the top 25%. Do not take these numbers exactly, they are just estimates and will change yearly depending on how competitive the applicant pool is that year. You can read through old UBC BSN threads on allnurses.com - some applicants mention their GPA and score which could give you an estimate of where you stand.

To maximize your GPA, I would cautiously suggest planning your course schedule in a way that you do not take traditionally "hard" courses during that 1 year time frame. In my situation, I knew coming in from high school that one of my weakest subjects is math. I took Calc I in Term 1 of my 1st year scored poorly, but it was not counted into my GPA calculation. Then, I delayed Calc II until Term 2 of second year. Of course, this is a high risk strategy because many majors required Calc II to be completed in your first year and thus, many majors were closed/ineligible to me. Thankfully, the major I connected most with did not require Calc II to be completed until later. Here is a diagram to illustrate what I mean!

• Remember that I applied in my 2nd year and submitted my supplemental in January 2020. That means the courses that went into my GPA calculation are highlighted in yellow.

Again, "easy" and "hard" courses are relative to your own strengths and weaknesses. Of course, there are some courses you can't avoid taking if you don't want to be incredibly behind in your degree/major. For those courses, do your best to maintain a high grade but remember to practice self-care.

I want to reiterate that my strategy was unconventional and was pretty high risk. If I had not gotten in during my first application cycle, I would have been faced with applying again, but this time, Calc II was involved in my GPA calculation which may have decreased my chances. If you are in that situation, I would perhaps suggest taking a few electives that are known to be “GPA-boosters” which are unique to each school.

Furthermore, choose a major that interests you and is tailored to your strengths! Applicants from every faculty have an equal chance of getting in and there is no faculty bias during the admissions process.

Prerequisites

Side note, if you go to UBC, then you must take BIOL 153 to fulfill your Anatomy and Physiology prerequisite. I ended up loving the course and the professor (Dr. Harris) is very engaging! Go to his review sessions because he drops major hints on what is going to be examined. Study for the in-class lab quizzes because each one is worth approximately 2%. They are often out of 5-10 marks so making even 1 mistake loses you quite a bit.

If the BIOL 153 grading scheme has not changed, then this would be your mark allocation:

Labs - 40%

• 2% Quizzes (mix between take-home and in-class quizzes)

• 2-3% Lab reports

Lecture Exams - 60%

• Midterm 1 (sometime October) - 10%

• December Final - 20%

• Midterm 2 (sometime February) - 10%

• April Final - 20%

*Note: I believe BIOL 153 is not offered 2020W due to COVID-19. Instead, they're accepting 2020W BIOL 155 for this year only.

Supplemental Application

The supplemental application is very important and quite frankly, one of the categories that you have the most control over (unlike CASPer)! You have the opportunity to illustrate and convey your passion, capabilities, self-awareness, and eagerness for the nursing profession. This is your chance, so be prepared to spend quite a few weeks revising and asking friends, family, or mentors to edit.

People in my prerequisite courses often delay their application cycle because they think they don’t have any work experience in healthcare, so therefore they can’t get in. This is false! I did not have much long-term work experience when I applied as a 2nd year, but I had other activities that helped show my commitment to the nursing profession to the admissions committee. It is not SOLELY the activities that you are involved in that matter, but HOW you express and connect your extracurriculars to nursing that makes a good supplemental.

For example - if you don’t have much healthcare work or volunteer experience (ideally you should have SOME because how else can admissions know that the healthcare sector is for you?), and you only have a retail job, that is perfectly fine! Retail is an intense job where you are constantly developing communication skills, conflict-resolution strategies, and teamwork/leadership skills - which are all essential nursing skills! There are so many opportunities to connect your retail job to the profession and can be just as strong of an extracurricular like a hospital wayfinding or gift shop role - as long as you are clear and engaging in your writing. I would suggest asking strong writers in your life to proof-read your work. Having another set of eyes on your writing can help immensely with clarity, flow, and content!

Below are examples of the previous prompts from past years. The questions stay mostly the same, but can change yearly.

Education History

Please enter your Education history (high school, college, university, other - include degrees, awards, and scholarships). Please include dates from and to (YYYY/MM) (300 words max.)

• For this, I know some people who used point-form to enter their education history. However, I had a friend who was in the program who advised me to write this in a paragraph form because it can help contextualize awards, education, academics, and scholarships. A downside to this would be that you won’t be able to fit as many achievements in 300 words.

Continuous Education

If your education has not been continuous, or if you are not currently in university, please provide an overview of your relevant activities while being away from school, college, or university. (200 words max.)

• In my case, my education was continuous so I just wrote one simple sentence.

Employment Record

• Institution/Organization name

• 50 word description of activities/role/duties

• Start date (YYYY/MM)

• End date (YYYY/MM)

Volunteering

Describe your experiences in community service and volunteering beginning with the most recent (within the last 5 years). Please include dates from and to (YYYY/MM). (300 words max.)

Leadership

Please describe your formal or informal Leadership roles or activities beginning with the most recent (within the last 5 years). Please include dates from and to (YYYY/MM). (300 words max.)

Caring for/Working with others

Describe your experience caring for or working with others beginning with the most recent (within the last 5 years). Please include dates from and to (YYYY/MM). (300 words max.)

Memberships in organizations including positions held

Memberships in organizations including positions held (within the last 5 years). Please include dates from and to (YYYY/MM).(300 words max.)

Relevant life experiences, challenges, and accomplishments

Other life experiences and accomplishments beginning with the most recent. (300 words max.)

Goals, interests, and other activities

Interests and other activities. e.g. travel / sports / music / theatre / arts. (300 words max.)

Other/Additional (NEW in 2021W)

If there are any additional educational experiences or accomplishments that you would like the admissions committee to consider, please list them below. Remember to include a start and end date for each experience and describe its connection to your life or your interest in nursing. You can also use this section to include additional comments or expand on any of the above experiences. (1750 characters max; approximately 300 words).

Personal Statement (may change depending on the year)

(2018 prompt) Submit a concise, well organized essay in which you introduce yourself to members of the selection committee, explaining your reasons for requesting admission to the School and understanding of the profession of nursing. (600 words max. - If over the limit you will get an error.)

-or-

(2020 and 2021 prompt) Submit a brief personal statement that details your reasons for deciding to pursue a career in professional nursing. Please include how any past experiences and knowledge of nursing may be influencing your interest in the UBC-Vancouver BSN program. (600 words max.)

Personal Statement Tips

The personal statement is one of the most important essays you will write. I call it an essay because ideally, you should be separating your ideas instead of writing a large 600 word paragraph. However, the Student Service Centre (SSC) where you submit your supplemental is old and doesn’t appear to be able to process paragraphs. When I submitted my application, it made my essay with logical transitions into a big wall of text...which was a bit of a bummer but I guess there’s nothing you can do about it. Consider yourself forewarned!

Whatever prompt you get, make sure you read the entire question and answer every part of the question in some way. The personal statement is a chance for you to articulate specifically why you want to be a nurse, what experiences in your life made solidify your decision, and prove to the committee that you would be well suited for the profession. This is not another place to add activities in a resume-like format (although you can definitely talk about a new experience here), this is a chance to fully demonstrate your passion!

The way I approached the personal statement was by first brainstorming WHY I wanted to become a nurse and tied my reasons in with experiences that initiated or sparked my interest in nursing. These reasons are unique to everybody so I urge you to spend a couple of days planning and focusing your narrative. I honestly found it very difficult initially to get started, but try and start early so you have plenty of time to revise! If you need more tips, I found that resources for nursing applicants were very lacking. Instead, I would suggest browsing medical school applicant resources as the advice on those forums and videos are very much applicable to us!

Furthermore, the admissions team needs to know whether you fully understand what you’re getting yourself into, and that requires a bit of research on your part. I would suggest searching for stories, experiences, or talking with nurses in person about what it’s like to be in the profession. What are some of the hardships or systemic issues that plague the healthcare workforce? What is being done about it? How does this tie into your narrative and demonstrate your drive to become a nurse?

A common mistake I see some writers make is writing about a medical incident in a way that does not tell admissions what kind of person you are and what you are capable of. Personal experiences are amazing stories to include in a personal statement, but try not to focus solely on how difficult it was on the patient/family member/friend, but also write about your role in the situation as well. How did you overcome it? By being resilient despite the hardship, how did that convince you that nursing was for you?

CASPer

CASPer is a test that examines your decision making, situational judgement, ethics, analytical ability, emotional intelligence, and empathy to a certain extent. I have some issues about the test because I do not believe it can fully encapsulate someone’s personality but hey, it’s mandatory. People far more experienced than me have already made CASPer guides (thank you medical school applicants!) so I will leave a few links that I used for my CASPer preparation. Also, if you are not a fast typer, try building up your typing speed with online practice typing games because you only get 5 minutes for each question which flies by extremely quickly. I firmly believe that everybody is capable of nailing this bizarre assessment if you do enough practice, familiarize yourself with the testing format, and seek feedback.

*Highly recommended resource*

https://www.removeddit.com/r/premed/comments/8qm6ps/i_took_casper_last_year_and_scored_in_the_top_95/

*Other helpful resources*

http://forums.premed101.com/topic/95629-casper-guide/

https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/8t1kuk/what_is_casper_a_handy_casper_guide_for_the/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ONZOU9ebNmHc2Aar49t99RJfcsCmsFiXClcO3Nhf7E/edit

Conclusion

Take what you will from this post and I hope you the best of luck! If you did not get in your first few cycles, don’t worry! The process is competitive and there are many great nursing schools across the Lower Mainland who give the same level of education. It took some of my friends multiple application cycles to get an acceptance. Keep at it, don’t lose hope, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your life for support! If you want to connect with other applicants, I would highly recommend the yearly Allnurses.com forum thread. When I was applying, it was comforting to read that other applicants were just as nervous as I was! The older threads also give useful information if you're interested.

2018 UBC BSN Applicant Thread: https://allnurses.com/ubc-bsn-september-applicants-t658121/

2019 UBC BSN Applicant Thread: https://allnurses.com/ubc-bsn-september-applicants-t692476/

2020 UBC BSN Applicant Thread: https://allnurses.com/ubc-nursing-t705260/

2021 UBC BSN Applicant Thread: https://allnurses.com/ubc-t722446/

2022 UBC BSN Applicant Thread: https://allnurses.com/ubc-nursing-t736516/?tab=comments#comment-7882322

Again, after reading this guide, and you still have specific questions about your application, feel free to message me on Reddit (u/ubcthrow23). Please do not send me questions about deadlines, transcripts, PLAR review as those are best answered by the official UBC nursing admissions team! I have nothing to gain from writing this, I am just a student who feels very grateful for where they are now that I want to share the knowledge because I know how stressful the application process is!

• Depending on my schedule, I would be willing to read over your supplemental application if you highlight specific portions where you have questions about!

I wish you the best of luck!