UBC BSN September 2019 Applicants

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Hi everybody! I haven't found an active discussion thread for September 2019 applicants to UBC's BSN program yet, so here is one!

Specializes in PACU.
2 hours ago, JayKayAay said:

Hello! This will be my first time applying as well.

I have a BSc in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo completed in 2018. I'm glad that maintenance for the site has ended! I am struggling with the supplementary application because it is just so overwhelming. If I don't get into any nursing programs this year (applied to University of Toronto, McMaster, Western as well), then I'm not sure what I will do! UBC is my first choice as I live in Vancouver now, and if I don't get in, one of my courses will be over 4 years old and so I will have to retake the course which I don't want to do.

Based on the website, they only take the most recent 30 credits (i.e. the last ten courses) and don't take into account the prerequisites if they do not fall within the last 10 courses taken.. Is this correct to assume?

Hey!

There's always Langara Nursing, BCIT, KPU and Douglas College!! Langara and BCIT nurses are exemplary, according to hearsay.

I have no idea whether or not they don't take the prereqs into account if they don't fall within the most recent 30 credits either! Does anyone know if this is the case?

My backup is Langara -- still need to take 3 prereq courses (2 English and 1 Stats), but once I finish this December 2019, then I can apply for September 2020 Langara Nursing intake if this UBC Nursing intake cycle doesn't go well for me!

And don't worry - it's definitely overwhelming for me, too. Been working on it since late December (had no time during the holidays) and I still have to do my Working With/For Others section and the Personal Statement.

The Personal Statement word limit is 600 words max...I don't know if I can make a long enough statement, and I'm quite at a loss about what to say (except for inspirations, past hardships that influenced me to become a nurse, etc...my parents are immigrant Care Aides, so I'm using them as a point to start from.)

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Specializes in PACU.
On 12/1/2018 at 5:47 PM, mb96 said:

This is my very first time applying!

I've started the application, and my CASPer test is scheduled for February 24, 2019 at 2pm PST. Currently, I'm a fourth-year student with second year standing in the Food, Nutrition, and Health major at UBC due to a certain course snag. So I'm sorry for the following long descriptions:

1) I completed UBC BIOL 153 with an A- over the 2015-2016 academic year, as well. In other words, at the time of application, I have taken BIOL 153 in the last four years. Will I still need to retake it if I apply for September 2020 intake? This is just something I'm asking just in case -- Langara Sept 2020 Nursing is my backup plan.

2) Membership in Organizations, Volunteering, Leadership:

I'm afraid my supplemental may not be up to par once I complete them. I am stuck on Membership in Organizations, considering I am NOT a member of HOSPITAL/HEALTHCARE settings, nor have I done A LOT of volunteering experience in these settings.

Instead, I was involved in volunteering UBC summer camp during Summer 2018, and recently joined AMS VICE at UBC (but I had to take a break for this semester because of a family emergency). I have done a few years of Youth Ministry volunteering as a Youth Leader (leadership role) and Nursing home volunteering as well.

However (this may be a "unique" quality): I'm quite involved in online fandom communities. For example, I recently founded a tumblr blog focused on racism and white privilege in fandom dialogue. I am also a fandom writer who is working on a submission for a fandom magazine that will be published and distributed in 2019. Will UBC look down upon fandom passions in Goals/Interests? I may have to include this in hobbies. I'm also an artist and play the piano in my spare time.

Challenging life experience: I intend to write that I was inspired by my parents, who are both care aides. I also plan to describe their struggles as immigrants in a developed country, but is this too generic? And I'm not sure what kind of "life experience" I must put in here. Is adding a personal issue and how I dealt with it e.g. mental health or parents divorcing a NO for the application?

3) How can I prepare for CASPer? Do I need to dedicate lots of time in preparing for it? A few friends already in UBC Nursing told me that they did not do preparation, and they asked questions that aren't related to Nursing but mostly "group" scenarios aka What must you do during x y z? Someone else also suggested that I use the STAR method when answering.

Anyway, thanks everyone for reading!! This is just a rundown of what kind of applicant I am! :p I don't know if I'm "competitive", except I have no idea what UBC looks for. If any of you can help, thank you! I'd like to know what all of you are writing for your application!!

Please use this discussion board to keep up the questions! I definitely would appreciate it!

This is my updated original post ?

I decided to leave UBC after successfully finishing Term 1 (I'm on academic leave)and plan to attend Langara this year so I can complete the last few prereq courses for Langara Nursing.

How is everybody's supplementals going? I can't wait to finish this long and tedious process --- I still need to write my Personal Statement and Working With/Working for Others section!!

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Specializes in PACU.
On 12/13/2018 at 4:38 AM, sumad said:

Hello fellow applicants!

It is my first time applying too.

I don't have a bachelor's degree yet, but I do have a diploma from Douglas College and have taken courses at both SFU and UBC. It took me awhile to find out what I really wanted to do, but here I am now!

I have hospital experience with the geriatric community and have worked as a medical office assistant at two different medical offices.

I just finished A&P II through TRU and am going to start working on my supplemental! I'm also writing my CASPer test at the beginning of February.

Best of luck to everyone applying! We're in this together ?

Sounds great!! Hospital experience with the geriatric community should certainly give your application a boost! I lack hospital experience, but I do have some Nursing Home volunteering experience (did it for 3 years).

My CASPer test will be written on February 24. I've heard many previous applicants say that studying for it is a waste since they ask "weird hypothetical" questions that you can't anticipate at all; according to a friend who got into UBC Nursing 2017 cohort, the questions aren't directly related to Nursing, either.

I guess all we have to practice is writing our thoughts down in a proper way during certain time limits!

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On 1/15/2019 at 7:16 PM, mb96 said:

My activities overlap as well!! Working with others can be any situation ranging from situations that involve teamwork (workplace) or working FOR others (customer service).

For example, I may not have stellar healthcare-related experience like working in a hospital (I have very little healthcare experience save for Nursing Home volunteering), but I have many experiences with children and other adults.

I have no idea what UBC looks for in ideal applicants, but don't worry if they overlap - as long as you write cohesive responses, you should be good to go! Personally, I explain what I LEARNED from my activities. Others mention that it doesn't matter how "generic" your application seems (I think mine is, lol) - what matters is HOW you write them!

Good luck!!!

LEARNED from activities??? oh no, my supplemental straight up sounds like a glorified job description.... maybe my approach at this is all wrong. I find it so difficult to write about my things in the 300 word limit. im trying to include at least a min of 2 activities per box so balancing quality and quantity is super tough for me.

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Specializes in PACU.
On 1/18/2019 at 12:13 AM, buddyy said:

LEARNED from activities??? oh no, my supplemental straight up sounds like a glorified job description.... maybe my approach at this is all wrong. I find it so difficult to write about my things in the 300 word limit. im trying to include at least a min of 2 activities per box so balancing quality and quantity is super tough for me.

LOL no worries - it's really hard. I haven't started on the Personal Statement yet either. Glorified job description doesn't sound wrong: I wrote my "learning experiences" based on tips from previous UBC Nursing applicants who got admitted (I looked at 2017 and 2018 allnurses posts).

Let me know how everything goes. Of course I really want to do Nursing, but this application process is super time-consuming ?

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Hi guys,

I just wrote my CASPer test yesterday (Jan 24th) so let me know if you have any questions on how to prepare!

I feel like it went super smoothly for me... Fingers crossed. :)

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15 hours ago, sss29 said:

Hi guys,

I just wrote my CASPer test yesterday (Jan 24th) so let me know if you have any questions on how to prepare!

I feel like it went super smoothly for me... Fingers crossed. :)

Amazing!!! Congratulations on completing it. I'm happy that it went smoothly for you! I have so many questions - I am so so so nervous for this part of the application. Did you prepare for it prior to? If so, how?

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On 1/20/2019 at 2:04 AM, mb96 said:

LOL no worries - it's really hard. I haven't started on the Personal Statement yet either. Glorified job description doesn't sound wrong: I wrote my "learning experiences" based on tips from previous UBC Nursing applicants who got admitted (I looked at 2017 and 2018 allnurses posts).

 Let me know how everything goes. Of course I really want to do Nursing, but this application process is super time-consuming ?

This application has totally been time-consuming.

What kind of tips did you gather from previously admitted applicants?

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On 1/16/2019 at 4:29 AM, mb96 said:

Sounds great!! Hospital experience with the geriatric community should certainly give your application a boost! I lack hospital experience, but I do have some Nursing Home volunteering experience (did it for 3 years).

My CASPer test will be written on February 24. I've heard many previous applicants say that studying for it is a waste since they ask "weird hypothetical" questions that you can't anticipate at all; according to a friend who got into UBC Nursing 2017 cohort, the questions aren't directly related to Nursing, either.

I guess all we have to practice is writing our thoughts down in a proper way during certain time limits!

Thanks!! 3 years of nursing home experience should certainly be a boost too! I'm sure there is a lot that you learned from during your time there. The geriatric community is lovely :)

That's how I will be preparing for it! Just practicing within the time limits and getting my thoughts down as best as I can. I already know that this is one of my weaknesses - it takes me forever to write something coherent haha.

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On 1/18/2019 at 9:13 AM, buddyy said:

LEARNED from activities??? oh no, my supplemental straight up sounds like a glorified job description.... maybe my approach at this is all wrong. I find it so difficult to write about my things in the 300 word limit. im trying to include at least a min of 2 activities per box so balancing quality and quantity is super tough for me.

Yes the 300 word limits and 600 word limit for the personal statement are definitely challenging to maintain. You'd be surprised at how much you can cut out by being super critical though ;)

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I know I don't know any of you personally yet, but it's great having you guys here during this process :)

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Specializes in PACU.
20 hours ago, sss29 said:

Hi guys,

I just wrote my CASPer test yesterday (Jan 24th) so let me know if you have any questions on how to prepare!

I feel like it went super smoothly for me... Fingers crossed. ?

Congratulations sss29!!! All positive vibes going your way! I definitely have one question to ask you - how did you prepare for it? ?

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