UBC Nursing

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2009

Hi green_tea, sorry you didn't get an invitation :icon_hug:...but on the flip side, this gives you time to start thinking about next year's application...giving you a slight edge over the other applicants as you already know the format of the supplemental application =) We're rooting for you 100% of the way =)

My boyfriend gave me one VERY useful tip while I was working away on my supplemental during the Christmas break, and that tip is: It's not really what you write about, its how you write it. The supplemental is basically an opportunity for you to sell yourself to the admission committee (not, as some people may say, an opportunity to brag about yourself) --think of it as your sales pitch to the committee, and the decision as to whether they will "buy" your application hinges on how well your supplement is written. I didn't think my experiences were all that spectacular, but I did write about what I learned from each experience, and I think that definitely helped to boost my supplemental sales pitch to the committee.

Here are my experiences, based on supplemental question order (I skipped the education and hobbies question, because they're more of filler questions) :

Leadership: MUG leader at UBC Orientation, a reading mentor for a summer reading program at the local library, and an instructor's assistant at a daycare.

Community service/volunteer experience: UBC Hospital, various odd jobs at the local community centre, and at a nursing home.

Working with others experience: parental assistant at a daycare (a different daycare than the one I put for the previous question), cashier at a local grocery store, ticket seller for the PNE.

Membership in organizations: UBC International Red Cross Club, Biological Science Society of UBC, service club in highschool.

Other experiences and accomplishments: my struggle with the academic transiton from highschool to UBC, and how I overcame that, and how my grandmother sponsoring a child in Africa changed my view of the world we live in.

As you can see, my experiences aren't all that spectacular--nothing special or fancy--but for each experience, I wrote about what I learned. For example, here is an excerpt from one of the experiences that I talked about:

Because the customers are of various backgrounds and cultures, I gained skills in communicating to others with views, beliefs and understanding about the world that are different than my own. At first, I found this task to be difficult as I was accustomed to interacting with my family, friends and peers—people who share similar views, beliefs and background as me. However, after working for some time, I realized that with some patience, tolerance and an open mind, communicating with those whose background differs significantly from mine is the same as communicating with those whose background is similar to mine. Through working with customers dissatisfied with the quality of service offered to them, I honed my skills in resolving conflicts in a calm and professional manner, and I learned to remain in a composed manner under pressure.

I did that for every one of the experiences I talked about, being as precise and descriptive as I could, as well as adding my personal insights when appropriate. Basically, I listed out the hard and soft skills that I learned, and demonstrated how it relates to whatever experience I was talking about. Of course, I was keeping in mind of detailing the skills that I learned that would be of an asset to nursing, but I wasn't targetting only those skills--doing so would seem narrow and very biased. Another thing to keep in mind is to vary your experiences--it makes you look well rounded. I made sure I have at least some sort of experiences with people throughout the life spectrum--toddler, young children, elementary school aged children, youth, adults and seniors.

As for my personal statement...I told them a story of my hospitalization when I was young, and how the nurse that took care of me made a profound impression on me and how she influenced me to pursue this career path.

Hope this helps. You're welcome to PM me if you need further clarification/help from what I wrote here. I am not sure if I made myself all that clear...I hope the post is not too long for you to digest. =S

green_tea · Apr 5, 2009

thank you so much simplicitygirl! really, a million thanks. :bowingpur

i now understand the weakness of my supplemental by comparing mine to yours and know what i need to work on to improve it. i love your long post. it's really really really helpful!!!

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2009

Anything to help =)

And I've been meaning to ask you...how do you ask them about your academic and supplemental average?

green_tea · Apr 5, 2009

They just sent me an email similar to the rejection letter, but with a chart of scores inserted. The chart contained my academic average, average of interviewed applicants, my supplemental average, the supplemental average of interviewed applicants. It really tells us what we need to work on next time.

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2009

oh thanks =) If you don't mind me asking, what was the average of both? Just out of curiosity's sake. No rush to get back to me on this. Just if you have time =)

green_tea · Apr 6, 2009

average: 78.1

supplemental avg: 73.8

_Angel_ · Apr 7, 2009

That sounds really high, did anyone who got below that GPA got invited to an interview? How do they rate your supplemental application actually...?

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 7, 2009

Because the numbers given are averages only, I'm positive that there are people with lower than the average GPA that got an interview invitation. Your supplementary application is ranked against all other candidates' supplementary applications...I think it's probably based on how well balanced/rounded your experiences are, as well as how well written you wrote the application.

Orca__ · Apr 9, 2009

Hello All!!

I came across this blog a couple of days ago. Very useful! Congrats to all who've been invited for interviews, and to those of you who haven't-- keep trying, it's definitely worth it, and those who succeed in life never give up! I've also been invited to an interview at UBC! Waahoo! I'm very excited. I just had a couple of quick questions for you folks..

1) What are you doing to prepare for the interview? I found the stuff regarding the interview on the website (link provided in email) to be fairly limited and perhaps even outdated..? I'm still trying to figure out if we'll have to write an essay at the end or not..?

2) For all of you who are travelling to Vancouver for the interview.. have you found any cheap accommodation? I stayed in a hostel last summer in Van and they had bed bugs! Apparently this is the case for most hostels in the city :S

That's it for now!

Thanks =)

ButtonNose · Apr 9, 2009

Hey everyone! Congrats to all of you who have received an interview from UBC! I am sad to say I did not get one... BUT I will be going to the University of Calgary in September for nursing! :). I am extremely happy about that.

Simplicity, those are some great tips on how to improve a supplemental application... I think that is where I faltered.

I wish you all the best on your interviews. *hugs!

coastliving · Apr 9, 2009

Congrats Orca! To prepare I'm just going over Nursing and really be confident in why I want to be a Nurse and going over the MMI. Yes bed bugs sound really scary! Which hostel was that? I know there is one really close to UBC that looks descent from the outside.

Clementine Congrats on getting into UofC, Calgary is a great city!

Orca__ · Apr 9, 2009

Hey!!

I stayed at the American Backpackers Hostel. I've been looking into staying at the YMCA, it's bound to be clean. If you don't mind me asking what do you mean by you're going over Nursing? Do you mean you're just getting acquainted with what the profession entails /demands from an individual? Also, what's MMI?