1. UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS AT UBC: 2019 and Beyond
Prepared by: UBC’s Undergraduate admissions office
Details available in March 2018 on you.ubc.ca
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATION
UBC is not changing any of its admission requirements.
UBC is changing how it competitively assesses applicants to determine who gets in.
This new approach is based on principles rather than rules:
The question you should ask yourself is no longer, “What do I need to do to get in?“
It is now, “How do I demonstrate that I am a strong student?”

2. Overview What is not changing for admission to UBC in 2019?
What is changing for admission to UBC in 2019?
Starting in 2019, how will UBC look at your secondary school course grades when evaluating your application?
Starting in 2019, how can you increase your chances of admission to UBC?

3. What is not changing for admission to UBC in 2019?
You must still meet UBC’s general and degree-specific admission requirements:
Graduation from high school
English language requirements
Degree-specific prerequisites
You must still complete UBC’s online application, including:
Personal Profile
Other supplemental information
What is not changing:
You do not have to take more or different courses in order to be eligible for admission.
Whatever course planning you have done to date is still valid.
You should visit UBC’s Undergraduate Programs and Admissions website (you.ubc.ca) to find the English language requirements, the degree-specific requirements, and details on the Personal Profile and online application.

4. What is changing for admission to UBC in 2019?
How UBC ranks applicants to determine who is the most competitive for admission. When making admission decisions:
UBC will no longer look at your grades in just four academic Grade 12 courses.
UBC will now look at your grades in all academic Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses.
The impact each Grade 11 or Grade 12 course has on your assessment depends on how relevant it is to your area of study.
What is changing:
The method UBC uses to rank applicants in order to determine who is the most competitive for admission.
Some context: What does “competitive academic assessment” mean?
UBC has general and degree-specific admission requirements (see previous slide called “What is not changing for admission to UBC in 2019?”).
If the demand for a degree did not exceed the number of seats available, then everyone who met those requirements would get an offer of admission.
At UBC, most degrees receive more qualified applications than can be accommodated by the number of seats available.
When demand exceeds supply, like it currently does at UBC, admission becomes competitive.
That means that all the applicants who meet UBC’s requirements must be assessed competitively so that UBC can determine who is most qualified.

5. how will UBC look at your secondary school course Grades when evaluating your application?
Overall academic assessment
Core (degree-specific) academic assessment
Assessment of individual courses
This next section describes how UBC will use your secondary school course grades to make an admission decision.
As mentioned in the previous slide, UBC will no longer look at your grades in just four Grade 12 courses. UBC will now look at grades in all academic Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses. But, not all courses will be treated equally. UBC will look at your courses and grades in high school in three ways:
An overall academic assessment
A core (degree-specific) academic assessment
An assessment of grades in individual courses

6. Individual course grades
1. The Overall Academic Assessment
Does not vary by degree you apply to
Looks at all academic Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses
Does not look at the course with your lowest grade
Overall assessment
Core assessment
Individual course grades
The overall academic assessment paints a general picture of who you are as a student.
This assessment is the same for all students – regardless of the degree you have applied to at UBC.
UBC will calculate an average using the grades from all your Grade 11 and Grade 12 academic courses.
What is an “academic” course? Any course that is not classified as an applied design, skills, and technology course; a physical and health education course; a career and personal planning course; or a faith-based course. Visit the BC Ministry of Education website for more details.
UBC will not include the lowest academic grade in this average – as long as the course with the lowest grade is not relevant to your area of study at UBC. UBC does this to encourage you to pursue academic courses that you are interested in, without you having to worry that the grade might affect your application to UBC.

7. Individual course grades
2. The Core (degree-Specific) Academic Assessment
Overall assessment
Core assessment
Individual course grades
Varies by degree program
Looks at all academic Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses in subject categories related to area of study
Looks at the highest level only when courses are presented in both Grade 11 and Grade 12
The core academic assessment looks at the courses and grades that are very relevant to your area of study at UBC.
This will vary depending on the degree you apply to at UBC.
UBC will look at all your academic Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses (excluding applied design, skills, and technology courses; physical and health education courses; career and personal planning courses; and faith-based courses) that fall under subject categories related to your intended area of study (or degree) at UBC.
All core academic assessments will include either English 12 or English First Peoples 12 (or equivalent).
If a course is presented at both the Grade 11 and the Grade 12 levels, UBC will use the grade from the highest level of that course.
We’ll see an example of how a core academic assessment is made in the next slide.

8. Example: Core (degree-Specific) Academic Assessment
Bachelor of Kinesiology / Human Kinetics
Language Arts
Math and Computation
Sciences
Social Studies
Language Arts category
English; English First Peoples; English/French Literature; Creative Writing; etc.
Mathematics & Computation category
Mathematics; Pre-Calculus; Calculus; Computer Science; Statistics; etc.
Science category
Biology; Chemistry; Earth Science; Physics; Geology; etc.
Social Sciences category
Economics; Geography; History; Law Studies; Political Science; Social Justice; etc.
In this example, a student has applied to UBC’s Bachelor of Kinesiology.
To make a core academic assessment for this degree, UBC will look at your grades in all the Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses (excluding applied design, skills, and technology courses; physical and health education courses; career and personal planning courses; and faith-based courses) that fall under the four categories listed for the Bachelor of Kinesiology. They are the Language Arts category, the Mathematics and Computation category, the Science category, and the Social Sciences category.
If a course is presented at both the Grade 11 and the Grade 12 levels, UBC will use the grade from the highest level of that course.
While there is not a minimum number of courses that you have to take from each category, you are encouraged to take a rigorous course load in order to be more competitive.
Note that the courses listed in each category are not exhaustive – these are just some examples to demonstrate how the categories will work. For example, any course categorized as “social studies” by the BC Ministry of Education will be included in the Social Sciences category.
To find out which categories are relevant for the degree you want to apply to at UBC, you’ll want to visit the Undergraduate Programs and Admissions website (you.ubc.ca), the Academic Calendar, and the BC Ministry of Education curriculum website. All of this will be confirmed and up on those websites in March 2018.

9. Individual course grades
3. assessment of individual courses
Overall assessment
Core assessment
Individual course grades
Individual grades in key courses
Varies by degree, but often English 12 and/or Pre-Calculus 12
For all degrees (2019): If English 12 is incomplete at admission time, your offer of admission is conditional on provincial exam results
For all degrees (2020 and beyond): You must present a completed literacy assessment before being admitted
The assessment of individual courses looks at the grades of the most important courses, individually.
In most cases, the courses looked at here will be English 12 (or English First People’s 12) and/or Pre-Calculus 12, but it will depend on the degree you have applied to.
No matter how high your overall academic assessment and your core academic assessment are, you may not get into certain UBC degrees if you do not have a strong enough grade in these individual courses.

10. how will UBC look at your secondary school courses when evaluating your application?
Will UBC just look at grades? No! UBC may also recognize:
Breadth of your coursework
At least six academic or non-academic Grade 12 level courses (recommended)
Heavier course loads in Grade 11 and Grade 12 will be recognized
Rigour of your coursework
Challenge yourself in school
Courses with first-year university content (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Calculus 12, dual credit, etc.)
Relevancy of your coursework
Pursue courses relevant to your intended area of study at UBC
Personal circumstance will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
You can increase your chances of admission in any number of ways beyond getting good grades:
Breadth of coursework: You can demonstrate breadth by taking a heavier course load, or by taking dual high-school diplomas through a second-language immersion program.
Rigour of coursework: You can demonstrate rigour by presenting more academic courses, including courses containing first-year university content (such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Calculus 12, or dual credit).
Relevancy of coursework: You can demonstrate relevancy by taking additional courses that are relevant to your intended area of study at UBC (even if the courses are non-academic and the marks are not used in the calculation of your admission average). Examples of relevancy: taking courses in electronics or robotics if you’re applying to the Bachelor of Applied Science or taking courses in accounting or marketing if you’re applying to the Bachelor of Management or of Commerce.
The recognition of breadth, rigour, and relevancy of coursework is not an admission requirement, nor should it encourage you to dramatically alter your high school course selection. The purpose is to recognize that grades are not the only way to demonstrate readiness for post-secondary studies. While many applicants in 2019 will get offers of admission to UBC through an academic assessment based primarily on grades in academic courses, it may be advantageous (though not required) to demonstrate breadth, rigour, and relevancy in secondary school coursework.
Personal circumstance: In some cases, it may not be possible for you to complete six Grade 12 courses, or to demonstrate breadth, rigour, and/or relevancy due to personal circumstances, such as:
You may attend a school in a smaller community that does not offer a wide selection of courses.
You may need to take a smaller course load to attend to family or financial commitments (e.g., caring for a younger sibling or working a part-time job).
If you find yourself in circumstances like these, include information about your circumstances in your application. UBC will consider such circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

11. Individual course grades
how can you increase your chances of admission to UBC?
Competitive Academic Assessment
Personal Profile
Overall assessment
Core assessment
Individual course grades
Engagement
and
accomplishment
Leadership +
Voice
Substance
So, how do you make yourself more competitive and increase your chances of admission to UBC? You meet your requirements, you do well on your Personal Profile, and you do well in your competitive academic assessment. Some tips to achieve the latter:
Get good grades in all your courses, particularly those related to what you want to study at UBC.
Take a breadth of academic coursework. And don’t be afraid to experiment with a new subject; UBC will not look at the academic course with the lowest grade – as long as it’s not related to what you want to study at UBC.
Challenge yourself by taking a full course load and/or more rigorous courses; UBC does not always just look at grades.
Demonstrate relevancy by taking courses that are related to what you want to study at UBC, even if the grades are not used in the admission decision.
Make sure your Personal Profile (in the online application) showcases your accomplishments, your leadership, and your engagement, and demonstrates quality answers in your individual voice.
Use common sense when planning your courses; focus on what is most important for your path to university. UBC’s holistic assessment means the University looks at many different aspects of your transcript and application. Outside of critical courses like English or Math, it is unlikely that one course alone will determine an admission decision.
Finally, all learning in secondary school is important. UBC’s new holistic approach to academic assessment is a lot less about rules (e.g., minimum number of courses, strict formulas for calculating averages) and more about doing the things that a good student does: getting good grades, challenging yourself in high school, and following your academic interests.

12. Questions you.ubc.ca/contact-us
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