University of British Columbia Acceptance

I am a junior in California, US. I have done a load of research on multiple colleges yet there are still some grey areas which I hope to clear up: the most prevelant case would be the acceptance of UBC.
I have 2 AP classes and will be taking 3 in senior year. I have around a 3.45 unweighted GPA. It is clear to me that this would make a fairly mediocre application BUT I have heard rumors that UBC looks very closely at personal profiles of students. This might be my golden ticket because I have completed a marathon along with plenty other multi-kilo races (e.g. half marathons, 5ks, 10ks, 15ks), I have earned my scubadiving license, I have a few hours of volunteer work under my belt, and I have participated in multiple extracurricular sports and activities including: track-and-field, swim, waterpolo, baseball, golf, and basketball. I also won first place in a poem writing competition at my city library but that seems like a somewhat minuscule achievement. Anyways, I was just wondering if these would help my chances at getting accepted.

Hi there,
I recently spent a few days at UBC with my junior daughter. It is a lovely school, and is very high on my D’s list.

Do you have standardized test scores yet? The UBC website is rather vague about cutoffs for GPA and test scores, but while we were there, an admissions officer said they look for about a 30 ACT or 1300 on the new SAT. I think you are correct, though, that the personal profile has a lot of weight, and I would guess that those numbers are not set in stone. It would certainly be worth an application if UBC offers what you like.

It sounds like you would fit in well at UBC with all of your activities. It is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.

Best of luck to you.

My DD is a 2nd year at UBC. She’s in the Sauder School of Business. The program is very challenging (as is UBC generally) but she loves it. BTW, we’re from California too. UBC wasn’t on our radar until a chance visit to Vancouver while we were checking out some colleges and universities in Washington and Oregon.

UBC is considered on of the three Canadian “Ivies,” and is always ranked in the top 30 - 40 of top universities in the world. The weather is also fairly moderate. If you can handle Seattle, then Vancouver is no different. They got one day of snow last year, while this year they’ve had a few more days, resulting in some good snowball fights.

I agree that the website is vague on the minimum “requirements.” But your GPA is very good and will be better when weighted with your AP classes. They predominantly look at your core classes in 10th and 11th grade. I think they are pretty flexible on standardized test scores unless you’re applying to Sauder or Engineering. For those two, they want to see high GPA and test scores, as those two faculties (that’s Canadian for “schools”) are very competitive.

Your extracurriculars are strong and they’ll definitely be a plus on your application.

UBC has a lot of great things to offer, in a truly international campus. You’ll meet folks from all over the world, along with lots of nice Canadians and quite a few Americans. And for your parents, the tuition is very reasonable, especially because of the strong dollar, but also because it’s just not as expensive as U.S. schools.