University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Commerce is one of Canada’s most competitive programs. This program aims to teach the business and management skills to help graduates to excel in a wide range of business fields. Students have the flexibility to take electives alongside their core courses and in years 3 and 4 will have the chance to specialize into 1 of 10 disciplines.
Written by Mika’il Visanji
Academic Requirements
UBC Commerce requires Grade 12 English and Advanced Functions to apply to the program. They do also recommend that applicants explore areas in the Language Arts, Computational Sciences (Physics and Chemistry) and Social Studies (such as Economics, or Ethics). Calculus is also very strongly recommended. While high grades are necessary to be competitive for the program, UBC does not provide a competitive average as each secondary school has different grading scales. As with all UBC programs, a minimum of 70% in Grade 12 English is required.
Personal Profile
In addition to academic requirements, UBC requires students to submit a personal profile. This profile consists of the written essay and video interview portion. Both sections ask students to reflect on their real-world experiences and communicate how they have shaped them into a student who would excel in this program. For the video component of the personal profile, you will be given a prompt and have 30 seconds to read through it. You will then have 90 seconds to record a response. Here are 5 tips to help you excel in the application process.
1) Extracurricular Experiences
Focus on the skills you gained from extracurricular experiences. This program is looking for students who excel both inside and outside of the classroom so make sure to highlight experiences that show your ability to set goals, work as a team, and communicate effectively. While focusing on achievements or activities certainly provides quality information to reviewers, speaking about what you took away from these experiences allows the admissions team to better understand why you are well-suited for the program.
2) Speak Confidently
As oral communication is a key part of the program, UBC wants to see that you’re able to speak confidently and effectively. While the normal interview skills apply here, the fact that you are speaking to a camera rather than an individual adds other potential challenges. To become more accustomed to this method of communication, practice answering common interview questions in front of a camera or mirror to get yourself more comfortable for formal interviews. Familiarizing yourself in these uncommon situations will allow yourself to be able to speak more freely and confidently when it comes to perfecting your applications.
3) Read Carefully
Take time to read and comprehend the question. While the questions are open-ended (a variety of responses can score highly) making sure that your responses are relevant to the question is essential. A big part of the program is communication so you want to show the reviewers that you are able to communicate relevant information. As mentioned earlier, you will be given 30 seconds to read through the prompt for the video interview, so be sure to fully understand the question before thinking about your response. For the written portion, take as much time as you need to interpret the question as it is untimed. After curating your response, always remember to revise your written response and possibly ask for others’ feedback on areas where you can improve.
4) Stand Out!
Make sure that your personality stands out in the written part of your personal profile. As the reviewers read countless profiles, writing your profile to reflect who you are as an individual will make your application unique. Rather than trying to write what you believe the reviewer wants to hear, write what is most meaningful to you. Reviewers can really tell the difference!
5) Stay Positive
If you don’t succeed immediately don’t be discouraged as you can always try again! If you aren’t accepted from high school, you are still able to reapply as a transfer student. In fact, UBC encourages applicants to reach out to an Admissions Officer for feedback to improve their applications. In the meantime, students are encouraged to work hard to excel in university and practice articulating what they gained from their experiences. (More information on how to transfer into Year 2 and 3 can be found here: https://www.sauder.ubc.ca/programs/bachelors-degrees/bachelor-commerce/how-apply)
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