UBC admissions blog

UBC seeks to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students. Special consideration for admissions is a process where additional information is reviewed related to an applicant’s disability or ongoing medical condition when the condition may have affected their academic performance adversely. A disability alone does not qualify you for special admission consideration.

Who can apply?

Applicants to UBC have very strong academic records. You must meet both general admission requirements as well as degree specific requirements. Many applicants with disabilities meet UBC’s admission requirements and are admitted directly to their degree of choice. However, if an unsupported or recently diagnosed disability has impacted your ability to meet the admission requirements of your degree of choice, you can apply for special consideration for admission.

Are you eligible?

The presence of a disability alone does not qualify you for special admission consideration. Special consideration may be granted if, for example, your academic performance has been affected because:

• You have been recently diagnosed with a disability.
• Your disability was not accommodated completely or appropriately during your recent studies.

If you have received appropriate accommodations for your disability throughout your studies, you may not be eligible for UBC’s special consideration for admission.

How to apply for special consideration

Review the criteria for special admission consideration as well as the application form and instructions. If you are eligible, please submit your request as soon as possible. The special admission consideration application form and instructions are available on our website. It is recommended that you complete the form no later than the application deadline for your degree so that your request is approved promptly.

Remember: You are under no obligation to disclose your disability in your application to UBC unless you believe your disability will impact your ability to meet the academic standards of your degree of study.

We’re close to finalizing all first-choice decisions for all Canadian applicants in the Applicant Service Centre. If you were offered admission, congratulations! If you were not offered admission, thank you for submitting an application and giving us the opportunity to get to know you better through your academic successes and personal profiles. We wish we could admit all qualified applicants, but with more applications than spaces, it’s just not possible. If you’re curious, here’s how UBC evaluates your application.

At this point, you might have a few questions:

What should you do if you’ve been placed on a waitlist? When will you receive a final decision?

If your application has been waitlisted, your application status will indicate when you can expect to receive a final – yes or no – decision. For the majority of programs at UBC, the deadline to accept offers of admission is May 1 (or June 1, depending on your campus), but you should check the date specified to you in your offer letter to find out when your deadline is. Once those dates pass, we’ll know how many students have accepted their offers. If fewer students accepted their offers than expected, we’ll make a few more offers to waitlisted applicants. If enough students accepted their offers, we’ll notify students on the waitlist that no additional offers will be made.

Our best advice is to move forward with other post-secondary plans in case we don’t make additional offers in May and June. If we do make more offers, we hope they’ll be considered, but we understand if students have made plans to study elsewhere.

What about your second choice?

Our goal is to have all second-choice decisions to students as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience as we continue to review the second-choice applications.

If you received an offer of admission for your first choice, we’ll stop there unless you contact us to request otherwise.

If you accept your second choice but you’re waitlisted for your first choice, will UBC still evaluate your first choice?

Yes, we always evaluate first choices, whether you accept or decline your second-choice offer. All waitlisted applicants will receive a final decision by the end of June.

You’ve been admitted to your first choice, but now you would prefer your second choice. Will UBC still evaluate your second choice?

We always assume that your first choice is what you prefer. If you’ve received an offer of admission for your first choice, we’ll only evaluate your second choice if you contact us and if there is still space available in your second-choice degree.

Where can you find your application status?

The best source of information on your application is always the Applicant Service Centre. When you log in to your account, you’ll find an up-to-date status for each of your degree choices.

We’re pleased to announce that first-round offers of admission are now complete! All students who have received a first-round offer of admission will now see that reflected in the Applicant Service Centre under Admissions > Application Status.

What happens if I didn’t receive a first-round offer of admission?

If you did not receive a first-round offer of admission, your application will automatically be reconsidered as part of our regular round of admission offers.  Not receiving a first-round offer does not in any way decrease or jeopardize your chances of receiving an offer of admission in the regular round.

Students who did not receive a first-round offer of admission will now be considered based on grade information that UBC receives from IB counsellors, Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) download, the BC Ministry of Education, and document upload in March.

• Ontario high school students: Your grades will arrive through the OUAC download. No further action is required unless we connect with you directly.
• BC and Yukon: Your grades will arrive through the BC Ministry of Education, and no further action is required from you.
• IB students: Your grades are being submitted by counsellors. No further action is required unless we connect with you directly.
• All other Canadian high school students: Upload your documents before March 15. Check out our document upload blog post for more information.

For up-to-date and current information, please check your status in the Applicant Service Centre under Admissions > Application Status.