From Computer Science to Medical School on the First Try

The starting point

Jessie did not take a straight path to medicine. She started in engineering, switched to computer science at UBC in her second year, and spent her summers testing other careers: an internship at a local biotech startup, then two summers at Goldman Sachs in Toronto.

It was a good experience, but it settled the question rather than opening it. Software engineering meant a technical, heads-down role with little time facing people. She started talking to doctors and medical students, decided medicine was the better fit, and sat the MCAT.

What changed

Applying from a technical background created a specific problem: she was describing her experience in language that made sense to an engineer and not to an admissions committee. Having residents and medical students read her application, including people who knew the UBC and Calgary programs directly, was what reframed it.

Interview prep was run as a real simulation rather than a chat. Back-to-back questions, a timer, and honest feedback from mentors including a neurosurgery resident. Practising with friends had produced encouragement. She wanted to know what to fix.

The result

Jessie submitted in September, interviewed at Calgary in January, and by May had acceptances to both UBC and U of C, on her first application cycle.