Uncovering the UBC Personal Profile

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Every year, hopeful grade 12 Hamberties embark on a journey of vague writing prompts, self-reflection, and countless rough drafts — all to submit the best UBC Personal Profile. 

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is one of the only post-secondary schools in Canada that requires applicants to send in a written supplement for every program, known as the UBC Personal Profile, along with a grades transcript. A personal profile consists of up to eight short written essay questions and can include more, depending on the program you are applying to.

However, some UBC Programs have exceptions to the personal profile requirement. For example, those applying to the Bachelor of Design need to participate in a video interview, write a Creative Test, and submit a 1-2 page resume, rather than write a personal profile.

“I don’t mind writing the personal profile for UBC,” said Bryony Prior (12), a Bachelor of Science applicant. She added that it is a good opportunity for students to show admissions officers who they are beyond their grades. 

However, Prior shared that drafting her personal profile “has been quite challenging so far,” and she is glad that UBC is the only university she is applying to that requires a written supplement. 

Victoria Tsang (12), a Bachelor of Commerce applicant, thinks the personal profile makes the application process more fair for applicants, “as they can choose how they want to be seen by university admission officers when they create their profile.” Although she “doesn’t like writing essays,” she thinks it’s important for universities to evaluate individuals holistically, and not just by a grade percentage. 

Similarly, Clement Yu (12), who is applying to the Bachelor of Applied Science (Engineering) program, thinks that although the personal profile requires applicants to do more work, “[it] is a nice touch that makes admissions more fair, because grade inflation and extracurricular inflation [are] out of hand.” 

Grade inflation refers to a rise in the average grades given to students, while extracurricular inflation refers to a rise in students’ taking on out-of-class enrichment activities to enhance their resumé. Both of these phenomena make the admission process more cutthroat, as students have to compete against an increased number of qualified applicants. 

Moreover, Renee Kwok (12), another Bachelor of Commerce applicant, likes UBC’s personal profile requirement but wishes that the writing component could be a “little shorter.” Kwok believes that having to write a personal profile is inconvenient for students applying to multiple universities, as it takes up a lot of time. Because Kwok is applying to the commerce program, she must answer two extra supplemental questions. 

In September, UBC announced a change from their past fixed-deadline admissions system — for the 2025/2026 application cycle, they would be implementing a rolling admissions model. With the fixed-deadline system in past years, UBC would only start evaluating applicants after a certain final cut-off date for applications. However, now, all applications are reviewed continuously, and decisions are released as they are made. 

According to the UBC website, “the chances of receiving an offer of admission may be increased by the early submission of an application and supporting documentation.” 

This new rolling admissions system, with its increased chances for early applicants, has motivated many students to submit their applications earlier.

Yu says that the rolling admissions policy should have “in theory” motivated him to apply earlier, but that he’s been procrastinating finishing the drafts of his responses. He initially planned to submit his profile on Oct. 24, but has since moved his submission goal to Nov. 7 at the latest. 

Prior will be applying early decision to UBC because “[she] wants to give [herself] the best chance of getting in.” However, she remains more concerned about the quality of her personal profile rather than the speed at which she gets it completed and submitted.

Prior is currently in the “drafting stages” of her application, from finding references to brainstorming responses to the longer prompts. 

“Though some of my extracurriculars and academic experiences may not be the most exciting, I’ve been trying to show how they’ve shaped the person I am through creative storytelling and reflection,” she said while explaining the content of her profile. 

Other students are also delving deep into their extracurriculars in their profiles. For instance, Kwok wrote about her extracurriculars, using them as instruments to highlight positive traits such as her leadership skills and resilience.