Michael Bluhm

Associate Director, Domestic Undergraduate Admissions

I grew up in a small town in Ontario – the kind of place where, if you didn’t make your own fun, you wouldn’t have any. Well, that’s just what we did – we made our own fun.  I spent as much time as I could outdoors, hiking, camping, and rock climbing. We had this great place that we would go to in the summer where you could climb on the walls of a natural limestone cave that was full of water at the bottom so if you fell you would plunge into the cold, clear water of Georgian Bay without getting hurt.  I bet some of you know it – the grotto at Cypress Lake.

I’ve lived in Vancouver for seven years now. I didn’t come to UBC as an undergraduate student. I very well might have if my first visit to this beautiful campus had have been while I was still in high school. Instead, I had already graduated from university and begun working by the time I first visited Vancouver and UBC. I was instantly convinced that this was where I would work and live.

I often hear people say “it’s not rocket science.” Admissions, that is. They’re right. There’s no way a rocket scientist could do this job!  Our work is exciting.  I work with an extremely talented group of people who, like me, love what they do. UBC receives undergraduate applications from more than one hundred and seventy countries around the world. This year, we received almost 40,000 applications, and each program at UBC has its own unique set of admission criteria. The possibilities are endless, and it’s our job to sort this out, make it as straightforward as possible for students seeking admission to UBC, and ensure that everyone gets a fair and equitable assessment.

Sometimes we forget that there may be people out there (like rocket scientists!) who don’t fully understand the ins and outs of our application and admission process, so we’re always looking for new ways to communicate with you about how to apply and what to expect from the admission process. I hope this blog will serve that purpose.

Welcome, and stay tuned. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Kathryn Mudie

Supervisor, Student Information Services

I am a supervisor in Student Information Services – AKA “SRIS” in Brock Hall on the Vancouver campus. My department is often your first point of contact when you visit, call or email UBC with admissions inquiries.

Because of the wide range of questions SRIS gets, we have the opportunity to communicate with a variety of UBC departments on a daily basis: Admissions, Recruitment, Records & Registration, Tuition, Student Financial Assistance and Awards, and the list goes on… I am thrilled to be able to use this blog to share with you some of the information I’ve acquired in the process of collaborating with various UBC students services providers, and hopefully begin to demystify the UBC admission process for you.

I can empathize with the stresses of applying for university, as I have been through the application process myself, being alumna of UBC with a Bachelor of Arts. Between my four years as an undergrad, and the four years I’ve spent working in SRIS, I hope I can provide some useful insights. Whether you attend the Okanagan or Vancouver campus, you are sure to find UBC is an amazing place full of opportunities. My goal is to make it a bit easier for you to get here.