Access Pathway

Photograph of a pathway on campus

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization

Schulich Medicine recognizes the complexity of lived experiences that applicants may have on their path to applying to medicine. As part of our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization (EDID), we wish to recognize the impact of historical and current structural challenges for these applicants, while ensuring equitable access for all who seek admission to our medical school.

We value selecting and promoting a community of health care professionals that reflects the diversity of the Canadian population and the communities we serve. We also commit to having a diverse set of evaluators that represent the communities we serve and has undergone EDI training including implicit bias training.

Our commitment to EDID continues with support by the Learner Experience Office (LEO). Once admitted into the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program, LEO provides a welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students enrolled in the MD Program, targeting support to the needs of the learner through provision of resources, mentoring and advice, as well as networking and referral to specialists to help promote each learner’s success throughout their journey in medical school.

Applicants

The Access Pathway encourages and supports applicants who are under-represented within medicine. The intent of this pathway is to consider the complexities of lived experiences of applicants impacted by circumstances due to financial and/or medical challenges or those historically under-represented in medicine.

Eligible applicants may include, but are not limited to:
  • Individuals of who self-identify with a population under-represented in medicine, such as Latin American, and Filipino**
  • Individuals with disabilities or life-threatening illnesses
  • Individuals with socio-economic challenges
  • Individuals who have faced other familial and/or socio-cultural barriers such as loss of both parents, being ward of Children’s Aid, living in a homeless shelter.

**Since the 2018-19 application cycle, we have asked applicants to complete a voluntary applicant diversity survey. Compared to our local data based on Statistics Canada, Latin American, and Filipino populations are underrepresented at Schulich Medicine. Schulich Medicine wishes to create a welcoming environment to all our applicants which includes applicants from under-represented ethnicities.

Applicants from all backgrounds and experiences are welcome to apply through the Access Pathway if they have encountered any financial, medical and/or socio-cultural challenges. To ensure a holistic assessment valuing the intersectionality that may occur for a single individual, applications through the Access Pathway are assessed by a diversity and equity panel enriched with physicians, community members, and medical students who are trained in implicit bias and EDID practices.

MCAT Flexibility

Applicants through the Access Pathway may be considered for MCAT flexibility:
  • Applicants must attain a minimum of 125 in each section of the MCAT that we consider.
  • Applicants must still meet the same GPA, course load, course level and non-academic admission requirements as applicants through the general stream.
MCAT minimums are reset each year based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool. Applying through this pathway does not guarantee the granting of MCAT flexibility nor an offer of admission.

How to Apply

All applicants through the Access Pathway must provide:

  • A brief personal statement describing:
    • How you have adapted to and/or overcome your challenges
    • Your current and past experiences/involvement in your community and the impact of these experiences/involvement,
    • Your goals for future involvement in your respective community, and
    • How your lived experiences will support you in being a health care provider
  • Supporting documentation, as outlined below under Financial, Medical or Socio-cultural.
    • It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that ALL relevant documentation is submitted by the application deadline. 
    • Schulich Medicine reserves the right to verify supporting documentation. Falsification or misrepresentation of information will result in removal of an application from consideration and may be considered in any future application to the University.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure all documentation is submitted online to OMSAS by the application deadline.

Schulich Medicine reserves the right to verify supporting documentation. Falsification or misrepresentation of information from any portion of the application will result in removal of the application from consideration and may be considered in any future application to the University.


Applicants with a Financial challenge

We recognize that many students face financial challenges that may require them to work part-time during their undergraduate education. To be considered:
  • You must have worked at least 20 hours/week during the undergraduate academic year (September to April) for at least two academic years.
  • During at least one of these two years, you must also have been engaged in full-time studies with the appropriate course loads and course levels as outlined in our GPA requirements.
Applicants with a financial challenge must provide the following additional documentation:
  • In your description within the Access Pathway, clearly outline how your circumstances meet the definition of a financial challenge as described above, including a relevant timeline. E.g.: "I worked a minimum of 20 hours/week during the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic years."
  • an official letter from your employer(s) clearly outlining the hours worked and dates employed, as they relate to the above definition of financial barrier.

If you are unable to meet the employment hours listed and believe that you have faced a socio-economic challenge in your journey to medical school, please consider applying through Socio-cultural and its required documentation.

Applicants with a Medical challenge

A medical challenge is defined as a major illness affecting you during your university education.

Applicants must provide the following additional documentation:
  • official documentation on whether accommodations were provided, and the nature of these accommodations, for writing the MCAT. If no accommodations were provided for writing the MCAT, this must be stated.
  • official documentation on whether accommodations were provided, and the nature of these accommodations, for university learning. If no accommodations were provided, this must be stated.
  • official documentation by a licensed professional on how the illness and/or disability impacts/impacted your learning and/or the learning of others. (Although disclosing the name of a diagnosis is not required, the committee will require sufficient information about the impact of the illness and/or disability on your educational experience.)

Applicants with a Socio-cultural lived experience

A socio-cultural lived experience is related to societal, cultural, familial or environmental lived experiences that may potentially have had an adverse impact on an applicant’s abilities to adequately prepare for medical school.

Given the activities and achievements that are considered acceptable in the application to Schulich Medicine (i.e. the Western Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch), the impact of the challenge (s) must be beyond stating a lack of appropriate role models to guide an individual.

Applicants through socio-cultural must provide objective documentation that best supports their personal statement for the Access Pathway:
  • Since socio-cultural challenges can be very personal and quite diverse in circumstances, we cannot recomment prescribed sets of acceptable documentation.
  • Documentation from family members, relatives or friends will not be acceptable.

Latin American Canadian Applicants

Latin American Canadian applicants are encouraged to apply through the Access Pathway, which deliberately takes steps to address the unique experience of Latin American applicants to the MD program in the following ways:
  • Applicants must self-identify as Latin American.
  • Applicants may apply through socio-cultural stream of the Access Pathway. Acceptable supporting documentation: personal letter attesting your self-identification with Latin American ancestry. 
  • If other challenges (Financial and/or Medical, as described above) are present, applicants may describe these as well and provide supporting documentation as outlined below.
  • A diversity and equity panel enriched with community members, medical students and physicians who are Latin American and/or Persons of Colour (racialized persons) will take part in the Admissions process of self-identified Latin American applicants.

*If you identify as Latin American you can reach out to the Canadian Association of Latin Medical Students (CALMS) for mentorship with the Access pathway at: calmsschulich@gmail.com


Filipino Canadian Applicants
Filipino Canadian applicants are encouraged to apply through the Access Pathway, which deliberately takes steps to address the unique experience of Filipino applicants to the MD program in the following ways:

  • Applicants must self-identify as Filipino.
  • Applicants may apply through the socio-cultural barrier stream of the Access Pathway. Acceptable supporting documentation: personal letter attesting your self-identification with Filipino ancestry.
  • If other challenges (Financial and/or Medical, as described above) are present, applicants may describe these as well and provide supporting documentation as outlined above.
  • A diversity and equity panel enriched with community members, medical students and physicians who are Filipino and/or Persons of Colour (racialized persons) will take part in the Admissions process of self-identified Filipino applicants.

Consideration & Assessment

All required application materials, including supporting documentation for the Access Pathway, must be submitted by the OMSAS deadline. Personal statements and documents submitted in support of an application through the Access Pathway will be reviewed holistically. 

Applying through the Access Pathway does not guarantee the granting of MCAT flexibility, nor admission to the Doctor of Medicine Program. There are no fixed seats or quotas for the Access Pathway.

Contact Information

Please direct questions about applying through the Access Pathway to admissions.medicine@schulich.uwo.ca.

Applicants to Schulich Medicine who have disabilities and wish to discuss requests for accommodations should contact Accessible Education at ssd@uwo.ca or 519-661-2147.

Community of Support

Community of Support is an initiative through the University of Toronto with chapters across multiple universities, aimed at supporting students who are Indigenous, Black, Filipino, economically disadvantaged, or who self-identify with having a disability, with admissions information, advising, mentoring, and application support.

You might also consider applying to other medical schools that are committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion through their admissions-related diversity and/or social accountability initiatives. Please consult individual Canadian medical schools for details.