Frequently Asked Questions

No. The Admissions Office does not pre-assess transcripts or review documents before receiving an application through OMSAS. We are more than happy to answer questions about our admission requirements so that applicants can better determine if they meet the minimum requirements.

No. Please refer to the important dates listed on the OMSAS website.

The deadline to submit an application is set by OMSAS. Please visit the OMSAS Important Dates webpage.

To be eligible to apply to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program, applicants must meet each of the following academic admission requirements:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada at the time of application.
• Have completed, or be in the 3rd year of, a program leading to a 4-year undergraduate degree at a recognized university. If currently enrolled in a graduate degree program, you must be in the final year of your program.
• Meet the minimum GPA in each of your 2 best undergraduate years, where each year contains of 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year, with at least 3 full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study.
  • Year 1: 3 of 5 full course equivalents at or above the 1st-year academic level.
  • Year 2: 3 of 5 full course equivalents at or above the 2nd-year academic level.
  • Year 3, 4 or additional undergraduate years: 3 of 5 full course equivalents at or above the 3rd year academic level.

Application to Schulich Medicine is very competitive. Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee an offer of admission.

No. All applicants must meet the same admission requirements and will be considered equally regardless of their province of residence.

No. We do not give preference to Western students. The institution granting the degree will not have an impact on your application.

Yes. Applicants can attend university part-time and still be considered for admission to the MD Program. However, to meet the GPA requirement applicants must complete at least 2 years during which they meet our course load and level requirements between September and April.

The admission process does not a penalize student who continues to study part-time after obtaining an undergraduate degree.

Yes. If you have one undergraduate year that meets the minimum GPA and you are currently enrolled in full-time studies that meet the appropriate course level and course load in the final year of your undergraduate degree, you are eligible to apply. If you were to receive an offer of admission, it would be conditional upon meeting the minimum GPA in your current year of study, with 3 of 5 full course equivalents at or above the 3rd-year academic level. 

• you were not aware that you had a disability, or
• you were not appropriately accommodated for a documented disability during your undergraduate and/or graduate studies.

Please visit the OMSAS website for detailed information about Eligibility and Supporting Documentation requirements.

No. Students are selected from a wide range of disciplines such as arts and humanities, engineering, sciences, and social sciences. No preference is given to any specific program. 

Yes. Applicants who have earned a 4-year undergraduate degree from a recognized university may continue in full-time undergraduate studies (a Special Year) to improve their academic standing.

• Prior to the Special Year, applicants must already have one undergraduate year (September to April) that meets the minimum GPA, course load and course level requirements as previously outlined.
• Only the first Special Year will be considered for GPA. The Special Year may be the current year of application.
• A Special Year must contain 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) taken between September and April.
• First-year courses, repeat/antirequisite courses, pass/fail courses, and 2nd-year courses that do not require a 1st-year prerequisite are not acceptable in the Special Year.

Please visit the Admission Requirements webpage for complete details.

Yes. To have the marks from an undergraduate degree obtained outside of Canada or the U.S. considered for our academic average requirement, you will need to submit an evaluation of your transcript by World Education Service (WES) when you apply.

Please refer to our How to Apply webpage for more details.

Yes. An online degree may be acceptable if it is equivalent to a 4-year undergraduate degree.

It must include 2 years with a course load of 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed between September and April, with at least 3 full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) at or above the published academic year level, to use for the academic average requirement. If it is not clear from your official transcript, additional documentation may be required confirming that all courses used for the academic average requirement were completed between September and April.

Yes. Applicants who complete the requirements of a 4-year undergraduate degree (120 credit hours) in less than 4 years may apply to the MD Program without penalty. However, they will still be required to have 2 years that meet our GPA, course load and level requirements during the September to April academic year.

Course load and course level requirements need to be considered carefully whenever a degree is completed in less than 4 years. For example, if an undergraduate degree is completed in 2 years, the academic level of those years would be considered to be equivalent to Years 3 and 4.

Yes. Applicants who embark on a second undergraduate degree are eligible to apply during the final year of their new degree program. The second degree must be equivalent to a 4-year degree, even though it may take less than 4 years to complete. In this situation, GPA consideration will be based on the 2 best years of the second degree program.

Course load and course level requirements for the second degree are analogous to the requirements of the first degree. For example, if your second degree is completed in two years, those two years would be used for GPA purposes and would be considered to be Years 3 and 4.

No. Schulich Medicine does not consider graduate course work for GPA; only undergraduate years are used. 

Applicants enrolled in a graduate program at the time of application must complete ALL of their degree program requirements by the following deadlines:

• Thesis-based graduate degree program: June 30
• Course-based graduate degree program: August 15

Withdrawal from a graduate degree program in order to enroll in Schulich Medicine will not be acceptable. We also do not grant deferrals or deadline extensions for completion of a graduate degree.

For applicants enrolled in graduate degree programs at the time of application, please visit the Admission Requirements webpage for additional information.

No. Schulich Medicine does not consider graduate courses for GPA; only undergraduate years are used. Applicants currently enrolled in a master's program are encouraged to explore the Schulich Medicine MD/PhD Program. 

No. There are no prerequisite courses and no preference is given to any specific program. Students are selected from a wide range of disciplines such as arts and humanities, engineering, sciences, and social sciences.

Each of the 2 years used for GPA consideration must meet the following course level requirements:

• Year 1: 3 of 5 full course equivalents (18 of 30 credit hours) at or above the 1st-year level
• Year 2: 3 of 5 full course equivalents (18 of 30 credit hours) at or above the 2nd-year level
• Year 3, 4 and additional undergraduate years: 3 of 5 full course equivalents (18 of 30 credit hours) at or above the 3rd-year level.

Course level requirements apply only to the 2 years considered for academic average.

In addition, only 1 full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) is permissible in each year considered for GPA.

No. Course load and course level are based on the entire September to April academic year. Distribution of courses between the fall and winter semesters does not matter.

A full course load is 30 credit hours completed between September and April. This is typically 5 full-year or 10 half-year courses. It does not matter how the courses are distributed between the semesters.

A full-year course is a course that runs from September to April.

A half-year course is a course that runs from September to December or from January to April.

No. All applicants must meet the same minimum admissions requirements. We cannot make exceptions.

Online courses
Yes Online courses must be taken as part of an undergraduate degree and may be considered as part of a full course load used for the GPA requirement, as long as they are completed during the September to April academic year.

If it is not clear from the official transcript, additional documentation may be required confirming that online courses were completed during the September to April academic year.

Pass/Fail courses
Yes. Only 1 full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) will be permissible in each of the 2 undergraduate years considered for academic average. 

• The pass/fail course must be passed in order to count toward the course load. 
• Discovery Credits (Western students) will be considered within, not in addition to, the one full course pass/fail allowance.

Repeat courses
No. Schulich Medicine does not accept repeat or antirequisite courses. If a course is repeated, that course is not counted in the course load for that year, nor is it factored into the GPA calculation for that year. If an applicant takes 5 full or equivalent courses from September to April that includes a repeat course, the year will be considered to have less than a full course load and will not be eligible for GPA consideration.

Spring/Summer courses
No. Courses taken during spring/summer sessions are not considered to be part of a full course load, and so cannot be included in the calculation used for GPA consideration. 

Yes. Schulich Medicine will consider individuals completing undergraduate programs that require clinical placements. However, for academic average consideration a program year cannot include more than one full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours).

Accelerated and compressed Nursing programs often have mandatory pass/fail courses and clinical placements which can make it difficult for applicants with a nursing degree to meet our GPA requirement. In such cases, we may be able to use one year from the first undergraduate degree, provided that year satisfies our admission requirements.

Applicants must have achieved a GPA of at least 3.70 in each of 2 undergraduate academic years, where each year contains 5 full course equivalents (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year, including at least 3 full course equivalents (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study. 

Please visit the Admission Statistics webpage for data on recently admitted students.

GPA is calculated on grades indicated on official transcripts. For transcripts that indicate both a percentage and an alpha grade, the percentage grade is used. Transcripts that indicate alpha grades only will have the grade converted to the mid-point of the percentage range using the OMSAS Conversion Scale. 

GPA must be met in each of the 2 best undergraduate years which have 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year, with at least 3 full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) whose published academic level is at or above the year of study.

Regardless of your degree program requirements, any year that does not meet our course load and course level requirements cannot be considered for GPA.

No. We do not round up GPA. For example, a GPA of 3.69 would not be rounded up to 3.70.

No. To use your Year 4 for GPA consideration, 3 of 5 full-course equivalents (18 of 30 credit hours) must be at or above the 3rd-year published academic level.

Yes. If you have 1 year that meets our GPA, course load and course level requirements, and if you are still enrolled full-time in undergraduate studies, you would be eligible to apply.

If you were to receive an offer of admission, it would be conditional on the year in progress being completed and meeting the minimum GPA, course load and course level requirements.

Schulich Medicine will consider the best 2 academic years consisting of the 2 terms which combine to complete one of the mandatory program years, e.g. Terms 2A/2B; Terms 3A/3B; Terms 4A/4B. We will not consider terms belonging to different program years, e.g. Terms 2B/3A.

Each academic year must contain 3 of 5 full-course equivalents (18 of 30 credit hours) at or above the published academic level of the year of study.

Yes. Applicants who have earned a 4-year undergraduate degree from a recognized university may continue in full-time undergraduate studies (a Special Year) to improve their academic standing.

To be eligible for GPA consideration, all of the following conditions must be met:

• Prior to the Special Year, an applicant must already have 1 undergraduate year (September to April) that meets our minimum GPA, course load and course level requirements.
• Only the first Special Year will be considered for GPA.
• The Special Year must contain 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year.
• First-year courses, repeat/antirequisite courses, pass/fail courses, and second-year courses that do not require a first-year prerequisite are not acceptable in the Special Year.

Yes. A Special Year may be completed during the year of application.  

If you were to receive an offer of admission, the offer would be conditional on meeting the Special Year GPA, course load and course level requirements.

Applicants who have only one undergraduate year that meets the minimum GPA, course load and course level requirements may take a Special Year for consideration as their second best year.

Please refer to “Special Years, after graduating” on our Admissions Requirements webpage.

Accelerated and compressed Nursing programs often have mandatory pass/fail courses and clinical placements which can make it difficult for applicants with a nursing degree to meet our GPA requirement. In such cases, we may be able to use one year from the first undergraduate degree, provided that year satisfies our admission requirements.

If the 2019-2020 academic year is one of your 2 best years for GPA consideration, you must have completed 5 full or equivalent courses (minimum 30 credit hours) during the September and April academic year, of which 3 full or equivalent courses (18 credit hours) are at or above the year of study.

GPA will be calculated on grades from the Fall 2019 semester only.

Within the fall semester, only 1 full or equivalent pass/fail course (2 half courses, 6 credit hours) will be permissible.

The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®), developed and administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), is a standardized, multiple-choice examination created to help medical school admissions offices assess your problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine.

The AAMC offers multiple sittings per year at hundreds of test sites throughout Canada and the United States.  

For additional information, please visit the Admission Requirements webpage.

For MCAT scores to be eligible for admission consideration, the MCAT must be written no more than five years prior to the application deadline. We will not consider scores from a test written after the application deadline. 

If written more than once, scores from the most recent MCAT will be used.

If applicants do not meet the required minimums in each section as set by the Medicine Admissions Committee, their application will not be considered. All sections of the MCAT may be considered.

MCAT minimums are re-set annually, depending on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.

For additional information, please visit the Admission Requirements webpage.

Since MCAT minimums are re-set annually based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool, the MCAT minimums in a future application cycle may differ from those in the current or previous application cycles.

It is important to recognize that MCAT minimums may not fluctuate greatly year-to-year. It is unusual for MCAT scores below the 50th percentile (i.e. below 125) in any section to be competitive.

Schulich Medicine takes into account each section of the MCAT independently for admission. Applicants must meet the minimum score in each section in order for their application to be considered further.

Applicants through the Access, Southwestern Ontario and Military Medical Training Program pathways may be granted flexibility with their minimum MCAT scores.

Yes, as long as the MCAT is written prior to the October 1 application deadline and the scores have been released to OMSAS.

OMSAS requires that your MCAT scores are received by the deadline indicated on the OMSAS Important Dates webpage. It will take at least two business days for OMSAS to receive your scores after they are released.  Scores will not be accepted after this date.

Canadian Student Fee Assistance
The AAMC is committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. To do this, the AAMC and the AFMC have a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees. Canadian applicants who qualify for fee assistance will receive reduced scheduling, rescheduling, and cancellation rates. For details, visit the AFMC website.

MCAT Exam Preparation Materials
Free sample content from all sections of the MCAT has been created by the Khan Academy with support and funding by the AAMC and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Khan Academy MCAT Collection includes over 1,000 videos and 3,000 review questions. For details, visit the Khan Academy website.

Applicants must request the AAMC to submit results of the revised MCAT directly to OMSAS. Once Schulich Medicine receives the revised scores from OMSAS, they will be used to assess an application.

The Access Pathway was introduced to encourage and support applicants who are under-represented within medicine. In particular, these applicants may have been potentially adversely impacted by circumstances that created a disadvantage due to financial, medical, and/or socio-cultural barriers.

Please visit the Access Pathway webpage for further information.

Applicants must use their own judgement in determining whether their situation meets the criteria for an Access Pathway barrier, as well as to determine which information and documentation to submit to best support their barrier.

Please visit the Access Pathway webpage for further information.

Yes. Black Canadian applicants are encouraged to apply through the Black Applicant Pathway (BAP), which deliberately takes steps to address the unique experience of Black applicants to the MD Program.

Please visit the BAP webpage for further information.

Individuals with a medical barrier(s) are encouraged to apply if they have the Essential Skills and Abilities Required for the Study of Medicine (as per the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine).

Please visit the Access Pathway webpage for further information.

If your application is not accepted through the Access Pathway but you met all general stream academic and non-academic admission requirements, your application would still be eligible for consideration.

Schulich Medicine is committed to making a difference in the health of First Nations, Métis and Inuit People in Canada. Indigenous students enrolled in the MD Program have access to dedicated and culturally-responsive spaces, financial aid, and programs and services to foster and support Indigenous student culture.

Please visit the Indigenous Student Resources webpage for additional information.

If you meet all the general stream academic and non-academic requirements, your application would still be eligible for consideration.

Applying through the Indigenous Pathway provides applicants with the opportunity to have their application reviewed by Indigenous peoples. Indigenous applicants who are invited for an interview will be welcomed by traditional Elders to provide cultural and social support, and will have opportunity to meet Indigenous students and faculty members. 

If the CAF review of your application results in you not being selected for funding, your application may still be eligible for consideration if you met all of the general stream academic and non-academic admission requirements. 

If you were subsequently accepted into a general admissions seat, you would be responsible to fund your own tuition.

The Schulich Medicine Admissions Committee defines Southwestern Ontario as consisting of the counties which correspond to the Schulich Medicine Distributed Education community partner locations: Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth, Oxford, Elgin, Middlesex, Lambton, Chatham-Kent, and Essex.

Applicants who attended all four years and graduated from high school within these counties would be considered Southwestern Ontario applicants.

If invited for an interview, Southwestern Ontario applicants must submit an original high school transcript when registering for their interview.

The Western ABS invites applicants to tell their story and share what makes them unique, by linking a few of the activities from the OMSAS Autobiographical Sketch.

Schulich Medicine is interested in how an applicant's life experiences such as employment, volunteering, research, extracurricular activities, or general experiences, connect with the School’s core values of:

• Teamwork and Leadership
• Respect for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Social Accountability and Social Responsibility
• Self-directed Learning, Problem-solving and Critical Inquiry

Both. A current email address, and a phone number where they can be reached, must be provided for each Verifier. 

We are not looking for specific activities or experiences, nor do we require research or publications. It is best to choose activities that provide insight into who you are and what you value.

For example, Social Accountability and Social Responsibility does not need to refer to formal volunteer positions. You may choose to highlight where you helped someone, or advocated for a person or a cause.

All experiences will be evaluated holistically.

We care about the life experiences, values, and attributes that make you a unique individual. We are interested in mature, well-rounded future doctors. Feel free to tell us about your academic and non-academic experiences that have contributed to shaping you as an individual.

In order to have a fair selection process balancing both academic and non-academic attributes, applicants are evaluated on a composite of information including GPA and MCAT minimums, Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch, and Confidential Assessment Forms.

To be eligible for an interview, applicants are evaluated according to the following criteria:

Academic Evaluation
GPA and MCAT minimums are based on the quality of the applicant pool and may vary from year to year. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee an invitation for an interview.

Non-Academic Evaluation
Only academically competitive applications proceed to non-academic assessment, consisting of review of the Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch and Confidential Assessment Forms. 

For complete information about academic and non-academic assessment, visit the Admission Requirements webpage.

Each spring, Schulich Medicine invites the top ranked candidates for an interview. Interview invitations and declines are sent by email from the Admissions Office in late January or early February. Interviews are held in March. 

Interviews are 45 minutes in duration, standardized with structured questions, and conducted by a three-person panel consisting of a physician, a senior medical student and a community member.

Schulich Medicine interviews approximately 450 applicants for up to 171 seats in the MD Program. Please visit the Interviews webpage for more details.

Applicants are considered for an offer of admissions based on performance in both their academic and non-academic achievements to allow for a holistic process.  The components of that assessment include GPA, MCAT score, Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch, reference letters/verification, and an interview.

Applicants who are not offered direct admission may be placed on a wait list. General information regarding a candidate's waitlist position (high, normal or low) is communicated to candidates in May of the application cycle. Schulich Medicine does not provide specific candidate ranking.

The wait list will remain active until the first day of the MD Program when the entire class of up to 171 students has been determined.

Applicants who, for any reason, may not be reachable during the active wait list period may designate an Authorized Contact to receive information and/or to speak on their behalf.

Applicants on the wait list will be provided with detailed information about how to designate an Authorized Contact. For information about Release of Information, click here.

If after reviewing our Admission Requirements, you believe an error was made on an academic parameter, please contact us as soon as possible. We will be happy to ensure that no errors have been made when evaluating your file.

If you met the academic requirements but did not receive an invitation for an interview, it is likely due to your non-academic assessment not being competitive enough compared to the applicant pool this year.

Since we receive a large number of applications ever year, we regret that we are unable to provide individualized feedback regarding non-academic assessments.

MD/PhD Program

• Three seats are set aside each year for applicants to the MD/PhD program. For details, please visit the MD/PhD program website.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/MD/MSc Program

• One seat is set aside each year for an applicant to the OMFS/MD/MSc program. For details, please visit the OMFS program website.

MD+ Track

• After being admitted into the MD Program, students with interests in a wide range of topics may pursue interdisciplinary, experiential learning environments including thesis-based, course-based, concurrent and international graduate degree training options, as well as diploma and certificate programs. For details, please visit the MD+ website.

No. The Admissions Office can only provide information about our admission requirements. We suggest students reach out to academic counselling at their school.

Schulich Medicine receives over 2,500 applications each year. Up to 450 applicants are invited to attend an interview, and up to 171 are accepted into the MD Program.

Current and historic fee schedules can be found on the Office of the Registrar website.

Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Program 
If applying to medical school may be a significant financial burden, consider applying to the Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Program and save approximately $600. This program subsidizes the costs for up to three Ontario medical schools for the 2022-2023 application cycle ($100 - $130 each) and the $220 Ontario Medical School Application Service processing fee.

Applications open on June 28, 2022 (at midnight) and close on August 23, 2022 (11:59 PM). To assess your eligibility and apply, click here.

If you have questions, email the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada at service@afmcstudentportal.ca. For resources to support your application process, contact Price of a Dream (email: mdpriceofadream@gmail.com; Instagram: @priceofadream_md).

Awards, Scholarships & Busaries
The Western Financial Aid Office is there to help students meet their educational goals. For detailed information, please visit the Office of Registrar website.

Please visit the Welcome to Western webpage for ways to explore the campus.

In the rare instance that an applicant does not receive all clear status, the Executive of the Medicine Admissions Committee may request a meeting with the applicant. The Committee's decision will be final.

If an applicant has ever been convicted of a criminal offence for which they have not received a pardon, the applicant is strongly advised to consult with their provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons, as medical graduates with criminal records may not be eligible to receive licensure to practice medicine.

Please visit the Admission Statistics webpage.

Medicine Admissions Coordinator
admissions.medicine@schulich.uwo.ca