WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET INTO THE MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA? THERE ARE SEVENTEEN MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN
CANADA FROM COAST TO COAST... AND THERE IS A LOT THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GET ADMITTED…
FROM WHAT MCAT SCORE YOU’LL NEED… TO HOW TO NAVIGATE BEING AN IN-PROVINCE, OUT OF
PROVINCE OR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT… IN THIS VIDEO I’LL BREAK DOWN THE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS FOR MOST
CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS SO YOU CAN START YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOMING A DOCTOR NORTH OF THE BORDER…
HI! I’M NATALIE STOBERMAN AND I’M AN ADMISSIONS ASSOCIATE HERE AT BEMO. BEFORE WE GET STARTED,
SUBSCRIBE ON WHATEVER SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL YOU’RE WATCHING THIS ON SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY OF OUR
UPCOMING VIDEOS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL, VISIT BEMOMEDSCHOOL.COM
TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION. F-Y-I... CHECK OUT THE TIME STAMPS IN THE
DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO TO NAVIGATE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THIS VIDEO THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN.
HERE’S WHAT WE ARE GOING TO COVER: MED SCHOOL RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
MATCHING THE GPA REQUIREMENTS ACING MCAT EXPECTATIONS
SELECTION FACTORS BY THE WAY WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS
EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! AND WE HAVE THE
ULTIMATE TIP THAT WILL HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN CANADA, SO KEEP WATCHING TO FIND OUT…
WITH THAT SAID, LET’S GET STARTED! MED SCHOOL RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
WHETHER YOU’RE AN IN-PROVINCE, OUT OF PROVINCE OR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT WILL HAVE
HUGE IMPACTS ON WHAT IS REQUIRED OF YOU TO APPLY TO CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS…
TYPICALLY IN-PROVINCE APPLICANTS ARE CONSIDERED THE MORE LIKELY CANDIDATES FOR ACCEPTANCE...
SCHOOLS INTENTIONALLY ATTRACT IN-PROVINCE STUDENTS AND MAKE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS MORE DIFFICULT FOR
OUT-OF-PROVINCE AND INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS... THAT’S BECAUSE ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENTS FEEL MORE
CERTAIN THAT IN-PROVINCE APPLICANTS WILL REMAIN IN THE REGION TO PRACTICE AFTER GRADUATION...
MOST FACULTIES ALSO RESERVE SEVERAL SPOTS FOR OUT-OF-PROVINCE APPLICANTS…
SO THIS LEAVES INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS, INCLUDING FROM THE UNITED STATES, FACING STRONG COMPETITION
AND LIMITED PLACES FOR THEM TO STUDY IN CANADA... OUT OF 17 CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS, ONLY
7 ACCEPT U.S. STUDENTS… ONTARIO HAS TWO OF THOSE MED SCHOOLS… MCMASTER’S MD PROGRAM ADMITS AN
AVERAGE OF 206 STUDENTS PER YEAR… 98% OF ADMITTED APPLICANTS ARE IN-PROVINCE APPLICANTS,
WHILE THE REMAINING 2% ARE UP FOR GRABS TO OUT-OF-PROVINCE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS...
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, APPROXIMATELY 8.3% OF APPLICANTS ARE ADMITTED EVERY YEAR
AND 86% OF THOSE ACCEPTED APPLICANTS ARE FROM ONTARIO… MAKING ROOM FOR ONLY 12% OF THE CLASS
TO BE FROM OUT-OF-PROVINCE AND 4% TO BE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS…
MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL IS ANOTHER CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOL THAT
ACCEPTS AMERICAN AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS... THIS APPLICANT POOL IS HIGHLY
COMPETITIVE WITH OVER 450 APPLICANTS EVERY YEAR FOR ONLY 6 OUT OF 80 SEATS.
TO BE COMPETITIVE, YOU HAVE TO ACHIEVE HIGHER GPA AND MCAT SCORES THAN APPLICANTS FROM THE
OTHER THREE POOLS… AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO IMPRESS THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE
WITH YOUR PAID WORK EXPERIENCE, VALUABLE PEOPLE-CENTERED EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES,
AND OUTSTANDING REFERENCE LETTERS… ON AVERAGE, 75% OF STUDENTS ADMITTED ARE
RESIDENTS OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, 18% ARE APPLICANTS FROM OTHER MARITIME PROVINCES
AND THE REMAINING 7% ARE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND STUDENTS FROM THE REMAINING PROVINCES…
ALL MED SCHOOLS IN QUEBEC DO ALLOW U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS,
BUT THESE SCHOOLS HIGHLY EMPHASIZE THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICANTS FROM QUEBEC…
AND IN SOME CASES YOU’LL NEED TO SPEAK FRENCH IN YOUR ADMISSIONS JOURNEY AND DURING YOUR STUDIES…
FOR INSTANCE, THE MD PROGRAM AT MCGILL ADMITS AROUND 183 STUDENTS PER YEAR, AND ONLY 2 POSITIONS
ARE AVAILABLE FOR AMERICAN AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS… OR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SHERBROOKE
MEDICAL SCHOOL ONLY 199 STUDENTS ARE ADMITTED YEARLY… WITH ONLY ONE STUDENT COMING FROM THE
INTERNATIONAL POOL, MAKING FOR A 0.5% ACCEPTANCE RATE… ON TOP OF THAT, INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
MUST COMPLETE THE CASPER EXAM IN FRENCH… MATCHING THE GPA REQUIREMENTS:
MOST CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS HAVE A MINIMUM THRESHOLD FOR GPA’S… SO KNOWING WHERE YOUR
AVERAGES STAND WILL GIVE YOU THE BEST DIRECTION TO WHICH MED SCHOOL WILL BE THE BEST FIT FOR YOU…
STARTING ON THE WEST COAST… THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA POSTS AN AVERAGE GPA
OF JUST UNDER 88 PERCENT TO MATRICULATE INTO THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE… AND THAT AVERAGE
IS STRICTLY FOR CANADIAN APPLICANTS ONLY…
IN ALBERTA… BOTH OF THE PROVINCE’S MEDICAL SCHOOL’S POST THEIR MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS…
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA’S FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY, THE POSTED AVERAGE GPA IS 3.85…
WHILE THE CUMMING SCHOOL OF MEDICINE GPA IS JUST AS COMPETITIVE… AT 3.84..
IN THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE… THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE THRESHOLD IS
SIMILAR TO ALBERTA’S… THEY’RE LOOKING FOR STUDENTS WITH A MINIMUM 88.27 PERCENT GPA AVERAGE… BUT KEEP
IN MIND, THEIR ACCEPTANCE RATE IS THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY AT 17.7 PERCENT… SO THIS WOULD
BE A GOOD OPTION TO HAVE SHOULD YOU NEED TO APPLY TO A SCHOOL WITH SLIGHTLY EASIER REQUIREMENTS...
WHEN YOU CROSS INTO MANITOBA… YOU’RE LOOKING AT ONE OF THE MORE COMPETITIVE PROGRAMS IN
THE COUNTRY… WHICH IS THE MAX RADY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE… THOUGH THE PROGRAM’S ACCEPTANCE RATE IS
12.5 PERCENT… THEIR CUTOFF FOR GPA AVERAGES SITS AT A WHOPPING 4.18 AVERAGE… TIPPING THE SCALES
ON THE HIGHER END FOR CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS… IF YOUR HEART IS SET ON ATTENDING ONE OF ONTARIO’S
SIX MEDICAL SCHOOLS… KNOWING EACH SCHOOLS’ REQUIREMENTS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BEFORE YOU
GET STARTED WITH YOUR APPLICATIONS… THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL
SCHOOLS IN CANADA AND THE WORLD… SO ITS ACCEPTANCE RATE IS QUITE STEEP AT 8.3 PERCENT, AND THAT’S
WITH STUDENTS APPLYING FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE… EVEN WITH U OF T’S MINIMUM GPA AVERAGE AT 3.96…
THE COMPETITION IS SO STEEP THAT YOUR GRADES WILL NEED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN
THIS THRESHOLD TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS...
THE REST OF ONTARIO’S MED SCHOOLS ARE JUST AS COMPETITIVE WITH ONE ANOTHER
FOR THEIR GPA REQUIREMENTS… THE NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
SITS ON THE LOWER END WITH A 3.86 MINIMUM GPA, BUT WITH A MARGINAL 3.2 PERCENT ACCEPTANCE RATE…
THEN THE SCHULICH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY AT WESTERN UNIVERSITY SETS THE BAR AT 3.91… AND
THE MICHAEL G. DEGROOTE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY IS NOT FAR BEHIND AT 3.89…
ON A SIDE NOTE, ALL MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO USE THE ONTARIO MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION SERVICE
KNOWN AS THE OMSAS… IT’S THE ONLINE CENTRALIZED APPLICATION SERVICE TO ACCEPT AND ASSESS
APPLICATIONS FROM THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ANNUALLY… THAT MEANS THAT ALL OF THE
OTHER MED SCHOOLS **OUTSIDE OF ONTARIO HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL APPLICATION SYSTEMS…
SO BE SURE TO RESEARCH THE APPLICATION TIMELINES FOR YOUR SCHOOLS OF CHOICE...
OF THE FOUR MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN QUEBEC, THREE OF THEM STRICTLY INSTRUCT IN FRENCH… SO THAT ALONE
COULD NARROW YOUR OPTIONS… THOSE THREE SCHOOL ALSO DON’T SET AN AVERAGE GPA… SO IF THE MCGILL
UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF MEDICINE IN MONTREAL IS ONE OF YOUR OPTIONS TO APPLY TO, KEEP IN MIND THEIR
MINIMUM GPA AVERAGE IS A CHALLENGING 3.88… ON THE EAST COAST THERE ARE TWO MEDICAL
SCHOOLS TO CHOOSE FROM… NOVA SCOTIA’S DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF MEDICINE
PRESENTS A CHALLENGING AVERAGE GPA OF 3.9… BUT AT MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY’S FACULTY OF MEDICINE IN ST.
JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR… THE AVERAGE GPA DEPENDS ON IF YOU YOU’RE A LOCAL STUDENT,
OR AN OUT OF PROVINCE OR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT… ACING MCAT EXPECTATIONS
HAVING A COMPETITIVE MCAT SCORE WILL ALWAYS TAKE YOU FAR IN THE MED SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS…
BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH DOORS AN MCAT SCORE WILL, OR WON’T, OPEN FOR YOU?
FOR STARTERS, A **GOOD MCAT SCORE WOULD BE EQUAL TO OR HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE CUTOFF SCORE
AT YOUR CHOSEN SCHOOLS… AND AN MCAT SCORE IN THE 50TH PERCENTILE OR HIGHER COULD BE CONSIDERED
ABOVE AVERAGE. THAT ROUGHLY TRANSLATES INTO A SCORE OF 506… BUT AN **EXCELLENT MCAT SCORE
WOULD BE IN THE OVERALL 90TH PERCENTILE, WHICH CURRENTLY MEANS A SCORE OF 515 OR GREATER. AND
ANYTHING ABOVE 517 IS CONSIDERED AS OUTSTANDING… SO WITH THAT KIND OF SCORE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT
FOR MED SCHOOLS TO REJECT YOUR APPLICATION! BUT WHAT IF YOU’RE STILL CHOOSING TO GO TO MED
SCHOOL IN CANADA AND YOUR MCAT SCORES **DON’T MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS? THERE ARE WAYS
AROUND THAT BECAUSE CERTAIN SCHOOLS DON’T REQUIRE THE MCAT… IN ONTARIO, U-OTTAWA DOES NOT ASK FOR
AN MCAT SCORE… AND THE NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE DOES NOT REQUIRE THE MCAT EITHER…
AND IN QUEBEC ALL FOUR MEDICAL SCHOOLS DON’T REQUIRE THE MCAT FOR ADMISSION…
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MCGILL… BECAUSE MCAT SCORES MAY BE REQUIRED DEPENDING ON IF YOU’RE AN OUT OF
PROVINCE OR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT… OTHERWISE YOU MAY NEED TO SCORE BETWEEN 508 AND 509 JUST TO BE
COMPETITIVE FOR THE PROGRAM... SELECTION FACTORS
JUST AS WITH APPLICATION SYSTEMS, AND MINIMUM GPA AND MCAT REQUIREMENTS,
MOST CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS HAVE THEIR OWN SET OF SELECTION FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU APPLY…
THESE SELECTION FACTORS GENERALLY INCLUDE SPECIFIC COURSEWORK AND PREREQUISITES, GPA AND MCAT,
TRANSCRIPTS, EXTRACURRICULARS, REFERENCE LETTERS AND CASPER… HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES...
THE UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE APPLICATION PROCESS HAS SOME UNIQUE ELEMENTS.
UBC IS ONE OF A FEW CANADIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE A CASPER TEST AS PART OF
YOUR APPLICATION. AND LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION ARE NOT REQUIRED OF APPLICANTS UNLESS THEY GO
THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS WHERE THEY’LL BE ASKED TO SUBMIT THE SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA MEDICAL SCHOOL HAS NO PREFERENCE FOR WHICH INSTITUTION YOU ATTEND
OR WHAT DISCIPLINE YOU STUDY AS LONG AS YOU FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR DEGREE PROGRAM.
THOUGH THE PROGRAM DOES NOT SPECIFY ANY COURSE REQUIREMENTS, YOU SHOULD STILL CONSIDER TAKING
MEDICAL SCHOOL PREREQUISITES TO HELP YOU GET READY FOR THE MCAT AND THE STUDY OF MEDICINE...
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF CASPER IS ALSO MANDATORY TO MAINTAIN ADMISSION ELIGIBILITY FOR U OF A.
APPLICANTS TO THE CUMMING SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CAN ALSO CHOOSE TO DO THEIR UNDERGRAD DEGREE
IN ANY DISCIPLINE THEY PREFER. BUT THE U OF C DOES GIVE A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF COURSES
THEY RECOMMEND THAT APPLICANTS PURSUE IN THEIR UNDERGRADUATE CAREER. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO
TAKE SCIENCE COURSES THAT WOULD INTRODUCE YOU TO BASIC SCIENTIFIC TOPICS, SUCH AS:
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY… AND SO ON… ON A SIDE NOTE… YOU ARE REQUIRED
TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL YOUR PAID EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCES. NOTE THAT ALL
OF YOUR PAID POSITIONS NEED TO BE INCLUDED, SO DON’T DISREGARD YOUR EARLY OR SHORT-TERM JOBS…
MAX RADY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE APPLIES A FORMULA TO CALCULATE THE RANKING OF EACH APPLICANT.
THIS RANKING HELPS TO DETERMINE WHICH APPLICANTS ARE INVITED TO AN INTERVIEW, AND SUBSEQUENTLY,
WHICH APPLICANTS GET THE OFFER OF ADMISSION. ALL ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS TO THE CANADIAN INDIGENOUS
APPLICANT POOL WILL BE OFFERED AN INTERVIEW. BUT FOR ALL OTHER APPLICANTS, THE ADCOMS WILL
CALCULATE A COMPOSITE SCORE TO DETERMINE AN APPLICANT’S RANKING FOR THE INTERVIEW…
TO SUM IT UP, THE FORMULA IS BROKEN DOWN BY YOUR AVERAGE GPA COUNTING FOR 20% OF YOUR RANKING….
YOUR MCAT SCORE MAKES UP 50% OF YOUR RANKING COMPOSITE AND YOUR CASPER SCORE COUNTS FOR 30%...
ADDITIONALLY, YOUR RURAL COEFFICIENT, YOUR ACADEMIC COEFFICIENT,
AND SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY COEFFICIENT WILL BE COUNTED TOWARDS YOUR RANKING.
A LARGE FACTOR FOR THE NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE LIES MORE ALONG THE LINES OF ADMITTING
APPLICANTS WHO HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN HELPING TO FULFILL THE MANDATE AND UPHOLD NOSM'S VALUES…
THIS CRITERIA CAN INCLUDE BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: DEMONSTRATING INTEREST IN LIVING AND WORKING IN
NORTHERN ONTARIO AND/OR RURAL/REMOTE AREAS IN THE REST OF CANADA...
DEMONSTRATING INTEREST IN WORKING WITH UNDER-SERVICED POPULATIONS,
NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE... HAVING THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY
COMMUNITY NEEDS AND WILLINGNESS TO PLAY A PART IN FULFILLING THESE NEEDS...
DEMONSTRATING INTEREST IN CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES...
AND THEY PLACE IMMENSE VALUE ON AN APPLICANT’S EMPLOYMENT,
VOLUNTEER, AND EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCES… THE U OF T DESIGNATES FOUR CLUSTERS,
BASED ON THE CANMEDS FRAMEWORK, THAT IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE THE ABILITIES A PHYSICIAN MUST
POSSESS TO EFFECTIVELY MEET THE HEALTHCARE NEEDS OF THEIR PATIENTS THAT HEAVILY INFLUENCES THEIR
SELECTION FACTORS… THESE FRAMEWORKS INCLUDE: 1. PROFESSIONAL: YOUR LEVEL OF MATURITY,
RELIABILITY, PERSEVERANCE, AND RESPONSIBILITY... 2. COMMUNICATOR/COLLABORATOR/MANAGER:
YOUR LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, TEAMWORK, TIME MANAGEMENT, AND LEADERSHIP...
3. ADVOCATE: HOW YOU PRIORITIZE ADVOCACY, COMMUNITY SERVICE,
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND... 4. SCHOLAR: WHAT IS YOUR ACADEMIC STANDING,
OR WHAT ARE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN LEADERSHIP, RESEARCH, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY...
THESE FOUR CLUSTERS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED SKILLS AND QUALITIES WILL BE EVALUATED BASED
ON YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, BRIEF PERSONAL ESSAYS, AND REFERENCE LETTERS.
THE CASPER TEST IS A CRUCIAL SELECTION FACTOR IN THE QUEBEC MEDICAL SCHOOL SYSTEM…
SOME OF THE SCHOOLS HAD TO CANCEL THE TRADITIONAL MMI INTERVIEWS AND USE CASPER TEST RESULTS IN
THE FINAL SELECTION STAGES… AND THAT IS HOW THEIR SELECTION PROCESS CONTINUES TODAY...
TO ACE YOUR TEST, YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO PREPARE FOR CASPER. DON’T FORGET TO USE OUR CASPER QUESTIONS
TO GET READY, AND IF YOU NEED MORE HELP WITH YOUR CASPER PREP, DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT US.
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