THE OMSAS SYSTEM IS WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO APPLY TO ANY MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ONTARIO… IT’S AN ONLINE
CENTRALIZED APPLICATION SERVICE TO ACCEPT AND ASSESS APPLICATIONS FROM THOUSANDS OF
STUDENTS EVERY YEAR... WHEN FILLING OUT YOUR APPLICATION, THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP
IS TO REVIEW THE OMSAS INSTRUCTIONS IN DETAIL… SO IN THIS VIDEO I WILL COVER
ALL THE SECTIONS OF THE OMSAS APPLICATION SO BY THE TIME YOU’RE READY TO START YOUR APPLICATION
YOU'LL UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW TO FILL OUT EACH OMSAS SECTION...
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 WITH YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATIONS,
VISIT BEMOMEDAPPLICATION.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:
OMSAS SCHOOLS AND FEES OMSAS APPLICATION
OTHER INFORMATION TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO
CONCLUSION
AND WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS…
SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! WE ALSO HAVE SOME STELLAR ADVICE ON HOW
TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING ADMITTED INTO ONTARIO MED SCHOOLS, I’LL TALK ABOUT THAT
MORE TOWARDS THE END OF THE VIDEO SO MAKE SURE YOU WATCH TO THE VERY END… LET’S GET STARTED!
OMSAS SCHOOLS AND FEES THE OMSAS APPLICATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL
SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO IS SIMILAR TO THE AMCAS, TMDSAS OR AACOMAS... BUT THERE ARE STILL MANY INTRICACIES
THAT THIS ONLINE, CENTRALIZED APPLICATION SERVICE HAS THAT ALL APPLICANTS NEED TO KNOW...
FOR STARTERS… THE OMSAS APPLICATION FEE IS $220… PLUS YOU ALSO HAVE TO PAY AN EXTRA APPLICATION FEE
FOR EACH OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOLS THAT YOU APPLY TO…WHICH CAN RANGE FROM $100 TO $130...
THE SIX ONTARIO MEDICAL SCHOOLS THAT YOU WOULD USE THE OMSAS APPLICATION SYSTEM FOR ARE:
THE MCMASTER UNIVERSITY MICHAEL G. DEGROOTE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF
HEALTH SCIENCES SCHOOL OF MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA FACULTY OF MEDICINE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO
SCHULICH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHICH SCHOOLS USE THE OMSAS
AND WHAT IS COSTS TO BE AN APPLICANT, LET’S DIVE INTO THE DETAILS OF THE APPLICATION...
OMSAS APPLICATION THE OMSAS
APPLICATION INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS: >>1. ADDRESS INFORMATION AND PERSONAL INFORMATION
THIS IS WHERE YOU ADD ALL YOUR IMPORTANT PERSONAL INFORMATION
SUCH AS NAME AND ADDRESS. THE “RURAL ORIGINS” SECTION IS MANDATORY IF YOU WANT ADMISSION TO THE
NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE FOR THE ABORIGINAL APPLICANTS STREAM,
YOU CAN ADD THE IMPORTANT DETAILS RELATED TO YOUR STATUS HERE, BUT THE CRITERIA TO ASSESS ANCESTRY
VARIES FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL >>2. QUESTIONS
THIS SECTION INCLUDES THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE A STUDENT’S ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
AND PREVIOUS HISTORY WITH MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATIONS... THE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION
ARE CRUCIAL IN DETERMINING YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ONTARIO...
ANSWERING ‘YES’ TO ONE OR MORE OF THESE DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU WILL NOT EVER GET
INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL BUT IT MEANS THE SCHOOLS WILL PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO YOUR APPLICATION
AND APPLY ADDITIONAL SCRUTINY... LYING ON THESE QUESTIONS WILL ABSOLUTELY CATCH UP
WITH YOU SO WE STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST ANSWERING FALSELY… HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU WILL FACE:
QUESTION 1: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ENROLLED OR ARE YOU CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN AN MD
PROGRAM AT ANY UNIVERSITY? INDICATE THE NAME OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL.
QUESTION 2: HAVE YOU EVER FAILED A YEAR AT UNIVERSITY OR BEEN REQUIRED TO WITHDRAW FROM
OR BEEN DENIED RE-ADMISSION TO A UNIVERSITY? QUESTION 3: HAS YOUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
BEEN INTERRUPTED FOR REASONS OTHER THAN ACADEMIC FAILURE?
EACH SCHOOL ALSO HAS A SECTION FOR “SPECIAL CONSIDERATION”...
YOU CAN FIND THEIR SPECIFIC CRITERIA ON THEIR WEBSITE... THERE IS LITTLE THAT UNITES THE
SCHOOLS IN TERMS OF THESE CRITERIA SO PLEASE EXPLORE THEM BASED ON YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION...
>>3. CHOICES THIS IS WHERE YOU
INDICATE WHICH OF THE SIX MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR...
YOU CAN ALSO SELECT A LANGUAGE PREFERENCE HERE, ALTHOUGH AS OF NOW, ONLY THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA
OFFERS FRENCH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION… AND YOU CAN ALSO SELECT YOUR MD-PHD COURSE PREFERENCES HERE,
IF APPLICABLE... FIVE MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO OFFER MD-PHD PROGRAMS,
WHICH ARE TYPICALLY HARDER TO GET INTO AND COMBINE HIGH-LEVEL RESEARCH WITH MEDICAL TRAINING...
>>4. SKETCH INSTEAD OF A MEDICAL SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT,
THE OMSAS APPLICATION PROCESS INCLUDES AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, OR A-B-S SECTION... THIS
IS ALSO SIMILAR TO THE AMCAS WORK AND ACTIVITIES SECTION... BASICALLY, THE OMSAS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH COMPONENT PROVIDES A FUNCTIONAL, STANDARDIZED SUMMARY OF YOUR JOURNEY SO FAR...
YOU’RE ALLOWED TO WRITE 32 ITEMS IN YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, IN THE FOLLOWING
SEVEN CATEGORIES: EMPLOYMENT, FORMAL EDUCATION, VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES,
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, RESEARCH AND OTHER... YOU HAVE 100 CHARACTERS
TO ADD THE DURATION OF EACH ITEM, AND 150 CHARACTERS TO ADD THE DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM...
ONE UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS SECTION IS THAT
YOU NEED TO ASSIGN A VERIFIER TO EACH ITEM OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
YOU CAN REPEAT THE SAME VERIFIER FOR MULTIPLE ACTIVITIES. THESE VERIFIERS ARE NOT “REFEREES”;
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO VALIDATE THE EXPERIENCES FROM YOUR SKETCH.
YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR THIS SECTION IN ADVANCE BY
KEEPING AN UPDATED LOG OF ALL YOUR EXTRACURRICULARS FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL,
ALONG WITH THE KEY DATES, HOURS COMPLETED, AND NAMES OF VERIFIERS...
MAINTAINING THIS LOG IN ADVANCE WILL HELP YOU EASILY FILL OUT THIS SECTION DURING APPLICATION
SEASON. IT WILL TAKE YOU MUCH LONGER TO COMPLETE THIS SECTION IF YOU’RE TRYING TO RECALL THE
SIGNIFICANT DETAILS OF EVERY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY WEEKS, MONTHS, OR YEARS AFTERWARDS.
>>5. SCHOOL SUBMISSIONS AND REFEREES IN THIS SECTION, YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR MED SCHOOL
APPLICATION ESSAY REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS REFEREE INFORMATION. THE ESSAY REQUIREMENTS VARY DEPENDING
ON THE SCHOOL, FOR EXAMPLE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MEDICAL SCHOOL REQUIRES BRIEF PERSONAL
ESSAYS. OTHERS, LIKE THE NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, MAY ASK SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT
SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS THEY ARE LOOKING FOR IN ALIGNMENT WITH THEIR VALUES AND MISSION…
MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE INDIVIDUAL WEBSITES OF EACH UNIVERSITY TO FIND OUT THEIR SPECIFIC
REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING THE CHARACTER LIMITS OF EACH PROMPT. THE GOAL OF THESE PROMPTS IS TO HELP
THE UNIVERSITIES KNOW YOU BETTER AS AN APPLICANT AND JUDGE IF YOU’RE WELL-SUITED TO THEIR PROGRAM.
BEFORE ANSWERING THE PROMPTS, MAKE SURE YOU CAREFULLY STUDY THE PROMPT, RESEARCH THE MISSION
STATEMENT OF THE SCHOOL, AND CHECK CANMED ROLES TO SEE WHICH ONES YOU CAN HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR ANSWER.
IN THE REFEREE SECTION, YOU ENTER THE DETAILS OF AT LEAST THREE REFEREES IN THE CONFIDENTIAL
ASSESSMENT FORM. THIS FORM INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR YOUR REFEREE TO ANSWER:
WOULD THIS APPLICANT MAKE A GOOD PHYSICIAN? RATE THE APPLICANT ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
ATTRIBUTES: COMMUNICATION SKILLS
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS PROFESSIONALISM
EMPATHY IDENTIFY AND COMMENT ON
1 AREA OF IMPROVEMENT FOR THE APPLICANT. AND SHARE ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU FEEL
MAY BE RELEVANT TO A MEDICAL SCHOOL’S ADMISSION COMMITTEE.
DIFFERENT SCHOOLS MAY HAVE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS ABOUT WHO CAN BE YOUR
REFEREE... SOME SCHOOLS MAY ASK FOR ONE OR TWO SCIENCE PROFESSORS AS REFEREES, SOME MAY
ASK FOR AT LEAST ONE NON-SCIENCE PROFESSORS AS A REFEREE, OTHERS MAY REQUIRE AT LEAST
ONE CHARACTER REFERENCE… SO, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE ADMISSIONS WEBSITES OF EACH SCHOOL
YOU’RE APPLYING TO WELL IN ADVANCE SO YOU CAN ARRANGE FOR THE REQUIRED REFERRALS IN TIME.
WHEN APPROACHING YOUR REFEREES, DON’T JUST ASK THEM TO RECOMMEND YOU AND RUN AWAY.
CHAT WITH THEM, REFRESH THEIR MEMORY OF YOUR KEY LEARNINGS AND ACHIEVEMENTS WITH THEM,
AND SO ON. THIS WILL KEEP YOU FRESH IN THEIR MINDS AND THEY’LL BE ABLE TO WRITE A BETTER
REFERENCE FOR YOU. IT’S ALSO GOOD TO ARRANGE FOR YOUR REFERENCES AS EARLY AS YOU CAN,
GIVING YOUR REFEREES AT LEAST A MONTH TO COMPLETE AND SHARE THE FINAL FORM.
BEFORE ENTERING THIS INFORMATION IN THE OMSAS PORTAL, ENSURE YOU ARE CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR
REFEREES’ ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO WRITE YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL RECOMMENDATION LETTERS.
ONCE THE REFEREE FORM IS COMPLETE, IT CANNOT BE CHANGED. YOU NEED TO PRINT THIS COMPLETED FORM
AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR REFEREE SO THEY CAN TAKE THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION.
BE PROACTIVE AND KEEP TRACKING THE STATUS OF YOUR LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION IN OMSAS
TO ENSURE THEY HAVE BEEN RECEIVED BEFORE THE DEADLINE...v
>>6. MCAT AND GPA IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL PROVIDE YOUR AAMC ID,
MCAT SCORE AND GPA... TO STANDARDIZE GRADES ACROSS DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS, OMSAS REQUIRES STUDENTS TO
CONVERT THEIR GRADES AS PER SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS TO GET A FINAL GPA… THERE ARE MEDICAL SCHOOLS THAT
DON’T REQUIRE THE MCAT; HOWEVER, ADDING THE MCAT DETAILS IN THIS SECTION IS MANDATORY.
>>7. POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRANSCRIPTS
IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL ADD YOUR COMPLETE ACADEMIC HISTORY AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.
YOU NEED TO ADD DETAILS SUCH AS YEAR SUMMARY, YEAR DETAILS, COURSE SUMMARY, AND COURSE DETAILS...
OMSAS AUTOMATICALLY CALCULATES YOUR GPA AS YOU ENTER EACH ITEM. MAKE SURE YOU ADD ANY
SUMMER PROGRAMS YOU ATTENDED, AS WELL AS ANY SCHOOLS YOU ENROLLED IN BUT DID NOT ATTEND...
OTHER INFORMATION TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO
NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT AN OMSAS APPLICATION CONSISTS OF, THERE ARE A FEW MORE DETAILS
THAT YOU NEED TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN IT COMES TIME TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION…
>>CHECK THE REGIONAL PREFERENCES OF MED SCHOOLS MOST MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO DO NOT HAVE
STRICT RULES ABOUT WHERE YOU RESIDE AND ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FROM STUDENTS ALL OVER CANADA.
HOWEVER, A COMPARISON OF IN-PROVINCE AND OUT-OF-PROVINCE ACCEPTANCE RATES FOR MOST
OF THE MED SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO SHOWS THAT THERE IS A MARKED PREFERENCE FOR ONTARIO RESIDENTS.
SOME MEDICAL SCHOOLS ALSO GIVE PREFERENCE TO STUDENTS FROM A SPECIFIC REGION.
FOR EXAMPLE, SCHULICH MEDICAL SCHOOL GIVES PREFERENCE TO SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIANS
AND NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PREFERS NORTHERN ONTARIO APPLICANTS.
WHILE OFFICIALLY, THE ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-PROVINCE AND OUT-OF-PROVINCE STUDENTS
ARE THE SAME, DUE TO THE GENERAL PREFERENCE GIVEN TO IN-PROVINCE STUDENTS, THE AVERAGE MCAT OR GPA
FOR ACCEPTED OUT-OF-PROVINCE STUDENTS IS LIKELY TO BE HIGHER THAN FOR THEIR IN-PROVINCE COUNTERPARTS.
IT MAKES SENSE TO CONSIDER THESE LOCATION PREFERENCES BEFORE APPLYING TO MEDICAL
SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO. YOU CAN MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF RECEIVING AN ACCEPTANCE
BY PRIORITIZING SCHOOLS THAT GIVE PREFERENCE TO YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR LOCATION. ON THE OTHER HAND,
IF YOU’RE AN OUT-OF-PROVINCE STUDENT, YOU CAN STRATEGICALLY SKIP APPLYING TO SCHOOLS THAT SHOW
EXTREMELY HIGH AVERAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR OUT-OF-PROVINCE APPLICANTS.
>>CHECK THE LANGUAGE PREFERENCES OF MED SCHOOLS
ONTARIO IS A GREAT OPTION FOR FRANCOPHONE STUDENTS APPLYING FROM ALL OVER CANADA.
THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA PROVIDES FRENCH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION AND THE NORTHERN ONTARIO SCHOOL
OF MEDICINE ENCOURAGES FRANCOPHONE APPLICANTS. IF YOU’RE A FRENCH SPEAKING APPLICANT, YOU CAN
CONSIDER APPLYING TO THESE TWO UNIVERSITIES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF ACCEPTANCE.
>>MAKE SURE YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS IN GENERAL, IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
TO BE STRATEGIC WHEN YOU’RE APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOLS. THERE’S NO NEED
TO HAPHAZARDLY APPLY TO ALL THE SCHOOLS. IN THIS CASE, QUANTITY DOES NOT WIN OVER QUALITY.
INSTEAD, DO YOUR RESEARCH ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS
AND TRY TO PRIORITIZE THE ONES WHERE YOUR GPA AND MCAT MEET THE ADMISSIONS THRESHOLDS…
IF THE GAP BETWEEN YOUR TEST SCORES AND THE AVERAGE TEST SCORES OF MATRICULANTS IS TOO LARGE,
YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING AN ACCEPTANCE WILL PLUMMET...
ALSO, CHECK THE VALUES, MISSION STATEMENTS, AND PHILOSOPHY OF EACH SCHOOL YOU’RE APPLYING TO
AND TARGET THE ONES WHERE YOUR EXPERIENCES AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE VALUED...
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WORKING IN RURAL AREAS, NORTHERN
ONTARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT FOR YOU AS THEY VALUE RURAL EXPERIENCE...
CONCLUSION THE ENTIRE PROCESS WILL
REQUIRE PATIENCE AND ATTENTION, AS WELL AS SEVERAL WEEKS OF YOUR TIME. DO IT RIGHT SO THAT YOU DON’T
WASTE AN ENTIRE APPLICATION CYCLE ON A SILLY ERROR. IF YOU’RE UNSURE ABOUT WHERE SOMETHING IN
YOUR LIFE OR SITUATION FITS IN THE APPLICATION, JUST SEARCH THE BOOKLET OR EMAIL OUAC OR OMSAS.
THAT’S OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO USING OMSAS... CHECK OUT OUR BLOG TO READ MORE ABOUT GETTING
INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ONTARIO... I HAVE INCLUDED THE LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO FOR
EASY ACCESS... IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATIONS,
VISIT BEMOMEDAPPLICATION.COM TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION...
HOPEFULLY YOU ENJOYED THIS VIDEO SO PLEASE SUBSCRIBE,
LIKE AND LEAVE A COMMENT. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OMSAS THAT I DIDN’T COVER,
LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND I WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE...
DON’T FORGET THAT WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND
QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN. THANKS FOR WATCHING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.