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Access pathway
Our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization
The Access Pathway recognizes that future physicians bring valuable perspectives shaped by their lived experiences, identities, cultures, and communities. The pathway is intended to support applicants who have experienced systemic, socioeconomic, disability-related, familial, or other significant barriers, as well as those from communities that are under-represented in the medical profession and local healthcare workforce, or whose cultural experiences equip them to better understand and serve an increasingly diverse population.
Applicants are invited to reflect on how their experiences have shaped their understanding of health equity, service, social accountability, and access to care. They are also encouraged to describe the strengths, skills, and attributes they have developed through these experiences, such as resilience, adaptability, advocacy, cultural humility, communication, and problem-solving, and how these qualities will contribute to their future practice in medicine.
Applicants eligible for consideration may include:
- Individuals who self-identify with a population under-represented in medicine (e.g., Latin American or Filipino*).
- Individuals with a disability and/or the experience of life-threatening illness.
- Individuals who experienced a significant socio-economic challenge.
- Individuals who experienced a major familial challenge (e.g., loss of both parents, time in foster care, living in a homeless shelter).
Applicants must use their own judgement in deciding whether their situation meets the criteria for this pathway.
*Since 2018-19, our voluntary applicant diversity survey shows Latin American and Filipino applicants are under-represented at Schulich Medicine. We strive to create a welcoming environment for all under-represented groups.To ensure a holistic assessment, applications through this pathway are reviewed by a diversity and equity panel enriched with physicians, community members, and/or medical students trained in implicit bias and EDID practices.
Applicants through this pathway may be considered for MCAT flexibility if they:
- attain a minimum score of 125 in each section of the MCAT that we consider, and
- meet the same GPA, course load, course level and non-academic admission requirements as applicants through the general stream.
Applying through this pathway does not guarantee the granting of MCAT flexibility, nor an offer of admission.
There are no fixed seats or quotas for this pathway.
How to apply
Applicants who wish to be considered through this pathway must complete the OMSAS application, including a personal statement and supporting documents, and submit through OMSAS by the application deadline.
Compose a personal statement explaining why you are applying through this pathway and consider the following:
Health Equity and Social Accountability
Describe the experiences that shaped your understanding of health, equity, service and access to care.
Lived Experiences, Strengths, and/or Adaptation
How has your lived experience contributed to the development of skills, strengths, and attributes relevant to medical practice (e.g., resilience, adaptability, advocacy, problem-solving).
Submit supporting documents that contextualize the experiences described in your personal statement. Supporting documents:
- must be relevant, specific, and directly connected to the circumstances outlined in the personal statement.
- should provide objective context (e.g., verification of circumstance or involvement) rather than introduce new information not discussed in the personal statement.
The Admissions Committee reserves the right to assess the relevance and sufficiency of submitted documents in relation to the Access Pathway criteria.
A medical challenge is defined as a major illness affecting you during your undergraduate university education.
Personal statement and supporting documents
- Personal statement, as outlined above.
- Official documents indicating whether accommodations were provided to you for writing the MCAT, and the nature of these accommodations. If no accommodations were provided for writing the MCAT, this must be stated.
- Official documents indicating whether accommodations were provided to you for university learning, and the nature of these accommodations. If no accommodations were provided for university learning, this must be stated.
- Official documents by a licensed professional on how the illness impacted/impacts your learning and/or the learning of others. Disclosing the name of a diagnosis is not required, however the committee will require sufficient information about the impact of the illness on your educational experience.
A financial challenge is defined as circumstances that required you to work part-time during your undergraduate university education.
To be eligible for consideration:
- You must have worked at least 20 hours/week during the undergraduate academic year (September to April) for at least 2 academic years.
- During one of these two years, you must also have been engaged in undergraduate studies with the appropriate course loads and course levels as outlined in our GPA requirements.
Personal statement and supporting documents
- Personal statement, as outlined above. Within the personal statement, also indicate which 2 academic years are to be considered. E.g. I worked 20 hr/wk during each of the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic years.
- Official letter(s) from employer(s) clearly outlining the dates employed and hours worked, as they relate to the above definition of a financial challenge.
- Government aid or bursary letters that support your circumstances (if applicable).
A socio-cultural lived experience relates to societal, cultural, familial or environmental lived experiences that may potentially have influenced your character development and future as a physician.
At Schulich Medicine, we recognize that members of the Latin American and Filipino communities remain underrepresented in our profession.
Given the breadth of activities and achievements that are considered acceptable in the application to Schulich Medicine (i.e. the Western ABS), the impact of the lived-experience must be beyond stating a lack of appropriate role models to provide guidance.
Personal statement and supporting documents
- Personal statement, as outlined above. Within the personal statement, also indicate if you self-identify as Filipino or Latin American* (if applicable).
- Not acceptable: statements or endorsements by family members, relatives, friends or peers.
- We cannot recommend specific or prescribed sets of acceptable documents.
Contact us
If you have faced a challenge on your journey to applying to medical school, we encourage you to reach out:
Schulich Admissions Office
Email: admissions.medicine@schulich.uwo.ca
Community of Support
Free advising, mentoring and application help for applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, Filipino, low-income, or having a disability.
Visit: https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/community-support
Western Accessible Education
Support for students with disablities to engage in academic activities and meet program requirements.
Visit: https://academicsupport.uwo.ca/accessible_education/index.html
Email: aew@uwo.ca
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure all documentation is submitted through OMSAS by the application deadline.
Schulich Medicine reserves the right to verify application 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.