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Frequently asked questions
General inquiries
All information sessions being held by Schulich Medicine can be found on our Events webpage.
No. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of Canada at the time of application.
No. Schulich Medicine does not accept transfers into the MD program.
No. Applicants enrolled in an MD program at the time of application, whether in Canada or internationally, are not eligible. Schulich Medicine also does not accept transfer applications.
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 3,500 applications each year. Approximately 700 applicants are invited to attend an interview, and up to 187 are accepted into the MD Program.
Please visit the Welcome to Western webpage for ways to explore the campus.
Please visit the Admission Statistics webpage for data on recent Classes.
Application
No. The Admissions Office does not pre-assess transcripts or review documents before receiving an application through OMSAS.
We are happy to answer questions about admission requirements to help applicants determine whether they meet the minimum requirements.
Application dates for all Ontario medical schools are set by Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS), a division of the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC).
Application to Ontario medical schools opens early July and closes in early October.
Visit OMSAS for application dates and other important information.
Degree considerations
Yes. A PharmD program is a professional undergraduate program and as such is considered the same as a second degree.
Collaborative programs are eligible for consideration, however only the courses that appear on your university transcript can be used for GPA consideration.
Applications from students who switch programs part-way through their undergraduate studies are considered on an individual basis. We take program changes into account when assessing transcripts for course levels.
To have the marks from a degree obtained outside of Canada or the United States considered for our GPA requirement, you will need to submit a course-by-course evaluation of your transcript by World Education Service (WES) when you apply.
No. Applicants must complete at least three years of a four-year undergraduate degree at an accredited University.
Schulich Medicine will consider undergraduate programs that require clinical placements, however an academic year that contains more than one (1) full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) cannot be used for GPA consideration.
Accelerated and compressed Nursing programs often have mandatory pass/fail courses and clinical placements which can make it difficult for applicants 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.
No. Applicants must complete at least 3 years of a 4-year degree (at least 90 of 120 credits).
No. Schulich Medicine does not give preference to Western degrees. The institution granting the degree does not impact how an application is assessed.
Yes. An online degree may be eligible for consideration if it is equivalent to a 4-year undergraduate degree.
The online degree must also include 2 years with 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.
Applicants in co-op programs must still meet the minimum GPA in each of 2 undergraduate years.
Both terms of the same academic year (i.e. Terms 3A and 3B) will be considered, even if the academic terms are separated by a work term and/or if an academic term is in the summer.
To be eligible for GPA consideration, the academic year must include 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) with 3 of 5 full or equivalent courses (18 of credit hours) at the appropriate level.
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.
Yes. Applicants who embark on a second undergraduate degree are eligible to apply during the second 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 a second degree is completed in two years, those two years would be used for GPA purposes and assessed as equivalent to Years 3 and 4.
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 penalize a student who continues to study part-time after obtaining an undergraduate degree.
No. Schulich Medicine does not consider graduate coursework for our GPA requirement. Only undergraduate coursework is eligible for GPA consideration.
Applicants enrolled in a thesis-based graduate degree program at the time of application must complete all program requirements, including successful defense and final assessment of the thesis, by June 30. OMSAS must receive a final transcript indicating that all requirements for the graduate degree were completed, or a Letter of Confirmation attesting to the same, by June 30.
Applicants enrolled in a course-based graduate degree program at the time of application must complete all program requirements by August 15. A Letter of Confirmation indicating there are no concerns with meeting all requirements of the course-based graduate degree must be received by OMSAS no later than June 30.
If you are in, or have completed, a professional program this is the degree we will use for the academic requirement. You must meet the minimum GPA in 2 years with a full course load of 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year. You would not be eligible to apply before the second year of your professional degree program and any offers would be conditional on the second year of your second year meeting our conditions.
Course considerations
Full course load
30 credit hours/5.0 credits completed during the September to April academic year. This is typically 5 full-year or 10 half-year courses. It does not matter how the courses are distributed between the fall and winter semesters.
Full-year course
A course that runs from September to April.
Half-year course
A course that runs from September to December, or from January to April.
A withdrawn course will not affect your application, as long as you still meet the minimum GPA in each of 2 years that contain 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year.
Exchange courses
If the transcript from your home university does not give the grades for the courses taken on exchange, you will need to submit a course-by-course evaluation of your exchange transcript by World Education Service (WES) when you apply.
Online courses
Yes. Online courses taken as part of an undergraduate degree may be considered as part of a full course load used for the GPA requirement, as long as the courses are completed during the September to April academic year.
If this is not clear from your transcript, you may need to provide documentation confirming that online courses were completed within the September to April academic year.
Pass/Fail courses
A maximum of 1.0 full or equivalent (6 course credits) pass/fail course is allowed in each September to April academic year used for the GPA requirement. An academic year with more than the maximum pass/fail courses would not be eligible for consideration.
Please note: We look at the September-April academic year as a whole. We do not consider each term separately.
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 eligible for GPA consideration.
No. We do not require pre-requisite courses.
We do not accept repeat courses for GPA purposes. A year with a repeat course as part of a full course load (5 full or equivalent courses completed during the September to April academic year) cannot be used for the GPA requirement. Other than that, a repeat course will have no impact on your application.
Schulich Medicine goes by what appears on the official transcript:
- If a transcript indicates that a course is repeat, we would consider it to be a repeat course.
- If a transcript does not indicate a course as repeat, we would not consider it to be a repeat course.
Yes. We look at the academic year as a whole, not by semester. It does not matter how the course load is divided between the Fall and Winter semester.
GPA considerations
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 load and course levels, you may be 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, and
- completion of 3 years of a 4-year undergraduate degree (90 of 120 credits).
If an applicant takes more than 4 years to complete a 4-year undergraduate degree, any additional year may be eligible for GPA consideration if the year contains:
- 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 3rd-year.
- A maximum 1 full or equivalent pass/fail course (6 credit hours) which must be passed to count toward the course load. Discovery Credits will be considered within, not in addition to, the 6-credit hour pass/fail allowance.
If you have more than 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year, we will exclude the course with the lowest grade as long as the remaining courses include 3 of 5 full or equivalent courses (18 of 30 credit hours) which are at or above the level of the academic year of study
Yes. Applicants who have earned a 4-year undergraduate degree from a recognized university may continue in undergraduate studies (a Special Year) to improve their academic standing.
A Special Year:
- may be completed during the year of application.
- must be an unclassified year, i.e. cannot be part of an undergraduate degree program.
- must contain 5 full or equivalent courses (30 credit hours) completed during the September to April academic year.
- must NOT contain any first-year courses, repeat/anti-requisite courses, second-year courses that do not require a first-year prerequisite, or pass/fail courses.
GPA is calculated on grades indicated on official transcripts 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.
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.
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.
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
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.
No. Applicants must meet the minimum score in each section of the MCAT that we consider.
MCAT minimums are re-set annually based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool. MCAT minimums in a future application cycle may differ from those in the current or previous cycles.
Applicants through the Access, Black Applicant, Indigenous Applicant, Military Medical Training Program, or Southwestern Ontario 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.
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.
Western autobiographical sketch (Western ABS)
Schulich Medicine takes a holistic approach to admissions that values not only academic excellence but also the lived experiences, personal attributes, and potential of each applicant. As part of this process, applicants complete the Western Autobiographical Sketch (ABS) to help us understand how they align with the School’s mission to serve diverse communities with integrity and care.
The Western ABS will be made available to current applicants through the Kira Talent platform. After the OMSAS application closes, applicants will be provided detailed instructions about where to access the Western ABS.
Pathways
We do not have a separate pool for mature applicants.
If you have an unaccommodated disability, you may request consideration in the undergraduate MD Program admission process:
- if you were not aware that you had a disability, or
- if 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.
Access pathway
The Access Pathway is for applicants may have been potentially adversely impacted by circumstances due to financial or medical challenges, or who have been historically under-represented within medicine.
Please visit the Access Pathway webpage for further information.
Applicants must use their own judgement to determine whether their situation meets the criteria for an Access Pathway challenge, as well as to determine which information and documentation to submit to best support their submission.
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.
Black applicant pathway
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.
Indigenous applicant pathway
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. Additionally, the Indigenous Medical and Dental Student Association (IMDSA) exists to provide community and support for current MD and DDS students.
Applying through the Indigenous Applicant Pathway provides applicants with the opportunity to have their application reviewed by Indigenous peoples, and to connect with Indigenous campus community members including current students, staff, faculty and traditional Elders who can provide cultural and social support through the application and interview processes.
If you choose to not apply through the Indigenous Applicant Pathway and you meet all of the general stream academic and non-academic requirements, your application would still be eligible for consideration.
Military Medical Training Program (MMTP)
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.
Southwestern Ontario (SWO) pathway
The Schulich Medicine Admissions Committee defines Southwestern Ontario as the counties that correspond to the Schulich Medicine Distributed Education Academies: Grey-Bruce, Huron-Perth, Oxford, Elgin-Middlesex, Kent-Lambton, and Essex.
Applicants who attended all four years and graduated from high school within the counties that correspond to the Distributed Education Academies would be considered for the Southwestern Ontario pathway.
Applicants who completed high school within the counties that correspond to the Schulich Medicine Distributed Education Academies must submit a copy of their high school transcript through OMSAS by the application deadline.
No. Applicants must have completed all 4 years of high school within the counties that correspond to the Schulich Medicine Distributed Education Academies.
Interviews
Applicants are evaluated on a composite of academic and non-academic admission requirements, including GPA and MCAT minimums, Western ABS, and Confidential Assessment Forms.
Each admission cycle, Schulich Medicine invites approximately 700 of the top ranked candidates to attend an interview.
Interview invitations and declines are communicated by email from the Admissions Office in late January or early February. Interviews are facilitated virtually in late February and early March.
Interviews are structured and standardized, and are conducted by 3-person panels consisting of physicians, community members, and current medical students.
Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities through the interview process.
Offers and waitlist
Applicants who receive an offer of admission during/after third year may be able to convert the 4-year degree into a 3-year degree. You will need to contact Academic Counselling for your degree program to find out if this is an option for you.
No. Campus is assigned through a lottery system.
Current and historic fee schedules can be found on the Office of the Registrar website.
The Western Financial Aid Office is there to help students meet their educational goals. For detailed information, please visit the Office of Registrar website.
Applicants who are not offered direct admission may be placed on a waitlist. The waitlist will remain active until the first day of the MD Program when the entire class of up to 187 students has been determined.
Schulich Medicine does not provide specific candidate ranking.
Applicants who, for any reason, may not be reachable during the active waitlist period may designate an Authorized Contact to receive information and/or to speak on their behalf.
Applicants on the waitlist will be provided with detailed information about how to designate an Authorized Contact.
Applicants are considered for an offer of admission based on academic and non-academic achievements to allow for a holistic process. Schulich Medicine does not share how each section is weighed for offers.