Medical Schools in Canada & USA UWO Pre-Medical Society Nov 30, 2009 Academic Information Session #2 Sung Ho Um

Objectives Outline schools in Canada and the States Academic + non-Academic requirements Pre-interview and Post-interview formulas Admission Statistics (ex. GPA + MCAT averages) USA schools in general

Before moving on… Note: some information are from unofficial sources such as online forums and/or blogs (ie. Premed101). I will denote such information with a (*) All schools reserve majority of the seats for the applicants from their province or state. Some schools use “credit hour” system for counting courses. 6 credit hour = 1 credit at Western If I did not mention prerequisites for a school, either no prerequisites or very standard courses. (ie. Biology, O chem)

Western Canada University of British Columbia University of Alberta University of Calgary University of Saskatchewan University of Manitoba

University of British Columbia Apply through Online Application System at www.med.ubc.ca 3 years of undergrad required Minimum overall average is 70% but < 80% for OOP is not competitive Most recent 60 credit hours and prerequisite averages are also evaluated Pre-interview: 50% (overall + recent 60 credit hours avg) + 50% non-academic. (MCAT + prereq avg are not evaluated at this stage.) Prerequisites: 1 credit of English, Biology, G Chem, O Chem and Biochemistry Post-interview: Full file review. Interview format: Multiple Mini-interview (MMI)

University of British Columbia Class of 2013 stats: Mean overall average: 84.06% Mean last 60 credits: 86.25% 60 credit hours = 10 credits at Western (ie. 2 years) Mean Prerequisites: 81.86% Mean MCAT: VR: 9.68 PS: 10.71 WS: Q BS: 11.42 12/256 OOP

University of Alberta Apply at www.registrar.ualberta.ca 2 years of undergrad required Minimum 3.5 for 4th years and 3.7 for 2nd or 3rd years Minimum MCAT: >7 in each section Pre-interview: GPA (no summer but prerequisites are included) Post-interview: 30% GPA + 20% MCAT + 20% Sketch + 25% interview + 5% Reference 15% seats for OOP Prerequisites: 1 credit of English, Physics, Biology, O chem, G chem, ½ credit of stats and Biochem. If in 4th year or more, lowest year is dropped. Official GPA scale is unknown (*Similar to Calgary or OMSAS?)

University of Alberta Interview format: MMI Class of 2013 stats: Mean GPA: 3.80 (4th year), 3.95 (2nd+3rd years) Mean MCAT: 32.13Q (4th year), 35.16R (2nd+3rd years)

University of Calgary Apply at https://ucan.ucalgary.ca/ 2 years of undergrad required Best 2 years for GPA for the initial file review Minimum 3.6 GPA for OOP Initial rank with the “Academic score” (top 250 OOP move on) 62.517(GPA) + 12.122(MCAT,VR) + 6.757(MCAT,BS) Pre-interview: 50% Academic (entire undergrad record) + 25% Sketch + 15% MCAT + 10% Reference Post-interview: 40% Pre-interview + 50% MMI Verbal + 10% MMI Written No prerequisite courses GPA scale and Admission stats can be found on their App. Manual http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/prospective/admissions

University of Saskatchewan Apply at http://www.medicine.usask.ca/education/admissions/application -form 2 years of undergrad required Best 2 year average. (No summer/part-time) Minimum of 80% for OOP, cutoff for interview has been > 90% in recent years. (92.4% in 2009) For OOP, No prerequisites + MCAT minimum 26N (> 8) Pre-interview: 100% 2 year average (OOP) Post-interview: 100% Interview (OOP) Interview format: MMI Up to 8 spots (10%) for OOP

University of Manitoba Apply at http://www.umanitoba.ca/student/admissions/application/deadli nes/medicine/ Complete Bachelor’s by the end of application year. Prerequisites: 1 credit of Biochemistry, 2 credits of humanities/social sci if 4-year Honours (if not, 3 credits). MCAT: min. 7 or M in each section. (WS: T=14, M=7) Operative MCAT score = .3(VR) + .2(PS) + .3(BS) + .2(WS) Pre-interview: GPA + MCAT Post-interview: 15% GPA + 40% MCAT + 45% non-academic 4.5 GPA scale (successful applicants with > 4.0) All undergrad courses are taken into account with the lowest credits being dropped.

University of Manitoba # of credits completed # of credits dropped 15-15.5 2.5 16-16.5 3.0 17-17.5 3.5 18-18.5 4.0 19-19.5 4.5 20+ 5.0 Note: 1.0 credit of Biochemistry cannot be dropped OOP offered admission: Mean GPA = 4.23 Mean operative MCAT score = 12.14 OOP accepted offer: Mean GPA = 4.04 Mean operative MCAT score = 11.72 Grade GPA 100-90 4.5 89-80 4.0 79-75 3.5 74-70 3.0

Eastern Canada OMSAS McGill University \\ University of Montreal University of Western Ontario University of Toronto Queen’s University McMaster University University of Ottawa Northern Ontario School of Medicine McGill University \\ University of Montreal \\ University of Sherbrooke \\ Laval University Dalhousie University Memorial University \\: Francophone schools  not covered in this presentation

University of Western Ontario 4 year undergrad (Honours) required No prerequisites Best 2 full-time year (each year must be >3.75) 1 of the years must be an upper year and have >60% courses correlating to the year of your study. MCAT cutoff: non-SWOMEN: VR:10, PS: 9, BS: 11, WS: Q SWOMEN: 8,8,8, O (total >30)

University of Western Ontario Pre-interview: meet the GPA + MCAT cutoffs Post-interview: 50% interview + 25% GPA + 25% MCAT SWOMEN bonus post-interview(?) * In 2008, they interviewed 89 SWOMEN, 69 offered admission, 40% class were SWOMEN. (Dean’s report) Interview format: traditional (1 faculty, 1 senior med student, 1 community member)

University of Toronto 3 years of undergrad required Prerequitsites:1 credit of social sci/humanities; 2 credit of life sciences Min. GPA 3.6/4.0 Drops lowest 3 credits if in 4th year Must have carried 5 credits every year to be eligible No summer courses are included Min. MCAT: 9,9,9, N. one score below in one section is still eligible for file review. (“flagged”)

University of Toronto Pre-interview: 40% non-academic (statement, sketch, reference) + 60% academic Post-interview: 60% non-academic (statement, sketch, reference, interview) + 40% academic Academic score includes GPA, academic rigour and coherence Interview format: traditional (1 faculty, 1 med student) Average accepted GPA: 3.89

Queen’s University 3 years of undergrad required Prerequitsites: 1 credit of Biology, Physics, Humanities or Social Sci cGPA of all courses (cutoff: 3.68*) If cGPA does not make cut, recent 2 full-time years (cutoff: 3.78*) MCAT cutoff varies every year. Last year: PS: 9, VR:10, BS:9, WS: Q, Overall: 31 * 2 years ago: 9/9/9 R (overall: 30) * Interview invite once you meet the cutoffs Post-interview: 100% interview Interview format: traditional (1 faculty, 1 med student, 1 community)

McMaster University 3 years of undergrad required 3 year medical program No prerequisites Min. GPA 3.0; min. MCAT 6 VR Pre-interview: 32% cGPA + 32% MCAT VR + 32% Autobiographical submission + 4% Graduate degree (1% for Masters, 4% phD) Post-interview: 70% MMI + 15% cGPA + 15% MCAT VR Interview format: MMI Class of 2012: mean GPA = 3.89 Mean GPA projected to decrease due to the introduction of VR * Number of applicants decreased by ~1000 this year (20%).

University of Ottawa 3 years of undergrad required MCAT is not required Prerequisites: 1 credit of Biology, Humanities or Social sci, and 2 credit from G Chem, O Chem or Biochem The years with 4 credits or more count towards your wGPA (no summers/part time). wGPA = (1 x 1st year + 2 x 2nd year + 3 x 3rd year) / 6 Cutoff determined by the application pool

University of Ottawa Different cutoffs for different categories: Applicants to the French program (OOP and IP (Ontario/Quebec) separate pool) Canadian Forces Aboriginals Champlain district Ottawa-region residents Ontario OOP wGPA cutoff for “Ontario” category was ~3.85* last year Pre-interview: 1st cut: wGPA then 2nd cut: Sketch Post-interview: Interview + wGPA

Northern Ontario School of Medicine 4 year undergrad degree required Joint program of Lakehead and Laurentian Universities No Prerequisites, No MCAT Min. 3.0 GPA (includes all undergrad courses) Program mandate: “Applicants from within Northern Ontario, rural and remote areas in the rest of Canada, and Aboriginal and Francophone applicants will have an advantage in the admissions process.” Pre-interview: GPA + application score Post-interivew: Pre-interivew + interview score 2009 accepted mean GPA = 3.66 Everyone accepted are from Northern Ontario or rural areas of Ontario since the program started (2005).

McGill University Apply at http://www.mcgill.ca/medicine/admissions/applying/online/ 4 year undergrad required 8/173 positions for OOP Min. GPA 3.5 is recommended (all undergrad courses) Min. MCAT 30 is recommended (BS,PS > 9, VS > 8) write the MCAT no more than 3 times to be competitive WS is still reviewed but no specific cut Prerequisites: 1 credit of bio, chem, physics, 0.5 credit of O chem Pre-interview formula?? (full file review but unknown breakdown) * Post-interview: 20% GPA + 20% MCAT + 20% Autobio/CV + 40% Interview Interview format: MMI

McGill University Grade GPA 85-100 4.0 80-84 3.7 75-79 3.3 70-74 3.0 Average admitted GPA = 3.83 2/3 of the students range 3.67-3.98 Average MCAT = 33Q 12BS, 11PS, 10VR

Dalhousie University Apply at http://admissions.medicine.dal.ca/ 4 year undergrad required 9/90 OOP spots Min. GPA for OOP is 3.7 in each of last two full time years Min. MCAT for OOP is 30 with >10, one 9 is allowed OMSAS GPA scale is used Pre-interview: full file review Interview format: MMI *Post-interview: 15% GPA + 10% MCAT + 5% discretionary points (grad degree, high WS score >R)+ 40% interview + 10% personal statement + 20% sketch (5% each: Interests; medically related experience; volunteer work; jobs) MCAT average score = 30 (range 24 – 40) GPA average score = 3.8 (range 3.3-4.0)

Memorial University Apply at https://www.med.mun.ca/admissionline/ 4 year undergrad required Prerequisite: 1 credit of English 4/64 seats of OOP All undergrad courses are included for GPA. (GPA scale??) No specific MCAT or GPA cut, depends on the application pool. Average accepted MCAT: 10 in each section and Q Average GPA: 3.7 Pre-interview + post-interview: full file review

USA Schools that accept Canadians * Albany Albert Einstein Baylor Boston Brown Case Western Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Duke University Einstein Emory EVMS Georgetown George Washington Harvard Hawaii Jefferson John Hopkins Kentucky Loma Linda Maryland Mayo Medical School Meharry Medical College of Wisconsin Michigan State University Minnesota Mt. Sinai Northwestern NYMC NYU U of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Penn State Rosalind Franklin University Saint Louis University Stanford Stonybrook SUNY Upstate Tufts Tulane UCLA UCSF University of Connecticut University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania UT Southwestern (TMDSAS) UT Medical Branch Galveston (TMDSAS) Vanderbilt Virginia Commonwealth University Wake Forest Washington University (St. Louis) Wayne State Yale University ------------------------------------------------------ Green: Financial aid and/or scholarship offered to Canadians Red: undergrad in USA is required

USA Medical Schools AMCAS: 130 schools, TMDSAS: 8 schools For the most accurate/official information, purchase MSAR book at AMCAS. MCAT is very important; GPA not so much. Common Prerequisites: Biochem (w/ lab), English, Calc, Bio, O Chem, Phys (w/ lab), Math At majority of the top-mid tier schools, >90% accepted applicants had research experience, >80% medically- related work, >70% community service/volunteer. Apply EARLY. Applications are reviewed as they come in. Expect interview dates earlier than Canadian schools.

USA Medical Schools MSAR 09-10 stats: GPA scale for Western: Median oGPA (includes all undergrad courses) for top tiers are 3.8-3.9, mid tier 3.7-3.8 Median MCAT for top tier are 36Q/R, mid tier 33P/Q Class size typically <200, matriculated international <10 Grade GPA 80-100 4.0 70-79 3.0 60-69 2.0 50-59 1.0

Summary There is a broad range of application processing methods in Canada – there is a school for every type of candidates. Consider options in the States. With a strong MCAT, opportunities are there. (GPA scale for Western is very favourable.) Plan early to meet prerequisites and keep as many doors open as possible. Do some research on your own as well! Find your fit.

Thank you Questions? Email me at sum2@uwo.ca with any questions.