grad students

[Guest mimi]

Hi,

I'd just like to know if the prerequisites for medical school admission is the same for an undregrad and grad students, if is so what are the differences?

[Guest Ian Wong]

I can't tell you much about this, as I didn't apply as a grad student. The short answer though, is: It depends.

 

The Canadian med schools all have different policies regarding how they treat grad students. We have several former grad students who are now med students/soon to be med students here, and perhaps they can give you some pointers. However, just be aware that each school evaluates your transcripts (undergrad and grad) and research contributions differently, so you'll want to check out each med school individually.

 

You can find links to their websites at the top of each forum page here.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi mimi,

 

Applying as a graduate student, I have collected a bit of information that may answer some of your questions. Indeed, there are differences in the selection process for graduate applicants at some schools, whereas at others, not so. I'll run through some basics from some of the schools, but it's better to check out each of their web pages, or contact each directly, to receive the most up-to-date and accurate information.

 

The schools that I know of which treat graduate applicants differently are: McMaster, Ottawa, U. Toronto, McGill.

 

McMaster: graduate applicants receive an advantage if your GPA is lower than the median GPA of the applicant pool and below 3.00. In that case, McMaster will assign the applicant pool median GPA to represent one year of your graduate work, and will recalculate your average.

 

Ottawa: graduate applications are reviewed by a separate committee. Althought a lower undergraduate GPA may be allowed, an 85% across all graduate courses is required. In addition, graduate degrees in the sciences are the only sort that are considered (no MAs, MBAs, etc.) when applying as a graduate student, since evidence of graduate productivity, vis a vis publications, is important.

 

U. Toronto: like Ottawa, U. Toronto reviews its graduate applicants separately. Unlike Ottawa, U. Toronto welcomes all types of graduate degrees. Using graduate marks as well as undergraduate marks in their selection process, graduate applicants are permitted a slightly lower GPA than undergraduate applicants.

 

McGill: similar to McMaster, McGill basically evaluates graduates and undergraduates primarily on the basis of undergraduate marks (as of last year); however, in the ranking process (I'm unsure as to whether this applies to ranking for interviews or ranking for actual medical school seats) the graduate applicant is provided with a certain mark "multiplier", representing their graduate achievements. Again, please contact the school regarding the specifics as to their selection system.

 

Although this is not an exhaustive list of how schools in Canada treat graduate applicants (for example, some schools not appearing within this list may include graduate course work as part of the GPA, while others may not), I hope it helps a bit. Please do contact the others for additional information.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest gucio93]

Just to add to Kirsteen's comment, graduate students applying to Ottawa still need to have all the pre-requisites that apply to undergraduate students in order to be considered.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Good point gucio93,

 

I don't know of any Canadian schools that allow a graduate student to waltz in for consideration without meeting the pre-requisites, i.e., course requirements, that undergraduates must complete.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest mimi]

Hi,

Thanks for the comments guys, it's really cool of all of you. I'm all new to this med application process. I'm finishing up my masters thesis in physiology at the university of Montreal. I was wondering if most of the universities mentionned by Kirsteen also put into consideration the contributions done during your masters

i.e. presentations at scientific conventions, publications, volunteering... I also would like to know when is the deadline for applications for most of the Canadian med schools (I'm from Quebec).

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi again mimi,

 

If you are from Quebec then you have a leg up on the rest of us non-Quebecers with respect to applying to McGill. They highly favour Quebec students.

 

With respect to the other universities, UT and Ottawa do formally look at your graduate activities including published papers, presentations, etc. During the application process in fact, UT requests that graduate students submit aspects of their graduate work by January. With respect to Mac, although they do not request copies of your thesis, etc., you could certainly incorporate insights garnered from your graduate experiences into their numerous essay questions.

 

Finally, regarding deadlines, there is one deadline for all Ontario schools (mid-October, but check the OMSAS site for more specific info) and the other schools are pretty much all over the map. It's best to contact each directly for the most accurate info to make sure that you don't exceed their deadlines.

 

Good luck,

Kirsteen