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About University of Calgary Medical School Requirements
Years ago, while working at my university’s booth at the Ontario Universities’ Fair, I wandered over to the medical school representatives at another booth. As I gathered information in my blue Hilroy notebook, a doctor on faculty said, “It doesn’t matter whether a candidate worked at McDonald’s or did volunteer work overseas. It only matters that he learned from the experience.”
As an academic and the parent of a student at a Canadian medical school, I’ve recently watched the admissions process unfold with some dismay. Medical schools bend over backwards to be fair. They talk about holistic admissions criteria and introduce innovations every year to address the sense that they’re not quite getting it right.
Admissions are extraordinarily competitive. In Ontario, the success rate for getting an offer is lower than 10 percent for applicants to many schools. Last year, for example, McMaster University had 5,270 applicants for 206 places. Queen’s University had 4,686 candidates for 100 places. These admissions rates are not unusual.
the process favours students with money
At the medical school my son eventually attended, his classmates had demonstrated skill and initiative to get in. They’d started international charities, competed in sports at the national level, won prestigious academic awards and published prolifically.
All this points to something that the admissions process overlooks, and it’s an uncomfortable elephant in the room: the process favours students with money.
Strong candidates all over North America have the kind of profile the University of Pennsylvania included in promotional materials they sent out with a picture of a pre-med student:
“I am currently a research assistant in the neuroscience lab, where I am analyzing the neural circuits underlying the development of empathy in young children. Over the summer I volunteered at Children’s Hospital where I shadowed a pediatric neurosurgeon and attended my first brain surgery! This year I am President of Student Affairs so I’ll be organizing all the fun large-scale events on campus. Currently I am on the dance team and I love it! My biggest project right now is working with a mobile clinic in Peru. Being able to shadow local doctors, dentists, and gynecologists, build sanitary bathrooms, and educate the people on basic hygiene was a great experience for me …”
– (from “Is medical school just for rich kids?”, a 2014 blog post by Pamela Wible).
This is almost a parody of the classic profile of a successful medical school applicant, exclamation marks and all. Many students take unpaid research assistant positions as a route to co-authorships on papers. Extracurricular activities are just as important as straight A’s and sterling results on standardized tests. Many students are applying with 4.0 averages, typically only attainable when all grades are over 90 percent. For the would-be applicant working at McDonald’s, time on the job and pressure to show up to assigned shifts are not conducive to exceptional academic accomplishment.
Then there’s the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT. The newest version is seven and a half hours long, including breaks. Students who can afford to do so take entire summers off to study for this brutal standardized test. Preparation courses for the test offered by numerous companies can be very helpful but can cost thousands of dollars. Students who don’t have to work and have access to that kind of money are again at an advantage.
An insistence on holistic assessment
Some medical schools still use traditional panel interviews but most are now using a series of mini-interviews, where applicants move from station to station reacting to scenarios. Again, training companies offer workshops to help applicants prepare. In fact, there’s no aspect of the admissions process for which companies don’t provide guidance, at a price.
But it is medical schools’ insistence on holistic assessment that might put students who need to work at the biggest disadvantage.
The University of Toronto spells out what it’s looking for in applicants. Typical of most schools, it rewards commitment to advocacy as expressed through community service. It looks for evidence of leadership and of outstanding achievement in scholarship, including publications.
How much easier is it to devote time to community initiatives when you don’t have to worry about paying the rent? Or to take on leadership roles, which are in short supply at most minimum wage jobs? The extensive unpaid labour that goes into research associated with publication takes time too, but so do shifts at a fast food or retail outlet.
And it doesn’t stop there. The price of applying to all medical schools in Ontario alone is nearly $900. Then there’s the cost of submitting applications and ordering transcripts. Candidates who are lucky enough to get interviews have to pay to travel across the province or the country for those interviews.
The last time academic researchers assessed the socio-economic profile of medical students in Canada was over a decade ago. Irfan Dhalla and co-authors found that students came from families with high socio-economic status (“Characteristics of first-year students in Canadian medical schools,” CMAJ, 2002). Many of their parents – 39 percent of fathers and 19.4 percent of mothers – had a master’s or doctoral degree, compared with 6.6 percent and 3 percent, respectively, for the Canadian population as a whole. More than 69 percent of fathers and more than 48 percent of mothers were professionals or high-level managers, compared with 12 percent of the general population. Most tellingly, 17 percent of households had incomes exceeding $160,000, while just 2.7 of Canadian households at that time had incomes over $150,000. More than 15 percent of participants had a physician parent.
My son is lucky. Even though he comes from a one-income family with a father on disability, I have a good job as a professor and was able to lend him the money he needed. Yet even for students who don’t have overt financial challenges, it’s a tough journey. My son says getting one of the few coveted seats in a Canadian medical school is one of the hardest things he’s ever done.
Why become a doctor?
He knew he wanted to be a doctor from the age of 11. That was the year his father had multiple heart attacks. My son spent more time around hospitals than any child should. At an impressionable age, he watched as doctors saved his father’s life. When he grew older and qualified as a lifeguard, he kept his first aid kit in the car, in case he encountered an accident on the highway.
In university, my son did everything right. He achieved the highest grades in his faculty. He published. He filled out the application form effortlessly with long-standing volunteer and work activities. And his references were glowing.
Even so, it took him three tries to get a spot. The first year he applied he didn’t even get an interview. The second year, he was waitlisted at the two schools where he interviewed, tantamount to rejections. The third year he was offered spots in two provinces. But the relentless process took a toll. When he was waitlisted that second year, away in Asia, he wrote about checking his email for the message that had the potential to change his life:
I woke up early and walked briskly to the little Internet café. I was doing a course on a beautiful little island but it didn’t matter. Not compared to this. It was painfully slow to log onto my email. My heart was racing. I quickly said a silent prayer as I opened the first email. The prayer intensified as I opened the second. Two rejections. For the second year. I stared up at the ceiling. I’d wanted this so much for so long. So much sacrifice and hard work and emotion. For nothing. I still wasn’t good enough. At that moment, it felt like the end.
Although he was heartbroken, my son came to realize it was a marathon, not a sprint. On average, it takes a candidate approximately three tries to get a place.
The sometimes random nature of the application process
The sometimes random nature of the application process was brought home at another universities’ fair. I was working at the Ryerson University booth across the hall and, maybe out of professional courtesy, the faculty doctor I spoke to was unusually frank: “We could take the first couple of hundred students on the admissions list. Or the next couple of hundred. Or the next. And we’d still end up with good doctors. It probably doesn’t make much difference.” I scratched this into my notebook and I remember how discouraged I felt on my son’s behalf.
However, in a system where subjective measures come into play, it’s hard to know how to proceed. The University of Calgary, with one of the most transparent medical schools in the country, addresses this head on. In the MD admissions blog on the university’s website, Ian Walker writes that once you rule out top and bottom candidates, “In the middle is a very large group of applicants who are good, and somewhat difficult to distinguish from each other. Our scoring systems try, but it is a blunt instrument at best.” In response, one of the students commenting on the blog refers to admissions as a “lottery.”
Many of those in my son’s class also applied several times. Several did a pricey second undergraduate degree to boost grades. Others did master’s degrees with their eye on the med school prize. If my son had added a precarious financial situation to the equation, would it all have been possible for him?
In Ontario, the medical school application form asks candidates to fill in a 48-item list of activities and accomplishments since the age of 16 and to include “all experiences, both structured and non-structured, that demonstrate an ability to determine needs in their community and a willingness to play a part in filling those needs.” As much as a medical faculty member might protest, a minimum-wage job that consumes most of a candidate’s free time doesn’t allow for a very impressive showing in those 48 boxes.
schools have an obligation to cultivate prospective medical school applicants at the high school level and even earlier.
Senior administrators at medical schools agree this is an important issue. “It’s a multi-headed beast,” says Dr. Walker, “and we’re just starting to chip away at some of the heads.” He believes the problem may start much earlier than the application process and that schools have an obligation to cultivate prospective medical school applicants at the high school level and even earlier.
An added concern is that more-affluent applicants have additional social capital. “They are well connected, they know the system, if they want to go away and shadow a physician or work in a research lab their parents know people,” says Dr. Walker. “They have access to opportunities and mentorship that are perhaps not available to all applicants.”
One of the many ways U of Calgary is addressing this is with a new Pathways to Medicine program. Five students from low socio-economic backgrounds are selected straight from high school. They are mentored and subsidized as undergraduates and, if they successfully complete the program, will have a guaranteed spot in medical school.
Anthony Sanfilippo from Queen’s University’s school of medicine agrees that high school programs have the potential to promote medicine as an option for disadvantaged and underrepresented students. Queen’s invites such students to visit the school to meet medical students and see what the curriculum is like. In his thoughtful blog that addresses medical school issues, Dr. Sanfilippo calls for reassessment of admissions processes to ensure they’re “equally accessible to all groups.” He wonders whether the MCAT should be reconsidered as an admissions criterion, especially when affluent students can purchase expensive prep programs. He supports mentorship and assistance programs for promising students who wouldn’t normally have a crack at medical school.
Virtually all schools hold spots for students from underrepresented groups and mentor and support them. U of T, for example, offers generous bursaries, a support program for Black students and a targeted application program for Indigenous students. And schools grapple with admissions criteria, trying to find fairer measures of assessment.
But the perks of affluence can’t be understated. To broaden their chances of admission, candidates who can afford it can apply to schools in the United States, where the route back to Canada is reasonably straightforward. Tuition fees in the U.S. average more than US$50,000, compared with less than a third of that at some Canadian universities. Ireland is also a popular destination for Canadian students, with tuition similar to U.S. fees. Caribbean schools are cheaper, but more of a gamble for students who want to practice in Canada one day.
Is it the same for other competitive programs?
Maybe it’s the same for other competitive programs. I’m sure there’s an advantage to taking the summer off to study for the LSAT, the standardized test for law school applicants, for example. But somehow it’s more personal when universities are choosing future doctors, the people who will be handling the most intimate aspects of our personal care and making life-and-death decisions on our behalves. When I’m going through the biggest health struggle of my life, I’d appreciate having a doctor who might know a thing or two about struggle herself.
My son can expect other major expenses. During his final year of medical school, he’ll be travelling to do electives in hospitals across Canada for a few weeks at a time. That’s not cheap, but now that he’s in medical school, he doesn’t worry as much about money.
However, my concern is for those who are applying for a spot in first year. I have to wonder what the real price is when, in spite of steps to change the system, those who have money can more easily secure a golden ticket.
About University of Calgary Medical School Blog
Pathways to medicine
As a biomedical engineering student, you might be considering a career as a medical doctor. This page provides information for possible pathways to get into medical practice. There are 17 medical schools in Canada, and they all have different admission requirements and standards. Some put more focus on academic achievement, while others put more focus on non-academic experience. Some have specific course requirements, while others have very general course requirements. In fact, there is such a diversity of programs and requirements, that you should learn what specific programs are looking for in candidates, to best align yourself with a particular program.
General information on being a doctor
Being a physician yields many rewards: personal growth, intellectual stimulation, financial security, and being able to make a difference in the lives of others. It also yields many challenges: challenging ethical dilemmas, high-stress environments, dealing with loss, demanding work hours, and many other factors. If you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine, you should be prepared to work very hard and be dedicated to your discipline. Becoming a doctor requires attending four years of medical school (with the exception of University of Calgary’s three year program). Upon graduation you will receive an MD degree. Following graduation, you must complete a residency in your specialty of choice, where you work under supervision. Residencies generally last between two to six years depending on your area of specialty.
Application to medical school
The application process for most medical schools takes a year, starting in the fall prior to the year you wish to begin. It can include writing your MCAT; sending in applications, resumes, transcripts, and letters of recommendation; verification of references; and interviews. Completing a bachelor’s degree will greatly improve your chances of acceptance to medical school, but it is not required for some programs. Most medical programs require you to be a full-time student for at least three years.
Medical school general admission requirements
It is important to know what medical schools are looking for in candidates. The following information is intended as a quick overview of the medical school requirements for a just a few schools. These requirements are subject to change every year, and statistics depend on the pool of applicants every year. If you wish to apply to a specific school, it is highly recommended that you read the admission requirements on the website links listed below for that university. It is also helpful to take a look at the admission statistics, which are provided by some medical schools on their websites. As a general rule, it is considerably easier to be admitted to in-province medical schools, in comparison to out-of-province medical schools. The following statistics are quoted from applicants in 2013/2014 year, according to the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada.
Pre-requisite courses
UBC (listed with UVic equivalent courses)
two of ENGL 135, ENGL 146, or ENGL 147
BIOL 190A and BIOL 190B
CHEM 101 and CHEM 102
CHEM 231 and CHEM 232 (or 235)
BIOC 300A and BIOC 300B (preferred) (or) (BIOC 299 and BIOL 360 or 361)
University of Toronto
2 natural sciences courses
1 humanities course
University of Calgary
only two years of undergraduate studies required
no prerequisite courses
recommended courses: biology, chemistry, physics, English, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, psychology, sociology, anthropology and calculus/statistics.
University of Alberta
only two years of undergraduate studies required
two semesters of organic chemistry
two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry
two semesters of biology
two semesters of physics
two semesters of English
one semester of biochemistry
one semester of statistics
Undergraduate GPA for admission
All GPAs below are listed on a 4.0 scale.
UBC
the minimum acceptable GPA is 2.8 at UBC
the average GPA of successful applicants was 3.82
McGill
average GPA of those invited to interview (not necessarily successful candidates) was 3.8
University of Toronto
average GPA of successful applicants was 3.94
University of Alberta
average GPA of successful applicants was 3.8
University of Calgary
average GPA of successful applicants was 3.73
Mean MCAT scores of successful applicants
UBC*
verbal reasoning: 9.87
physical sciences: 11.05
writing skills: P
biological sciences: 11.40
average MCAT score: 32P
*Note, the use of MCAT results is changing for UBC. Please check for latest updates.
Non-academic requirements
Most medical programs have an interview process included in their acceptance criteria. Medical school interviews are rigorous, and if granted an interview it is essential to prepare well for it. Taking philosophy courses on biomedical ethics or ethics in general can help you to prepare for the interviews. Thinking on your feet, confidence, and interview skills are very important.
UBC
UBC in particular puts an emphasis on non-academic criteria for candidates. The requirements listed by UBC on their website are as follows:
report of non-academic experiences
employment history
research
awards
interview, when offered
three references (only for applicants invited for interview)
Aboriginal essay, if applicable
Considerations for out-of-province application
If you do wish to attend a medical school out-of-province, it is worth knowing the acceptance rates for out-of-province candidates at different schools.
UBC
accepted 11.4% of out-of-province candidates, compared with 22% of in-province candidates
McGill
accepted 2.8 % of out-of-province candidates
University of Alberta
accepted 5.8% of out-of-province candidates
University of Toronto
did not show statistics on how many out-of-province candidates they accepted
University of Calgary
accepted 10.2% out-of-province candidates
Applicants with special considerations
aboriginal applicants, applicants from graduate school, and applicants with disabilities
extra criteria and considerations for these groups
Equivalencies from BME Program, for UBC entrance requirements:
UVic Course Requirement for UBC MEDICINE
Biomedical Engineering Course Equivalency
Any two of ENGL 135, 146, 147
( ENGR 110 and ENGR120, Pending )
BIOL 190A and 190B
(BME 200 and BME 201, Pending)
CHEM 101 and 102
(CHEM 150), (extra course CHEM 102 required [1] )
Remaining course requirements
BME Equivalency
CHEM 231
(CHEM 231, Term 2A)
CHEM 232 or 235
( extra course CHEM 232 or 235 required [2] )
BIOC 300A and 300B (Note 3) or
BIOC 299 and one of
( BIOC 299 , Term 3A)
BIOL 360 or 361
(extra course BIOL 360 or 361 required [3] )
Tuition costs at Canadian medical schools
Tuition at Canadian medical schools generally ranges from ~$5000-$20000 a year. However, many students receive bursaries, which help them pay for their tuition, in later years many schools provide a stipend. As a future doctor, it is generally easy to secure student loans. It is also worth noting that you are paid during residency. Do not let tuition costs discourage you; if you are accepted into medical school, there are ways of overcoming the costs.
About University of Calgary Medical School Admission Statistics
Medical School Spotlight: University of Calgary
Dec 19, 2019Author:Morgan Young-Speirs
Categories: Medical Education, Medical School
Morgan is a first-year medical student at the University of Calgary. Prior to starting medical school, she was pursuing a degree in Health and Society at the University of Calgary. During undergrad she was a member of the University of Calgary Rowing Team, co-president of the University of Calgary Baking Club and contributed to several research projects in the areas of immunology and psychosocial oncology. Outside of school, she loves to bake, hike and get together with friends!
What is a typical week for a University of Calgary medical student?
The schedule varies from day to day, but typically first year students are in class from 8:30am to 5:30pm, Monday through Friday, with an hour for lunch from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Included in the class schedule are one to two independent study blocks per week. This gives students a chance to catch up on their work, or schedule shadowing experiences. While this may seem like long days, the University of Calgary does a great job at keeping students engaged throughout the day by varying how the material is taught. Students are taught using a variety of techniques, including:
Traditional PowerPoint lectures: Students are lectured in a classroom setting using PowerPoint. These lectures are often podcasted, providing students with flexibility, allowing them to complete the lecture at a different time if needed.
Flipped classroom lectures: Students are provided podcasts and learning material to review prior to class. During lectures, students discuss what they’ve learned and apply their knowledge to cases.
Small groups: Groups of 9 to 10 students work together with the help of a preceptor to go over problem sets. This typically involves discussing diagnosis and treatment schemes and reviewing cases.
Clinical core groups: Groups of 4 to 5 students learn from practicing physicians through shadowing experiences in a hospital setting. These sessions align with topics being taught in class.
After the first 18 months of medical school, students have completed the class based learning and enter clerkship for the remainder of the three years.
Why should I pick the University of Calgary over other medical schools?
There are many reasons to pick the University of Calgary! Firstly, Calgary is a fun and vibrant young city! It’s the biggest city in Alberta, offering tons of amazing restaurants and shops. Moreover, if you’re an avid hiker or skier/snowboarder, Calgary is the place to be! You can be at the mountains in under an hour. You not only get the fun of a bustling city, but also the great outdoors! Moreover, the University of Calgary is a three year program. Not only will you receive your MD one year sooner than typical four year programs, but the three year program runs year round, preparing you for residency and working life. While the three year program may seem daunting, you still get plenty of breaks, including long weekends, two weeks over Christmas, two weeks in the spring and three flex days per year, which can be used whenever necessary. Further, the University of Calgary provides an incredibly supportive learning environment. The Student Advising and Wellness (SAW) office is open everyday during the week and encourages students to come in with any concerns they may have. The SAW office also plans many wellness activities, including therapy dog sessions, and fitness classes. Additionally, the University of Calgary pairs first year students with both a faculty and student mentor. This helps incoming students feel comfortable and provides them with one-on-one support and guidance.
How can you make your application stand out for the University of Calgary?
A huge component of the University of Calgary’s application is the “top 10”. The “top 10” section involves writing about ten of your most meaningful experiences. This could be anything from research to volunteering to traveling experiences. Its important not to write about what you think they are looking for, but to rather write about experiences that you are passionate about and that have shaped who you are. The University of Calgary values diversity and well-rounded students. My classmates have interests from anthropology to football to baking. Your “top 10” is meant to describe who you are. I would recommend starting this section of the application early, so that you have a chance to reflect on each of your experiences and to give you time to edit. Moreover, each of your top 10 experiences requires a verifier. It’s important you contact each of your verifiers prior to listing them on your application to ensure they are comfortable with what you’ve written. Another important thing to note about the University of Calgary application is that references are not asked to provide a traditional reference letter, but rather each of your references are required to answer specific questions relating to how you’ve demonstrated either collaboration, leadership or advocacy. As the applicant, you are able to select which of your references will write about each characteristic. Thus, its important to think about which of your references will be best able to write about each characteristic. Lastly, the University of Calgary runs a MD Program Admission Blog, through which the Director of Admission posts about key information and responds to applicant questions. This a really great resource.
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