Eligibility & Application Process

Application Process

Applications for Queen's School of Medicine are submitted to Ontario Medical Schools' Application Service (OMSAS). It is your responsibility to ensure that OMSAS receives all the required application pieces, including all references, documents, transcripts, and registrar statements, by the application deadline. You can find more information about OMSAS' key dates and application deadlines here.

All application components must be submitted to OMSAS by the specified deadlines for the application to be considered. Casper assessment results must also be submitted by our program’s Casper submission deadline as listed on Acuity Insights (You can find more information in the Casper section below). No late submissions will be considered. Addendums or supplemental materials sent directly to the School of Medicine, or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who have applied previously must resubmit all application requirements each cycle to be considered.

If you are choosing to apply to a specific category (i.e. Canadian Armed Forces Applicants, Indigenous Applicants, Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program Applicants or MD/PhD, MD/MSc Applicants), additional items are required with your OMSAS application. Please ensure that you review these additional items and eligibility here and submit the appropriate documentation for consideration.

Communication Protocol

Communication with applicants will be through the email address provided in your OMSAS application. As such, it is your responsibility to monitor your email and all associated email folders (inbox, spam, junk, etc.) during the application process. This includes ensuring that email inboxes and associated folders are not full and are able to receive incoming mail. We are not responsible for any correspondence that is not answered by stipulated deadlines.

Applicants, prospective applicants, or other individuals with inquiries about our program are expected to conduct themselves throughout their interaction with our office and/or the application process in a manner that is respectful to the community, our faculty, and our staff.

Please note that inquiries related to admissions to the Queen’s MD Program are to be directed to queensmd@queensu.ca email address. Sending multiple emails regarding the same inquiry and/or sending multiple emails to various individuals at the university will not speed up the response time in any way and will only cause further delays. Please also respect our response timelines indicated in our automatic replies. The Admissions Team tries to respond to your inquiries within those timelines.

Individuals, applicants, or their family members, delegates, and friends are not to contact the Dean, School of Medicine, Associate Dean, MD Program, Assistant Dean of Admissions, MD Program, or Associate Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Education directly or indirectly in any form/method/manner regarding the application process or their application. This includes sending application status emails to various individuals at the university. To do so, will be considered a breach of professionalism and any such contact or overtures will be noted and may jeopardize the individual’s application.

Please note that we do not respond to 3^rd party inquiries that are sent on behalf of an applicant.

The MD Program at Queen’s University’s School of Medicine is fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) - the bodies that accredit MD programs in Canada and the United States. As such, the Admissions Office adheres strictly with the following CACMS standard:

10.2 The final responsibility for accepting students to a medical school rest with a formally constituted admission committee. The authority and composition of the committee and the rules for its operation, including voting privileges and the definition of a quorum, are specified in bylaws or other medical school policies. Faculty members constitute the majority of voting members at all meetings. The selection of individual students must not be influenced by any political or financial factors."

Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver

If applying to medical school is a significant financial burden to you, consider applying to the Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Program and save approximately $600. Awarded students will have their $220 OMSAS processing fee waived and receive free applications to up to three Ontario medical schools of their choice (ranging from $125 – $390 total).

You can check your eligibility to apply here

Applications for the Ontario Program open on June 27, 2024, and close on August 22, 2024 (11:59 PM).

Financial Assistance for MCAT Preparation & Registration Fees

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) are offering a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees in financial need who register for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The AAMC and the AFMC are committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. This will contribute to a diversity of students enrolled in Canadian medical schools.

There are up to 928 fee assistance waivers available each calendar year!

If paying for MCAT expenses out of pocket would be challenging for you, please consider applying! To check your eligibility and apply, refer to AFMC's website here.

False Application Information

If it is discovered that any application information is false or misleading, concealed or withheld, the application will be disqualified; or, if discovered after an offer of admission has been sent, that offer will be withdrawn.

If these circumstances are discovered after you are admitted into the MD program, you will be required to withdraw from the program.

Queen’s School of Medicine may, at its discretion, refuse to accept future applications to the MD program from a candidate who has submitted a false, misleading or fraudulent application in the past.

AI Use is Not Permitted in Admissions

Please note that using generative AI writing tools such as but not limited to ChatGPT to obtain responses is not permitted at any stage of assessment for Queen’s MD Program Admissions as components of the application are intended to be reflective.

As per the Office of the Provost and Vice Principal (Academic) (https://www.queensu.ca/provost/teaching-and-learning/teaching-and-learning-statements-guidelines-and-resources), “This type of use of Artificial Intelligence would constitute a departure from academic integrity as it involves a misrepresentation of an applicant’s work and abilities.”

“Original work, completed wholly by you”, is expected to be submitted in your application and within any component of admissions as application components are reflective.

If it is discovered that any AI writing tools or equivalent have been used for any component of an application or at any point during the admissions process, the application will be disqualified. If it is discovered after an offer of admission has been sent, that offer will be withdrawn.

If these circumstances are discovered after you are admitted into the MD program, you will be required to withdraw from the program.

Queen’s School of Medicine may, at its discretion, refuse to accept future applications to the MD program from a candidate who has submitted a false, misleading, or fraudulent application in the past.

Eligibility requirements

Admission procedures are reviewed annually and requirements from previous years may not apply. Queen’s University reserves the right to change admission requirements at any time, without notice. Submission deadlines are final, and the instructions provided on OMSAS must be followed for your application to be considered. When you submit an application to the Queen’s University MD Program, you accept the current admission policies and procedures, as well as the methods by which the applicants are selected.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are priorities for our Admissions Committee and are guiding principles for our process.

Course Credits

To qualify for entry into the School of Medicine, candidates are required to have a minimum of 30 half courses or 15 full courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate university level in a university program completed by June 30^th of the year of entry. These credits must be achieved by the end of the academic year (September to April) in the year the application is submitted. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (see OMSAS Weighting in the table below).

Only undergraduate university credit courses meeting Queen’s University “Basis of Admission for Advance Study Interpretation Guidelines” are considered in the grade point average (GPA) and credit requirements.

At the time of application:

Applicants must have completed a minimum 20 half or 10 full courses (or in combination) of the 30 half courses or 15 full courses at the undergraduate level in a university program as described by the OMSAS Weighting at the time that their application is submitted.

Please review the information about transfer credit and pass/fail, credit/no credit courses requirements, and limitations in the applicable sections to ensure you are eligible for a GPA calculation.

Course Weight

Each year we receive applications from candidates who have studied at universities with various credit and grading systems. In order to give each candidate equal consideration, courses are weighted according to their length of study as follows (also see OMSAS Weighting):

Course	OMSAS’ Equivalent Weighting
Full-year	2
Half-year/Semester	1
Three quarter	1.5
Quarter (applies only to American Universities)	0.5
Science laboratory (Graded separately and is weighted as less than a half-year/semester)	0.5

Full Course Load

Queen's School of Medicine does not have any requirements related to carrying a full course load. This means you are free to select the courses and course loads that perfectly align with your goals and aspirations.

Prerequisite Courses

Queen’s School of Medicine does not require prerequisite courses. With the elimination of all prerequisite courses, you can select a program of study and courses that best meet the goals of your undergraduate degree program.

We do not recommend any course or degree program, as there is no preference given to applicants who have studied at any particular university or in any particular program.

We encourage you to consider all undergraduate programs available to you and to embark on the course of study you have the greatest interest in and that would prepare you for an alternative career, should you not gain a place in medicine.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits (i.e., International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and CEGEP programs, exchange credits) appearing on your university transcript are not included in your grade point average (GPA) calculation but are considered in the credit requirement totals, provided all other requirements are met.

For transfer credits to be considered in the credit requirement totals, applicants must provide an official transcript with numerical grades from the institution where the courses were taken, including secondary school. All other application requirements must also be met, including, but not limited to, how international grades are assessed (World Education Services assessment) and taking credit/no credit or pass/fail course limitations.

Credit/No Credit and Pass/Fail Courses

To be eligible for a GPA calculation, an applicant can have no more than 1 credit/no credit academic component (such as course, practicum, lab, experiential learning) per semester listed on their transcript for anything in any undergraduate semester (i.e., a course that has an OMSAS half-year/semester weight of 1). Please refer to OMSAS Weighting. This includes, but is not limited to:

Courses
Exchange programs and courses
Practicums
Labs
Experiential learning

This treatment of Credit/No Credit courses will take effect for any courses taken during undergraduate studies in fall 2022 and onward.

This is a semester-based requirement. If the structure of your program does not allow for this, then you must submit official documentation from the institution as to why you do not have a choice to select a numerical or alpha grade. This will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Lack of appropriate documentation by the application deadline will deem your application ineligible.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The Admissions Committee will use ONLY your cumulative GPA in assessment of your application.

The cumulative GPA calculation includes ALL full-time, part-time, summer, or supplemental courses taken at undergraduate university level except those taken on foreign exchange and graduate studies, with all years treated equally.

Courses and grades must appear on your university undergraduate transcript(s) to be included in the GPA calculation. This calculation includes all courses, regardless of first or second degree or year of study in an unclassified program.

The cumulative GPA calculation does not include the current academic year (Sept–June), as grades for your current academic year of study are not available at the time of the application deadline.

Minimum GPA

The minimum cumulative GPA to apply is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale according to OMSAS’ scale.

GPAs are calculated using converted grade points based on the OMSAS Conversion Scale

Please note that admission to the MD Program is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

You can find our Admissions Statistics for last year’s incoming class here.

General Information:

The following will not be included in the GPA calculation:

Naturopathic and chiropractic medicine
Consecutive Bachelor of Education programs
College courses (even if transfer credit is granted)
Challenge for credit courses
Continuing Education programs
Graduate courses
Undergraduate courses taken while part of a graduate program
Doctor of Medicine programs

Only the cumulative GPA will be calculated.
For repeated courses, all grades obtained are calculated towards the GPA.
Degree programs or individual courses are not considered a factor in the calculation of GPAs.
Calculations include grades from all courses included on the University transcript for Canadian and United States Universities, including repeated courses.
Courses that a “pass” or “credit” grade is assigned for are counted for credit, but we do not include them in the GPA calculation.
If you have withdrawn from a course and there is a grade reflected on your transcript for that course, it will be included in GPA calculations. If there is no grade associated with a withdrawn course, it has no effect on your application.

No adjustments are made based on course load or course levels.

Please review the information about transfer credit and pass/fail, credit/no credit courses requirements, and limitations in the applicable sections to ensure you are eligible for a GPA calculation.

Transcripts

Official transcripts are required for each university, college, CEGEP, junior college, graduate school or other postsecondary institution you currently attend, previously attended or withdrew from. This also includes International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) transcripts. You must submit a separate transcript even if your home school transcript shows an exchange or transfer course, and regardless of whether the course of study is relevant to your application.

This includes transcripts for:

Work taken on Letter of Permission
Transfer credit
Exchange program credit

You must submit all transcripts through OMSAS, including education taken outside of Canada.

Your transcripts must demonstrate you have:

obtained 15 full or 30 half courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate university level by June 30 prior to possible entry into the program of September of the same year;
maintained a satisfactory GPA, as determined by the Admissions Committee; and
will have completed post-graduate studies by August 1 prior to entry into the program, if applicable.

Note: It is not possible for OMSAS to notify you of any outstanding transcripts before the application deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that OMSAS receives all transcripts and registrar statements by the application deadline.

Other transcript requirements:

You must provide transcripts for all postsecondary courses and programs you attended. This includes, but is not limited to, community colleges, CEGEPs, junior colleges and pre‑university programs.
OMSAS must receive transcripts and grades for courses taken on a Letter of Permission at another institution or proof that transfer credit or advanced standing was granted for by the application deadline. This applies to courses, terms and semesters of study taken abroad as part of a regular program.
We do not require evaluations of work terms completed as part of a co‑operative program.
We will accept only transcripts sent directly to OMSAS by the postsecondary institution(s). We will not accept transcripts sent by you.

Note: OMSAS will ask you to verify your application data in Document Tracking in the OMSAS Application.

Your application will be disqualified if you fail to meet all transcript requirements and deadlines.

International Grades

Applicants attending university outside Canada or at an accredited university in the US, must have their academic credentials and foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES).

A course-by-course WES evaluation with an overall GPA is required.

Credentialing assessment means converting international academic credentials into their Canadian educational equivalents. If a WES assessment includes a copy of your official transcript, you are not required to request a transcript from your registrar.

You must have your international transcripts (transcripts from outside Canada or the US) assessed by WES if you do not meet the minimum course number requirement using your Canadian or US data.

If you have an international undergraduate university education and meet the minimum course number requirement with Canadian or US undergraduate university degree‑level work, the international grades will not be used to calculate the GPA. In this case, a WES evaluation is not required for the undergraduate courses; however, the transcript must be sent directly from the international university to OMSAS by the deadline.

WES must send your WES report and a copy of your verified transcript directly to OMSAS by the application deadline.

The standard cumulative GPA will not be calculated for candidates submitting foreign transcripts. WES assessments will be reviewed and applications for these candidates will be reviewed on an individual basis.

No adjustments are made based on course load or course levels.

MCAT

All applicants must write the MCAT prior to the OMSAS application deadline. You must release all MCAT scores to OMSAS each application year and ensure that they are received by the stipulated deadline. OMSAS will report your scores to Queen’s University.

Each year, the Admissions Committee considers scores from the:

Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems,
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems,
Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behaviour,
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills and
the sum of these parts.

You must meet all the minimum MCAT thresholds (the total and each section) set by the Admissions Committee to be eligible. These thresholds are determined annually for each application cycle, for each category, and for the total score.

For the 2024-2025 application cycle, the minimum thresholds for the mainstream MD, MD Family Medicine, MD/PhD, and MMTP streams are:

Total score: 500
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems: 125
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems: 125
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behaviour: 125
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills: 125

Notes:

The Queen’s School of Medicine imposes no restrictions on the number of times that you may take the test.
If you have written the test multiple times, you must ensure that all test results are released to OMSAS by the specified date.
All MCAT scores will then be reported by OMSAS to Queen’s University.
Test results are valid from any test written within 5 years of the application deadline.
Applications will be assessed based on the scores from your test result that meet our minimum thresholds. This means that all thresholds must be achieved in one test. We will not combine scores from different tests.

Applicants who have submitted their MCAT score(s) with a previous application will need to re-submit their scores for the current application cycle to be eligible. It is your responsibility to ensure that these scores are received by OMSAS for the current application by the deadline.

While we use the MCAT in our evaluation process, we do not administer the test. Therefore, we are unable to offer any information or advice on preparation for the MCAT.

For further details about the test, applicants should visit www.aamc.org/mcat/.

Accommodations: Information on how and when to request MCAT accommodations can be found here.

If paying for MCAT expenses out of pocket would be challenging for you, please consider applying for MCAT Fee Assistance Program by AFMC! To check your eligibility and apply, refer to AFMC's website here. More information can be found under "Things to Consider" section of this website.

Learn about the free AAMC MCAT Official Prep resources that the AAMC offers to help you study here.

Citizenship

Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (landed immigrant) of Canada at the application deadline to be eligible to apply to our program.

Permanent residents (landed immigrants) must submit a copy of the front and back of their current permanent resident card to OMSAS by the application deadline.

Proficiency in the English Language

To be granted admission, you must be proficient in spoken and written English.

We expect you to write clearly and correctly in English.

All application materials must be submitted in English, otherwise your application will not proceed further in the admission process.

The Queen’s Medical School Curriculum is conducted in English. Proficiency in English is a prerequisite for admission. Applicants whose native languages do not include English will be required to obtain satisfactory standing in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) proficiency test as part of the application process.

If English is not your native language but you have recently studied for at least 1 complete year at a university where English is the official language of instruction, you may be exempt from the English-language proficiency test. An applicant requesting a waiver of the test for this reason should do so in writing and submit it with their OMSAS Application using Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) in their application. The Medical School Admissions Committee will make determinations in these cases.

The Queen’s School of Medicine requires the following minimum TOEFL scores:

TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT): 100
TOEFL Paper-based Tests: 100

Applicants may submit unofficial TOEFL results through SAM; however, official TOEFL results must be shared with us directly through TOEFL.

To distribute your results to Queen’s University:

Use Institution Code 0949 for Queen’s University and select “Undergraduate Organization” as the department from the list.
Once you distribute your Official Score Report through TOEFL, email your full name, date of birth and registration number to queensmd@queensu.ca so that we can retrieve your results.

Casper

Applicants to all of the pathways and programs (Kingston MD Campus, Lakeridge Campus, MD/PhD, MMTP) offered at Queen’s University are required to complete Casper to be eligible for admission, with the exception of applicants to the Indigenous Student Admissions Pathway.

Applicants to the Indigenous Student Admissions Pathway must meet the identity requirements, otherwise Casper is required.

The Admissions Office will not pre-verify or pre-screen your identity documents. You must review the proof of ancestry listed on our website and determine if you meet the requirements. If you are unsure, we recommend you take Casper.

We do not require applicants to complete Snapshot or Duet, and they will not be included in the review of your application even if completed.

Casper is an online test that assesses the personal and professional characteristics we believe are important for successful students and graduates of our program. It is a compliment to the other tools that we use for applicant screening. In implementing Casper , we are trying to further enhance fairness and objectivity in our selection process.

To take Casper, you will be responsible for securing access to a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam and audio capabilities. You will require the following for both account creation and taking the test:

Government-issued photo ID
Valid email address (Important: Use the email address that you used on your OMSAS application as this is used as one of our identifiers when linking your score to your application)
Working webcam
Working microphone
Reliable high-speed internet connection
OMSAS Reference Number for the current application cycle (i.e., 2025-80xxxx) (Important: This is used as one of our identifiers when linking your score to your application. Do not use a previous year’s OMSAS reference number.)

To register your Casper account:

Go to Acuity Insights to register your Casper account and sign up for the CSP-10211 – Canada Casper 2 version of Casper using a piece of government-issued photo ID and your OMSAS Reference Number for the current admission cycle.
Select a Casper date. You will be provided with a limited number of testing dates and times. These are the only testing dates available for your Casper. There will be no additional tests scheduled. This includes if you have issues on the last testing date. Be sure to use an email address that you check regularly and that you have used for your OMSAS application; there may be updates to the test schedule.
- Exceptions will not be provided for applicants who are unable to take Casper during one of the available test dates.
- To account for identity verification and payment processing timelines, ensure that you register for your test at least 3 days before your preferred test date and time. We do not recommend last-minute bookings.
Ensure you select Queen’s University for distribution before the posted Distribution Deadline. Likely, there will be no additional tests scheduled, but the most up-to-date information can be found by browsing the Test Dates and Times.
Direct any inquiries about Casper to: support@altus.as. Alternatively, you may use the chat bubble on the Acuity Insights website.

Accommodations: If you require testing accommodations for Casper you will need to submit the Accommodations Request Form signed by you and your qualified professional 3 weeks in advance of your desired test date. More information regarding accommodations can be found here.

Notes:

If you take Casper during this cycle but before you have your OMSAS Reference Number (8xxxxx) for your current application that is okay! You will still be able to distribute your score to us. You simply will need to wait until you have received your OMSAS ID (8xxxxx) for this year's application and then request that your score is distributed to Queen's as the OMSAS ID is a requirement.

You will enter a placeholder OMSAS Reference Number of 000000 until you have received your OMSAS Reference Number (2025-80xxxx) for this year’s application. Then you must go back into Casper, update your OMSAS Reference Number and request that your score be distributed to Queen’s.
Do not use an OMSAS Reference Number from previous years or make one up, as we use this number as one of our identifiers when linking it to your application.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure this is complete by the deadline.

Casper scores are only available for one application cycle and the test is only offered on a select number of days. Applicants who have already taken the test in previous years are expected to re-take it.
If you are applying to another university or program that requires you to write the Casper assessment in French, you will need to write it again in English for this application.
If you are writing a different version of the Casper assessment (other than CSP-10211 – Canada Casper 2 for your OMSAS application), you will also need to complete the CSP-10211 – Canada Casper 2 version for this application.
There is a separate fee for the Casper test which is paid by the applicant directly to Altus Assessments. This fee is not included in the OMSAS/Queen’s application fee.

Important: If you do not follow these instructions then your Casper score may not get linked to your application and will be considered incomplete. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the correct information to Casper that correlates with your current OMSAS application. We are not responsible for Casper scores that are not linked to an application due to incorrect or mismatched information being supplied.

Autobiographical Sketch

Autobiographical Sketch:

The Queen's School of Medicine uses the detailed autobiographical sketch as part of the application evaluation. This submission provides our assessors with a snapshot of a candidate's personal experiences and achievements.

We consider the following 5 categories in the Autobiographical Sketch:

Employment
Volunteer Activities
Extra-Curricular Activities
Awards & Accomplishments
Publications & Research

Ensure that items selected are those most relevant to a medical school application. Items listed in the Other category will not be considered.

You will be prompted to identify the top 3 activities you believe are most important for your application in the Employment, Volunteer Activities and Extracurricular Activities categories (maximum of 9 in total).

You must list:

the year in your education the activity occurred (i.e., first-year undergraduate, summer between second- and third-year undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate),
a brief description of the activity, which can be in point form,
the location of the activity and
the length of time for each activity. When you indicate the number of hours, specify if it is one time per week, per month or per year.

General Information:

The Admissions Committee will not review activities from high school. If you started an activity in high school and continued in postsecondary education, only the time starting at postsecondary is reviewed.
The autobiographical sketch is completed through the OMSAS application and then disseminated to the Admissions Committee for review.
Please ensure that items selected to include are those most relevant to a medical school application.
There is room in the form to provide information relating to 32 items. You are not required to fill all available spots.
Submissions are assessed based on the quality of the listed items and the characteristics they represent (not the number of items listed).

Note: The Admission Committee is unable to review and evaluate Autobiographical Sketches that are not written in English. This will deem your application incomplete.

Please visit the OMSAS website for further details about the ABS requirements and submission details here.

Verifiers

Each activity must have a verifier. You must provide current contact information for the verifier, including their title, physical address, email address, telephone number and relation to you. Avoid using individuals such as family members whenever possible.

The verifier should be an independent third party validating your activity in a nonbiased fashion. You will need to make that determination.

We cannot provide you with specific feedback regarding whom you should use as a verifier, or for which type of verifier. Inquiries of this nature will be referred to this page.

It is your responsibility to notify verifiers that the Admissions Office may contact them any time to request verification, including possibly asking them for evaluations or letters of support. Non-verifiable activities could adversely impact your file assessment.

Confidential Assessment Forms

Confidential Assessment Forms (CAF):

You are required to ask 3 different individuals (we refer to them as referees) to provide a reference on your behalf:

1 academic or employment related referee
1 non-academic referee
1 referee of your choosing

Applicants should choose referees who have more than a casual relationship with you and can evaluate you in a nonbiased fashion, avoiding family members, family friends, neighbours, acquaintances, friends or spiritual advisors for example. We do not consider them to be objective. Ideally, applicants should choose referees from different areas who can collectively address qualities and attributes in both academic and non-academic domains. Forms from non-objective references will not be considered.

We do not provide specific feedback on who an applicant should choose to be a referee or for which type of referee. Inquiries of this nature will be referred to this page.

Select referees who have extensive personal knowledge of you and, as a result, are in a position to answer the Confidential Assessment Form questions.

The Admissions Committee recommends choosing referees that have known you for a minimum of 6 months. You should ask your referee to provide examples of the characteristics they are being asked to comment on.

In order for referees to provide uniform information that admission committees are specifically looking for from the reference process, each of your referees will be asked to fill out a CAF. It is your responsibility to inform your referees that they must fill out the CAF, and that additional letters of reference will no longer be accepted.

On the CAF, your references will be asked to respond to the following:

Would this applicant make a good physician?
Rate the applicant on each of the following attributes:
- Communication skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Professionalism (e.g., commitment to ethical practice, standards of behaviour and accountability to others)
- Empathy (e.g., demonstrating consideration of others’ perspectives)
Identify and comment on 1 area of improvement for the applicant.
Share any other information you feel may be relevant to a medical school’s admission committee.

Information about Dates of Submission

All Confidential Assessment Forms must be received by OMSAS by the application deadline. It is each candidate's responsibility to ensure they have selected three appropriate referees to submit a Confidential Assessment Form. In the event less than 3 letters are submitted by the submission deadline, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be assessed further.

It is each applicant’s responsibility to ensure they have selected 3 appropriate referees to submit a Confidential Assessment Form and that the referees can do so by the application deadline. If an applicant does not have all Confidential Assesment Forms submitted by the deadline, their application will be considered incomplete and will not be assessed further.

Note: The Admission Committee is unable to review and evaluate Confidential Assessment Forms that are not written in English. This will deem your application incomplete.

Please visit the OMSAS website for further details about the CAF requirements and submission details here.

Interview

The Queen’s School of Medicine typically uses a combined MMI and panel interview in the assessment of qualifying candidates. The goal of using the MMI is to more effectively assess non-cognitive qualities of an applicant, which could include empathy, critical thinking, ethical decision making and communication skills. Selected candidates will be invited to the MMI portion. A select number of candidates who complete the MMI will then be invited for a panel interview.

The Admissions Committee reserves the right to alter the elements of the interview process.

We email an interview invitation to selected applicants. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor their email and all associated email folders (inbox, spam, junk) during the application process, as invitations are sent via email. This includes ensuring the email inboxes and associated folders are not full and are able to recieve incoming mail. We are not responsible for any correspondence that is not answered by stipulated deadlines. Any invitations that are not answered by our stipulated deadline will be considered declined. (no exceptions)

If an applicant that has been invited for an interview requires an accommodation for the interview, they must register by email with Queen’s Accessibility Services at the time they receive the interview invitation and provide documentation supporting the request.

Note: All candidates attending interviews will be required to sign a Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure statement, to ensure the integrity and security of the interview process. Any violation of the signed statement or failure to sign the statement will result in removal of the admissions process.

Candidates offered interviews should be aware that interviews are only scheduled once per year. Rescheduling, regardless of the reason, will not be accommodated.

Please note: All interview will be conducted virtually until further notice.

2024-2025 Tentative Interview Dates:

MD/PhD & MD/Master's

Panel - Fri. February 7, 2025
MMI - Sun. January 26, 2025

MMTP & Indigenous

Panel - Fri. February 7, 2025 or Sat. February 8, 2025
MMI - Sun. January 26, 2025

Queen's Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program

Panel - Sat. February 8, 2025
MMI - Sun. January 26, 2025

MD

Panel - Sat. March 22, 2025 and Sun. March 23, 2025
MMI - Sun. January 26, 2025

Additional Eligibility Requirements

Additional items are required with your OMSAS application if you choose to apply under any of the following pathways or programs:

Indigenous Applicants: Indigenous Student Admissions Pathway (ISAP)
Canadian Armed Forces Applicants – Medical Military Training Program Pathway (MMTP)
Socioeconomic Accountability Admissions Pathway (SAAP)
Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program
Combined MD/PhD or MD/MSc Program

Please ensure that you review these additional items here and submit the appropriate documentation for consideration.