Frequently Asked Questions

Each year the Queen’s School of Medicine Admissions Committee determines minimum requirements based on the GPAs and MCAT scores from within the current applicant pool.  Therefore, these requirements vary, sometimes significantly, from year to year and there is no way to predict what they will be based on past years.  Once determined, these cut-offs are applied to all applicants to determine who will progress to the file review process. 

We therefore do not publish our previous or current GPA and MCAT cut-offs.

Yes. Winter 2020 will be considered in the cumulative GPA calculation just as all other academic semesters/years. 

Queen’s Undergraduate Medical Education program will include repeated course in total credit count as listed on your official transcript.  Cumulative GPA calculation includes all grades listed on the transcript, including repeated courses. Therefore, if you choose to repeat a course, both grades will be included in your GPA calculation.

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

If a practicum course is graded and given a weight on a transcript it will be included in GPA calculation.

If you have completed an extra year, or a non-degree year, we will treat that year the same as other years.

The School of Medicine policy states:

Applicants will be deemed ineligible for admissions into the Queen’s School of Medicine program if they:

1. are a current student, past student, or graduate of an Undergraduate Medical Education program at a Canadian Medical School;

and/or

2. have been required to withdraw from an MD program (to be assessed on a case‐by‐case basis).

https://meds.queensu.ca/source/AD-01v2%20-%20Application%20to%20the%20School%20of%20Medicine%20Policy%2011-03-2021.pdf

Queen's School of Medicine does not have any requirements related to carrying a full course load. You are free to select courses and course loads that are best for you. 

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. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (see OMSAS Weighting in the table below). This requirement must be fulfilled by the June 30th prior to possible entry into the program.

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.

For a variety of reasons, we are unable to accept applications for transfer into our curriculum.

All candidates must complete the application process and if you are a successful candidate, you must complete all components of the program curriculum. You are not able to transfer any course credits.

Summer or part time courses are included in cumulative GPA calculation. All summer and supplemental course credits will be included in 15 full or 30 half-credit requirements.

If you withdraw from the course prior to being assigned a numerical grade, it will have no affect on your application. If a grade has been provided on the transcript for this course, it will be included in GPA calculations.

An applicant can have no more than one credit/no credit course in a semester to be eligible for a GPA calculation.

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

This will take effect for any courses taken in Fall 2022 and onward.

Applicants attending university outside Canada, or the United States must have their academic credentials/foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES). Information pertaining to the assessment of international grades can be found on the OMSAS website.

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

Yes. All applicants to the Undergraduate Medical Education Program at Queen’s University are required to complete an online assessment, Casper^®, to be eligible for admission.

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 take Casper during this cycle but before one of our testing testing dates, you will still be able distribute your score to us however you will need to wait until you have recieved 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. Please do not input an OMSAS ID from previous years or make one up as we use this number as one of our identifiers.

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-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences for you MD application) you will need to complete the CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences version as well for this application. 

There is a separate fee for that Casper test which is paid by the applicant directly to Altus Assessments. This fee is not included in the OMSAS/Queen’s application fee.

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. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (see OMSAS Weighting in the table below). This requirement must be fulfilled by the June 30th prior to possible entry into the program.

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.

To be eligible to apply to our MD Program, you must be a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident at the time of submission of your application. 

 The MD program will not be accepting applications from international applicants for the upcoming cycle. This stream is currently being reviewed.

As part of the application, you would be required to have any foreign transcripts assessed by WES (World Education Service) at the time of application. https://www.wes.org/ca/

Queen’s does not have any restrictions based on place of residence in the admissions process. There are no provincial or regional quotas in the admissions process.

1. The Admissions Committee does not give preference to applicants who have studied in any university program. Applicants are encouraged to consider all the undergraduate programs available to them and to embark on the course of studies in which they have the greatest interest and that would prepare them for an alternate career should they not gain a place in medicine.
2. There is no preference to applicants at any level of training.
3. Place of residence and location of the university where studies have been undertaken are not criteria in selection.
4. Age, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation are not factors considered in the selection process.

Queen’s University MD Program does not require prerequisite courses.

With the elimination all prerequisite courses, applicants can select a program of study and courses, which best meet the goals of their undergraduate degree program.  We do not recommend any course or degree program since as there is no preference to applicants who have studied in any university program. Applicants are encouraged to consider all the undergraduate programs available to them and to embark on the course of study in which they have the greatest interest and that would prepare them for an alternate career should they not gain a place in medicine.

While we utilize the MCAT in our evaluation process, we do not administer the test.  Therefore, we are unable to offer any information or advice on preparation of the MCAT. We suggest you refer to the MCAT website for further information on preparation. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/

The MCAT is still a requirement for application to Queen’s School of Medicine. We are very much aware that the dates available for writing the MCAT have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Future applicants should refer to the AAMC MCAT site for up-to-date information on available testing dates.

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.

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.

Applicants are expected to choose appropriate referees to complete the Confidential Assessment Forms.   Referees should have extensive personal knowledge of the applicant and be able to reasonably make statements concerning the applicant's character, personal qualities, and academic capabilities.  It is recognized that referees may not be able to evaluate all the characteristics requested; however, applicants should ensure that, in choosing their three referees, the subject areas are covered. At least one referee should be a non academic/character referee.

Please note: The Admissions Committee is unable to review and evaluate letters of reference that are not written in English.

All application components are to be within the OMSAS application and are to be transmitted to Queen’s School of Medicine through OMSAS.

To update and/or change your address, or other demographics on your application, please contact Ontario Medical Schools Application Service (OMSAS). https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/omsas-app-guide/

Applicants attending university outside Canada, or the United States must have their academic credentials/foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES). Information pertaining to the assessment of international grades can be found on the OMSAS website.

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 World Education Services (WES) assessment includes a copy of your official transcript, you are not required to request a transcript from your registrar.

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.

Late submissions will NOT be accepted.

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.

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.

Ontario Medical School Application Fee Waiver Program

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 $100 – $380 total) for the 2023-2024 application cycle. 

Applications open on June 27, 2023, and close on August 22, 2023 (11:59 PM). You can check your eligibility to apply here 

It is our policy not to disclose an applicant's position on the waitlist.

Attendance at an interview is mandatory. A reasonable effort to accommodate students who have conflicting interviews or compelling personal circumstances may be accommodated. Due to the limited availability of interview times, such accommodation is not always possible.

Invitations are sent to e-mail to the address you provide in your OMSAS application. All applicants who are offered an interview must reply by a given date. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor their email and all associated email folders (inbox, spam, junk, etc.) during the application process as invitations are sent via email. Any invitations that are not answered by our stipulated deadline in the invitation will be automatically set to declined.

Please check OMSAS’ Important Dates.

Interviews are typically conducted in February and March. Applicants will be notified by email.

No. Your application will be consider as it is submitted by the application deadline.

No. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada at the time you submit your application.

It will be carried out in parallel with the process for the MD program, first round offers will be sent out in May.

No. By selecting the Queen's-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine option on your application, you are indicating that this is your first choice at Queen’s and, as such, you will be considered for this program first. If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration. 

If you are offered a spot in the Queen's-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine program and choose to decline it, your application will be closed and hence you will not then be considered for the MD Kingston Campus program.

No. By selecting Queen's Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine program option on your OMSAS application, you are indicating that this is your first choice at Queen’s and, as such, you will be considered for this program first. If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration. 

No. By selecting Queen's Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine program option on your OMSAS application, you are indicating that this is your first choice at Queen’s and, as such, you will be considered for this program first. This program is located at Lakeridge Health in the Durham Region.  If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration. The MD Kingston Campu program is located in Kingston.

No. 

No.

Due to the unique structure of the medical curriculum, applicants will not be considered for admission with advanced standing/transfer.

All Candidates must complete the application process and all components of the program curriculum.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible for admissions into the MD Program if they:

1. are a current student, past student or graduate of an Undergraduate Medical Education program at a Canadian school and/or
2. have been required to withdraw from an MD program (to be assessed on a case-by-case basis)

The program will be housed primarily at the LHEARN Centre, located at the Oshawa Site of Lakeridge Health, and include learning opportunities at clinical sites and practices in the Durham Region. The LHEARN Centre has excellent teaching and learning facilities similar to those at the Kingston campus, scaled for the smaller class size, including a simulation lab. Students will be occasionally taken to Queen's campus for unique learning experiences, including visits to the Anatomy Lab.

The Lakeridge Health campus will be an extension of Queen’s University School of Medicine. Additionally, the curriculum will be able to take advantage of smaller class size and utilize classroom-based instruction, small group learning and access to educational sessions from the Kingston campus. There will be opportunities to engage with the main campus through shared educational sessions and on-site visits for targeted basic science and clinical teaching sessions. A key feature differentiating the Lakeridge Health cohort with be the more extensive and earlier community-based placements. These will begin in year 1, expanding each year and fully into the clinical years.

No. If you select this option on your application, you will be considered for this program first. If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration. You will not be considered simultaneously for both MD/PhD or MD/Master's combined programs and the MD Kingston Campus Program or the Queen's-Lakeridge Health Family Medicine MD Program. If you are offered a position in the MD/PhD-MD/Master's program at the time of admission and choose to decline it, your application will be closed and hence you will not then be considered for the MD Kingston Campus program.

No. Consideration for the MD/PhD-MD/Master's stream is done directly from one’s OMSAS application as the structure and schedule for these students are different than our MD stream students. These spots are limited and are filled during that specific application cycle.

Students may however apply for leaves to do research or programs, so an equivalent experience could be worked out. These requests are submitted to our Associate Dean for consideration and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

No. These seat are reserved with the MD Program at the Kingston Campus and cannot be moved. No exceptions.